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General Discussion / Re: PC 2350 with a dinette?

« on: May 04, 2013, 07:08:28 pm »

We ruled out any floorplan with that corner bed for the same reasons stated below.  Waaay too confining, and for any bathroom trips in the middle of the night, it necessitates some acrobatics from the person sleeping on the outside wall.  I love to snuggle w/ the DW too, but also quite enjoy sleep, and both wouldn't happen in that small bed.

Mike,

    Our first RV (2003) did not have a permanent bed and I vowed that the next RV would.  That is when we purchased the 2008 2350 (with sofa).  It had a bed.  However, for our comfort we did not find the corner bed to work for us.  Some people like them but we did not.  The DH is 175 pounds and I top the scales at 108 but we felt very closed in with the size of the bed.  Also, making the bed was another challenge in itself.  It was also difficult for me to get to the cabinets over the corner bed without having to climb all over that freshly made bed.

             

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General Discussion / 3100 impressions

« on: January 02, 2013, 04:45:42 pm »

We were finally able to step inside a 3100 last week - a 2011 3100 with a few thousand miles.  Over all I was impressed w/ what I saw, and the build quality was in line with what I've read on here.   A couple concerns though - the slide rollers were already causing the linoleum to buckle significantly, and the carpet was loose and dimpled from the rollers as well. I realize there is a lot of weight on the rollers, but disappointing to see effects from it on a unit that's just a year or two old.

Two large screws were oddly protruding about an inch into the storage space under the driver side bed from the outside wall-side of the space. Kind of a mystery and not a huge deal to fix, but strange.

Several cabinet door latches didn't seem to "catch". It looked like there is some kind of toggle or something in the catch that wasn't allowing the door to close and engage the latch.  I'm supposing I just couldn't figure out how it worked...and maybe no big deal.

Unrelated to all this, I'm curious how everyone likes the new flourescent lighting that's used throughout the coaches. It was a sunny day when we looked at this unit so hard to tell how the lighting was after dark.  I'm assuming each light is controlled by switching it on and off at each location (not switched on the wall somwhere).  Seems like the flourescent lighting might cast more of a cold/white light.

The frameless windows give the unit a very cool, sleek look.  Beyond that, I'm not sure if I like them more, less, or about the same as standard sliding windows we've had in RVs in the past.

Seats are comfy, love the under-the-sofa drawer and various other small storage spaces, although the significant lack of storage outside would make for some creative packing. Full body paint probably the nicest of any coach we've seen.  The "smallness" of the coach overall is the big trade-off. Once set up at your distination, the extra elbow room of larger coaches is surely welcomed, but the compact nature of the PC gives it the edge in handling, parking, economy, etc. 

How does everyone like the macerator pump for waste disposal? I've never considered hooking up the traditional sewer hoses to be that big of a deal, but perhaps the macerator makes it even less of a chore? 

We are not on any huge rush in our search for the "perfect" RV (is there such a thing?!) so as always, appreciate all the thoughts and info on this site.

-Mike



 

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General Discussion / Place to stow your stuff beside twin beds?

« on: December 26, 2012, 09:27:49 pm »

First, Merry Christmas to all, and (almost) Happy New Year.

In looking at the twin bed floor plans (we are focusing on the 3100), I'm curious what folks do with the typical stuff you would put on a night stand, in the absence of....a night stand.  A book, reading glasses (yes, need them already), a class of water, that sort of thing? Has anyone installed something on the side of the shirt closet? Or maybe even a narrow shelf over the "headboard" of the bed?

It's also curious that it looks like PC didn't install reading lamps over each twin bed in 2011 or 2012, but looks like the new ones have them. I'm guessing that is something that could be added fairly easily if we find a used unit. 

Thanks!

Mike

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General Discussion / Re: Duo Therm Penguin A/C

« on: November 09, 2012, 07:17:51 pm »

I agree with Tom. In all three of our PCs, noise from the AC/heater and inverter disturb my sleep. I wonder if it is because the unit is not ducted. I know that Coach House has a ducted unit. Since I am a VERY light sleeper, here is what we do so that I can get a good nights sleep:

I always wear earplugs.
We turn off the inverter each night before bed and then I turn it back on in the morning. That fan coming on all night wakes me up.
I use a little fan that I bought at Walgreens to circulate air at night.
We also bought a small electric heater although we haven't used it yet (after a year of schlepping it around).

The noise does not bother George--he snores away--but I am another story.

Judi

FWIW, our Melbourne IS ducted, but the noise is the same.   The fan speed required within the unti to keep it running efficiently creates the unwanted byproduct of noise.  Again, hoping for these new Coleman units that are much more quiet.

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General Discussion / Re: Duo Therm Penguin A/C

« on: November 07, 2012, 08:44:44 pm »

The loud AC issue, caused primarily from the high fan speed required for the unit to operate efficiently, is a problem that's not unique to PC. We have a Jayco Melbourne and even on the low setting, our AC is loud enough to make casual conversation a challenge.  I was thrilled recently to read about Coleman's new Mach 8 AC unit, which is engineered with two separate motors.   Not only is the unit much more quiet, but it's 15 lb lighter than their other units.     As I understand it, Winnebago and a few other manufacturers are starting to install them.   I would think this would be something PC would have interest in incorporating into future models.   It rates high on my wish-list for our next RV.

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General Discussion / Re: Introduce Yourself!

« on: November 06, 2012, 10:25:23 pm »

Everyone has their favorite floor plan.  We’re certainly happy with the 3100.  We previously had a 29’ model with a sofa but no dinette.  The 3100 has both.  And the wall of cabinets behind the passenger seat holds a ton of stuff.  Someone commented they couldn’t have a recliner because of those cabinets, but we do.  Works fine.  We bought a Euro chair, but use the swiveled passenger seat as the footrest.  Now in the evenings, I can recline and read or watch TV while my wife naps on the sofa.    And the full width bathroom in the back is great.

If you get a chance sometime to post a pic of your eurochair and how it works with your floorplan, would love to see it!

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General Discussion / Re: Setting up a toad

« on: November 02, 2012, 10:00:26 pm »

I'll echo Barry's comments - lots of personal choice on this one.

We are big fans of Blue Ox products.  I especially like that our base plate fits inconspicuously on our toad (Pontiac Vibe) such that you can't really even tell it's there.  I also like that the tow bar folds up against the coach when not in use, instead of in front of the toad, which just looks clunky.   Once we detatch, you woudn't event know our Vibe has been towed behind the coach.

Another thing to keep in mind,  no matter what brand you choose - is the ease of attaching/detatching.  The telescoping arms on our tow bar allows us to get in approximate position and hook up instead of rigid arms where you have to be in exact position (and therefore a 2-person job) in order to hook up. 

In our case we do not use auxiliary braking because of the light way of our toad (just over 2000 lb). It would still be a good idea to have it, particularly in your case with a heavier car like the Malibu.

Mike

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General Discussion / Re: MotorHome Magazine Readers' Choice Awards 2012

« on: November 01, 2012, 11:21:38 pm »

Thank you!  I was surprised too.  I didn't realize they did a Readers' Choice award.

Neither did I!  And what's more, I read the magazine from cover to cover each month and somehow still missed it. Yikes.

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General Discussion / Re: RV and wheel covers

« on: October 29, 2012, 11:19:05 pm »

We've had two RV's in the B category, neither of which a standard RV cover would fit. In both cases we simply bought the nearest class C cover and got creative with tucking / tying the excess material on the cover that would normally be used for the overhead cab portion of the RV. We did have wheel covers too, although they weren't really necessary as the RV cover completed covered the wheels.

I say this all in the past tense as we now have an RV port under which we store our motorhome - something I highly recommend.

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Adventure Anywhere / Re: Where are all the Phoenix Cruisers?

« on: October 29, 2012, 11:15:00 pm »

I've noticed the same, but assume it's because relative to many (most?) other manufacturers, PC produces fewer units.  The roads are simply populated by more mass manufactured brands.

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General Discussion / Re: MotorHome Magazine Readers' Choice Awards 2012

« on: October 29, 2012, 11:12:30 pm »

Fantastic - congrats! So... what is the award for?

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General Discussion / Re: Steps won'stay out

« on: October 23, 2012, 11:23:14 pm »

Are they Kwikee steps?  On our Jayco, the step controller will cause the steps to retract no matter what the position of the switch is IF the ingition switch for the coach is turned on and the door closes. This prevents any possibility of driving off with the step out.

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Tips and Tricks / Re: you might want to look at

« on: October 16, 2012, 10:57:52 pm »

When I was at the Louisville show this year I noticed the struts on a couple units were disconnected - the screws had pulled out of the mounting block on one, and the block itself came unglued on another.   Seemed like a problematic design given the overall high quality of build we've come to expect from PC.   Sounds like the design might need some tweaking.    Surely something they can figure out at the factory.

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Adventure Anywhere / Re: Florida campground

« on: September 30, 2012, 01:37:56 pm »

John,
I'll echo Sue's recommendation for rvparkreviews.com.   It's a fantastic site, and we use it virtually every time we leave the house to set out on a trip.  There are no sponsored links or other commercial things to cloud the information - it's simply reviews from regular folks and it's proven to be a great tool for us to use.

Mike

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General Discussion / Re: Cover for storage

« on: August 17, 2012, 05:20:13 pm »

Any cover is better than no cover, for sure.  Good luck.  I think Sunbrella make a pretty decent product.