PART I: WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT
Like all RVers, we've come to a decision point about our future RV travels. We're about to "take the leap" -- buy a new diesel pusher and hit the road for at least a year. We're finding this will require a great deal of research and planning. So we've decided to provide a written trail of what we're doing -- in "real" time.
In this series of articles, we will document our experience and impressions in researching and selecting a new RV; and in preparing for going "on the road" for at least an extended tour of North America. This will be a true "work in process" effort, since at this point we only have a general outline of the steps we'll be taking to identify the RV which will be the most suitable for our own personal needs and RVing lifestyle. And at this point we also only have a general awareness of all of the arrangements we'll need to make to embark on at least a year of full-timing.
As we begin our search for a new RV, we do so with some reservations. The 1996 Alpenlite 5th wheel we presently own has served our periodic travel needs well. It has many of the same features that are offered in high-end diesel pushers, such as huge fresh/gray/black water tank capacities, a 2,000 watt inverter, solar, a slider far bigger than we'll find in a motorhome, and much more. Yet we appreciate that much of our extended travels on our planned odyssey will be exploration of local areas -- a process much more suitable to a towed vehicle than a one ton duallly. Not that our Dodge truck is heading for the aution block. We still own a slide-in camper unit that we'll look forward to using again once our period of full-timing comes to a close.
We've owned a motorhome before, our first being a 27' Winnebago Elandon. We had a positive experience with that unit, but we also learned that the ultimate in handling and comfort would come from a heavier chassis, adequately powered, and with diesel power to accommodate relatively high mileage. It also gives us an opportunity to select a tow car that will be equally at home in busy urban areas or on off-road excursions.
But our first decision will involve which of the many diesel pusher options will be "right for us". We're confident that there is no one "brand" which is right for everyone. We're also aware that our final choice will involve some trade-offs. The unit we ultimately select will have most of the features we're looking for, but not all. And finally, because the unit we select will respond to our own personal preferences, what we eventually select will surely not necessarily be the "right" choice for other RVers.
Our first step was to take advantage of our own website resources. We contacted Frank (Bob) Gummersall, who has been our primary technical advisor since we first published RVers Online. I had planned to get Bob's guidance on what to look for when shopping for a diesel pusher. But since that information seemed of potential interest to other readers, I asked him if he could respond with an article which we could publish for the benefit of everyone. He did so, and this article has been our starting point.
As we begin the search, we're inclined to look at units which are not longer than 35-36 feet in length, as from our own extensive travels, longer lengths would preclude us from visiting places we know we want to go back to. Since we live in the West, we also know that we'll have a slight bias towards units that have manufacturing facilities nearer to home. That seems to have narrowed the field a bit to include Alpine, Beaver, Country Coach, Holiday Rambler, Monaco and Safari. [I've even alphabetized the list to underscore our "neutral" starting point.] As we learn more, I suspect the list will both shrink and grow. Our plan will be to visit the manufacturing facilities of as many of them as possible in the next couple of months; and to try to develop a "feel" for each of these companies as we do so. We'll also stop by a few dealerships, and get some exposure to quality and competency of some of the sales personnel that represent these products. We don't pretend to have any particular expertise in purchasing a new RV -- but we will be reporting our impressions as we progress along the learning curve which is ahead of us.
If any of our readers owning one of the coaches on our prelminary list would like to offer comments, we'd like to hear your opinions. Just click here. We'll not publish each item in the "Mailbox", but if the number of responses is sufficient, we may summarize it into some type of table or graphic as we complete the process.
MUCH, much more to come!