motorhome review

There’s something about traveling through East Texas that makes you feel as though you’re coming home. Maybe it’s the sweet tea at McDonald’s or the crepe myrtle in the center divider of the highway.

The name “Impulse” conveys excitement and spontaneity, a perfect way to describe a motorhome and the adventures it offers. At the same time, this breezy moniker belies the engineering, effort, and forethought that designers at Winnebago Industries have put into the company’s new Itasca Impulse product line, one that opens up the RV lifestyle to many.

The new 2007 Terra LX from Fleetwood Enterprises is an especially good-looking motorhome, but its appeal extends far beyond that. It’s a well-built gasoline-powered coach that is laced with substance — both the readily apparent variety and that which lies below the surface.

When a new RV is introduced, the questions to be answered are usually “what?” and “how?” — “What does it come with?” and “How long is it?” But the new 40-foot gas-powered Flounder motorhome has a big "who" and "why" behind it: Who’s manufacturing it and why?

California State Route 74 — also referred to as the Ortega Highway — runs east from San Juan Capistrano in the southern part of the state. The road’s winding, climbing lanes present a broad spectrum of driving challenges that are perfect for testing the road manners and driving behavior of any vehicle.

“You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression,” an old saw advises, and the people at Travel Supreme Inc. have taken this advice to heart.

Load up the basketball team, volleyball team, or half the lacrosse team and head for the playoffs. The 2007 Newmar All Star 3950 motorhome shines with accommodations for eight.

Each year Home & Park Motorhomes wages an all-out effort to garner a larger share of the market — several markets, actually. One is the leisure travel sector, which boasts many active motorhomers.

Tour Master Inc. — an affiliate of Gulf Stream Inc. — has drawn upon customer input to incorporate an assortment of interior living comforts and thoughtful design details into this reintroduced luxury diesel pusher.

There’s good reason why, halfway between the Southern California coast and the area near Palm Springs, hundreds of giant wind turbines lace the hillsides and valley floor. The prevailing wind travels through a natural funnel-shaped pass that gives it tremendous velocity.

DeWayne Creighton, president of Dynamax Corporation of Elkhart, Indiana, had just completed a 24-hour shift painting a new ISATA Touring Sedan when we met him at the company’s headquarters. We were there to pick up a prototype to review — the newer, bigger version of this coach.

A leader among luxury motor coach builders is based in what might be a surprising location to some: not a mainstream, high-tech venue, but a small town in northeastern Oklahoma. The company in question is Newell Coach Corporation of Miami, Oklahoma. Last summer I visited Newell headquarters to pick up one of the company’s new P2000i motorhomes for a test outing.

Blue Bird Coachworks builds luxurious motorhomes that compare favorably with the bus conversions offered by today’s custom coach converters. But Blue Bird units typically cost $500,000 to $700,000 less than those conversions.

Over the past couple of years, Rexhall Industries has incorporated a revolutionary design in its motorhome lineup: the T-Rex. T-Rex is an apt name for this floor plan, which is available in Rexhall’s RoseAir, RexAir, and Aerbus motorhomes.

Bob Tiffin, founder and CEO of Tiffin Motorhomes, has several passions; among them are restoring classic automobiles and building quality motorhomes. A perfect bridge between the two is the Phaeton motorhome, named after a luxury touring car that was built for several decades beginning around the turn of the 20th century.

The all-new type C Itasca Navion from Winnebago Industries Inc. is a departure from other motorhomes made by this company.

Thomas Paine said, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” When it comes to manufacturing motorhomes, Monaco Coach Corporation elects to lead.
Monaco remains on the cusp of motorhome design. A case in point is the Dynasty, wherein for 2006 some features previously available only as options are now included as standard equipment.

Alfa See Ya Founder EditionThe Alfa See Ya Founder Edition pushes the envelope when it comes to quality and value. Especially since its price tag — approximately $165,000 — includes everything one would expect in a well-appointed, yet no-frills, motorhome.

“Wow!” is usually the response one hears from folks who step inside the 36-foot-long Pace Arrow 36D for the first time. They are reacting to the 36D’s new concept in space: a full wall slideout that measures 23 feet 6 inches long and 30 inches wide and truly opens whole new vistas.

Clients of Royale Coach by Monaco include celebrities such as Dolly Parton, and owners who are not as renowned but nevertheless appreciate fine luxury coaches. A long list of successful people own these coach conversions, which have price tags that can reach above $1 million.

Although its name may evoke visions of a warm Baja beach with soft zephyrs stirring the palms, my wife, Saraine, and I took a Tropi-Cal motorhome in the opposite direction, north to Yellowstone National Park, with three passengers. A 2,700-mile trek from Mesa, Arizona, to Wyoming and the nation’s first national park, and then on to Las Vegas, Nevada, gave me an all-around experience in this coach.

When a 2005 Mandalay arrived on the West Coast this past November, I jumped at the chance to take my turn behind the wheel of this luxurious, diesel-powered motorhome. For a week, the 41-foot coach — model 40B — took me across a broad range of driving scenarios and Southern California landscapes.

High, wide, and handsome, the Cruise Master Luxura flows down the highway like a schooner on the high seas. In fact, during our first campground visit while testing the coach this past summer, my wife and I drove up a narrow pathway between closely packed campsites, where I noticed a young boy eyeing us.

Eighty years ago, Eugene Prevost, a manufacturer of church furniture in Sainte Claire, Québec, Canada, built his first wooden-bodied coach and placed it on a new REO truck chassis. Seventy-nine years ago he built his second bus, and 78 years ago his third bus.

The wave graphic emblazoned on the side of this elegant motorhome reveals its identity: Tsunami. The Japanese word for “tidal wave” also refers to a stunning diesel pusher produced by Forest River Inc.
The Tsunami is Forest River’s first high-end type A diesel motorhome, which was introduced to the RV market for the 2002 model year.

Winnebago’s 2005 Itasca CambriaWith its streamlined profile and a fairly narrow beam, Winnebago Industries’ new 2005 Itasca Cambria can slip along the two-lane byways as you search for little-known antiques shops or bookstores dealing in rare and used books, and it can handle freeways and toll roads with equal aplomb.

An amphibious motorhome? You bet. Debuted on “Good Morning, America” in July 2003, the Terra Wind serves a dual purpose for those enthused about motorhoming and boating.

As the moon coasted through the Oregon evergreens and the ever-present April storm clouds, the condensation from our breaths dissipated before our eyes while we huddled beneath the Girard remote-controlled power awning. The campfire warmed our hearts, but raindrops hissed as they dried and died on the fire ring’s hot rocks.

The Xtreme is the latest type B coach from Xplorer Motor Homes. Xplorer, founded in 1967 and located in Brown City, Michigan (a town that lays claim to being the birthplace of the modern motorhome), specializes in custom-built coaches.

For 2004, Tiffin Motorhomes has added an attractive new floor plan to its popular Allegro Bus line: the new 40 QDP. Built on a Freightliner XC-Series chassis, this very comfortable 40-foot diesel pusher boasts striking graphics, four roomy slideouts, and plenty of power.

Western RV has expanded its lineup of diesel-powered motor coaches for 2005 with an intriguing new addition: the 40FDQS, an Alpine Coach Limited Series floor plan with four slideouts. This motorhome measures 40 feet long and 102 inches wide for travel; when the slideouts are extended, the interior living area becomes almost 13 feet wide between the street-side and curbside walls.

Throughout the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to report several times in Family Motor Coaching magazine on the performance of type C motorhomes built by Chinook RV. In 1993, while road testing a Chinook Premier, I enjoyed exploring northwest Washington, which included a ferry trip across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles, Washington, to Victoria, British Columbia.

Although Monaco Coach Corporation might best be known for the bevy of diesel-powered motorhomes built by its various subsidiaries, the company’s presence in the gas-powered market is undeniable, and ever-increasing. The Monaco LaPalma has contributed to that growth.

A motorcycle rider had taken refuge from the sun in the shade of our test coach while we were shopping. As we approached, she jokingly pleaded for us not to take away her shade — it was abundant and refreshing on this hot day.

Last summer I had the opportunity to experience true luxury aboard an Elegant Lady bus conversion, crafted by Liberty Coach Inc. of North Chicago, Illinois.

Someone once said, and I’m undoubtedly paraphrasing, “Travel is not just about the exercise of getting from point A to point B, but rather the trip itself.” RVing, in general, and motorhoming, to be more specific, confirm that notion. And RVing in a Fleetwood Excursion, to be even more specific, is the proof at the bottom of the pudding bowl.

Georgie Boy is prepared to soar to new heights with the introduction of the 2004 Cruise Air XL. The latest version of this popular diesel pusher offers many upgraded appliance options, new interior wood finishes, redesigned lighting, and a black water tank rinse system.

If it looks like a diesel and drives like a diesel, then it must be a diesel, right? Wrong! Totally redesigned and built on the Workhorse W22 chassis, the 2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow has all the earmarks of a high-line diesel pusher. These features include new graphics, a roofline that is 5 inches higher than that of the previous model, and 22.5-inch wheels and tires.

I’ve been told that a number of Coach House Inc. customers are folks who are downsizing from high-end diesel pushers, and it’s no wonder.

No doubt many RVers would agree that the slideout is a compelling attribute. Once single slideouts became accepted in motorhome design, RV manufacturers took the next logical step: crafting double-slideout coaches.

On a warm and humid mid-June day, I paid a visit to Foretravel’s manufacturing plant in Nacogdoches, Texas. A 2004-model, 40-foot tag-axle Unicoach with two slideouts had just rolled off the line, and soon I was taking it on the road for a review.

It’s pleasing to the eye, elegantly appointed, and its cavernous interior reflects the maximum amount of livability that can be coaxed from a triple-slideout motorhome. It’s the 2004 Navigator.
Holiday Rambler, a division of Monaco Coach Corporation, is celebrating 50 years in the RV industry by offering the quintessential luxury motorhome.

At FMCA’s 69th International Convention in Pomona, California, this past March, Ron Domiano and his grandson, Jeremy, were in the outdoor motorhome display area doing a land-office business. Ron and Jeremy operate Domiano’s RV of Stanton, California, one of several West Coast dealerships that sell Travel Supreme diesel-pusher motorhomes.

Some still call them blue highways — the back roads that connect the interstates, U.S. routes, and scenic spots.

For more than a year, engineers at Rexhall Industries worked on a first-of-its-kind slideout design. With the introduction of the 2003 35TS floor plan, their concept became a reality.

Since the “Type A Roundup” appeared in the March 2003 issue, additional models that are available for under $100,000 have come to light. So, we are adding “Chapter Two” this month.
In addition, we have a change to report to the initial roundup.

Some RV enthusiasts are attracted to the idea of driving a smaller type A coach, but they don’t want to sacrifice the comfort that comes with larger units. Recently I had the opportunity to test a Safari Trek 2810 model.

When Alfa Leisure Inc. introduced its Alfa See Ya motorhome a couple of years ago, I took an initial look at the new model for Family Motor Coaching (“The Alfa See Ya Diesel Pusher,” October 2001, page 78).

With inflation slowly creeping upward each year, you would think the group of entry-level type A coaches costing less than six figures would be shrinking right along with the dollar. Not so.

For some motorhome enthusiasts, a bigger coach is not necessarily better. Yet they still want the style, comfort, and livability that have become the standard in today’s type As.