Noodlings & Natterings from the Edge: No Shag!

Or sofa, or recliners, or chairs or coffee table, either. Hurrah, hurrah, Ken's Carri-Lite rig has finally arrived after 14 weeks of waiting [over four of them spent living, for free and with full hookups, at the back lot of Ray Citte (pronounced "city") RV dealership in Ogden, UT].

All the design amenities we asked for were done to our specs--the higher-quality sculpted carpet instead of an awful shag (which some moron at Carriage has decided is all they'll use in future models), the valence fabrics we requested, single-pane windows, no interior border trim, no furniture except the dining room table, etc.

The checkin process went well--no damage to be found from transit--but there are a few glitches that the dealer needs to follow up on, such as a missing bedspread, a missing side table, a missing window covering on an interior door, and a blown fuse that needs to be replaced.

The rig goes into the service bay today for its dealer once-over (checking refer, furnace, systems, etc.) before Ken “takes delivery” (exchanges money and signatures) on the rig. Then we’ll spend the next week deep cleaning, moving into, and testing out all the systems ourselves, and maybe it’s on to Oregon at last! We're both looking forward to getting our stuff out of storage and increasing our combined living space this week. My little 28' Arctic Fox has been great, but it's still quite a shoebox for two people, a cat, a fullsize computer, and a LifeCycle!

The first sighting as she's pulled into the RV dealership. Ken's truck is also all white, so this is pretty close to what she'll look like when he's pulling--only he's bought a gorgeous 2011 Ford.

Ken chats with the driver, Reg, who got the rig to us within two days from Elkhart, IN. Reg does this for a living all summer long, then stops for the winter. He's a real talker and loves his work, driving an average of 600 miles a day. He kept raving about how well this particular rig handled in heavy winds across Wyoming, saying it "is very well balanced" and "I didn't even know it was there--no sway at all." That is very good news considering it weighs 13,500 pounds dry and could be over 17,000 pounds when fully loaded with water and possessions. (For comparison, my rig is about 11,000 pounds loaded.)

Ken requested no decals or paint on the exterior because decals usually peel and look ugly after two years, and paints (especially dark ones) ultimately cause the underlying gelcoat to crack and craze from heat absorption. We therefore had no idea what this 37-foot roving wall would look like when we ordered it, and had already jokingly dubbed her The White Cliffs of Dover. But with only classic black accents from the windows, awnings, a/c cover, clips, etc., it actually looks pretty clean and sleek to us. Our salesman, Gary, laughingly commented, "It looks like it could belong to a movie star."

The rear of the rig is all windows; this is where a custom computer desk will look out from.

Only a living room (tall), kitchen (small), and bedroom (large) window on this side...the rest of this wall is covered with cabinets on the inside.

Carriage's innovative full-wall slideout, fully slid out. While several motorhome models have full-wall slides, it takes some special engineering to make them happen on a fifth wheel--note the wall narrows for the stairs and therefore slides out over them. Other fifth wheels avoid the stairs by using multiple slideouts, such as one for the bedroom at the top, and one or two in the kitchen/living space at the bottom. Having one huge slideout makes for a very spacious, clean-lined interior, with a wide hallway from living space to bedroom.

The other two slideouts, popped out. The nearer one is the bed, the farther one is the dining/sofa area.

At last, to the inside... Here's the living area with the slideouts pulled in for travel. Fortunately, the rig is nearly 8-1/2 feet wide, which means there are a few extra inches of room for us to squeeze through the kitchen into the living space if we decide to park and leave the slides in for the night (such as at a Walmart). We can still get to the sink, upper cabinets, and TV if needed. (The refer is to the immediate right and is always accessible.)

The same area with the slides opened up. The far wall is waiting for the custom desk. The space at the left beyond the dining table will soon have a power-reclining, two-seater loveseat for watching the (sheesh!) 40" TV directly across the room. We're also getting two chairs to use alternately at the desk and dining table.

Another view of the living space. The TV comes with a Blue-Ray player, multiple speakers, and a subwoofer for that "full home theater experience" from Sony. All that's missing is a Wii!

The kitchen with its island and many cabinets, including an appliance garage to keep that coffee pot off the counter. The tall cabinets down the hallway are all wardrobe and storage space--we omitted the washer and dryer and gained even more room. The scrap of carpet at the entry way comes up once we move in--they provide it to help protect the flooring before a rig is sold.

The lovely sculpted carpet, at the hallway. In this photo, the full-wall slide is stored for travel; the door to the right is a walk-through bathroom, which allows access to the toilet and bedroom when we stop for a break.

The bedroom with the slides pulled in. Note the unique folding bed. This room has two opposing slides, and they've created a fabric-hinged mattress to allow the queen bed to fold up 6" at the foot so the slides can meet. A big drawer is under the bed for storage.

The bedroom with the slides out. That empty far corner is THE reason why Ken bought this floorplan--it's the only one out there that actually has enough extra space in a bedroom to house his LifeCycle in a permanent and out of the way location. He'll store it against the wall and pull it out into the open space for us to ride in the morning. That corner is usually spec'd for a computer desk or side chair and ottoman, which we of course omitted.