30 Ft to an Interstate?

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

That said, to say that we have adjusted is an understatement. 6 1/2 years, 132,000 miles and 48 states later, we remain in love with our Interstate.

We love the set-up, the luxury, the fuel economy and being able to go anywhere without restrictions due to size.


Maggie

That sounds encouraging! I agree though I would miss the dinette -for some reason that arrangement in a trailer hasd always appealed to me.

I am surprised that more Class B designs don't offer slides. One does, but it has a layout whereby you need to make up the bed each day, I would prefer a layout that gives you a bed in back and a bit of a lounge up front so you could leave the bed made up if desired.

I would imagine we will see more Class B's with slides in the near future now that there is one company that has gone that route.

It seems logical for a small narrow RV such as a class B.

Brian

[mstephens]

" I find the Hensley stringer to be a real pain. It's awkward, heavy and has sharp edges, but it's bending over or kneeling to get it up and down that I find makes me worry about dropping it or pinching fingers, etc. I've often thought to myself - why don't they make these things with handles?"
=======
Foiled,
Doesn't this stay on the trailer coupler? Do you remove for security reasons?

Sorry for the thread interruption! Carry on.

We have mucho parking regs too. We bring the trailer to the house at 7am, pack it up, and we are gone by 9. No need to leave it over night.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by herrick51

Hi,
We,ve had the 30 classic and our last was a 25 FC. So far,we like our Pleasureway RB. This layout has a fixed rear bed with front seats that swivel with full leg room for both seats and a removal table by the front seats which gives two distict living area. We also added under cabinet drawers in the bedroom which increase our storage options. Also,added a drawer above clothes bar in hanging locker. Installed a spare tire carrier which frees up all the space under bed. The bed has struts which raise the bed for access from the rear doors. We now have space for two Lafums recliners, ll bean screen room ( nice outdoor space ), bbq and other rv accessories for travel. We considered Interstate tb and the Ltv unity. We like the size of 22/9 inches for the Pleasureway. However with the tire carrier,the length is around23/6. This winter we will spend one mo. In rv park/ one mo. State, county, federal parks and finish off with one mo. In oceanside ,cal rental .our tip back to Oregon will take one mo. At state,blm, us forest service campgrounds which are perfect for class b's. Also be aware, maintenance on the MB chassis will not be inexpensive. The drivability is wonderful. Some new options coming on market next year might increase your choices. Overall, the b makes up for space with outstanding handling, greater flexibilty for camping and increased mileage. Have fun searching and remember, travel is the enemy of ignorance and your bank account.

Lots of good tips on increasing usable space.

I'm thinking the big issue would be whether you could get over the initial shock of losing so much space in comparison to the 30 footer without feeling claustrophobic.

In terms of storage though, I have the feeling that would not be so difficult to adjust.

I know for example that I take all manner of things on our trip that I never wind up using - just because I have the space to take them and "might" want them - truth to tell, I seldom do.

As for clothing, even though I do try to take less, invariably it seems I never wear more than maybe 20% of the clothes I bring on our trips!

I would think that getting use to a small fridge might be more troublesome - I see some of the class B fridges are as small as 3.1 cu ft


Brian

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

OK,
Here is the no compromise solution:

Buy an Interstate, Take it to CanAm and have them rig it to tow your 30 foot trailer. Judging from some of the things I read here, I'm sure they can do it. For short trips take just the interstate, for long journeys, tow the trailer. What could be more perfect?

Ken

Ken,

I think you are pulling my leg - but not sure - could be a good suggestion!

I know there are lots of people who swear by what CanAm does, and maybe it is feasible, but I'm afraid I am firmly in the camp of overkill being the preferable choice for many reasons when it comes to selecting tow vehicles!

Brian.

[73shark]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

That sounds encouraging! I agree though I would miss the dinette -for some reason that arrangement in a trailer hasd always appealed to me.

I am surprised that more Class B designs don't offer slides. One does, but it has a layout whereby you need to make up the bed each day, I would prefer a layout that gives you a bed in back and a bit of a lounge up front so you could leave the bed made up if desired.

I would imagine we will see more Class B's with slides in the near future now that there is one company that has gone that route.

It seems logical for a small narrow RV such as a class B.

Brian

While I have only seen a couple with slide outs, they were both Class C RVs. They were a Sprinter cab & chassis with a special design box on them. This makes them somewhat wider than a standard Sprinter.

[weirdstuff]

Before we bought our Interstate, we almost went with the LTV Free Spirit SS (the one with the slide out). Very very glad we didn't.

It was tempting, due to the nice wide space you have when you have the slide actually out...very spacious! Also, bathroom in back is huge.

Big big downsides were: 1) You have to have the slide out to use the bed. 2) The bed was narrow. 3) When the slide is in, there is no visibility from the drivers seat towards the back....the slide wall is virtually right up against the driver's seat, cutting the driver off from the rest of the unit 4) There is no way for 2 people to sit at a table and face each other to talk or eat, there's just the bed/couch that faces out to the side. 5) Lack of panoramic windows

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by 73shark

While I have only seen a couple with slide outs, they were both Class C RVs. They were a Sprinter cab & chassis with a special design box on them. This makes them somewhat wider than a standard Sprinter.

Leisure Vans, Free Spirit SS (not to be confused with the Free Spirit, which has no slide-out): Leisure Travel Vans - Free Spirit SS - Overview.

Other neat features, besides the slide-out, include a fairing around the roof, that makes it look taller (though it isn't really) and helps hide the rooftop a/c unit and the awning, a proper bath that has a separate shower in place of a wet-bath found in most Sprinter conversions, and a screen door at the sliding side door.

Wish Airstream would copy that screen door!

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

...................................My only concern with handling the stinger is that I fractured a vertebrae a couple of years ago trying to lift up our 900 pound plus motorcycle when it had fallen over while parked in a field. I still get a lot of back aches as a
result and am maybe now overly cautious about lifting things in case I make things worse. Can still manage the stinger ok though, but I like your idea!

Seems to me I saw where someone had devised a little wooden trolley to move the stinger on and off the tow vehicle.

Brian

We have Rock Tamers mounted on the stinger. We leave them on it all the time. The extensions of the Rock Tamer make nice handles on each side. Every time we move it, we make it a two person job.

My comments about towing were tongue in cheek. However it would be interesting to look into. What I want is one of the heavy duty off-road motor homes. It would be lot of fun in this part of the country.

Kem

[weirdstuff]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Wish Airstream would copy that screen door!

Yes, but make it more sturdy. Have you seen those in person? Felt extremely flimsy to me.

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by weirdstuff

Yes, but make it more sturdy. Have you seen those in person? Felt extremely flimsy to me.

I agree: when I viewed a new Free Spirit SS in Phoenix earlier this year, the screen door was broken and the salesman was unable to open the Murphy bed.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by weirdstuff

Before we bought our Interstate, we almost went with the LTV Free Spirit SS (the one with the slide out). Very very glad we didn't.

It was tempting, due to the nice wide space you have when you have the slide actually out...very spacious! Also, bathroom in back is huge.

Big big downsides were: 1) You have to have the slide out to use the bed. 2) The bed was narrow. 3) When the slide is in, there is no visibility from the drivers seat towards the back....the slide wall is virtually right up against the driver's seat, cutting the driver off from the rest of the unit 4) There is no way for 2 people to sit at a table and face each other to talk or eat, there's just the bed/couch that faces out to the side. 5) Lack of panoramic windows

I agree - looking at the floor plan it wouldn't work for us - but I do like the idea of a Sprinter-based unit with a slide and no doubt others will be appearing with different layouts

Brian.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

- instead of keeping the trailer overnight at home after we have spent the day cleaning and packing it, leave home around suppertime, drive as far as we can , then stop wherever we can to grab some sleep - rest area? walmart?

Brian.

This one.

These are good nights for a walmart.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

FWIW....

we have never felt claustrophobic, even when sitting out a storm that kept us pretty much confined inside for several days....there are windows all 'round..

we admire those with additional space, but have never pined for it...slideouts can leak, get stuck in or out

the way we have bedding set up, it takes about 5 minutes evening and morning...I, at the rear, do the actual bedding, Doug removes pillows from shams and returns them in the morning...we do fine without a bed made up all the time

we have gotten very accustomed to eating on our laps


Maggie

[weirdstuff]

If it were up to me, I'd probably leave the bed made up for the duration of the trip. But, husband doesn't want to leave it out, and he's the one that makes it up and breaks it down, so that's fine.

We have 3" memory foam pads that roll up and go in the back (EXT) when not in use. Those came with covers on them, so we don't use sheets. So husband just rolls them out, and then we throw on the comforter and the pillows. Pretty simple.

Comforter and pillows get stowed in the cavernous storage cabinet above in the back.

[weirdstuff]

Have to add this too...we have camped outside of friends' houses, parked on the street or in parking space, where it would have been impossible to open up a slide out (trees, etc. on easement...and RV's not allowed on the block). And we've said..."thank goodness we didn't get the Free Spirit SS."

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by robert claus

The new Interstates are 23-24' long, and other Class B's are probably about the same. Can you park a trailer in front of your garage if it doesn't block the sidewalk? Could you downsize to a 22-23' trailer?

It could be an option alright and would save me $1000 a year that I pay to park the AS in a storage yard.

Might upset the neighbors though and I wouldn't be able to get one of our two hobby vehicles out of the garage!

As well, we are technically not allowed keeping RV's in our drive over the winter, although I have been told by a bylaw officer that they don't enforce that unless someone complains - but someone might complain if I tick them off in some way

Brian.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, I/we have been looking at these too, but they seem too cramped compared to my 25' Safari, which we love. I saw a new Interstate at the car show in LA and liked it. Newer floor plan, but I would still want a full time bed in the rear. I might be able to live with a wet bath, or not????? What this new floor plan had that I liked was that all of the seats in back were actually usable; Some models have a cabinet above one of the seats so it can only be used when made as a bed. Now take this model, remove those seats and put a bed there. This might work. I also have to think about the cost on the Interstate which is about four times what we paid for our Safari. [ A brand new trailer similar to ours costs about double now]

The prices of Class B's do seem disproportionately high - they say it due to the complexity of shoe horning everything in, I'm not sure.

For what one costs you can get a C or even an entry level A! But neither of those would work for me in terms of the overnight parking issue.

Brian.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

It could be an option alright and would save me $1000 a year that I pay to park the AS in a storage yard.

Might upset the neighbors though and I wouldn't be able to get one of our two hobby vehicles out of the garage!

As well, we are technically not allowed keeping RV's in our drive over the winter, although I have been told by a bylaw officer that they don't enforce that unless someone complains - but someone might complain if I tick them off in some way

Brian.

All the more reason to consider the Interstate or similar Sprinter-based RVs. Except for the awning bolted to one side, from the outside it doesn't look like anything but a passenger van, albeit a big one. And one more reason to stay away from the Winnebago Era, with it's swirly Nike-knockoff graphics, even though it's Sprinter-based. No one seeing a Winnebago of any kind can mistake it for a non-RV.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

All the more reason to consider the Interstate or similar Sprinter-based RVs. Except for the awning bolted to one side, from the outside it doesn't look like anything but a passenger van, albeit a big one. And one more reason to stay away from the Winnebago Era, with it's swirly Nike-knockoff graphics, even though it's Sprinter-based. No one seeing a Winnebago of any kind can mistake it for a non-RV.

Agreed, I do dislike those swirly graphics so often seen on motorhomes,fifth wheels, and SOB's.

Before we bought our Classic 30 I had been trying without success to talk my wife into a B class. She wouldn't go for it, but now seems a little more receptive to the idea, I guess I must be wearing her down with my views on pros and cons!

At that time, I contacted a bylaw officer to be sure I knew the rules before planning to park a B class in our drive.

At first, I asked generally about RV parking in driveways and was told it is no problem in summer, but not permitted in winter months - there were specific dates. (He did say however it was not normally enforced unless they received a complaint.)

So then I asked him about B class units which really look little different that a van.

What he told me is that if they are forced to make a determination they go by the vehicle's registration documents - i.e. is it registered as a van or an RV.

If registered as a van it is excluded from the RV regulation.

At that time I was considering a new Roadtrek - the factory is quite close to us. I contacted them about registration and was told that their units are registered as vans in Ontario.

I am not sure if that sort of thing varies from state/province to state/province, nor if the same thing applies to other makes of Class B, but it is certainly something I would verify before ever buying one.


For me, one of the big pluses to going with a class B is the ability t keep it in our drive and maintain it / tinker with it / clean it - all things I enjoy doing. It is a bit tough to keep on top of all the chores I would like to do on our trailer with it being in a storage yard quite far from home so it tends to get neglected more than I like!

Brian

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

What he told me is that if they are forced to make a determination they go by the vehicle's registration documents - i.e. is it registered as a van or an RV.

If registered as a van it is excluded from the RV regulation.

On my Interstate, the registration says "conversion van" and the license plate says "private bus." Neither one says "recreational vehicle."