Our New Home Sweet Home (October 2017)

We're moving from our house into a motor-home. What kind should we get? How long should it be? Smaller is better for getting around but it will be our home so we didn't want it to be too small either.

After graduating from a tent we'd owned a variety of recreational camping vehicles. A tent trailer (great but too breezy and not enough storage for full time); a 26 foot C-Class (cab over the front) took Sarah, Evan, Scott and I to Florida but the main bed was only 47 inches wide, way too small; a  30 foot gas powered A-Class (bus type with big flat fronts) Hurricane (the size wouldn't have been bad but we thought we'd need more storage, a more powerful engine for pulling a car and better quality for longer term; a couple of travel trailers but the choice would be between an Diesel A-Class or a fifth wheel.  We already knew we liked the view from an A-Class and our truck wasn't strong enough to pull any of the beautiful fifth wheels we'd seen at the RV shows so we decided on to look for a used Class A diesel pusher, between 34 and 37 feet long.

There aren't that many on the market in Ontario or even Canada. Just when we were starting to wonder if we'd need to go to the U.S. we saw one in North Bay. A 35' 2001 Damon Ultrasport. Murray and Sandy had purchased it new in 2000 and kept it in decent running order. The interior was dated but not pink or blue so we could live with it. The deal was made for $40,000 CAD pending a safety.

Bedroom - Evan slept here over Christmas

Washroom sink (also has a toilet and shower)

The rig has a queen bed at the back. It's a little tight to walk around but you can walk around. A slide out beside the bed houses dresser drawers. We can use the bed when the slide is in but can't access the dresser or my hanging when it's in so we just take out anything we think we'll need if the weather is changeable while we're driving.  There's a shower, toilet and sink, plenty of storage, including space for my sewing machine and projects, a pull-out pantry, small fridge and freezer (both of which have been more than adequate). The kitchen and couch are in a slide out but can be used when the slide is in as well. Opposite is a dinette and J-lounger (J shaped couch for one or two in a pinch). We'd live with it as is and make changes down the road if needed.  I am going to apologize for the picture quality ... must have been in a rush.

Kitchen with sink and stove

Hallway looking from Kitchen towards Bedroom

There was a slight glitch when Murray brought it home from the safety and backed it into his garage. I mean, actually hit the garage. Mortified he offered us some money off to take it as is but we preferred it to be fixed under his insurance and agreed to wait.

Just after the October long weekend, we had our motor-home. Scott had taken the Air Brake course and we headed out for a quick trip before winter.  It would need some shocks when Scott got to it but overall everything worked and we enjoyed a fantastic sunny late October weekend at Killbear, one of our favorite provincial parks just north of Parry Sound.

We had our new home but there was still a lot of work to do.