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When Robert Henning of Sinking Spring comes up with an idea, he literally builds on it.
From a professional standpoint, that’s his calling in life as the owner of H&H Construction Services, located in the same borough where he and his family reside.
His company, which specializes in the commercial hospitality field, experienced the same symptoms as so many businesses with the impact of COVID-19 over the past year. The hotel construction industry pretty much came to a halt.
The pandemic that nailed a part of his livelihood also impacted an important part of his and his family’s lifestyle: traveling.
Robert, his wife Heather, and their three sons, Robert, 16, Brady, 14, and Andy, 10, all Wilson School District students, pride themselves as a family on the go.
Adventures on Hold
From visiting ski resorts throughout the United States to cruises to trips to islands in tropical climates, travel has been a collective adventure for the Hennings.
And then came the pandemic.
The family has the good fortune of owning a shore home in Cape May, NJ, a property that was their go-to through the summer and into the fall. However, Robert was not content that they rely on that singular getaway.
With airline travel both restricted and risky, and cruises temporarily beached, Robert decided to explore other options to feed the family travel bug. The answer came as an early Christmas present: a 2020 Mercedes Benz Sprinter conversion van.
“In a way, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision,” says Robert. “COVID had truly hindered our ability to travel as a family in terms of our usual trips. We were doing some regional road trips, but wanted something comfortable for the longer ones.”
Comfort also means spacious for this family of five and their two miniature long-haired Dachshunds, Chloe and Clancy, both 11.
The Hennings’ Sprinter, rated a Class B recreational vehicle, comes pretty close to offering the comforts of home.
Amen to Amenities
The van, with a serene light gray interior, boasts expansive side windows with retractable shades, a flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, has a 10-passenger capacity with six full-size captain’s seats, two of which can do double duty as recliners, as well as a microwave, refrigerator, luggage compartment, towing capacity, skylights…even a small bathroom, complete with a flushing toilet in the back.
“Our neighbor has dubbed it the ‘mobile lounge,’” says Heather.
Just three months into owning the van, the family had logged trips to Florida, Niagara Falls, the Poconos, Seven Springs and other regional spots.
“We did a lot of traveling through the Northeast when I was growing up,” Robert says. “This is a catalyst for us to do the same in our area. Our kids have seen many islands, but not nearly as much around here.”
The Sprinter, as any private vehicle does, allows its owners to make quick travel decisions.
The couple recalled watching the news in late February and seeing a report of a completely ice-encased Niagara Falls. Not wanting their sons to miss this natural spectacle, the family piled into the Sprinter and made the six-hour, 390-mile trip north.
“We heard it was frozen over and we got there in the middle of the night,” says Robert, “but by that time, the falls were no longer frozen and there was just ice on the river at the bottom.”
Click here to see a 360-degree view of the Henning Family Sprinter.
Eating Out
The RV has also proved its worth to the Hennings during the COVID shutdown’s impact on the restaurant industry. With its incorporated table tops and trays, the couple, whether with their sons or friends, have been able to order takeout, pull up to the restaurant, and enjoy the great food and beverages in their home away from home.
Heather is looking forward to the return of concerts and festivals and sports events where tailgating will be able to take on a much more refined, and comfortable, feel.
During the holiday season, Heather was among the committee members judging the light displays in Sinking Spring. With a designated driver, the committee enjoyed some bubbly and snacks as they cruised the municipality and evaluated the many decorated properties.
The longest trip the family has made in the Sprinter so far has been to Orlando, FL.
The Hennings decided to do the 17-plus hour drive to Disney Springs more or less non-stop. The capability of the Sprinter to sleep six factored into that decision. The family’s collective energy petered out in North Carolina and a Starbucks parking lot served as a safe rest stop. Though a bit snug, those few hours of sleep fueled the rest of the trip south.
Heather noted tight quarters for six wouldn’t be optimal for frequent stops on longer trips, but the cabin can comfortably sleep four and fairly luxuriously two.
Encampment Advantages
Campsites supply the necessary requirements to support the Sprinter’s amenities, particularly when it comes to filling the RV’s fresh water tank and disposing the wastewater.
The Sprinter, unlike traditional large RVs, handles easily on major highways, country roads and more urbanized streets and parking areas. Robert notes the difference between bigger RVs and the Sprinter was a major decision-making factor as a relative has one of the former and Heather, especially, was uncomfortable with its size.
“She’s not so confident on the interstate with that one,” he says. “When it comes to the ease of driving, it’s actually just a little longer than a Chevy conversion van.”
“You don’t need another vehicle to do those errands (when at a campground),” says Heather.
Robert also praised the Sprinter’s strong performance in the snow, a definite plus for this family of skiers.
“If there are six or eight inches of snow in the morning, it’s not an issue to get to the mountains,” he says.
Sprinter RVs also a bit longer on price than most of their Class B competitors. While Robert and Heather did not disclose the cost of their Sprinter, comparable ones viewed online can range from $100,000 to $150,000 or more depending on specific amenities.
“It’s a long-term investment for us,” says Heather. A member of the state auditor general’s department, she, like her entrepreneurial spouse, considers the bottom line professionally and personally.
Growing with their Boys
Besides their forays for education and enjoyment throughout the United States, Robert and Heather say the Sprinter will surely be integral over the next decade visiting colleges as the boys continue their scholastic journeys.
They also envision the boys and their friends, when older, using the Sprinter for those skiing trips.
Saving money on hotel stays helps that bottom line. Take that December 2020 Florida trip as an example: gas on the way south amounted to $130 total, while, coming home, the fuel cost was around $145.
“It’s diesel-fueled and very high efficiency,” says Robert.
While the Sprinter’s purchase price may be off-putting for many, unlike many vehicle purchases, there can be a very real return on the investment. And that’s clearly the case for Robert and Heather.
“We were aware the novelty could wear off,” says Robert, “but we were watching what came out with some popularity in the last year, the renting out of RVs.”
Think of it as a sort of mobile Air BNB.
“We’re seriously considering renting it out, maybe two or three times in the next year,” she says. The couple cites the website rentmysprinter.com which handles the logistics, including that all-important insurance and liability.
“It’s happening a lot on the West Coast and recently on the East Coast,” says Robert. “It’s a trend coming this direction.”
Go West, Young Men
The Hennings are planning a trip to Yosemite, the Badlands and the Dakotas when their oldest son turns 18.
“We joke that we’ll have Robbie drive out with the boys and pick us up at the St. Louis airport,” says Heather.
When Robert, who was raised in Kenhorst and is a Governor Mifflin graduate, was 20, he drove “from Key West to the top of Maine.”
That trip, he says, provided him with a perspective of the vastness of America that he worries his boys have not experienced flying over the land at 37,000 feet.
“You think of the distance between the Orlando and Philadelphia airports as maybe an hour and a half,” he says. “But when you drive it, it helps you appreciate the real distance and the time to get there.”
“I saw Oprah quoted, maybe it was in her magazine, that once a year, you should go to someplace you’ve never been,” says Heather. “It could be five minutes down the road or many miles down the road.”
While Robert wouldn’t mind any of his sons following in the family construction business as he did, he is always hopeful that the family’s travels go far toward showing what lays beyond Berks County’s borders.
“They’ve grown up in the construction business from playing in the sandbox to driving vehicles,” he says. “You can do it in any city or any country.”
Robert looks forward to the many new locales the Sprinter will take his family. The nearly 10,000 miles logged in the first three months of owning it bodes well for its future use.
“From a value standpoint, this has been our best buy,” he says. “We’re not the camping or glamping kind of people that might regret buying a full-size RV.”
“We had boats in the past,” says Heather, “and we don’t have one now. The cleaning and maintenance were too time consuming.”
With the venerable Tom Masano Mercedes dealership nearby in southwest Reading, the Sprinter’s comprehensive warranty, and the need for oil changes only every 20,000 miles, this maintenance is a relative breeze, the couple says.
“There’s not one ounce of regret [in making this purchase] with the frequency of its use,” says Robert. “When you start organizing your life around it, you know you made the right decision.”
