Introduce Yourself!

Welcome the the PC World. . .love the moniker RV Camping especially since Camping is your actual name. Verra cool    Like Jatrax said, a slide out doesn't necessarily mean a weakened structure.  We used to own a 40 ft Foretravel Class A DP with no slide since the floor plan allowed lots of maneuvering room; but when we downsized to our 24 ft PC2400 Sprinter, we felt we needed a slide since it isn't unusual for us to spend multiple months in "Fawkes" with our two Cocker Spaniels.

We toured the Phoenix Cruiser factory and were impressed that they build PCs not unlike Foretravel builds their Class A's (also a factory tour) with a strong steel structure.  We have really enjoyed our slide out and (knock on wood) have had no issues other than sticking rubber seals, which I have treated.  IMO, getting a slide should be basically whatever floats your mechanical and aesthetic boat, not worry about twisting your beloved PC.  Just sayin. . .

Owner's group Scorecard:   (2) for slide;   (1) no slide
Ron, our need for 4x4 in upstate NY is more for snow during winter ski trips to the Adirondacks and sand for summer off shore fishing along the drivable eastern sea coast beaches rather than gravel roads. We agree that 4x4 has both pros and cons depending on the outing. While driving cross country to visit the national parks, mileage and handling may suffer a bit but when needed for the back country and off road excursions we will be glad we have it. We are even exploring an after market Aluminess front bumper with a 16.5 T winch since we are not planning on towing a second 4x4 vehicle to aid with extractions. We really appreciate the dialogue and because of the great comments and photos, we are currently talking to Earl at PC to see what the no slide floor plan will look like in the 2552. - Dick

Besides the 4x4 rig just looks awesome!!!

........we are currently talking to Earl at PC to see what the no slide floor plan will look like in the 2552. - Dick

Ah, thanks for the details.  I understand better now about your desire for a 4x4.

Someone here on this forum, earlier this year had their 2552 built without a slide out.  They have the dinette and no pantry along that wall, done intentionally to make the dinette as big as possible for more leg room, bigger table, and bigger conversion bed.  Based on their description (and maybe a picture or two), it sounded awesome.  I advise to search this forum to locate his thread on the subject.  I think he included dimensions.  If you can't find it, you might want to post a new thread asking for pictures from anyone with a 2552, no slide, no driver-side pantry, max size dinette.  Having dimensions and pictures would help in making the better decision for yourselves.

I have a question for you.  How tall are you both?  If not tall, I think you'd have more friendly choices.  I am 5'-11", Irene 5'-2" with shorter proportioned legs, and our dinette works well, not perfectly well.  I also learned with standard cloth cushions, later changing to vinyl memory foam cushions, the standard cloth was quite inferior.  The vinyl with memory foam resolved a lot of dinette comfort issues.

Welcome to Phoenix USA RV's Discussion Board. We think you'll find this is a nice place to hang out. Why don't you start off with a little introduction and tell us a bit about yourself?

Hello!  I am Bev Laing from Temecula California. I've been rving since the early 70's in various rv's and have finally found my "forever" RV.  So, after seeing one at the Pomona RV show in Los Angeles in October 2012, I made a deal with Stuart and drove to Elkhart in December 2012 in my 2009 Coachmen 27' and traded it for a new, made to order 2350 PC.  I drove it home in the snow and rain and later found out that it was totally out of alignment and I was very lucky to be alive!  I am still the proud owner and basically happy with my choice.  I agree with many on the forum that the cabinet locks leave much to be desired and it's ridiculous to pay $15 for one cabinet lock.  Everything else works just fine!  I do have a question:  My "ride" is awful. The rig shakes, rattles and rolls and feels every bump in the road!  I have steer safe and Koni shocks but have not invested in anything else because I don't want to nickle and dime myself to death adding things that would turn out to be unnecessary. [ ] I wonder if you all have any suggestions?  Thank you so much!   
Bev

Hi Bev, and welcome!

You might get a better response starting a new thread in the general discussion section.  The intro section is rather long and not everyone reads it.

I have a 2552 so I cannot help with your question but @ron.dittmer has a coach similar to yours and has done quite a bit of work to improve the ride.  I'm sure he will be along shortly.

Rv camping, I have 2351 slide dinette.  I did not want a slide but buying used had to take the deal when presented itself.  One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the elevated floor for the slide floor under the dinette,  it causes ones knees/legs to be elevated four to five inches while seated at the dinette.  With no slide your feet would be on the floor in addition to additional width/length of the dinette as Ron mentioned for additional bed and/ or comfort level.  Good luck.

Larry

Owners group scoreboard: (2) for Slide, (2) for no slide.
Thanks Larry, I knew about the raise floor in the slide but thought that the table would be standard height when measured from the higher slide floor. Interesting.
jatrax, I am 6'-2" so the 80" bed and lengthened dinette are crucial for me. We are not interested in the sleeper dinette and have opted for the dinette from the 3100 which has a more ergonomic fit and contoured leather cushions. Being able to push the no slide dinette more forward we are able to fit the large dinette w/o pantry, the refrigerator and an 80" bed along the driver's side wall. This also negates the need to stretch the truck frame an additional 6". One extra long bed is fine since I am the only one who requires the length. It also saves us the cost of stretching the frame. So I think we have found a win/win solution.
I will search the for the 2552 thread, thanks for the tip.

Dick,

You are 6'-2"?  Have you walked through any PC yet?  Have you stood in the shower of the PC you are considering?  I ask because I have a tall friend and he can't stand up in our PC,  I think he is 6'-2", maybe 6'-3".

I am 5'-11".  With my hiking shoes on and standing straight up, I feel the a/c unit brush the hair on top of my head.  I am good with the shower as well.

Hi Bev with a 2012 PC-2350,

Our 2007 PC-2350 had serious handling issues right from day-one.  We were able to resolve them that first year by getting the following work done.

- Replace the front stock/weak stabilizer bar with a Roadmaster heavy duty stabilizer bar.
- Install a rear Roadmaster heavy duty stabilizer bar.  The 2007 and older E350s had no stock rear bar at all.
- Replace the stock shocks with Koni-RV adjustable set to maximum.  I recommend the Koni-FSD today which were not available back in 2007.  Heavy duty Bilstein shocks are not a bad choice either.
- Install a Henderson rear trac bar, a non-stock add-on to eliminate side-to-side rear end motion.
- With all the work done and loaded up for a trip, we got the front end aligned, which was off by so much that the front end required offset bushings to make it right.

These are off-set bushings which are part of the front suspension.  The E350 look similar to this example.



With everything done, the rig handles extremely well, a really huge difference compared to prior.  We have around 36,000 miles on the rig today, with the front tires having scalloping, getting worse as more miles are driven.  Scalloping on the front tires is caused from the front end going up/down a lot, and our PC with Koni-RV adjustable shocks set to the heavy-duty setting, still likes to go up/down on the open road.  I believe it's caused by the uneven load distribution, too much weight behind the rear axle, not enough weight up front, a byproduct for model 2350.  Our older 2350 is worse yet because the fresh water tank is in the worst possible place for weight distribution, right against the rear wall.  The uneven tire wear has gotten bad enough today that it is causing a cyclic vibration.  The real solution is to replace the front tires and maybe install heavier duty front shocks, but the shocks we have are already heavy duty.  My next experiment is to swap the front tires with each other to reverse-scallop them which will likely be a bad idea.  But just maybe it will improve the situation like it did with our first motor home on a Toyota chassis.

This is what scalloped tires look like.  I don't have a picture of our front tires.  Ours have plenty of thread remaining, but similar looking uneven thread-wear.

Ron - Yes I  have been inside a PC. Testing the size of coaches was the only reason we attended the Hersey show in September. I felt like Goldilocks' going in and out of every B+ at the show, stepping into each shower and climbing onto each bed. None of which were "just right" and that is why we ended up with the PC. Ability to lengthen the bed to 80", I fit in the shower, quality of build and 4x4 in that order, were the reasons we went with PC. We saw price point, the long option list and the ease of working with the PC crew as bonuses but not drivers.
Since we don't wear footwear inside and the hair on my head is slim to none I manage just fine, as long as I watch out for the AC unit. After a lifetime of living tall one gets accustomed to watching out for low bridges. - Dick

Hi Folks!

Randy here, my better half Pattie lurking. 

First RV, 2006 PC 2350 with 40K miles, couple scrapes but overall good condition. We are upgrading from VW campers, so loving the extra room!

First week of ownership required replacing the front brakes, as the right front caliper froze up on me. Flushed some BLACK fluid out.. still have to do the back.
Macerator pump was frozen and resisted repair.
Toilet valve leaked when water system was pressured up.
MAJOR leaks around the windshield...
replaced one of the 14x14 roof vents, both tank vent covers and installed roof vent covers, resealed the shower skylight.
Lucky for us, I am a capable mechanic/fabricator so its 'just' parts cost and time...   

First overnight was beachside, right next to the ocean. Watched the sunrise from bed.  LOVE that the camper fit!

Welcome Volkemon    You've joined a great bunch of PC lovers.  We've had our 2012 PC2400 Sprinter for almost a year and love it!   

Hi everyone. My husband and I are looking at PCs to gain a bit more room. Our current RV, a 2014 LTV Unity MB is a great weekend rig for us but since John retired we want to start taking much longer trips (several weeks to a month or more).  We are accustomed to sleeping in the same bed so have looked at the corner bed and power twin models. I’m not sure how the 30’ models handle and would love to hear from folks who have experience driving either the 27’ or 30’ models.  I am concerned about the slide outs leaking. Our slide out has been flawless.  We got rid of a Born Free that developed a leak around the window. No leaky RV for us!  Any help you could provide is appreciated. Oh, if there are any folks living in the metro DC or within a 3 hr drive of us, we would love to see your rig for ideas about size, construction, etc.  I am urging my husband to join as he is the one with the technical know how. I do the research, he figures out everything else.  Thanks again for allowing us to join your fine group.

Madonna Hoecker
Springfield, Virginia

Welcome! There are quite a few rigs in the Metro DC area. We have a 2552 in Frederick MD which is a bit of an jaunt for you but we take her for a run each month so we could probably meet somewhere next month if you don't find someone closer. Ours is 28 feet long with twin beds - model year 2013. It might not be the layout your looking for. If you are interested let me know.

Holly