B190 Enthusiasts

Hi Everyone,

I recently joined this site; although I have been checking it out for months. I purchased a 2000 B190 last month and will be picking it up in Memphis in a few weeks. I am so excited and can't wait to hit the road! Many years ago, “back in the day”, I took a yearlong cross country trip in a van with a friend. We hit 48 states plus Canada and Mexico. (Unfortunately one of the missed states was Alaska.) It was one of the best things that I ever did. I had no idea what a beautiful country this is, plus I met so many cool and interesting people along the way. At that time I swore I would do this again someday (and Alaska is on my bucket list). AND so here I am! I still have 1 year, I month and 22 days to go until I can offically retire but in the meantime I hope to take many weekend jaunts.

I was hesitant at first with the B190 because of the gas mileage and the “sway”, but after checking out several other campervans, I fell in love with the B190 interior. It far exceeds (in my opinion) the interior of any other class Bs. I know nothing about engines or mechanical and electrical stuff or RVing for that matter so I am especially grateful for this wonderful and very informative site. Thank you guys.

I can’t wait for my first adventure, although it may be in my driveway until I figure out how things work!

Hope to see you out on the road.

Cheers.
Sheila

Make sure you have the seller demonstrate that everything is working. If not have them discount the price accordingly.

Welcome to the club!

Also, the "sway" can be minimized with heavy duty shocks, and easily installed sway bars.

Thanks Tucsonan for the advice and welcome.

About how much will it cost for the shocks and sway bars .... including installation?

First, find out if you already have a rear sway bar. If not, the part number is (Hellwig #7183), it's $200.00 on Amazon. I installed my own but it shouldn't cost too much to have someone do it. You should already have a front sway bar on the van. If not, the part # is Hellwig #7604, also $200.00. The rear bar is the most important one though.

For shocks, first find out if yours need replacing, then please look the discussion forum of this site. Under tires and suspension, there are many references to Bilstein RV/van shocks at about $90.00 each. Ask your neighbors and friends for a trusted local shop they might recommend, you should be able to get a few estimates for installation of both the bar and shocks at the same time to save money.

Before you do anything, please read over the discussion forums on this site. Everyone here has already been through what you will likely encounter.

Good luck!

BTW, where in Texas? I lived there for 35 years before moving to AZ.

Appreciate the info Tusconan. Thanks very much.

I have been in Houston for 37 years; before that beautiful NJ. Where did you live in TX?

Hello Sheila,

Welcome to B190.com! Congratulations on your new RV! Let us know if you need anything and we'll do our best to pass along the things that we've learned about our B190s.

Sheila G wrote:Appreciate the info Tusconan. Thanks very much.

I have been in Houston for 37 years; before that beautiful NJ. Where did you live in TX?

I grew up in Cypress (Cy-Fair), NW of Houston, ...then lived in Austin for 7+ years or so for college (LOL), ...then The Woodlands before I moved to Arizona.

Thanks very much Kentuckian.

I have lots of friends in the Woodlands. I don't know how long you've been gone, but it has grown tremendously. I love Austin and all of the hill country. In fact the hill country will probably be my first trip other than my driveway. lol

Welcome:) I assume this is the rig Andy had for sale. I bought my 1999 rig from him a few years back. He had it ready to roll for my cruise up to NY, in the winter, through the Appalachian Mountains. Lessons learned, shocks, front and rear sway bars AND steering stabilizer. With the above on a 1999-2000 you'll bee good to go. Good luck.

Hi Sea Quinn,

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions. As soon as I save up some money I am going to add those items. I did buy my B190 from Andy. Such a nice guy. Unfortunately I still do not have my camper van, the generator quit working. I hope I can get it next week; I have a camping trip planned next weekend that I'm very excited about.

Cheers.
SheilaG