Riverstone VS DRV

[aknavy]

Originally Posted by Fishrsafe

As was noted in a previous post the 39FKTH has 3 axles and CCC of 3600+ lbs.

Our 38 FB 2 has a CCC of 2958 lbs which is plenty for our full timing needs. We have a generator, solar, and 4 batteries and inverter set up for off grid living. We have had many folks comment on just how large the garage is compared to most.

Pete

Yes, it's the only one with three axles and a large CCC. The wife and I work full time from our fiver, and need desk space for both of us. The 39FKTH really doesn't lend well to that, as the toy hauler space isn't available for living space, and the living space doesn't have enough room for two desks comfortably. At least, that's what I see in the picture. Maybe in person, I'd have a different opinion.

[aknavy]

Well, maybe it would work. Looked at floorplan again. Wish I could see one in person.

[Fishrsafe]

Originally Posted by aknavy

Well, maybe it would work. Looked at floorplan again. Wish I could see one in person.

Looks like a couple of desks could fit.

[aknavy]

Originally Posted by Fishrsafe

Looks like a couple of desks could fit.

I don't know about you, but I'm not spending 8 hours a day in a box that has no climate control. Traditional toy haulers garage can be used as living space, this is pure storage space.



Only way it would work for us is to remove two couches in the living room. Found one to look at this weekend that's on our route to Michigan.

[dblr]

Our 2017 River Stone Legacy which is the 38MB floor plan has a cargo capacity of 3191lbs, but doubt the floor plan would work for your work arrangements. People have commented that the cargo bin is one of the largest they have seen.

[aknavy]

Originally Posted by dblr

Our 2017 River Stone Legacy which is the 38MB floor plan has a cargo capacity of 3191lbs, but doubt the floor plan would work for your work arrangements. People have commented that the cargo bin is one of the largest they have seen.

Yeah, that floorplan puts us in the same situation we have now - removed the rear couch and put desks there.

[Fishrsafe]

Originally Posted by aknavy

I don't know about you, but I'm not spending 8 hours a day in a box that has no climate control. Traditional toy haulers garage can be used as living space, this is pure storage space.



Only way it would work for us is to remove two couches in the living room. Found one to look at this weekend that's on our route to Michigan.

Agreed, would not be ideal for 8hrs for sure. A traditional toy hauler probably works better with 10’ to 14’ of garage space.

[Fishrsafe]

Originally Posted by aknavy

Yes, it's the only one with three axles and a large CCC. The wife and I work full time from our fiver, and need desk space for both of us. The 39FKTH really doesn't lend well to that, as the toy hauler space isn't available for living space, and the living space doesn't have enough room for two desks comfortably. At least, that's what I see in the picture. Maybe in person, I'd have a different opinion.

Have you looked at the RiverStone 39RKFB? CCC is 2800lbs, has a desk from the factory and a large garage for storage.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LFg0jUemDbs

[aknavy]

Looking at one Saturday.

[Fishrsafe]

Originally Posted by aknavy

Looking at one Saturday.

Good luck.

[aknavy]

So, stopped and checked out two Riverstones today - RKFB and the FKTH. The RKFB is a pretty decent floorplan, just a little light on the CCC, as it was 2700 and had no generator in it.



The toyhauler has an awesome kitchen and decent living area. The bedroom, on the other hand....no space beside the bed, limited closet space, and a small bathroom.



Have to keep looking - will check out a couple more floorplans when we get to Grand Rapids.

[awaywego]

CypressLoser,

We are looking at the Riverstone line and see a lot of good things. For me construction and ability to control the inside temp is important. I like the 3” walls and doublepane windows.
Would you mind sharing what your propane usage is? For example the month of November or December, what has high and low temps been. How many tanks of propane have you used to keep it at 70? In this last post I couldn’t determine if you use the electric fireplace?
Also, do you do any winter prep like skirting or heated water lines?

Thank you for any info you can share.
Kirk - in Minnesota

[Cypressloser]

Originally Posted by awaywego

CypressLoser,

We are looking at the Riverstone line and see a lot of good things. For me construction and ability to control the inside temp is important. I like the 3” walls and doublepane windows.
Would you mind sharing what your propane usage is? For example the month of November or December, what has high and low temps been. How many tanks of propane have you used to keep it at 70? In this last post I couldn’t determine if you use the electric fireplace?
Also, do you do any winter prep like skirting or heated water lines?

Thank you for any info you can share.
Kirk - in Minnesota

Oh boy, please don't ask me to be objective .
It's kinda funny, we're stuck here for the 2nd winter but this is what you're interested in I guess. The quality of insulation is IMO excellent, we traveled through Idaho in August when the daytime highs were in the high 90s to 100 deg. F, the temperature inside only rose less than 3 deg. F during the entire day on the road, with the blinds closed of course.
Last winter was brutal with many nights in the -40 range and daytime highs not over -5F. We had an electric space heater on 24/7 and the furnace hooked up to a 100 gal. propane tank which lasted on average 40 or so days. Now we have the Mr. Buddy heater hooked up to the pig tank, still on the 1st fill at 30%.

We did have trouble with the dump valves freezing up which was a real PITA as it took some serious afford with a hairdryer to thaw them every other day. This fall we were ready to head south when our daughter had a medical emergency and nixed our plans. We had our dealer wrap the dump valves with heat tape last spring when we had some warranty work done - hindsight can be 20/20 I guess. Literally minutes before freeze-up we finished skirting the trailer with R10 silverboard and hooked the trailer up to our 1000 gal. propane tank. We have our Mr. Buddy heater on low/medium (4500 - 9000BTU) between 7 AM and 11 PM with the furnace easily keeping up overnight. So far we only had a handful of nights with temperatures in the -5F to -15F range.

We're not using any electric heat this winter due to the high cost of $.26 incl. tax per kwh!!! The propane tank also heats the 1800 sqft. shop and was at 60% when I hooked up the trailer in late October, it is still at a little over 45% now. The insulated skirting is a big improvement, the floor is so warm we never have to wear socks. The storage bay doors are well insulated but they still let the cold penetrate through so I added left over silverboard panels behind the doors. I already put 3" of styrofoam under the water pump last year as it sits right above the I-beam and I put a 80 gal. water tank in the front storage bay. I have one remote thermometer under the waste water drainpipe showing 32 F even on the coldest morning and remote thermometers in the water bay, near the water pump and the freshwater tank all showing 50 F or better at all times without any electric heat anywhere! The Mr. Buddy heater alone on low keeps the inside of our trailer at 70 F at an outdoor temperature of 23F - 25F, the furnace only kicks in occasionally when it gets colder. The silverboard can be reused, I hope we won't have to, and I'm not sure commercial R1 or R2 rated skirting would have yielded the same results. One 30 pint dehumidifier in the bathroom and one in the living room keep the relative humidity in check.
I hope this helps.
John

[awaywego]

John

I should have posted this in a separate thread. I thought when I replied to you previous comment it would have go inline with it. I am curious to see what the OP comes up with for their new Rv.
Thank you for the awesome response. This info gives me a very good idea of how well the Riverstone is insulated. Have the dump valves wrapped in heat tape is a good heads up.
I hope you and everyone else has a good Christmas.
Kirk

[Jim1521]

We too are following this thread closely. We've got our choices down to either the 39FK or the 39RKFB; we'll decide at the RV show in Tampa in January when we'll be able to see them side-by-side.

[lcv800]

Did you call Riverstone or some other dealer to verify those models will be at the show. We went last year to check out the 38MB, and failed to verify one would be there. Disappointed, but learned a lot talking to the Riverstone rep who was there, so it wasn't a wasted trip by any means. Checked out several other models that "were just as good", none of which were. Love our 38MB. By the way, we're staying in FMB thru January with it. Good luck with your search. Can't lose either way.
Rusty

[Fishrsafe]

Originally Posted by lcv800

Did you call Riverstone or some other dealer to verify those models will be at the show. We went last year to check out the 38MB, and failed to verify one would be there. Disappointed, but learned a lot talking to the Riverstone rep who was there, so it wasn't a wasted trip by any means. Checked out several other models that "were just as good", none of which were. Love our 38MB. By the way, we're staying in FMB thru January with it. Good luck with your search. Can't lose either way.
Rusty

Good idea on checking to see what models will be there. It is my understanding that Camping World Tampa is not carrying the RiverStone line anymore. When we bought our 38FB-2 at the Show in January this year we were told that RiverStone and Camping World we’re test marketing these coaches. Pretty sure that Alliance Coach in Wildwood, FL has the 39 FKRB and 39FK in stock now.

Pete

[Jim1521]

Originally Posted by Fishrsafe

Good idea on checking to see what models will be there. It is my understanding that Camping World Tampa is not carrying the RiverStone line anymore. When we bought our 38FB-2 at the Show in January this year we were told that RiverStone and Camping World we’re test marketing these coaches. Pretty sure that Alliance Coach in Wildwood, FL has the 39 FKRB and 39FK in stock now.

Pete

NO, I did not check, but thanks for that tip! I will certainly try to find out. I did see that Alliance has both of them on their lot, so maybe we'll drive up there to see them before the show. Thanks Rusty & Pete.

[Fishrsafe]

Originally Posted by Fishrsafe

Good idea on checking to see what models will be there. It is my understanding that Camping World Tampa is not carrying the RiverStone line anymore. When we bought our 38FB-2 at the Show in January this year we were told that RiverStone and Camping World we’re test marketing these coaches. Pretty sure that Alliance Coach in Wildwood, FL has the 39 FKRB and 39FK in stock now.

Pete

I heard from the RiverStone rep, they will have 5 models on display at the Tampa Super Show in the Camping World area.

38RE
38FB-2
39 FKTH
39 RKFB
37 REL

Pete

[Jim1521]

A follow up to our earlier postings. We went to the local Riverstone dealer in Wildwood, FL where he had a 39FK and a 39RKFB side by side. We spent the better part of two hours going back and forth between the two models. In the end, we decided that between the two the 39FK was the winner, so if we go with Riverstone, it will be the 39FK.

I say "if" because we have been looking at some of the DRV models as well. I had the opportunity to look at a 2015 Mobile Suites HOUSTON model, as well as a 2019 HOUSTON and a 2019 SANTA FE model. I was VERY impressed with the 2015 model and EXTREMELY disappointed with the 2019 models. The fit and finish of the 2015 was excellent. The 2019 I felt was literally thrown together. There is a wall between the kitchen and the bedroom on the SANTA FE that was so flimsy, I thought someone had forgotten to put studs in it. Thinking this was a fluke, I went over to the 2019 HOUSTON, and found the same thing with the wall between the bathroom and the bedroom. We saw the 2019's at LazyDays in Tampa. Two hours later we had an appointment to see the 2015 HOUSTON nearby. The 2015 (pre-Thor) exact same wall was much more solid than the 2019 (post-Thor) model.

So now we're in a holding pattern as we're in the process of trying to get our home listed on the real estate market (I am ashamed to say that I totally underestimated the amount of work it takes get a home ready for sale. I'm going to be 6-8 weeks later than I had hoped for). I won't purchase the new RV until the house is sold. In the meantime, we've decided to continue to look at 2013-2016 DRV HOUSTON models, as that has the 1.5 bath floorplan that really interests us. I'm anticipating getting the house sold and closed by 1 April so between now and then the search continues. If we haven't found a HOUSTON model that we want, we'll place the order for the Riverstone 39FK.