Upgrading to new quarters

[GoldenRivet]

As many of you know my job takes me all over the country, i spend a bit of that time in hotels however some 90% of my overnight stays takes place in my 20 foot travel trailer.

I originally purchased the 20 footer to tow with my V6 pickup because it fell within the towing capacity of the V6, but shortly afterwards i upgraded to a V8 truck. Additionally, at the time i purchased the 20 footer a majority of my stays away from home were often in 4 or 5 week spurts broken up with time at home. for the past 2 years however, my assignments have seen me park in one city or another for 8-10 month stretches! After living in that 20 footer for about 19 of the past 24 months i have concluded that it no longer meets my needs as far as comfort goes. I call it my "Type II U-boat", it clutters too quickly, and there is no way to separate myself from my work. Often, my work space is cluttered in with my living space and the only place to relax is quite literally the bed. additionally, since there is only one queen bed... so if the family visits while im on the road, or we simply take a weekend trip with the wife and kids while i am home cramming the four of us into the 20 footer is out of the question unless we wish to be a quadruple homicide statistic

So i have decided to upgrade... this will be like going from a Type II to a Type VIIC, i pick her up Monday morning, we will be spending next weekend at a state park in West Texas in it, and im stoked.

The new camper, with 17ft more livable space, has a private bedroom with full queen size bed (no more sleeping on a "Queen short" with my feet trying to hang off the end), and full bathroom located forward. there is a private bunk room and half bath aft, the central section is the kitchen, dining and living area. the kitchen, dining and living areas have hydraulic slide-outs which makes these areas quite spacious

to top it off, there us an outdoor kitchen with sink, storage and mini fridge, and a TV wall mount with full TV hookups on the exterior wall starboard side.

the jacks and trailer tongue jack are electric - no more cranking by hand!

the storage space is amazing, there is actually a full pantry in the kitchen space, so no more storing canned goods and misc foodstuffs in my bathroom cabinets!

i particularly liked this layout because the bunk room in the aft section has fold away bunks, and a built in entertainment center. The bunks can be folded upward against the wall so the small room can then be used as an "office" while i am out on business, and then quickly converted back to a bunk room if needed by the kids in the event that we use it for recreational purposes or if the family visits while i am away on business.

finally! an area which can be closed off from the living and relaxation areas of the RV while i am off duty in the evenings. (out of sight out of mind) I will no longer have to eat, watch TV and relax while surrounded by paperwork, laptop, printer, shredder, files etc - it also creates a space where the kids can play games or sleep without having to bicker over sharing a bed, additionally there is no arguing over bunk beds because there are two sets, so no claiming top bunk! they can both get a top bunk! and because this bunk room also has its own exit door, no more disturbing adults in the living and dining areas if they wish to go in and out to play

in a pinch, the sofa folds out to a bed, the dining table folds down to a bed, bringing the total sleeper capacity to 10 people if necessary - weekend visits or vacations should be a breeze for 4 in this hoss

Here are some pictures


Starboard Side profile


Port Side Profile


Starboard Quarter


Outdoor Kitchen


Kitchen and Entertainment Center


Living and Dining Area


Forward bedroom


Bunk Room Sofa, Top Bunk Combo


Bunk Room top bunk/entertainment center combo

*While this is not the Actual RV i have purchased (i dont have any pics of her yet) this one has the same floor plan, color scheme and trim and options as the one i am picking up monday

[Schroeder]

Congratulations on your new command, skipper.
Fine boat you have there.

[Eichhörnchen]

Watch out for those little shelves when you sit up in bed: that would be just like your EHS but with bruises afterwards. Lovely looking caravan

[u crank]

Really nice GR. The outdoor kitchen is cool.

Happy trails.

[Catfish]

This looks nice..

A real Land Yacht!

[Jimbuna]

Looks the business John

[Onkel Neal]

Great thread, John, thanks for posting. Man, that is NICE! I assume it is 50 amp service? Which state park are you headed to?

Looking forward to more pictures when you get it set up. The slideouts make my RV look like a Type II also,

[GoldenRivet]

We will be staying in the Palo Duro canyon state park. My step son is trying to build up the courage to try the 72 ounce steak challenge in Amarillo. I'll be sure to snap some pics out there. I haven't been to the Grand Canyon of Texas in 20 years. Looking forward to it.

[August]

That's a real nice rig GR. Hope it serves you well

[fireftr18]

Looks nice. I knew a guy who did some work for the forest service, planting seedlings. He bought a pickup truck and outfitted the truck bed into a camper. He put a cap on it, and everything inside was homemade. He was happy with it. You sound like your needs and desires are much greater than his were.

[GoldenRivet]

Yes, it has to be my home for most of the year. for starters, rent at an RV park is as little as $300 a month to as much as $500 a month. The lowest hotel bill i ever had for a month was about $1,400 after tax.

I have to live in it 7 days a week, frequently spending 200+ days a year in it. it is where i cook my meals, get my sleep, shower, it serves as my base of operations where i do my paperwork, plan my days and call my customers. by the end of the week i literally moving around stacks of paperwork just to sit and enjoy dinner. it is going to be really nice not to have to feel so cramped anymore. primarily... i wont feel "on the clock" 24 hours a day anymore. there will at least be a door i can close and have "my space" instead of living in my office LOL

ill be brutally honest, R&R is very important to me, and you have to take full advantage of it in my line of work because there are few opportunities for it and the work takes place in the blistering summer sun - so there are days where i have come into my camper, cranked the A/C on full blast, stripped down to my undies and rested an ice cold bottle of beer right there on my smooth criminals.

[Commander Wallace]

Wow. Nice digs. These trailers have come a long way and go a long way toward giving their customers a " Taste of Home " I have a friend who like you travels a lot and purchased something similar. From the pictures, I think your trailer is nicer though. It's a 5th wheel and the overhang over the truck bed is the sleeping quarters and it's large enough for a queen sized bed and nightstands.

I hope you are comfortable in it during your travels.

[Onkel Neal]

Hey GR, what was your previous truck and camper? Do you have a pic of the camper, and what was the weight of the camper and GVWR of the truck? I am curious, my Suzuki Gran Vitara is rated for 3000 pounds, and my camper weighs 3700.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Hey GR, what was your previous truck and camper? Do you have a pic of the camper, and what was the weight of the camper and GVWR of the truck? I am curious, my Suzuki Gran Vitara is rated for 3000 pounds, and my camper weighs 3700.

Well it helps if U lighten the load 700 lbs BBY! @ My otherwise plumbing-competent BiL who RV's all over the country screwed up the emptying of his 'blackwarer' tank...one time...REALLY NOT GOOD! I'll stick to boat bilges pumpout stations! The darkside of recreational activity I tell ya! Between commode equipped tour busses, Big 50' tri level-houseboats on Lake Meade, and 20+ movie set star-coaches (think a month+ in one location) needing to B emptied when the air begins to shimmer at 100 F.; If it's a dirty job I usually get elected!

[AVGWarhawk]

What is the estimated cost of that puppy? I always tell my wife that when I retire I want to sell off everything and purchase a motorhome to tour the US.