I’m in Bedford, Texas, at the Family Homeless Shelter.
Actually, I am in the driveway of the Family Homeless Shelter, in my sister Joey’s RV, sitting on a twin mattress that I dragged out of the garage. I’m freezing my ass off.
Joey’s RV is a 1997 Fleetwood Bounder. She’s ripped out every piece of furniture and re-filled the space with soft carpets, giant pillows, and lots of plants. The front part looks kind of like a zen garden. This is a funky, artistic RV.
I am kind of boring compared to Joey. I am not going to rip out and redesign everything. Right now, I think I want a 2007 Winnebago View/Itasca Navion, a 23 ft diesel class C.
Why I like the View/Navion:
- I realized that I would not have been able to take my spectacular September journey through Utah if I had been driving a big ass diesel pusher with a tow vehicle. (Or, at least, I never would have risked taking the route that I took.)
- I realized that I could sell my car (for approximately $10K) and apply those extra funds toward my credit card debt. (With a 23 ft RV, I wouldn’t have a second vehicle.)
- I learned that I will probably do the most driving in my first year and so might prefer a vehicle that is designed for moving around.
- I realized that I was on an unhealthy continuum where larger/more private = more desirable.
- I think I was attached to the big rig because I felt cool driving it, or felt like it represented my transcendence of some level of fear with regard to vehicles and freeways.
- I have also realized that there is a reasonably wide range of options that will work for me, so I am not fretting too much.
Sorry for the lame post, but, as stated previous, I am sitting on a twin mattress on the floor of a wobbly RV, freezing my ass off.
Joey just took a picture of me.
Back room, not so zen.
Now she just handed me a hot water bottle to keep me warm. It looks like something out of the movie Sybil.
All right. I’ll be back in Austin tomorrow.
Talk to you soon!
Jennifer
***
Countup: 34 days of sobriety!
Countdown:123 days until I move into my RV!
16 Comments
How cool that you and Joey took a little RV trip together! Sorry to hear that you are freezing in the Bounder. A generator is a MUST when RVing – especially if you want to do some boondocking.
I love the look of the 2007 Winnebago View/Itasca Navion. It’s the perfect size for a solo Rver. I’m excited to see the one you pick out.
I haven’t seen or heard of that style hot water bottle in years! Reminds me of what my Mom would plop on me when I was sick. =P
Have a safe trip back to Austin!
I like your sister’s style.
Although this particular rendition might not be my choice (carpet? living on the floor?), I highly approve of ripping things out and customizing to suit yourself. I did that with my dinette, and replaced it with a table and chair that faces the window.
Nothing cures those “living in a box blues” like thinking outside the box. Any RV you buy is going to be a continual work in progress. Be ready for that. It can be fun.
Five basic objections to the View/Navion:
1. It is a diesel. Diesels are noisy and crazy expensive to repair. Have you stood outside this thing with the motor running? Not to mention the generator?
2. The renditions I have seen are seriously overweight just sitting on the lot, before you add so much as a can of beans. You need at least a CCC of a couple thousand pounds. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating – Dry Weight = Cargo Carrying Capacity. Those figures will be on the vehicle somewhere. But (gasp!)manufacturers occasionally lie. Before you buy, go to some public scales and actually weigh the thing. Preferably with full water and fuel tanks .
3. The early models were seriously underpowered. And maybe the later ones too. You will want to go up a hill at some point. Remember the video you posted of the little trailer that couldn’t? Not good.
What you need is a Ford V10. That’s the gold standard, but it isn’t priced like gold. Which brings us to:
4. The View/Navion costs too much in the first place, for what it is. And also, just to be clear:
5. It costs too much in the first place, for what it is.
Bob
As I commented so time ago, we had a 40 ft American Eagle for 7 years and traded it for a 2008 Navion (2007 Chassis year) …my wife and I are very happy with the change…..I strongly suggest that you try to get a 2008 or 2009 model year as they have a significantly larger diesel (3.0 l) than earlier years and the power difference is noticable……they get 20 m/us gal on average…ordered ours from factory and it was delivered October 2007….very easy to operate and drive….fraser
also, get the diesel generator instead of the propane one
the new mercedes diesel is so quiet that i cannot hear that it’s running when standing outside……the cc is enough…..i live and travel in mountain terratory and find the 2008 is great to drive…..expensive yes, but winnebago sell a hell of a lot of them and the cost of similar sprinter chassis based rv’s are costly as well, to start with….i did a lot of research and took 10 months to reach my buying decision…
the diesel generator is very noisy
Good Choice! I think you will love it.
I would’nt have a gen installed because they are too heavy, but you might want to buy a nice Honda portable if you want to boondock at some point.
I understand these suckers are a bit pricey. But seem to be liked by their owners.
Again you may want to post over at RV.net and see the results folks have had with them.
James
Fraser, if your 2008 is quiet and powerful, then all power to you. My remarks were based on driving the 5 cylinder, and on talking to people who had that one. As I remember, it got about 15 mpg.
Have they also solved the problem of being overweight? I don’t remember the figures now, but the earlier ones came right at their maximum weight from the factory. That means they are overloaded by the time you carry anything, including options like A/C, generator, water, or even a couple of humans. This compounded the sense of being sluggish, and when ignored resulted in a tendency to destroy tires.
If the 2008 has solved this problem, too, then by all means she should get one – in 2012, by which time the price may come down to a level somewhat competitive with many other units similarly equipped.
My understanding was that a principal goal here was to reduce debt. That’s not going to happen if she spends $110K on a wasting asset like an RV. Or anything close to it.
http://www.rvcorral.com/newclassbmotorhome/NC349/index.html
Many people find that diesel generators are so noisy that they can’t stand to use them. Which to my mind means avoid the expensive generator option altogether and spend a few hundred dollars on a small cheap quiet Honda portable generator to go in the saved compartment. It will do a fine job keeping your batteries charged. Or just idle that “quiet” engine and let the alternator do it.
Your neighbors will thank you.
Bob
Jennifer, if you are going to start comparing RVs in earnest, you should know about these people:
http://rv.org/
Their ratings book helped me a lot when I was looking. Not so much for particular ratings as for the way they looked at RVs. If you generalize their principles, you will be waaay ahead of most consumers.
You don’t actually have to join to get the ratings book. The downtown Austin Public Library carried it in the reference section, or did back in 2000. You can copy pages from it.
Bob
We looked at the Navions and Views, but for two people on an extended trip, we think they suck. The bed was way too small. But for one person, I think they’re perfect. Overpriced IMHO, but perfect if you can swing it.
Have you considered a Roadtrek? Now that’s a GREAT vehicle for one person, with far more resale value than a Class C. Again, sucky for two people but great for one. And, pricey but you’ll get your money back. Check ‘em out.
Jennifer –
That’s a wonderfully cool idea to drag that mattress to plunk down in Joey’s RV! What better way to fantasize about living in a RV by actually ‘playing’ in a real one!? We rented a tiny one for 8 days and it’s way smaller (19′) than we want our future RV (26′+) but we had a blast pretending and dreaming and imagining everything.
I’ve been told, we’ll find the one way want when we find it. Heh…I hate that answer. But…I have no choice but to accept that with time and proper research and smart decisions down the road, we will find something.
Kari
Hey Jennifer,
Glad to hear you are having a nice Christmas with your family.
All the best.
Karyn
It’s too bad no one is willing to give their opinion…lol! Jennifer, I haver run into an RV blog which generated so many comments. You have a way of generating a response from your readers, and that is a good thing.
The only advice I would offer is don’t believe that whatever RV you choose now will be your last RV….it will, more than likely, only be your FIRST. Very few stick with the first RV they purchase. You will learn from the first one what you really want, and what will really work for you. The big key to buying the first is to buy it at a price that will enable you to sell it, and get your money back out and buy what you really need.
Jennifer, the right camper is the one that works for you. That has the right floor plan, size and price. If that is the big old DP fine, if that is that smaller “c” fine also. I’m sure none of us will ever set foot in it.
I love Joey’s camper, it does give one a different perspective. I think the matress on the floor fits in at the “Family Homeless Shelter”.
James
Here’s a 2003 Holiday Rambler Atlantis w/2 slides, Ford V10, only 28k miles, only $35k and right near you http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/classc/2003-Holiday-Rambler-Atlantis-16484.htm
I’ve been absent. We just spent our first full week in our coach and I should be putting up new info in my blog, but I am being lazy.
Love the look inside the ‘bago.
Space heaters girl. Space heaters. Of course, I don’t have the full circumstances you were existing in there, but I know it has been REALLY cold here.