Introduce Yourself!

Welcome aboard to the Hoecker's.  I hope you are able to find a 2350 to size up.  We have owned our 2350 for over 10 years now and continue to love it.  But it's not for everyone.  The limited reduced-size double bed access being the biggest challenge.  It's a good thing my wife and I love to cuddle-up.

Hi Madonna, and welcome!

We have a custom 2552 with a single power bed because my wife would not hear of separate twin beds.  That allowed us to add a dinette in place of the driver's side bed, and leave the couch in place forward.  Not for everyone but it works very nicely for the two of us.

The 2552 is 28' long and handles very nicely, we added a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer up front and made sure to have the rig aligned after fully loaded.  It is not an SUV, but I have no problem driving it 300 to 400 miles a day.  My wife shares the driving and also has no issues.

We looked at the LTV units first and really liked the style and engineering but in the end decided that for us they would be too small for more than weekends.

Feel free to ask any questions folks here are more than willing to share.  And if you do buy a PC make sure to join the Phoenix Cruiser Travel Club:  http://phoenixcruisertravelclub.org/

Jatrax, wow, thanks for the information. What size bed did you end up with?  We have no plans to sleep apart and need to factor in our cocker spaniel who sleeps with us (often smack dab in the middle of our queen).  Our LTV bed is a small queen and the three of us fit just fine.  A double might be too narrow.  Do you have a floor plan that we could look at - sketch or photos?  I’m not a big fan of slide outs and have told John (hubs) if he really wants one we will only use it in fair weather. I still worry about leaks with a SO anyway.  Just wondering if we will feel crowded without one.

Madonna

Hi Madonna!
Everything is a compromise in an RV.  With 1/2 of the power bed on one side and the small dinette on the other the largest bed size that will fit is a 'full' which is 54" x 75".  Queen's are 60" x 80" but in an RV are usually what is called an RV Queen which is 60" x 75".  So our bed is 6" narrower than the queen usually found in RVs.  When fully extended at night this leaves (just barely) enough room to walk to the bathroom.  It's tight but it works for us.  What we really like is having a dinette AND the couch up front.  One disadvantage is that the bedding has to be rolled up and the power bed retracted during the day.  Well, you don't have to but it gives you more room.

We share the bed with our Australian Shepherd, although after a bit she usually heads up front and sleeps on the couch.

I would strongly recommend getting the slide (but others here have different opinions).  There was a leak issue with our coach when first delivered due to the new slide box design on the 2017's.  It leaked when driving in heavy rain.  But a fix for that was issued from the factory and I have had no problems since.  And we live in Oregon so camping in the rain is almost a given.

Here is a thread that has pictures and a list of the customizations we made to our coach.  http://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php/topic,2705.0.html  I am sure I have the drawings of the bed area on the computer so if interested let me know and I'll post them here.

Phoenix can make a lot of custom changes to their coaches if you know what to ask for.  Our bed was perhaps one the biggest and they only agreed to do it if I agreed to have our coach built in the off season.  Now that they have done one like it perhaps that restriction would be lifted but you would have to ask.

Feel free to ask any questions, but may I suggest you start a new thread instead of asking them in the Introduction thread.  Things can get lost in this very long thread.

Two points.....

As to custom construction.....JATRAX's custom coach was constructed under the Kermit (previous) ownership. The new owners who took over the company in mid-summer may have a different view/approach to building coaches with lots of customization.

As to the electric sofa bed......We have the power sofa bed in our 2100.  I made custom sheets/blankets which we leave on all the time. During the day we fold the sofa back into a couch and put a throw over the bedding. So rolling and removing bedding is not necessary. Also, because when a bed it is not an innerspring mattress, you do not feel your partner's movement very much...at least we don't but neither of us moves a lot. We do not have the added pet issue so no additional sharing is required. If you (or anyone reading this) would want to go our route of leaving the bedding on, I would recommend you get the sofa bed without the fold down arm rest/cup holder. I do feel it on occasion when moving around.

As to the electric sofa bed......We have the power sofa bed in our 2100.  I made custom sheets/blankets which we leave on all the time. During the day we fold the sofa back into a couch and put a throw over the bedding. So rolling and removing bedding is not necessary.

Just to make things clear for future readers in this rather long and 'group' thread.  We have the twin power sofa that extends into a queen size bed up front, what I have called the couch.  The power bed I mentioned in my earlier post is a modification of the twin beds that are standard on the 2552.  This was an option starting with the 2017 model year.  The standard install is two power twin beds that extend into one king bed.  This leaves no walkway to the rear bath when extended though.  Earl has a video showing this on the Phoenix web site.

My install uses one half of the power twin bed on the passenger side.  The other side is a small (26") dinette.  There is no requirement that the bedding be rolled and stowed, you could fold it once and retract the bed.  Throw a cover over and done.  My wife is very organized and neat so everything must be in its place.  Which means the bedding gets rolled and stowed each morning.  When retracted the power bed makes a nice couch or day bed, perfect for reading when the cushions are propped up.  That gives us two "couches" in our coach, perfect for hanging out on rainy days.

The new owners who took over the company in mid-summer may have a different view/approach to building coaches with lots of customization.

They may, and even if they do not now they might in the future.  However, recent posts indicate "custom" coaches are still rolling off the line.  Some have had more extras than mine.  In my several conversations with the new owner he has indicated that custom work is considered to be a key feature in their business plan going forward.  Things do change of course, but for now I would think asking for customizations is still not a problem.

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

Holly, we would LOVE to view your PC. Frederick is not so far away, a pleasant drive in good weather. Whenever you are willing to have us we will quick like a bunny come up.  Thanks so much for the offer!!

Madonna

Sorry for the delay on responding to your private message. I'll message you now with my real email so we can set it up.

My husband and I have been long time campers.  First in tents, then pop up, and currently in a Jayco hybrid trailer pulled by F150.  On the unexpected loss of my husband in September, I realized that I would not be able to tow the trailer alone.  My father, an RV expert  , and I researched various options which would allow me to continue camping/traveling independently.  I researched and drove various other products, but settled on a PC 2552 which is currently under build (oddly without stepping into or seeing one).  Kyle and Earl have been very easy to work and very  tolerant of even what they felt were unusual requests (specific brand of AGM coach batteries). We have added options that we think will make travel/maintenance easier for me i.e. Lifeline AGM batteries, Steer plus, surge protector, backing monitor, shelves in shirt closet, sofa, full paint, surround sound, 2nd fan and HWH leveling.  I will be garaging the RV.  Is there anything else that I might need to make travel as easy as possible?  We reviewed MANY posts on this forum before making the purchase and since and respect the wealth of experience this forum offers.  Also, do the PC rallies offer education on product?

Hi Erin and welcome!  We have a 2017 2552 and really like it I think you will be happy with it as well.

Also, do the PC rallies offer education on product?

With Phoenix under new management this is hard to answer for sure.  In the past someone from Phoenix attended the rallies and provided some informal support.  Last year Jim Brynes was there and spent a lot of time talking with us but primarily going over transition topics and getting to know how we felt about the coaches.  I know that they indicated that Phoenix would continue to have a presence at rallies but what that will consist of is not certain at this time.

That said, at the 2017 rally we an assortment of very experienced RVers many with a decade or more in Phoenix coaches.  So anything you needed to know, someone there had an answer.

Make sure you sign up of the Phoenix Cruiser Travel Club so you at least get the newsletter.

Thank you for the reply.  Earl sent a few pictures of my coach under construction, it is exciting to see the progress.  Is there any areas/issues that need extra attention on delivery?

Hi Erin,  welcome to the forum and owning a P.C. !      As you will notice on many posts like yours,  asking about pickup advice,    it is  well worth your time and effort to camp nearby or in the parking lot  at PC
to totally familiarize yourself with the coach and use it as you would camping.    Run and inspect everything.       Any questions you have or observations about things that don't seem right can all be addressed  at the factory before you head home.    They are extremely prompt about correcting any issues you might have.      Don't forget the generator and the jacks !
Jim

I'm Lynn, my wife is Claudia. We have a 2400 on order. We've never been inside a PC. I have never met a rv salesman who knows his product as well as Earl. We are currently down south for the winter in our 2011 Winnebago View (232,000 mi) it still runs fine. Avg mpg 14.8. We had a 2006 View, sold it with 178,600 miles. Avg mpg 17.25. We had a 1991 23 ft Allegro with 7.3 diesel, sold it with 117,000 miles, avg 10.8 I'm very concerned about mpg with the V10. First motor home, bought used was a 19 foot Fan, chevy chassis, 307 gas engine. It was a neat old motor home.

  Lynn

I'm very concerned about mpg with the V10.

The Ford V10 is simply an amazing engine.  It is powerful, loyal and will run for weeks on end with nary a whimper.  What it is NOT is fuel efficient.  Expect 10mpg on average though perhaps a bit better on the smaller 2400.  On our 2552 I got almost exactly 10mpg average on a cross country trip.  That is actual calculated mileage using the gallons from the station receipts.

In general diesel is about .34 cents per gallon more (according to USA average statistics) so in order to cost the same per mile your diesel view would need to get about 11.6 mpg and of course it does better than that.  So your cost per mile is going to go up no way around that.  One of the major attractions of the Mercedes sprinter chassis is the fuel mileage.  The downside has been the higher maintenance costs.  But I think even after everything is calculated the Mercedes will be cheaper to operate if you travel a lot of miles.

My quick calculation at present fuel prices shows:
Mercedes @ 14mpg and $3.025 per gallon diesel = .21 cents per mile
Ford        @ 10mpg and $2.69   per gallon gas    = .26 cents per mile

Plug in your own numbers and see what you get.   

Our cross country trip was about 4,000 miles.  So a difference of .05 cents per mile on that trip cost us an extra $200.

I'm Lynn, my wife is Claudia. We have a 2400 on order. We've never been inside a PC. I have never met a rv salesman who knows his product as well as Earl. We are currently down south for the winter in our 2011 Winnebago View (232,000 mi) it still runs fine. Avg mpg 14.8. We had a 2006 View, sold it with 178,600 miles. Avg mpg 17.25. We had a 1991 23 ft Allegro with 7.3 diesel, sold it with 117,000 miles, avg 10.8 I'm very concerned about mpg with the V10. First motor home, bought used was a 19 foot Fan, chevy chassis, 307 gas engine. It was a neat old motor home.

  Lynn

Another welcome Lynn and Claudia!  We get 13-14 mpg in our 2012 PC 2400 Sprinter.  As far as cost estimates between gas or diesel is concerned, when you travel in several parts of the country on an extended journey, the regional variance makes fuel cost estimates mostly academic.  Your driving style, the amount of weight in your PC, terrain, regional fuel price differences. . .all will have a varying effect on mpg/fuel cost.  We chose to have a Sprinter because we fulltimed in a Class A DP and really noticed the hill climbing torque (and downhill control) of a diesel.  Prior to our DP, we pulled a 30ft Airstream TT with a Silverado 2500 with the now discontinued 8.1L gas engine with Allison tranny and while it would do the out west driving nicely, we discovered the diesel made mountain driving easier to manage.  But, as Jatrax said from his experience, "the Ford V10 is simply an amazing engine". 

I noticed you are from Iowa, so if you get back to the Midwest from your winter travel feel free to contact us if you want to head east on I-80 to Homewood, IL and take a look at our PC 2400 Sprinter.  Safe travels. . .