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