Aug 21 2015:
Love at First Sight …
Was dropping a driver off while fetching cars in Kelowna.. and I couldn’t resist checking out the trailers on the small lot. And there was a really nice fifth wheel that caught my eye.. As soon as I stepped inside I was in love.. And in love with the price too. So I took some photos , ( one above included) And when I got home showed them to Mo. She too was impressed.. Not new.. nope.. 1997 in fact.. but one owner.. and they took good care of this unit and it showed.
When you see it you would think it was much newer.. So we decided to go for it.. We had the cash.. and the price was low.. So Dave & I headed for Kelowna and had a closer look.. everything worked as it should.. This RV ticks all the boxes for me , Aluminum framing.. truss roof.. large storage.. bigger fridge. good quality throughout.. Built by Damon Corp.. who builds coaches..
With a flat floor, and hide a bed, Real nice Table too !
With lots of cupboards.. even a pantry
Not a RV queen.. bigger.. with an opening window at the head. This room has a BIG closet too.
Neither is cramped.. lots of space here. The sink is in the hall.
A nice comfy recliner too !
A different view of the bedroom.. storage everywhere..
The Pass- through storage under the hall / bathroom is very large. Won’t need the back of the truck.
Improvements:
Not that this RV is hurting. It’s just that there are things I like. Roof vent covers are a must in my world. The Challenger was “challenged” in this department. So three new vent covers have been installed, this allows you to leave the vents open all the time. Can’t figure out how for 18 years someone would have to run and close vents every time it rained.. In fact the trailer has no gadgets or extra hooks… None. And looking through the paper work I realized that this owner was not handy. Everything done was by the RV dealer.. $$$ And so no extras. I have a list of extra things .. and those vent covers were just the start.
- The next thing done was the HUGE 50 amp power cord that is total over kill. Those are only needed if you have two AC ‘s or a washer / dryer. It’s heavy and takes up a lot of space.. So we took the twist off end and put it on a spare 30 amp cord I had.
- I bought and installed a better handle for the entrance. We now have three steps up … and getting older.. much better than the little handle that was there.. Most new trailers have these bigger handles.
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New Handle - A nice wireless weather station was bought and hangs on the wall by the door.. So I know how cold it is out.. before I go out..
- The very “dated” RV stereo / cassette player had to go.
Replaced with a nice Pioneer CD / multimedia stereo, USB charging ports and a volt meter.
And the stereo has a remote too! Now that is very handy.. And I can see my battery condition at a glance. On order are more things to improve the trailer..
Things that I ordered for replacing,,,
- Plumbing vent for the roof ( Done)
- New city water hook up. ( Done)
- New water tank filler. ( Done )
- New Door keeper ( Done)
- A ball / wheel for the top of the door so it won’t hurt canopy ( Done)
- Outside shower. ( Done )
- New improved hot water tank bypass ( Done )
- New outside 110 volt plug with new cover ( Done)
- Longer gutter spouts
- 5 new LED lights.
One of my pet projects was to modify the TV shelf in the bedroom.. there’s no way we would ever have a tv in the bedroom.. so I removed the side panels and made a sliding door. Using deep tinted plexi glass I had been keeping forever.
This means we can put stuff in here and not see it or have it fall out.. Notice the nice clock too.. I like to know just how long I’m sleeping in.
The other pet project was installing an outside shower. I had to move the plug over to make room.. so I installed a new one of those too. This is where we always set up a table. So having hot & cold water here is going to be mighty handy. The Hot water tank works on 110 power as well as gas.. so I will most likely use it more.. seeing as your paying for power anyway.