In this, the third installment in our search for the ideal diesel pusher, we are going to talk a little about floorplans, and delve into some technology subjects.
Under the subject of technology, we could go on almost forever with our wishlist. Unfortunately by the time this article is finished there will be something new available and it is just about impossible for the manufacturers to keep up with it. We could discuss satellite systems, sound systems, etc, but those are really a matter of current technology and personal preference best discussed with the sales person where you pick out your motorhome. However, I would certainly like to see more technology in new motorhomes using the RV-C protocol. If you aren’t aware of this system, check it out on the RV-C website, http://www.rv-c.com/ This protocol provides benefits to manufacturers, service techs, and owners. It is a win-win deal. Ask for it when you go shopping for a new coach. RV-C is a technology that useds a simple twisted pair of wires to control an almost unlimited range of devised such as lighting, and other RV controls. This technology has been around for a couple of years and is being promoted heavily in the industry.
Let’s talk about floorplans. Again, my wife is a lot more picky about this than I am. However, there are some things I like and don’t like. First of all, I really prefer what is known as a “side aisle” floorplan where the bath fixtures are housed in a room on the side and there is an aisle from the front to the back, along the other side, running past the bath. Even though our present coach does not have this floorplan, to me it just makes sense that you put the whole bath in one place, rather than spread out on both sides of a center aisle. It seems to me to be nice that someone could be in the bath, with the door closed, and another coach occupant could traverse the aisle from the front to the back of the coach without interrupting your bathroom sojourn.
Also under the topic of floorplan, we personally prefer to have the kitchen dinette on the curb side of the coach since this is where your campground patio is located, and where you can sit in the morning, drinking your coffee and staring out onto your vast domain rather than your neighbor’s vast domain, or even worse, staring out at your power pole and sewer hose. Give me curbside any day.
There are a couple of recent floorplan innovations that are worthy of mention here. One is where the manufacturer chooses to locate the kitchen towards the front of the coach, with the frig directly behind the driver’s seat. The salon, or living room is shifted towards the back of that area and includes a very nice big screen TV on the back wall, or on the side wall. The one downside of this arrangement is that it renders the driver and passenger seats somewhat useless. However, it does work out nicely for living and also makes it convenient to carry the groceries into the coach when you return from shopping. If and when we consider a new coach, we are going to look at this floorplan. The living room ends up being a very nice, roomy living area with a lot of seating with a good view of the TV. I was very impressed at the recent Cleveland Ohio RV show, when we took a tour of the Winnebago Tour on display. The Tour had the above described floorplan and also a custom built couch that closed up when the slide came in. There was a lot of thought put into this couch and it really worked nicely in that particularly floorplan. Here is a link to an animated view of this new piece of furniture.
http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/key-features/extendablesofa.php
In my mind, this particular piece of furniture goes a long way toward making a full wall slide floorplan that actually works. Check it out.
Keep the comments coming and we will talk about more features in the next post.
Larry
Dale Johnson
Regarding the Fleetwood 40X. Like the 39R, you cannot get around the bed with the bed slide pulled in against the dresser. Unlike the 39R, you can get to both of the closets by crawling over the bed. With the forward galley, you loose the living space afforded by the driver and passenger seat. Our 39R with the full wall slide has lots of pantries that would be sorely missed in the 40X.
Bev
The curbside dinette was mandatory for me. Who wants to look down on their neighbor’s patio while you eat or use your computer? Not me. I have a sofa on the drivers side so I am not looking down on them.
larrycad
George Rogers, I agree that the two floorplans force you to make compromises. My preferred compromise is the side aisle. Obviously others prefer the center aisle.
GK, I definately agree with you. We frequently stop at Flying J’s while traveling and want to be able to use our conveniences while parked with the slides in.
William Robinson, sounds like a nice floorplan. I do like the frig located behind the passenger seat, although I like the recliner over the double couches.
Barry Engleman, Yep, I agree, but I don’t condemn those who prefer the king size. That is a matter of personal preference.
Barry Engleman
Larry:
We vote for the queen size bed also for extra space along the sides. We actually had the king size platform in our new coach cut down to queen size. We’ll move our very comfortable existing queen mattress into it when we make the trade.
Barry
William Robinson, Jr.
We have an ’08 FW Providence 40x. It has everything you mention and more. We can watch our 40″ mid-ship TV w/the slides in, side hall way, all of our batteries are charged from the inverter/charger, front kitchen, w/rear living room (fridge is right behind the pass seat, in the slide out). We looked at many rigs before we decided on this one. Robbie.. P.S. We had them swap out the 2 “Euro recliners” for another full couch from another rig to seal the deal.
GK
I would also like a floorplan that I can use with all the slides in.
George Rogers
Altho the side isle gives a little more privacy, it waste space. When you are working with 350 to 400 sq ft a hall way is a waste of space. Another option is a rear bath, but also waste space by adding a half bath
larrycad
B.J. McCord, actually, DW and I prefer a queen size bed because we welcome the extra floor space. I think that is a personal decision, not a deal breaker.
Lee, Forrest River does a nice job of designing their motorhomes, which may be one of the reasons they are still in business.
Barry, our present coach is a center aisle, but I personally prefer the side aisle floorplan. Hope you like your new coach.
Rolf, your comment is sooo very true. There is really no good reason for any coach manufacturer to leave out a good three stage charger, and a method to charge the chassis batteries. I realized this the first time we parked for a three month period and found our chassis batteries were dead, even though we were plugged in. I have since added a Xantrex Echo Charge for about $100. Problem solved.
David McCracken
Any good camping in Willcox,AZ ?
David McCracken
Has anyone camped in Safford, AZ and are there some good BLM sites in that area.
Rolf Salhus
One more thing to add (if you haven’t already) is a charger/converter or charger/inverter that charges BOTH the chassis and coach batteries. I can’t for the life of me imagine why a coach manufacturer would incorporate a charger system that only charges the coach batteries. Winnebago (and many others), are you listening?
Barry Engleman
Larry:
We have a side aisle now and it works well when we have guests along but we don’t have guests very often. I don’t think it would matter that much when we are just the two of us. And, our side aisle creates a little maze to get through when the front side is in. It is nice to have one bathroom all intact. We are picking up a new (for us) but used DP in a few weeks and it has the bath split up with a center aisle. So, I guess we’ll learn which one we like best from experience.
Barry
Lee
Larry:
I’ve been following this series, not because I much care about a diesel pusher, we’re very happy with our gas puller. But I am interested in your comments about amenities and layouts etc. We were very specific with our requirements for our second motorhome and found all of them, and it turns out all of yours, in our Georgetown by Forrest River. Forrest River make diesel pushers on a Freightliner chassis with Cummins diesel. You should check them out. We’ve been impressed with the layouts, the features and the value their motorhomes offer. You should check them out.
B.J. McCord
King Size Bed, and as many Slides as possible.
Anything else can be added when needed.
McCord