Winnebago’s Newmar division announced a new foray for the brand, which has traditionally built large diesel pushers. Dubbed the Freedom Aire, this new RV will be a Class C based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4500-series chassis.
“We’ve spent the last couple years connecting with Newmar owners as well as new and long-time RVers and the messages are clear: consumers are hungry for smaller footprints that enable more freedom and maneuverability,” said Newmar President Casey Tubman in a press release about the 2026 model lineup.
One of the issues we’ve found with many Class C offerings on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis is that the weight of the RV often leaves only a minimal amount for contents, but the heavier-duty 4500 chassis should help alleviate that. The first company we’ve seen use this chassis is another Winnebago division, Grand Design, who introduced their Lineage Class C last year based on this chassis.
Among the innovations the brand plans to bring to the Class C market are a king-sized Murphy bed that reveals a two-person dinette when not deployed. There will also be an option for an 920-amp-hour lithium battery system in the rig. Also available is a solar option that includes roof-mounted panels as well as Newmar’s first-ever external and movable solar panel option, increasing solar capacity by up to three times.
The company also announced significant upgrades to the Summit Aire, the company’s Super C line. The Summit Aire is now based on the Freightliner Cascadia commercial chassis. One of the reasons people choose an RV like this is towing capacity, with the Summit Aire boasting 30,000 lb. Both offerings in the Summit Aire line are 45 feet in length.
We previously reported that while RV shipments in general are up, the sales of motorized RVs are down. How far? Up to almost 24 percent in a survey by the RV Industry Association. We have also shared that RV buyers are trending younger and favoring towable RVs by a significant margin. It remains to be seen if Newmar can spur interest in the brand with a new demographic by entering this segment of the market.
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