Happy Birthday, Dad!
Signed the paperwork and made out the big check today. Moved all of my gear out of the Fleetwood and had my training session with Charlie, so now I am some kind of expert. Not really. I will have a lot to learn.
I will spend the night tonight in front of the RV Dealer and hopefully get everything stowed if not organized. What a mess I have. The Fleetwood was basically busting at the seams, with gear crammed in every nook and cranny. The Greyhawk has ample space, but because I did not have a lot of organization before, things are kind of a mess. The only area lacking enough storage space is the kitchen.
Now for the details.
The chassis is a Chevy 5500 with an 8.1 (454) engine and an Allison tranny. It’s a truck and it drives like one. But that’s okay because I know it will get me over the hill. She has an 80-gallon gasoline tank and gets 9 – 10 miles per gallon. I know, that sounds bad, but that is what I was getting with the Durango. The key difference is that the range on the Durango was about 200 miles, whereas the Greyhawk will go about 600. Won’t have to spend my time focusing on finding a station. I will be spending more (time and money) at the pump, but the overall cost to travel is the same.
The cockpit consists of two bucket seats that recline and the usual dashboard amenities. There is also an AM/FM CD and Weather Band.
Above the driver’s compartment, where you would normally have a bunk, is an entertainment center serving the living area. There is a 14″ Flat screen TV with a DVD player and tons of storage. The entertainment package includes surround sound stereo with a woofer buried underneath one of the sofas. This system serves the entire entertainment system as well as the in-dash stereo.
Immediately behind the driver’s compartment is the living area with two leather foldout sleeper sofas. The one on the driver’s side is part of the slide out on that side of the coach along with the refrigerator. There are a pair of overhead cabinets. The entry door is on this side of the coach as well which means the sofa is a bit shorter than the one on the driver’s side. There are also large windows that open on either side of the coach allowing a tremendous amount of airflow. Unlike many of the RV’s I have seen.
Moving further back into the coach is the kitchen or galley. This is a small L shaped area on the passenger side of the coach with a 3-burner gas stove, a microwave/convection oven and a double bowl porcelain sink. The sink has a goose neck faucet, lever type water control and a dish sprayer. There is a small pantry with pull out drawers which make access nice. As I mentioned the refrigerator is on the driver’s side of the coach and is part of the slide out. I am just a little short on storage, but on shorter trips, that should not be an issue.
Moving further back along the driver’s side is a hallway towards the sleeping area. There is another large window here which throws a lot of light and air. As you pass through on your left is the bathroom. This is about a 6’x6′ room with the usual facilities including a full-sized shower with glass enclosure and a message shower head. The linen closet in this space is more than ample.
At the rear of the coach is the master bedroom. There is a queen-sized bed with the head positioned on the passenger side and this also slides out to make a tad more floor space. On the opposite side of the room is a large wardrobe/dresser with lots of drawers and hanging space. There is also a TV and DVD cubby where I put my other TV from the Fleetwood. There are also a couple of nice storage cabinets above the bed.
Systems wise, the rig has 63 gallon fresh water capacity, 41 grey water and 51 black water. It also has an Onan 5000-watt, 50 amp generator, 56 lb chassis mounted propane tank, two air conditioning units, and a 31,000 BTU heater.
Exterior features include a hot/cold shower, a roof ladder, an electric awning and an outside entertainment system with an AM/FM CD changer. The neat part of this system is that I can pick up my XM Satellite both inside and out and completely annoy my camping neighbors.
Basically, if I go anywhere with a full tank of gas, water and LP, the unit is self contained to the point that it will run on it’s own for several days.
So as dad would say, “I am crapping in high cotton!”