This was our first RV and we truly loved it. It supported my wife and me with our 4 (sometimes 5) kids on many adventures to Yellowstone, Glacier, Black Hills, Big Bend, and more. When we bought the RV our kids were 22, 15, 15, 14, and 13. We thought the bunkhouse layout would work for us and we...read more
This was our first RV and we truly loved it. It supported my wife and me with our 4 (sometimes 5) kids on many adventures to Yellowstone, Glacier, Black Hills, Big Bend, and more. When we bought the RV our kids were 22, 15, 15, 14, and 13. We thought the bunkhouse layout would work for us and we were starting out on RV vacationing. It was the best decision. The layout really worked for us and the kids, but like everything, there were some drawbacks.
Storage for that many people can be a problem, especially on a 3-week trip. To overcome that, we had the kids pack in trunks, with an overnight bag. SO the trunks would be stored under the RV at night and the toiletries and next day clothes went into the overhead cabinet in a basket. This worked great for us on many a trip even as the kids grew older. Last summer we spent 2 weeks in the Black Hills with an 18, 18, 17, and 16 yr old and the same process that had worked for years still worked and the same beds still provided a great night's sleep.
I love to cook, especially on these trips. I thought the Convection Microwave/Oven was really helpful for those tasks like baking. I very rarely used the LP oven and it was a little small for a family this big, but I did find that I could split the food and use both when required. Most of our cooking was done outside on a grill I purchased and took with us.
We ran the generator while we traveled in order to keep the AC running and let the kids use the TVs for movies and/or gaming. This proved to be very little trouble and never really affected the ~7MPG I would receive on the tank. Unfortunately, this year's Ford does not offer the "Miles to Empty" feature, so I hooked up an ODB-II sensor while we drove and ran it to an app that would keep track of fuel consumption and proved to me that information. During our years with the RV, we towed 2 separate vehicles with us to our adventures. The first 5 years we flat towed a 2013 Ford Flex. The RV had no problems pulling the Ford and we saw maybe an average of 1/2 an MPG hit to the fuel. We experienced no issues while braking and only once did we experience an issue pulling and I am not sure if that was my inexperience or the limitations of the RV. We were in Jackson Hole Wyoming, towing the Flex for the first trip to Yellowstone and we were driving up a very, very steep road. I felt like the RV was struggling so I pulled over, detached the Flex and drove up and over the pass, reconnected on the other side. That was the only time in 6 years that it happened, but I thought I would share. In the last 1.5 years, we have flat towed our 2015 Jeep JKU and there has not been a single problem. We even towed up to Mt Rushmore for a 2-week trip and back.
With kids as old as mine, it does get a little cramped in the "living space" on those rainy days where we would sit, play board games or watch TV, but we always got through it and enjoyed the times. We spent the majority of our time outside during the day and enjoyed watching a movie under the stars and around the fire with the outside TV. Although the upgraded AC/Heat pump was great to come in a break the heat of the day and cool down. I was really glad I upgraded to that.
The RV was simple to set up and tear down. The Bigfoot auto leveling jacks make it as simple as the touch of a button to extend and level or retract and go. I could, by myself, be level, fully hooked up, and extended in ~15 mins from arrival on site. That was great for those late-night arrivals, especially those late-night arrivals in the rain.
Livability
Overall quality
Floorplan
Driving/towing
Factory warranty/support
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