Several months ago, I asked my seven year old grand daughter if she'd like to take a vacation with Grandma. She said, "Yes!" I asked her what she'd like to do and she replied, "Camping!" Now my self-built E-150 was not a choice for two and I have since sold it. So I rented a 2014 Roadtrek 210 Popular and planned out a two week trip. I have always yearned to own and full-time in one of these (well, an older one because who can afford a new one?) and this will give me the chance to try it out. So here is my story, so far.
I reserved this one because it has three passenger seats, instead of just the front two. GD still uses a booster car seat so front seat riding is out of the question. Yes, the rear sofa has seat belts but it is so far back, I wouldn't be able to hear or see her while driving.
I picked it up on Monday. The agent took me back into a huge airplane type hanger where various RV's were being prepped: Class C's, A's, TT's. As we were walking through, I kept looking around for this B and finally, there it was, dwarfed between two big buses. Freshly washed, shiny, not a dent anywhere, proudly sitting there amongst its big siblings. I asked the agent, "Is that it?!" And when he said, "Yes", I gulped and held back tears. O-M-G!!! She's beautiful!! For me? Remember that TV commercial where two people are running towards each other in slow motion through a field of wild flowers? That's what it felt like as I approached this van. I was speechless.
We did a walk through and as I drove it home to load up, through major city downtown rush hour, it was like a dream. It's on a Chevy 3500 chassis, don't know the engine size yet. Stopped at daughter's house to show them, they've never seen one. She was ready to abandon her family to come with me. Got it home and was surprised at the generous storage space this thing has. Yes, I am a minimalist but even so, there are lots of empty spaces with stuff for two weeks on the road. The cabinetry is solid wood, well made with good latches and hinges. The bathroom doors seem a little iffy and I treat them gently, they're mounted with piano hinges. There is a closet for hanging clothes and it is large enough for five pants and five tops with room to spare. Instead of hanging side to side, clothes hang front to back. A clever use of space and regular hangers fit. Loaded it up and left the next morning to drive the 300 miles to pick up my little traveling companion for our big adventure.
We loaded up her stuff and left Wednesday morning. We are driving from west Texas to a primitive camping destination in the high Rockies in Colorado. This little girl is definitely a flatlander city girl, so I planned short days of 200 miles of driving, staying in RV parks along the way with an outing nearby in the afternoon, with a gradual increase in elevation along the way to hopefully prevent potential of altitude problems for the GD.
Day 1, Roswell NM and the UFO Museum. She loved it! It took four hours to drive 150 miles! We're both figuring out how to use this RV. Five or six stops along the way. Once was to move her to the rear sofa. Then back again to the third front seat because the sofa back was so tight against the wall, the seat belts didn't work properly. Maybe user error? Maybe a design problem? Maybe a manufacturer fault? Don't know.
The fridge is a 3-way, so far running on either AC or propane. No problems there. It's a nice size single door and the freezer is large enough for four ice trays with room to spare, and yes, it's freezing.
There are two fresh water tanks totaling over 20 gals. A 10 gal black and 20 something gray. The tank level sensors appear to be working.
Day 2: Alamogordo NM and White Sands National Monument. Staying at the KOA (full hookups, a pool, game room, etc.). They loaned us two saucer sleds to play in the dunes and we both had a fun afternoon there. Returned to the park, swam, had supper in the RV, then spent the evening on the playground and in the gameroom.
The van has the small sunroof type windows in the roof, with removable shades. Even covered, they're a real source of heat entry in this already hot summer weather. The AC works hard to keep us relatively cool and I also brought a small fan. The curtain fabric is heavy and high quality, and well mounted. I would do it differently but they work well enough. And it screams for reflectix.
Overall, so far, I am impressed with the build and materials quality with this RV. It has 14,000+ miles on the odometer, FYI. It drives like a dream and loaded up with full fresh water, gets about 10-12 mpg in mixed hills/flat highway driving. I checked it once and that's enough info on that.
Today, Albuquerque and the petroglyphs. So far so good.
I reserved this one because it has three passenger seats, instead of just the front two. GD still uses a booster car seat so front seat riding is out of the question. Yes, the rear sofa has seat belts but it is so far back, I wouldn't be able to hear or see her while driving.
I picked it up on Monday. The agent took me back into a huge airplane type hanger where various RV's were being prepped: Class C's, A's, TT's. As we were walking through, I kept looking around for this B and finally, there it was, dwarfed between two big buses. Freshly washed, shiny, not a dent anywhere, proudly sitting there amongst its big siblings. I asked the agent, "Is that it?!" And when he said, "Yes", I gulped and held back tears. O-M-G!!! She's beautiful!! For me? Remember that TV commercial where two people are running towards each other in slow motion through a field of wild flowers? That's what it felt like as I approached this van. I was speechless.
We did a walk through and as I drove it home to load up, through major city downtown rush hour, it was like a dream. It's on a Chevy 3500 chassis, don't know the engine size yet. Stopped at daughter's house to show them, they've never seen one. She was ready to abandon her family to come with me. Got it home and was surprised at the generous storage space this thing has. Yes, I am a minimalist but even so, there are lots of empty spaces with stuff for two weeks on the road. The cabinetry is solid wood, well made with good latches and hinges. The bathroom doors seem a little iffy and I treat them gently, they're mounted with piano hinges. There is a closet for hanging clothes and it is large enough for five pants and five tops with room to spare. Instead of hanging side to side, clothes hang front to back. A clever use of space and regular hangers fit. Loaded it up and left the next morning to drive the 300 miles to pick up my little traveling companion for our big adventure.
We loaded up her stuff and left Wednesday morning. We are driving from west Texas to a primitive camping destination in the high Rockies in Colorado. This little girl is definitely a flatlander city girl, so I planned short days of 200 miles of driving, staying in RV parks along the way with an outing nearby in the afternoon, with a gradual increase in elevation along the way to hopefully prevent potential of altitude problems for the GD.
Day 1, Roswell NM and the UFO Museum. She loved it! It took four hours to drive 150 miles! We're both figuring out how to use this RV. Five or six stops along the way. Once was to move her to the rear sofa. Then back again to the third front seat because the sofa back was so tight against the wall, the seat belts didn't work properly. Maybe user error? Maybe a design problem? Maybe a manufacturer fault? Don't know.
The fridge is a 3-way, so far running on either AC or propane. No problems there. It's a nice size single door and the freezer is large enough for four ice trays with room to spare, and yes, it's freezing.
There are two fresh water tanks totaling over 20 gals. A 10 gal black and 20 something gray. The tank level sensors appear to be working.
Day 2: Alamogordo NM and White Sands National Monument. Staying at the KOA (full hookups, a pool, game room, etc.). They loaned us two saucer sleds to play in the dunes and we both had a fun afternoon there. Returned to the park, swam, had supper in the RV, then spent the evening on the playground and in the gameroom.
The van has the small sunroof type windows in the roof, with removable shades. Even covered, they're a real source of heat entry in this already hot summer weather. The AC works hard to keep us relatively cool and I also brought a small fan. The curtain fabric is heavy and high quality, and well mounted. I would do it differently but they work well enough. And it screams for reflectix.
Overall, so far, I am impressed with the build and materials quality with this RV. It has 14,000+ miles on the odometer, FYI. It drives like a dream and loaded up with full fresh water, gets about 10-12 mpg in mixed hills/flat highway driving. I checked it once and that's enough info on that.
Today, Albuquerque and the petroglyphs. So far so good.
