I’m happy that some of you are using our new forums and finding value in those. It’s good to be able to use that platform as a means to communicate for those who like that method, which I do. The point of mentioning this is that Cindy requested we take a look at the Tiffin Wayfarer motorhome.
The Tiffin Wayfarer 25 RW is that company’s entry into the Class C motorhome market and is based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cutaway chassis. According to a few sources, this is one of the largest Class C motorhomes available on a Sprinter chassis, and that’s where we should stop and sit down and talk a moment. I know these discussions never come easily.
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Weight
As part of the research I do for these I will usually contact the manufacturer, any owners I know and sometimes a dealer or several. Since I don’t know anybody who has one of these, I did reach out to Tiffin and to three dealerships. I also saw a video about this model that stated that the cargo carrying capacity was about 700 pounds.
Since none of the dealerships I talked to could answer this question and I never did hear back from Tiffin (I emailed and called), I’m going to do this review based on the assumption that that information may be correct.
In that case, if your cargo carrying capacity is 700 pounds, think about this. If one camper weighs 250 pounds and the other 150 pounds, now you have 400 pounds of just human cargo with only two people. The fresh water tank capacity of this rig for 2022 is 38 gallons, which would be 304 pounds. So, with a full tank of water and two campers of pretty average weight, you are already overweight.
Forget clothes, food, utensils, pots and pans, dishes, and beer. Or just don’t put any fresh water in this rig. Or camp naked.
Check the weight sticker if you’re shopping for a Tiffin Wayfarer 25 RW
Now, if I were going to go out and shop for one of these, the first thing I would demand to see would be the yellow weight sticker that’s a requirement by law, and see what the actual specs are on the individual camper. But, unless there’s at least 1,000 pounds of reserve capacity, I wouldn’t even consider this vehicle. That’s a pretty strong statement. But that may be the price to be paid for putting the claimed largest motorhome body in the industry on a chassis.
A very similar RV is the Winnebago Navion 24J but I wasn’t able to find the unladen weight of that rig either.
Tiffin
One of the big draws to this motorhome is that Tiffin has earned a solid reputation not only for the products they produce but for how well they stand behind those products. There’s a lot to be said for that. Although, again, their phone system wouldn’t let me leave a voice message – but it is the holiday season.
Comparing the Winnebago Navion to this Wayfarer, there are some things included in the Tiffin that might be worth considering, starting with the standard Onan 3.2kW diesel-fired generator.
The Wayfarer does have a 2,000-watt inverter. You can upgrade to lithium batteries, depending on your style of camping. But there’s also that generator, if that suits you.
Some nice features in the Tiffin Wayfarer 25 RW
Some of the nicer things aboard include a Bigfoot auto-leveling system as well as a Truma AquaGo comfort plus tankless water heater. Tiffin stepped up the tank sizes for 2021, and this does have decent capacities for a small Class C.
Speaking of capacity, the company has also done a super job with storage aboard this rig. There are larger compartments on the outside that feature a dual-door opening that really gives good access to this decent-sized compartment.
There’s also a good amount of storage inside with plenty of drawers throughout. If you’ve looked at this model in the past and disliked the under-cabinet microwave, you’ll likely be happier that it’s now above the fridge. The standard fridge in this rig is a 12-volt compressor fridge, but Tiffin still offers the gas-electric model, as well.
Surprisingly large bathroom
The floor plan in the Tiffin Wayfarer 25 RW, in particular, features a surprisingly large rear bathroom that takes the entire width of the coach. It rewards you with a lot of space, including a shower that’s almost flush with the floor and measures 30 X 36 inches. Several floor plans are available, but I would imagine that large bathroom is a big draw.
There is also a Murphy bed in this rig that is power-operated (meh – I can lift this myself and have one less complicated mechanism). Interestingly, the bed flips down and there’s about an eight-inch flat surface at the top where your pillows could go. I’ve mentioned before that there’s no way to get a full-height mattress into an RV without some sort of trick, and this is as good a trick as any that I think will work. However, know that the mattress also only measures 74 inches in length.
Summary
If you count Tiffin’s reputation for customer service and build quality, this would be a good unit to consider – but only after you look specifically at cargo carrying capacity. I would suggest you do the same if you look at the Thor Quantum Sprinter, which has the same floor plan, that we looked at the other day. That’s another rig where I was unable to find the cargo carrying capacity anywhere and I suspect it may be comparable to this unit. Both have identical Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings of 11,300 which would be dictated by the chassis.
Good luck trying to get information
I also can feel your pain in trying to actually glean information when spending this much money. In the three dealerships I called, the salespeople at each store I talked to couldn’t give me a straight answer and seemed not to even have any comprehension of what I was asking. The fact that I found an absolute lack of integrity and understanding in these three salespeople was very disappointing.
I can’t blame Tiffin for this – it’s a lack of professionalism and pride in one’s work. But I wouldn’t allow any of the three I spoke with to earn a commission on my sale if I were treated the way I was treated.
The Tiffin Wayfarer 25 RW is a beautiful camper …
This is certainly a beautiful camper, to be sure. I really like Tiffin’s choice of paint that matches the lines of the rig – which is information you can actually find in abundance. But a pretty paint job isn’t going to matter if you get pulled over and cited for the vehicle being overweight or, god forbid, you get into an accident and the insurance adjuster decides to weigh everything and then deny the claim due to the rig being overweight.
… But check the weight sticker
So, if this is a rig you’re lusting after, before you go any further in your looking process, I would confirm the cargo carrying capacity of the vehicle by looking at the information sticker on the vehicle itself. It’s not like the salespeople I talked to could even find it. But at least they answered the phone.
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I would love to read your comments and suggestions over on our new forums, where you can weigh in and start or join a discussion about all things RV. Here’s a link to my RV Reviews Forum.
Tony comes to RVTravel having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. You can find his writing here and at StressLessCamping where he also has a podcast about the RV life with his wife.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
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Hope you never have to tow one because you can’t due to rear overhang scraping. You need a low boy flatbed. Either pay $290 for dealer oil change or do your own BUT only use Mercedes “certified” oil to retain warranty coverage.
Many dealers who sell and service Sprinter vans WILL NOT service Class C rigs. Their service bay doors aren’t tall enough to accommodate them. Except for these details and wonky RV defects, loved the drivetrain, especially with suspension updrades.
The total CCC is important but just as significant is the load carrying capacity of the tires on the axles. I wonder if once this coach is loaded what would be the load capacity on each tire position. The only way to be sure is to have the coach weighed at each wheel position and check those weights with the tire manufacturers specification. My pessimistic view is that there are a lot of Class C coaches out there on various chassis’ that are seriously overloaded.
Thor bought Tiffin, not Winnebago.
Wayfarer, navion,View, quantum sprinter all have 750lb capacity…built on the Mercedes chassis…we had our quantum sprinter suspension upgraded with bilstein shocks, springs ,and air bags…cost 4K but drives likes a sports car now with increased weight capacity…disclaimer is if you get stopped and weighted they won’t care that you had your suspension upgraded to hold more weight…have driven in 45 mph winds with no problem..before upgrades was scary going around turns !!
We have a 2013 Leisure Travel Van on the Sprinter chassis. The model is a UnityTB and the CCC is 1523. Tow capacity is 5,000 lb. More than adequate for DW and me.
But I wonder if axles, frame, brakes and other critical components are being stressed beyond capacity and could have early failures due to being so close to their capacities all the time.
I’m starting to think that these Class C RVs are as much a hazard as those based on the Toyota platform in the 1990s that experienced such a huge rate of failure Toyota stopped selling chassis to RV companies.
Nope. The OCCC of the 2017 Navion is 1350.
Your review is not accurate except for the pictures and they did not match the floor plan….Tiffin is not a Winnebago product line as you say…it’s a Thor company. One quick search revealed a cargo carrying capacity of 1180 lbs….maybe taking your time might provide more accurate information …..but I have to admit many of these reviews are “shoot from the hip”….
I’d love to find where you got this information. I called Tiffin and three dealerships and did a bunch of searching on the Internet with no results.
And the dance begins. How to Thor-er-ize the Tiffin product line. Not even 1 year from the “take over” by Thor and you can see where the Tiffin quality reputation is going “in the dumper”.
I would never buy this or any other MB van, case in point, we were in southeastern TX in a popular RV resort and a MB conversion motorhome camped beside us. They were from CO and had just bought their motorhome. They loved it, about a week into their stay they received a recall notice, so they arranged to take it in to the MB dealer in Corpus Christi. Nope that dealer wasn’t an authorized Sprinter dealer so Mercedes wouldn’t let them work on it. The nearest Sprinter dealer was in Houston, now they had to wait a week and a half to get an appointment. Now they have a 400 mile round trip and all day plus the time for the recall. They took the appointment got there and got in service technician opened the hood and looked inside closed the hood and said they were good to go, all he did was check to see if something was there. That could’ve been done in Corpus Christi. Mercedes is just to aloof to suit me. Not only are they way over priced but only their technicians will work on them.
I think this is a failing with motorhomes in general – the number of qualified and authorized places where you can take them for factory service is really limited. This is one of the many, many reasons I think a travel trailer is just a better option. Almost anybody can work on a full-sized American pickup truck.
That does not fit with my experience with MB. Yes, it takes a while to get an appointment, especially if you are a snowbird. They have always been competent, professional, and friendly with us.
They are high priced, but other techs can work on the vehicles, just not in warranty.
After looking at every brand and floorplan of Class C Sprinter–Tiffin, Thor, Jayco, Fleetwood, Forest River, Dynamax, etc.–we settled on a Winnebago Navion (View twin) 24V. We liked the features and apparent quality of the Tiffins, but when my wife saw that cargo capacity, it was a deal-breaker. Even though we have never traveled with a full water tank in any of our RVs, that 700 pounds was just ridiculous!
I realize you have to write your reviews based on the information you can find and Winnebago, Tiffin, Thor, or whoever, left you hanging on this one. The two TV’s in the kitchen and the wall next to the entryway do not match the floor plan either. I think they just blew you off Tony. And I really wanted to see a new Class C. I’d also like to see the tow capacity, if there is any with that little 3.0 liter.
Looks like this thing is a non-starter from the git-go, with that weight limit. But what the heck happened between the photos, your description, and the floor plan displayed. There’s a total lack of congruence between the three. I think you may have to go back to “go” and try again on this one, Tony. If you can’t get a floor plan and photos which show the same unit, how the heck can you review it?
Well fooey – I had originally intended to look at a different floor plan and downloaded that one but didn’t pay attention closely enough when I uploaded the images for the article. I’ve fixed it now.
Now the floor plan matches the unit I reviewed. I owe you a cookie!
Thanks for this review, but I have a couple of questions. You state Tiffin is now a Winnebago product, but I wonder if you mean a Thor product? You state the 25RW features a rear bathroom and a Murphy bed, but the above floor plan shows twin rear beds and a middle bath. You did have trouble getting accurate information on this one, huh?