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Old 02-13-2005, 01:58 PM   #1
Winnebago Master
 
Tom N's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Sarver, PA/Crystal River, FL/Shelocta, PA
Posts: 1,196
A little report on our first driving experience with our '05 Suncruiser
38r on the Workhorse W24 chassis.

We live near Pittsburgh, PA and had to drive to Buffalo, NY to take
delivery of our new coach on Jan 25, my wife's b-day coincidently.

Went through pre-delivery inspection in a couple hours and all I could
find was a very slight nick/mark in the drivers ultra-leather seat. They
ordered a new seat bottom for installation when we return to the dealer
in April or May. The coffee pot was also missing from the coach and they
have ordered that. The coach also had a cracked mirror on the drivers
side and that would not pass NY state inspection. Meyers RV, our dealer,
called the day before our scheduled PDI and pickup and wanted to delay
delivery a couple days. I protested and they had a new mirror overnighted
and they were installing it when we arrive at 10AM.

The coach was spotless and even though we tried to located defects all we
found were 2 small scratches in the 2 week old full body paint. Meyers
quickly buffed those out to my wife's satisfaction. ;-)

Hooked up my wife's Honda Civic that we tow and headed back to Pittsburgh
(a 4 hour drive) hoping that there would be no salt on the roads. Got
home about 2 hours after dark. Driving a new coach is exciting and it was
even more driving the last 20 miles to our home on a two lane highway on
a snow, cold dark evening. But all went well.

We had unloaded all our gear from our old coach in one side of our garage
before we took it to Buffalo in Nov as our trade so we had to sort though
and load what we wanted in our new coach. The temp was forecast to be in
the 10 to 20 degree range for the next couple of days. Being retired and
sitting in Pittsburgh waiting 12 weeks for our new coach we were anxious
top get packed and head to FL for the rest of the winter. We loaded our
stuff in and were ready to go in a day or two. But our boys wanted to see
the coach but they weren't available until Sat. Looked like a break in
the weather on Sat. They came up Sat morning to see the coach and helped
me put about half a tank of water in and load the remainder of our stuff.

We left for FL about 1PM. Sat. Drove out to Altoona and on to the PA
turnpike and down I-70 to Hancock, MD to 522 to Winchester, VA. Then 17
across VA to I-95 at Fredericksburg. Stayed overnight at a regular
Walmart in Warrenton, VA. Started to snow between Winchester and
Warrenton and the salt and sand trucks were starting to appear. The snow
started to stick to the roads just before we reached Warrenton. We were
the only ones at the Walmart for the night. Woke in the morning to about
an inch of snow and ice. Thought about sitting it out for another night
at Walmart but the forecast for Fredericksburg was in the 30's.
Fredericksburg and I-95 were only 35 miles away so I decided to leave.
Got on I-95 and the weather changed for the better.

I've driven the coach 1310 miles from Buffalo to Pittsburgh to Crystal
RIver, FL. Coach handled and ran great. The Workhorse W24 chassis handles
the 38' 11" Suncruiser very, very well and the CCC is over 3200#. I keep
exact records and mileage so far has averaged 7.03mpg, all towing our
2650# Honda Civic EX coupe. I drive around 63-65 on the interstates and
usually use the cruise control. We have some large hills from Pittsburgh
to VA but the 8.1 GM engine handled them to my satisfaction. The engine
is extremely quiet and my wife even commented on that. I don't know what
kind of sound insulation Winnebago is using under the doghouse but it is
effective.

The 38r floorplan offers a lot of floor space and a nice U shaped
kitchen. The lounge slide is 15 foot and contains the kitchen, j-lounger
and recliner chair. The bedroom slide is 13 foot and contains the full
queen bed and a 6 foot mirrored sliding door hanging cedar lined clothes
closet. I have not seen a bedroom slide this large on any other brand of
coach. The 27" Sony TV is mounted down on the floor across from the j-
lounge and recliner and makes a very nice living room arrangement. The
same floor plan is available in the Adventurer but the Itasca has some
nice upgrades such as all stainless steel appliances. We ordered the 4
door fridge and it is impressive with the 4 stainless steel doors. I was
in the stainless steel/high tech alloy business for 37 years and my
former employer developed the fingerprint resistant stainless steel used
by Norcold.

at Quail Roost RV Resort, Crystal River, FL until April 1st
__________________
Sarver, PA/Crystal River, FL/Shelocta, PA · FMCA 335149 · W3TLN
2005 Suncruiser 38R · W24, no chassis mods needed · 2013 Honda Accord EX-L · 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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Old 02-13-2005, 01:58 PM   #2
Winnebago Master
 
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Sarver, PA/Crystal River, FL/Shelocta, PA
Posts: 1,196
A little report on our first driving experience with our '05 Suncruiser
38r on the Workhorse W24 chassis.

We live near Pittsburgh, PA and had to drive to Buffalo, NY to take
delivery of our new coach on Jan 25, my wife's b-day coincidently.

Went through pre-delivery inspection in a couple hours and all I could
find was a very slight nick/mark in the drivers ultra-leather seat. They
ordered a new seat bottom for installation when we return to the dealer
in April or May. The coffee pot was also missing from the coach and they
have ordered that. The coach also had a cracked mirror on the drivers
side and that would not pass NY state inspection. Meyers RV, our dealer,
called the day before our scheduled PDI and pickup and wanted to delay
delivery a couple days. I protested and they had a new mirror overnighted
and they were installing it when we arrive at 10AM.

The coach was spotless and even though we tried to located defects all we
found were 2 small scratches in the 2 week old full body paint. Meyers
quickly buffed those out to my wife's satisfaction. ;-)

Hooked up my wife's Honda Civic that we tow and headed back to Pittsburgh
(a 4 hour drive) hoping that there would be no salt on the roads. Got
home about 2 hours after dark. Driving a new coach is exciting and it was
even more driving the last 20 miles to our home on a two lane highway on
a snow, cold dark evening. But all went well.

We had unloaded all our gear from our old coach in one side of our garage
before we took it to Buffalo in Nov as our trade so we had to sort though
and load what we wanted in our new coach. The temp was forecast to be in
the 10 to 20 degree range for the next couple of days. Being retired and
sitting in Pittsburgh waiting 12 weeks for our new coach we were anxious
top get packed and head to FL for the rest of the winter. We loaded our
stuff in and were ready to go in a day or two. But our boys wanted to see
the coach but they weren't available until Sat. Looked like a break in
the weather on Sat. They came up Sat morning to see the coach and helped
me put about half a tank of water in and load the remainder of our stuff.

We left for FL about 1PM. Sat. Drove out to Altoona and on to the PA
turnpike and down I-70 to Hancock, MD to 522 to Winchester, VA. Then 17
across VA to I-95 at Fredericksburg. Stayed overnight at a regular
Walmart in Warrenton, VA. Started to snow between Winchester and
Warrenton and the salt and sand trucks were starting to appear. The snow
started to stick to the roads just before we reached Warrenton. We were
the only ones at the Walmart for the night. Woke in the morning to about
an inch of snow and ice. Thought about sitting it out for another night
at Walmart but the forecast for Fredericksburg was in the 30's.
Fredericksburg and I-95 were only 35 miles away so I decided to leave.
Got on I-95 and the weather changed for the better.

I've driven the coach 1310 miles from Buffalo to Pittsburgh to Crystal
RIver, FL. Coach handled and ran great. The Workhorse W24 chassis handles
the 38' 11" Suncruiser very, very well and the CCC is over 3200#. I keep
exact records and mileage so far has averaged 7.03mpg, all towing our
2650# Honda Civic EX coupe. I drive around 63-65 on the interstates and
usually use the cruise control. We have some large hills from Pittsburgh
to VA but the 8.1 GM engine handled them to my satisfaction. The engine
is extremely quiet and my wife even commented on that. I don't know what
kind of sound insulation Winnebago is using under the doghouse but it is
effective.

The 38r floorplan offers a lot of floor space and a nice U shaped
kitchen. The lounge slide is 15 foot and contains the kitchen, j-lounger
and recliner chair. The bedroom slide is 13 foot and contains the full
queen bed and a 6 foot mirrored sliding door hanging cedar lined clothes
closet. I have not seen a bedroom slide this large on any other brand of
coach. The 27" Sony TV is mounted down on the floor across from the j-
lounge and recliner and makes a very nice living room arrangement. The
same floor plan is available in the Adventurer but the Itasca has some
nice upgrades such as all stainless steel appliances. We ordered the 4
door fridge and it is impressive with the 4 stainless steel doors. I was
in the stainless steel/high tech alloy business for 37 years and my
former employer developed the fingerprint resistant stainless steel used
by Norcold.

at Quail Roost RV Resort, Crystal River, FL until April 1st
__________________
Sarver, PA/Crystal River, FL/Shelocta, PA · FMCA 335149 · W3TLN
2005 Suncruiser 38R · W24, no chassis mods needed · 2013 Honda Accord EX-L · 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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Old 02-14-2005, 08:10 AM   #3
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Great well-written report Tom! I'm glad your PDI went well and that you had no problems on the trip down to Florida.

Our weather is beautiful here today - this time of the year I'm glad I live here. I won't feel the same way at the start of hurricane season!

Good luck with the new rig!

John (on the verge of ordering a Horizon)
www.janeandjohn.org
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Old 02-14-2005, 08:27 AM   #4
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Posts: 409
Congratulations Tom,

Any chance of a bigger picture???
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Old 02-14-2005, 08:46 AM   #5
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Butler, PA
Posts: 283
Tom,

Congratulations on the new rig. Your traveling (trying to avoid the salt) sounds familiar. I tried to do the same when returning from a week in Florida last winter.

Since your route (Altoona, to the turnpike) is the one we often take, I'm curious your location. I'm about 45 minutes North of Pittsburgh. If your in the area, keep an eye on the Great Lakes Forum once you return to PA. A bunch of us camp together frequently, and it'd be great to have you join.
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Old 02-14-2005, 12:59 PM   #6
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Location: Conway, SC
Posts: 886
Congratulations and good luck from all the way over at Rock Crusher. Hope we can meet up before we leave the area, I'd like to look your new rig over.

We went and visited the Manatees today. We had a nice time. Tomorrow night we're going to Applebees on Route 19 in Crystal River. I believe you have my number, call if your interested.
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Old 02-14-2005, 03:23 PM   #7
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Location: Sheboygan, WI
Posts: 306
Congrats on the new coach. It sounds like you've got a great RV there and the W24 sounds like a real winner. Good handling, greatride, and cargo capacity too. That's three thumbs up in my book.

Enjoy!
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