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How We Roll: Meet Our New Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL

| Updated Dec 21, 2014

In this latest edition of our How We Roll video segment, we introduce you to our brand new Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL, which we just picked up after trading in our ETrek with the folks at American RV in Grand Rapids, Mich.

It was an emotional turnover. We've sure had some great adventures in that Etrek. But we are really excited about the new places we'll visit in the CS XL – with XL standing for “Extended Length” and referring to the 18 inches added to the rear of the Sprinter chassis that our coach is built on.

That extra room means we can pack more stuff and the larger 7-cubic foot refrigerator means we also can carry along more food. And with the super secret lithium battery power system I previously wrote about – and a rooftop filled with solar panels – this new Roadtrek promises to be the perfect boondocking machine that will let us do off-the-grid camping for greatly extended periods of time.

We're still loading and packing it and doing a couple of simple mods and add-ons. Check out the video for the details.

Tai has already bonded with the new RV
Tai has already bonded with the new RV

We leave for our first trip in it Christmas Day, heading south from our Michigan home to Georgia, and then Florida for a few days. We'll make it a shake drown run for the new RV and spend the time taking photos and videos for future reports.

Mike Wendland

Published on 2014-12-21

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

7 Responses to “How We Roll: Meet Our New Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL”

February 23, 2015at10:19 am, Orenokoto said:

Looking good! I love the heated floors! All RVs should have that.

January 22, 2015at1:47 pm, Craig Anctil said:

Congrats Mike and Jennifer on your purchase. Looks like a sweet ride. I was just wondering why you elected to get a unit with propane stove instead on the induction stove you had on your e-trek?

December 23, 2014at8:41 pm, Mike Stanley said:

Thanks for sharing what you can, Mike. Just curious, with all that battery potential, why carry the extra weight of propane?

December 23, 2014at8:04 pm, Lynne said:

Hi Mike, looking forward to seeing more on your new unit. My question is … I don’t see you “mifi” on Verizon’s web site. Is yours maybe an older model? What would be the equivalent now?

December 23, 2014at8:29 am, Mike Wendland said:

Good eye.
I’m asked to not publicize details on EVERYTHING we have in our unit as several features on our new unit are not yet available for production models and I am using a prototype.
Same with details on the lithium battery system I have.
These are not yet available. This is all I can publicly say about the batteries: https://rvlifestyle.com/rv-lithium-batteries/
Undoubtedly, the system I have will change when all items finally become available as options. Because of rampant and erroneous speculation distributed on other boards and forums and because Roadtrek competitors rush to try and copy their technology, I have been asked to keep details on some features confidential from public disclosure until final production versions are ready.
There is a very high likelihood that some features of what I have will change significantly when ready for production.
As soon as I can say or show more, I will 🙂
I’ll let you know on the Accurite wireless dual temp thermometers for the refrigerator later this week as I take the unit out on its first trip. I’ll also show the way we ran the antenna cable into the Sleek cellphone booster.
We’re heading our Christmas Day for that first shakedown cruise.

December 22, 2014at11:46 pm, Russ said:

Nice looking rig. What is the “new” color….looks gray or silver? I noted that you sometimes show the older ETrek and sometimes the newer CS XL, most confusing when you’re overlaying the CS XL’s specs over your older green ETrek.
Questions:
1. at the 4:19 minute mark I briefly see a new, colorful control panel (ProAir?) on the sidewall about 8″ from the Alde’s control panel. What is that for?
2. how do you like the Accurite wireless dual temp sensor unit? It’s on my Christmas wish list….or ordered on the 26th!
3. You show a large Sky Scan digital clock, apparently with indoor/outdoor temps. Is is backlit or night time backlit? How/where do you mount the outdoor temp sensor for reasonably accurate temps?
4. How/where did you run the cable from the Wilson Sleek holder to the antenna?
5. Any perceived advantages to the flatter “ground effect” panels of the later 2015 versions vs the older models (including early 2015’s)?

December 22, 2014at10:57 am, Ronald Payne said:

Congratulation,very nice,easy to see why the cs model is roadtrek no.1 selling unit.

Comments are closed.

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