MoveableCondo.com
Robert Pearson
Full time in a 25' 31' RV.
Coachman 23CB
I wanted my second RV to be a Winnebago but I ran into the Coachman 23CB first. This model is built for a rental company which sells them after one year. In 2013 I purchased this 2013 model with 20,000 miles on it. The design is the best I've seen for this size RV. Though it's the same length as my first RV the 23CB has much more storage. I've looked at larger class A models that didn't have as much storage? Also the 23CB has a homey feel and doesn't have a slid out. Slid outs are heavy and can have problems when you least need a problem like when you are way out on BLM land with no repair people handy.
My philosophy is buy the smallest RV that does the job and for me this is it. Even with the 23CB at only 25 feet when I look from the bed in back I think, “I’m driving this big thing?” But from up front it doesn’t seem that big. Speaking of the bed it is a bit difficult to make because it has 3.5 walls but the 23CB has everything one needs. Kitchen, bathroom with shower, dinette and a short sofa which makes into a small dinette. Besides the main queen size bed there's a bed over the truck cab. I use that for storage. If I have something in my hands and don't know where to put it I toss it in the overhead. As with all the storage areas in an RV occasionally you have to reorganize and reevaluate.
I've gone from a three story house in Seattle to a two bedroom condo in Burbank to a 655 square foot condo in Seattle to about 180 square feet of RV. (I suppose my next move will be to a shopping cart.). Along the way I've had to get rid of stuff I thought I could never do without. But I've learned that you don't own all that stuff, it owns you
When I met her Barbara had a 17’ Casita trailer which is small but had everything one needs. Neither of our RVs were big enough for the two of us and one RV that would be big enough is too big for some of the places we go so we keep the two rigs. I got about 9.2/mpg and she got around 20 whether she was towing the trailer or not. Also, the WINs have a saying taken from one of Randy Vining's poems, "don’t sell your rig."
Barbara has always wanted a Safari Trek because of it's floor plan, designed by a woman. In January of 2015 Barbara found something even better. The Safari Trek floor plan in a 28 foot Holiday Rambler RV.
The Trek is the only RV designed by a woman. This means big bathroom and kitchen. The extra space comes from the fact that there is no bedroom. The bed comes down from the ceiling. In the morning you push a button and the bed disappears. The Trek is not just an RV, it truly is a movable condo.
With the bed down.
With the bed up.
Dilly likes the Trek. More places to sit and watch.
2016 Winnegago Vista. Now Barbara had the biggest rig. Not to be outdone at Quartzsite January 2016 I purchased a 31 foot class A. Still having some buyers remorse but La Mesa RV made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I'm now the people I used to make fun of.
My first few years on the road were in a 25' Class C made by Coachman. It was simple, no slide, no levelers, no steps, no trouble. I pitied the folks with big class A RVs. They had one or more slides, automatic steps and other motorized accessories that sooner or later would fail. Now that’s me.
The Vista interior with one light slide is a lot more comfortable than the Coachman was.
Interior photos taken with Canon 16-36mm L series lens.
