So last summer, we came across a small RV show happening at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA. We headed out with the kids to see what was what and were pleasantly surprised at all of the vendors and dealers there with toys and goodies to show off and sell. We ended up with a brain full of new ideas and knowledge about RVs and where we wanted to go with our RV plans in the future, as well as a few bags full of some of the best jerky we’ve ever had!
Fast forward to now, a hear and some months later, and we hit up the California RV Manufacturers Show back at the Fairplex. This time we saw a lot of the same vendors, but about 5 times as many RVs from pop-up tent trailers, up to luxury 48ft Class-A rigs that were in the same price range as private jets!
It was a real eye opener to finally be able to go through a few of the RVs we had been reading about over the past years, and really get to see the quality the manufacturers put into them (or don’t in some cases). In fact, it was so revealing, we’ve ended up rethinking a few aspects of what we want, and who we want it from when the time comes to get ours.
For instance, we really wanted to be able to walk through a Newmar All-Star 4257 Class-A toy hauler. It was one of the only Class-A toy haulers we’ve been able to dig up any good amount of information about online. While the reviews from owners, and others that have shopped the brand, seemed pretty average or above, we were really hoping to see it first hand and make sure it was the one we wanted to aim for. Unfortunately however Newmar did not have one available as they advertised they would. The 4257, according to them, is pretty quick to be bought when they’re made. No worries though, we know the floor plan, and we figured a look through other coaches in the All-star line would give us a good glimpse of the interior quality we could expect from it. This is where the whole desire for the coach fell apart. Very cheap kitchen area materials were used, and the cabinets just felt so thin and fragile. Wood didn’t line up where it should be flush, and some trim was warped along the edges of the slides. None of the problem areas we saw seemed to be from people walking through the coach at the show, but seemed to be quality issues coming from the factory. All of the coaches at the show by the way were brand new from their factories, and hadn’t even been delivered to dealers for sale on the lots by the way. It just seemed they had a pretty low bar for quality and fit & finish, despite good reviews about their chassis and drive trains.
Moving on, with a grey cloud of disappointment above our heads, we swung through a few 5th wheel and travel trailer setups, and even some pop-up tent trailers. Okay, let’s be honest, we went through EVERY display there in our two days checking it out!
We found 5th wheels that made us reconsider those as a possibility for our full-timing plans. With a sturdy motorcycle tray behind one, we could make it work. Although we’d loose the ability to also tow a car, so we’ll need a new tow vehicle and to trade in both Elements, which we love and find incredibly versatile, so they never really pushed us completely over the edge. Tear drops and small travel trailers however, were a whole other story. While not full timing material, they definitely are something we think we could do a lot of fun travelling in, and wouldn’t mind having around! Tab had a model on display with the kitchen in the back, which was nice as that is something we’d really like in a tear drop. We also checked out some really nice Airstream trailers with beach themed interiors, although they’re far too heavy for our Elements and thus would require another vehicle and a lot more investment than we want to put into one.
Pop-up trailers were next on the list and we were pulled towards a small Starcraft 10 ft trailer. Complete with it’s own bathroom, which would enable us to easily blaze a trail into some camping areas we have strayed from in the past, it was a perfect fit for the type of trips we like to take now. Not having to setup tents and such, or take them back down at the end of the stay, would be a great plus! The more we sat in it, and considered it’s outside shower for rinsing off at the beach, or the inside and outside stove tops for cooking great meals after a day of play … the more we came to the decision that a small tent trailer will be our next big step. Hopefully it will also tide us over for a few years until all of the timing falls into place for a step up to a Class-A and a full-time lifestyle that lets us accomplish all of our goals for the future!
Tiding us over would be a great thing, as the pressure to jump right to the end goal became pretty daunting once we stumbled into the Gulfstream display area. Wow.
We had previously written Gulfstream off of our list as they just didn’t have any floor plans that really enabled us to do the things we want, with some of our basic requirements. MUCH to our surprise, they showcased the Bounty Hunter Class-A toy hauler in their area, which gave us hope at first. A very short sleeping area atop some very steep stairs over the garage area, dashed those hopes. Growing old, or not being fully awake in the mornings, and having Hazen and Mike with us, would make those stairs something of a problem in a lot of situations. While the Bounty Hunter looks to fill a need for “dune” people and long weekend trips, it wasn’t something we could comfortably live with in our plans. But just as our new found interest in Gulfstreams products was slipping away, along came a factory technician to answer any questions we may have had.
Let me first say, it’s really nice to have someone who’s not a “sales” guy, but a product engineer, to talk to. Without interrupting, or trying to fix a design issue we have, with a number on a contract … he listened to what we wanted to do, what we needed to have to be comfortable doing it, and the other coaches we’d considered along the way and why we had. Then he did the single coolest thing possible, and mentioned a coach they had tucked in the back, that we never would have seen or known about.
The Gulfstream Crescendo 325. A front engined Diesel chassis, with a small toy hauler garage under the master bedroom, it seemed to really hit on what we wanted, without overdoing it for the sake of another demographic we don’t really fall into. While the garage area to many he said seems like an over sized storage bin, it would be perfect for us to store our Scooters in, along with some other bulky items and equipment, giving them all secure storage inside of the coach, and not taking alot of room from the inside living space. The master bedroom is only slightly lifted from the rest of the floor level to make room for it, giving us a bed we can get to and from even when tired, injured, or in our golden years, and at the same time removed all of our fears of Hazen and Mike going in and out of the bedroom area!
After the intial wow factor burned off (still hasn’t to some degree to be honest), we took a good close look at every inch of the living space inside the coach and found a really nich level of quality and fit and finish. A tour through several other coaches in their area, showed it to be pretty consistent which was great. I won’t go over every little thing they did right as it’s a big list, and there were only a few items I saw we didn’t like the workmanship of, which were all something the manufacture agreed would be redone before delivery of the coach. Things like a spacing gap behind the toilet, and loose cup holders in the front drivers area, but nothing major.
Like I said, the temptation to just jump to the end goal was, and still is, there. Gulfstream seems to have exactly the type of floor plan we want/need, and the quality to go along with it as well. The pricing seemed really ideal as well. MSRP listed at the show was $145K, with show deals bringing it down to $125K … and some haggling after, brought it down even further. Unfortunately timing just isn’t in our favor, so we won’t be joining the full-timer crowd this year … but who knows what could happen by next Octobers RV show!