Many of our close friends and family will know that for a while now we've been considering buying an RV. Mostly for when we go dirtbiking but hoping also that we would get out and about on vacation a bit more being able to take the dogs with us without hotel restrictions. After many months of research, checking out retailer websites and doing lots of walkthroughs, we knew what we were looking for in an RV and what we did and did not want in our RV. So then the search began for real, for a class A motorhome with a floorplan we liked and that had the conveniences we preferred. After viewing a couple of disappointing units we finally came across a Fleetwood Southwind in Thousand Oaks, reasonably priced, and it had all the things we were looking for so off we went to check it out.
We weren't interested in going into debt for this venture and opted instead for an older cheaper model and this was a 1999 but in really good condition! We liked it, took it for a test drive, played with all the features and decided to go ahead and purchase it! It's a little longer than what we had in mind, but it does fit on the driveway as you can see.
Of course, after filling it with supplies we had on hand (and making a list of things to buy) we had to check and make sure the VIPs liked the new mobile living quarters! Here is River inside the RV waiting for me to come back while I went to grab the camera!
As I said it's a long one! 35ft to be precise but it has a lot of living space which is what we wanted. The decor is kinda neutral which is more our style compared to some of the motorhomes we'd seen recently! Here you can see Bob in the lounging area checking out the internet reception on his mac! We were only on the driveway so we were using the wireless internet from the house :)
The RV has a 3 seater couch which jackknifes into a bed. Not sure we'll use it but it's handy as a couch when you have two spotty dogs who insist on lounging on or near you!
This is the dinette opposite the kitchen area. This so reminds me of camping in caravans back in England! Something about dinettes take me right back to caravan holidays at Skegness! This also transforms into a bed. Oh and this section (dinette and sofa) slides out about 3ft when static to increase the living area walkway. Really make a HUGE difference when it's out!
Here you can see the kitchen on the left and the dinette on the right. Down the little hallway with the two sniffy monsters there is the bedroom. On the left is a fridge/freezer then a huge closet, on the right is the bathroom.
The kitchen is great! Lots of cupboards, oven, hob and microwave! Also there is a big fridge freezer like I mentioned. The countertops are corian. Honestly it's better than the kitchen we have in the house!
As you can see here is the huge closet space. We have lots of room for all the biking gear, extra blankets and clothes too! Not sure we need all this storage but hey it's better to have more storage than not enough right?
The bedroom area is pretty small, just a walkaround bed and some storage, but it serves it's purpose. There is more storage under the bed too, room for extra pillows, another comforter or blankets. Or for dog beds ;)
The bathroom is pretty standard. One of the things we looked for was a contained bathroom, not one had a shower in the bedroom. We wanted the sink, toilet and shower all in the same bathroom. Pretty standard RV bathroom really.
We have been out for our first test camping trip and I will post details of that soon so stay tuned! Posting this now because we are out and about this week dirtbiking and dry camping int he RV at El Mirage (fingers crossed) with other RVing and dirtbiking friends. Hopefully we're having a whale of a time in the desert on the dirtbikes, but with some home comforts of the RV! Prepping for this trip was a bit of an ordeal with the bike trailer etc but I think we're gonna get better at that as we get more experience.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy the weekend! I'll be back next week with more scrapbooking projects, sketches and RV tales from Oak Park and our thanksgiving biking bonanza at El Mirage :)
Di
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