Monday Michael, Nolan and I drove to Dublin, CA to look at a 31 foot Gas Winebago Sightseer....this is usually a 2 hour drive; but it took 3.5 hours on Memorial Day. ::snort::
We wanted to see this one so we could actually compare the storage between a gas and diesel pusher. By looking at the photos we hoped we could modify the bunk from a double to a triple. We also wanted to compare the undercarriage storage between a diesel and gas motorhome.
The Winnebago was beautiful! We went for a ride which reminded us how gas RVs rattle as they go down the road.
On the way home we talked. We listed why we want a new RV and why we want a motor home over a trailer or 5th wheel. We will want to test drive a diesel pusher too, I think, at some point.
The master bedroom was great. The bunks were wonderful - but couldn't be modified to a triple. The Caboose has way more storage and four bunks.
The Caboose needs some repairs, but it's paid for. Pulling the caboose for lots of miles may blow out our van's transmission (it has 130K on it) BUT we could replace the transmission for less than a new RV of any type. I could drive a motorhome; I doubt I can drive our rig (55 total feet) - I'm willing to try to learn....bumper hitch.
We had a good talk on the ride home...I think it was good to have Nolan's input as well. We finally agreed that any RV (Gas or Diesel) would be more comfortable for TRAVELING than the Caboose. The kids could do school as we traveled. Potty breaks and lunch breaks would be easier. We'd get better gas mileage. We could boondock for longer periods of time with bigger tanks and batteries. The caboose is UGLY and this one is shiny and pretty.
However, for LIVING The Caboose fits us much better than any motorhome we've seen - except the two that got away. We have an "entertainment center", four big cupboards and four bunks in The Caboose. We have the same amount of space in the undercarriage. We have no drawers in the master bedroom... We really want each kid to have their own "space." We currently have a front and back bedroom.
If we can find a triple bunk/diesel pusher in our budget, we'll consider. We think we could make a motorhome work if we had all the pass through space under the diesel. Otherwise, our current plan is to do some repairs and modifications on The Caboose. We'll not drive as fast or as long with the trailer....but we'll save up the payments until we find what we want.
We spent an hour or two talking through what we could do to make the trailer more livable.....I'll post before and after shots as we work on the projects....Michael figured out a way to get some drawers and more storage in the master bedroom. We'll have an extra bunk we can use for storage......we bogged down when I started talking about some deep, rich color in the slide out. ::snort::
Seriously, I won't be totally sure what we're doing until we actually begin doing it. If the right RV comes along, we'll snatch it. LOL