Europe has a snug lead designing the world’s most luxuriously accommodating manufacturing camper vans. The US, alternatively, is extra about forging a lead in rugged, versatile off-road journey vans. Now, Winnebago Industries’ Grand Design RV is bringing these two worlds screaming collectively. Its all-new Lineage van includes a stage of inside glamping luxurious you do not often see outdoors the European or customized markets, housed inside a ruggedized Ford Transit van primed for all-terrain journeys to distant off-grid campsites.
A comparatively new model within the Indianan heartland of the American RV trade, Grand Design usually busies itself with large honking premium journey trailers and Class C motorhomes. The Lineage Collection VT is its first dip within the camper van pool, and fairly than going the extra apparent and standard route (Mercedes Sprinter), it reveals its American Midwest pleasure by beginning off with a Ford Transit 148 topped with a excessive roof.
To present its first Class B that spontaneous, adventurous edge upon which American van-dwellers thrive, Grand Design consists of customary all-wheel-drive for distributing out the three.5-liter EcoBoost V6’s 310 hp and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque to all 4 wheels. It ensures these wheels are adept at utilizing that torque to chew into the bottom under by wrapping them up in a set of BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires, hanging a full spare off the again by the ladder.
Grand Design
Connecting these ruggedly shod wheels to Ford’s chassis is an upgraded Van Compass suspension with 2-in raise. A set of operating boards helps occupants make the leap as much as the raised van ground.
A full-length roof rack comes customary atop the hard-roofed two-sleeper Lineage VT, flashing 400 watts of pre-mounted photo voltaic panels on the solar. Consumers can double that to 800 watts, optionally. The elective pop-up roof, in the meantime, comes immediately adorned with 300 watts of photo voltaic, no rack. The non-pop-up van features a full-width mild bar on the entrance of its rack, whereas each fashions include space pod lights on the rear corners.
Grand Design
A passenger-side awning comes customary, and patrons actually seeking to hold powered up for lengthy off-grid stints can choose as much as the accessible 720-W photo voltaic awning. The VT camps electrically with no propane gear, powered by a 48-V Lithionics bundle with a 165-Ah battery that may be optionally doubled as much as 330 Ah. That system is designed to energy base camp for as much as three days with the 20K-BTU underbody-mounted air conditioner buzzing alongside to maintain the within cool.
All that off-grid, all-terrain focus lets the Lineage VT’s American roots shine, however stepping via the sliding rear door is like taking a fast journey throughout the Atlantic. Positive, many producers use Europe’s most popular ground plan with foldaway rear mattress, front-facing bench/eating space, and central moist tub/kitchen, however Grand Design dials up the continental taste with lesser-seen options impressed by – some even immediately imported from – the Previous Continent.
Grand Design
It begins smack within the heart of the van with a moist lavatory that pushes outdoors its cramped driver-side compartment to span the width of the van to the kitchen counter. The bathe ground is built-in into the principle aisle, under a detachable ground panel, and a curler door wraps across the area for privateness. A rainfall bathe head is constructed into the ceiling immediately over the aisle, providing a extra neatly built-in answer than the everyday bathe head or sprayer.
That type of expandable roller door moist lavatory has been a staple of European camper design, even on fairly inexpensive vans, for so long as we have been following. Throughout that very same stretch, most American camper van builders have remained somewhat too comfy with closet-like moist bogs and deconstructed spaces that break right down to stealthy nothingness.
Grand Design
Being a Winnebago model, Grand Design might have fairly simply carbon-copied the Revel’s small however intelligent moist tub, but it surely as an alternative went just a few steps additional to maximise elbow room and magnificence. In truth, when you think about the overhead rainfall bathe, the Lineage VT lavatory is most much like the design we not too long ago noticed within the Camper Schmiede Marilyn Onroad, an experimental one-off customized camper. Not unhealthy for a quantity manufacturing van from a giant Indiana RV maker.
Exterior that loo curler door, the Lineage VT kitchen block pulls extra than simply inspiration from the European market, that includes a countertop constructed from Italian porcelain. That high is not merely a luxe appointment, concealing an InvisaCook induction cooktop under. A cleaner answer than an above-counter or moveable induction cooker, the unit is all the time on the prepared however stays fully out of the best way, sustaining a transparent, flush usable work area when not in use.
Grand Design
That premium residential-grade cooktop design is complemented by an oblong kitchen sink with a chopping board cowl and a swivel faucet that gives each direct and huge rainfall modes. The 91-L fridge/freezer is situated on the finish of the galley block, simply contained in the sliding door, whereas a pop-up spice rack makes use of the area behind the sink.
Moving into the convertible rear bed room space, a foldaway heart mattress panel fills out the area between two facet consoles to finish the mattress basis. The motive force-side console homes {the electrical} and programs {hardware}, whereas the passenger-side console enhances the overhead cupboards in providing a great deal of cupboard space. The latter even features a helpful built-in mesh laundry bag under a detachable high panel and a slim, heavy-duty storage tray that slides out of the rear door.
Grand Design
As soon as the middle panel is folded down and the mattress segments put in place, the 54 x 80-in (137 x 203-cm) mattress stretches throughout the width of the van. One other intelligent spotlight Grand Designs has hidden away, a 50-in projector display screen on the foot of the mattress unfurls from the overhead cabinetry on the push of a button subsequent to the passenger-side window. A magnet built-in into the underside of the passenger-side overhead cupboard ground works to carry a projector in place for having fun with films in mattress.
Grand Design
The entrance finish of the Lineage VT inside presents loads of pure mild thanks to a different function actually imported straight from Europe. The double-pane skylight extends from simply over the windshield as much as the roof, bringing in loads of daylight and delivering up views of the sky above.
We recall watching that type of skylight unfold across the European camper van market again round 2018 and 2019. And never so lengthy after that, pop-up roofs additionally began changing into extra panoramic, ditching smaller standalone windows in favor of wraparound mesh delivering grand views of the celebs at night time and loads of daylight and contemporary air throughout the day.
The Lineage VT picks that latter pattern up, as effectively, utilizing a dramatic 270-degree front-side mesh wrap on the material of its personal pop-top. The elective upstairs bed room area sleeps two individuals, offering a four-person household camper choice.
Grand Design
Different notable options within the 21.9-foot (6.7-m) Lineage VT embrace a Firefly touchscreen command system, an outside bathe port on the motive force’s facet, a 30-A shore energy hookup, a 6,800-BTU furnace, and a water heater. Choices embrace a roof-mounted Starlink web dish, together with earlier mentions just like the photo voltaic awning and added battery capability.
The RVIA-certified Lineage Collection VT begins at an MSRP of US$218,557, and whereas something over $200K nonetheless reads fairly costly to our bare eye, that worth does not look unhealthy in any respect while you begin trying across the market. We’re not even positive how Winnebago goes to persuade prospects that $254,000 is an affordable MSRP for the Revel when its personal model is providing this magnificence for beneath $219K to start out.
A number of the VT’s options are higher seen than learn, and when you have half-hour (or 10 and a eager eye for skipping via YT movies to the information you need), Grand Design product supervisor Stephan Dolzan does an excellent job showcasing the camper van from bumper to bumper, in and out:
Lineage Collection VT Stroll By
Supply: Grand Design
