Motor home idea

[bclemens]

We are already testing and exploring 12V compressor fridges...but no matter what anyone claims, they are power hungry so we are testing to see how hungry and if we can offset with solar.

What I don't like about the cushion idea is that they make the cab opening sooooo small. Driver and passenger seats can't really recline all that much. I think our insulated cab curtain accomplishes the same thing (proven on the Xplorer package and being designed for the M2) while leaving that space very open. The entire seat is exposed on our stuff which also means it can swivel and be used as part of the living space. I can hear people talking behind me while I ma driving as there is no wall behind me.

And why anyone would put a murphy bed on the camp-side, eliminating any window, I have no idea.

[Magnatudes]

Originally Posted by bclemens

We are already testing and exploring 12V compressor fridges...but no matter what anyone claims, they are power hungry so we are testing to see how hungry and if we can offset with solar.

What I don't like about the cushion idea is that they make the cab opening sooooo small. Driver and passenger seats can't really recline all that much. I think our insulated cab curtain accomplishes the same thing (proven on the Xplorer package and being designed for the M2) while leaving that space very open. The entire seat is exposed on our stuff which also means it can swivel and be used as part of the living space. I can hear people talking behind me while I ma driving as there is no wall behind me.

And why anyone would put a murphy bed on the camp-side, eliminating any window, I have no idea.

I agree about the location of that murphy bed, but the attached folding table and TV was interesting. I am not a fan of murphy beds.

Yeah, did not think about that wall behind the driver.

Utilizing the driver/passenger swiveled seats as part of the living space is smarter.


I had Danfoss fridges & freezers for many years. In the Country Coach I had solar too to help keep drain in check. Battery bank was 400 amp/hr. We would spend many days away from the coach out on the water in the boonies and never had an issue. Once these get cold the compressors cycle at a lesser interval so you don't have a continuous current draw. I had a 4 cu-ft upright freezer in there too storing fish for weeks without issue. An absorption fridge freezer could never do the job like these can, especially out in the hot desert like Lake Powell. Seems like the Vitrifrigo models look like they can be configured and expanded in several ways. Dometic & Norcold seem to have absorbed Waeco.

Vitrifrigo

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by chaching

Are there other chassis options ?

You've mentioned before that a Ford chassis would require re-tooling, but, would the Ford be able to offer the shorter length option ?

Born Free did a 27 foot Triumph on the F550 Chassis which was in fact 29' 9" and was very well equipped and built but...no permanent bed. In fact other than the cab-over, no bed without the slide being put out. And even the 34' Royal which was 36' actual had a folding bed with slide. This is especially challenging as the US market demands mattresses/beds at least 72" long and on an 8' 6" (maximum effective width) this is hard to do. Making the 28SS all the more unique IMO.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by Magnatudes

Cabover beds are for kids, not for retired people. Climbing up and down a ladder in the middle of the night to take a leak would get old real fast, if not create a hip-joint failing accident.

Nah - been doing it for years. Ladder design is important needing steps rather than rungs though. Some of us still function as designed.

[Magnatudes]

Folding beds
Internal step ladder to get roof access thru a hatch
15 foot telescoping ladder is not for lightweights
No permanent full time bed with slides retracted

[caseymyers]

Originally Posted by bclemens

As I have mentioned before...I don't ever see me doing a corner bed on anything over 26'....and frankly, I'm not sure I would ever do a corner bed again. Too many people automatically drop that from consideration.

If I can charge $600,000 for a 33' 4x4 M2...then maybe I would also do whatever a dealer wants. To keep things affordable, we choose to appeal to the larger market.

Agree, I made the mistake of buying an Aluma Lite Class C with a corner bed. Nice coach but I couldn't get past the corner bed and we didn't even keep it a year. I think you've pretty well nailed the short coaches, especially the 28 SS. I think I just hooked a friend in Tennessee into buying one. He's very impressed with the layout and features and the Dynamax product in general.

[vlamgat]

One of the challenges I had looking for a smaller coach was the market driven need to make them cheap in every respect. And one of those is elements is the corner bed as well as other finishes in general like drawer slides, lighting, plumbing fixtures and even that cab over ladder. But I concede the price point derived from quality is perceived as excessive in coaches less than 33/35' as Born Tree's failure possibly attests.

[Dahlonega Jim]

We just downsized from 5er to a 260 ST found one in great condition and didn't see anything else in the current market that could compete. I didn't like the small corner bed in the 264 and while putting the fold out up and down every day is less than ideal it is worth the effort with all the benefits we see with this smaller, truck frame, diesel loaded with all the bells and whistles.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by Dahlonega Jim

We just downsized from 5er to a 260 ST found one in great condition and didn't see anything else in the current market that could compete. I didn't like the small corner bed in the 264 and while putting the fold out up and down every day is less than ideal it is worth the effort with all the benefits we see with this smaller, truck frame, diesel loaded with all the bells and whistles.

When I was researching in 2012/13 for a suitable RV tow vehicle, I reached the exact conclusion that you have. I tried very hard to purchase a 260 (still have the price lists, floor plans, specs etc) but could not get a quote or sales order out of Kevin Erdman at Dynamax or any of 2 dealers that I approached. In fact it was hard to have a communication with anyone about Dynamax in those days. The 260 is interesting: 54K GCWR, 100 galls of fuel, 27.5' but only 35 galls of water which is the same as the Born Free Triumph and the 28' IF270. Cab over bed was optional at $4313 on all the IF Models but not offered on the ST unless you went with the 300 or 302ST.

[Dahlonega Jim]

Originally Posted by vlamgat

When I was researching in 2012/13 for a suitable RV tow vehicle, I reached the exact conclusion that you have. I tried very hard to purchase a 260 (still have the price lists, floor plans, specs etc) but could not get a quote or sales order out of Kevin Erdman at Dynamax or any of 2 dealers that I approached. In fact it was hard to have a communication with anyone about Dynamax in those days. The 260 is interesting: 54K GCWR, 100 galls of fuel, 27.5' but only 35 galls of water which is the same as the Born Free Triumph and the 28' IF270. Cab over bed was optional at $4313 on all the IF Models but not offered on the ST unless you went with the 300 or 302ST.

Really like the extra fuel, can drive all day without stopping for fuel now.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by Dahlonega Jim

Really like the extra fuel, can drive all day without stopping for fuel now.

The Ford F550 as Born Free spec'd it had the full 68 gal option so lots of flexibility. The bigger issue IMO is how much fuel you want to have on hand when you arrive at the destination or your night stop. I don't like navigating truck stops and culverts in the dark so I try to plan on having enough gas on hand to run the generator all night and drive the first few hours the next day assuming a 4 AM start. When arriving at race tracks, I need to have enough gas for 3 or 4 days on the generator and then get to truck stop before dark on Sunday. Bigger tanks give me wider options but if its a trade off between water and gas/diesel, I will take water every time. Finding convenient water supply has been far more difficult than diesel. Of course this is based on the assumption that I know applies to few that overnight usage will always be safely tucked into a full service camping venue. I just don't have that option.