visit to the Mothership January 05, 2009, 02:41:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98366I went to the Mothership today to get some touch-up paint and I saw the Kodiak 30' in the showroom, it was locked. I asked to see it but was told it's not quite ready, bummer... It is at least a foot taller to the roofline then add the AC and vents. For whatever reaso while looking in the passenger window it looked wider inside. I like the look of the 'truck', real beefy looking.Jerry in Simi Valley 2000 30 IB
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #1 – January 05, 2009, 04:42:26 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98367Quote "I went to the Mothership today to get some touch-up paint and I saw the Kodiak 30' in the showroom, it was locked. I asked to see it but was Quotetold it's not quite ready, bummer... It is at least a foot taller to the roofline then add the AC and vents. For whatever reaso while looking in the passenger window it looked wider inside. I like the look of the 'truck', real beefy looking."Quote Jerry in Simi Valley 2000 30 IB I believe someone in an earlier post said there would be no slide(s) in the Kodiak. If that's the case, I wonder how it could possibly be competitive with other manufactures of that class. I believe there is a price point where most new buyers (not die hard LDers) will demand slides. Opinions???Chris
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #2 – January 05, 2009, 04:58:44 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98368I may be mistaken, but if this is the Kodiak that has been in the LD yard for years, the model year is 2005 or 2006. I wonder when the three year Ford warranty starts. In 2005/6, or in 2009, when the unit is retailed?
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #3 – January 05, 2009, 06:37:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98369Call me old fashioned, I consider the LD's lack of slides a real plus. I prefer a floor plan that is designed and optimized to "stand alone" without the need for a slide. Most of the slide floor plans I've seen are cramped and some are all but unusable unless the slide is out.bumper
Re: Kodiak Lazy Daze Reply #4 – January 05, 2009, 06:55:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98370"Call me old fashioned, I consider the LD's lack of slides a real plus."I agree! And it's worth noting that the only other class C manufacturer to receive five stars from the RV Consumer Group, Born Free, also refuses to build coaches with slideouts. All that slideouts get you is more empty floorspace... and as my friend Jim recently said, "So what would we do with it--hold square dances?" ;-) But I think Chris's question was less a technical one than a marketing question. For better or worse, slideouts are so ubiquitous on motorhomes these days that they're taken for granted by most people who are shopping for a rig. It's possible that LD might have trouble in finding enough savvy buyers who realize that slideouts can be a disadvantage.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #5 – January 05, 2009, 07:03:24 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98371"bumperm" wrote: "Call me old fashioned, I consider the LD's lack of slides a real plus." --- I'm "old-fashioned" (or just old!), too, but from what I read and hear, our take on the "slide or no slide" question is definitely the minority opinion! Despite any "technological advances" that may have been made in slide functionality over the past few years, the things are still *heavy*, still prone to sagging, binding, not fitting correctly, and, occasionally, leaking. And, if they're not engineered with great care, positioned properly in the coach, and built with a lot of attention to detail, the mechanism can chafe or cut wiring and whatever else it contacts.IMO, the potential hassles and additional weight of slides are not worth the small amount of space gained; frankly, if Lazy Daze *only* offered their rigs with slides, and I were in the market for a new rig, I'd go to a Sportsmobile! ;-)Joan
Re: Kodiak Lazy Daze Reply #6 – January 05, 2009, 07:40:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98372On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:55:54 -0000, "Andy Baird" wrote these inspiring words:QuoteAll that slideouts get you is more empty floorspace... and as my friend Jim recently said, "So what would we do with it--hold square dances?" ;-) We have that feeling every time we visit someone with an 'A' or bus. The living area up front is large and well suited for a dance. At least that's all we have figured it could be used for.QuoteIt's possible that LD might have trouble in finding enough savvy buyers who realize that slideouts can be a disadvantage. We are savvy? Alright! Actually we made our decision on only two factors, the rear windows and the general feeling that it was quality made. After we made the decision we felt good to have our thinking reinforced by rv.org and people on this forum whose complaints were limited to such things as tire stems. Since they can only make 200 a year, I would suppose they can continue to find a few savvy folks - at least when the economy is not in meltdown. We still think about the couple in the five that parked next to us in Wyoming. She spent two hours on the roof leaning over trying to get the slide straight. Never did. Or the guy whose slide would not retract and his space was reserved for another rig. Or... well I am sure you have a few stories. Blessed that serendipity parked us next to two Lazy Daze in Florence, Oregon whose owners showed us the light.Cheers, Don
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #7 – January 06, 2009, 08:15:39 am Yahoo Message Number: 98376Quotethree year Ford warranty starts. "Ford" should read "GM", of course.Ed Also curious. If the chassis is say a 2005 model year per the chassis VIN and the motorhome part was added in 2009, would you be titling a 2005 or a 2009 vehicle?
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #8 – January 06, 2009, 12:47:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98381I imagine it would be titled as a 2005. We bought a 1975 LD that was built after a number of 1976's were built because of our position in the queue. Even though it had a 1976 motorhome body, it was titled as a 1975.Dick
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #9 – January 06, 2009, 01:05:04 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98382I don't remember the exact model year clasification parameters but I do believe that RV manufacturers have a year, or maybe even longer, to build onto a chassis and label the year by the shell build date not the chassis date.
Re: visit to the Mothership Reply #10 – January 06, 2009, 04:58:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98389I know
Re: Kodiak Lazy Daze Reply #11 – January 06, 2009, 06:02:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98390I am in the minority, but I would love to have a pop out. I've been in units that have them and space is very great. As far as function, I'm sure a slide could be properly engineered. Don't get me wrong, I love my LD, and it will be many years before I replace it. But when I do, I will be looking for a slide.Jingle[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Kodiak Lazy Daze Reply #12 – January 06, 2009, 08:31:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98391Ditto Don,Told you we had a lot in common. We bought our LD completely and solely on the windows in the MB. Love them, everytime we back into a spot on a lake we are reminded that we are blessed. Who needs more space? Ed and I aren't very good dancers anyway!!Ed and Jeanne GaffneyHoover, AL2006 MB[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #13 – January 06, 2009, 11:32:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98394Quote from: Chris Horst" "I believe someone in an earlier post said there would be no slide(s) in the Kodiak. If that's the case, I wonder how it could possibly be competitive with other manufactures of that class. I believe there is a price point where most new buyers (not die hard LDers) will demand slides. Opinions???"Chris, I come down on the side of liking the extra space a slideout offers, but I'm not willing to live with the problems that come with so many RVs that have them.The 32' Born Free motorhomes, both Queen bed and twin bed versions, built on the Chevy C5500 Chassis, with a GVWR of 19,050 lbs, do NOT have slideouts. If you believe their advertising, they are selling every motorhome they can make. I believe these are 5 star rated by RVCG. They have floorplans suspiciously similar to the Lazy Daze 31' models, without the large windows. They also have a starting price of close to $150,000, without many of the standard features that Lazy Daze has. http://www.bornfreemotorcoach.com/products.php?id=14#specsAs for slideout coaches, it really depends in part on the type of slideout, and how well the RV manufacturer integrates them. Just me, but I wouldn't consider an RV with a slideout that didn't have a pneumatic air seal system. HWH makes them for high-end coaches, as well as some Class C manufacturers. http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml23034c.pdfThe Coach House Platinum motorhomes, both on the Ford chassis and Sprinter chassis, offer HWH hydraulic slideouts as options. Given that their GVWR is the same as on the 27' and 31' LDs, I have no idea how they can have two slideouts and still have any carrying capacity. The Sprinter version has a GVWR of 11,030 lbs, and one slideout as an option. Again, what happens to the CCC? http://www.coachhouserv.com/Another Class C with HWH hydraulic slideouts, with pneumatic seals, is made by Krystal. They are built either on the GM Duramax Diesel 6.6L 330HP Chassis or Ford F-550 Super Duty Chassis, 19,000# GVWR.http://www.krystal.cc/Now, if you're talking about moving up to a Foretravel, Newell, or Prevost bus conversion, with their HWH hydraulic slideouts with pneumatic seals, those slideouts, properly operated, appear to have minimal problems compared to the RV manufacturers with standard slideouts with "squeegee-sealed slides". I think it was former LDers, Steve and Michelle Cook, who described Foretravel as the "Lazy Daze of Class A's".http://www.foretravel.com/Or, you can buy a Lazy Daze. ;^)Sharon N.Crossville, TN
Re: Kodiak Lazy Daze Reply #14 – January 06, 2009, 11:38:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98395We had friends with a fifth wheel who basically just lived in it in a trailer park. For them the slide out worked well but they weren't opening and closing it regularly either.Michelle Ress west coast North America http://www.flickr.com/photos/safoocat/
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #15 – January 07, 2009, 12:12:51 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98401Quote Chris, I come down on the side of liking the extra space a slideout offers, but I'm not willing to live with the problems that come with so many RVs that have them.Quote The 32' Born Free motorhomes, both Queen bed and twin bed versions, built on the Chevy C5500 Chassis, with a GVWR of 19,050 lbs, do NOT have slideouts. If you believe their advertising, they are selling every motorhome they can make. I believe these are 5 star rated by RVCG. They have floorplans suspiciously similar to the Lazy Daze 31' models, without the large windows. They also have a starting price of close to $150,000, without many of the standard features that Lazy Daze has.Quote http://www.bornfreemotorcoach.com/products.php?id=14#specsSharon N. Crossville, TN Sharon, I didn't do my homework. I thought (assumed) Born Free had slides. I like not having slides in my 30'; that said, were I to move up to a larger class A motorhome I would not buy one without at least one long slide in the living/lounge area. Actually, I don't think you can find many without slides nowadays. Three yrs ago I wouldn't have said that. Now we'd like to have more space for the dogs so they aren't underfoot all the time. Kinda flaunty to buy up for dogs, eh? But...we have no plans to do that.Chris
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #16 – January 07, 2009, 01:11:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98402wrote: Kinda flaunty to buy up for dogs, eh? --- It is? Do you actually mean that some people *don't* adjust their life/travel/volunteer time/residence decisions to conform to the comfort and convenience rrquirements of their dogs (and cats)? Uh ohhhh.... ;-)Joan (and her two "life managers")
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #17 – January 07, 2009, 05:10:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98405I do not believe an LD built on the Kodiak chassis without slides would be a big seller. When I talked with the Born Free rep at the 2008 Hershey Pa RV show he told me they had only sold seven of the 32' models since their introduction three years ago. Born Free now has a 28' on the Kodiak chassis as well. Their interiors are crowed because of the oversize leather chairs and sofa. Big Foot (now out of business) was at the show in 2007 and they said they were selling quite a few on the Kodiak chassis, mainly the 32' model on the 22,000 lb chassis with the Duramax diesel with 2 slides. The price with major options was over $150,000. It would be nice if LD would build a 30-32' with a slide if it could have the quality that we so greatly appreciate.Jim and Joan 2002 30IB
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #18 – January 07, 2009, 08:24:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98409"I thought (assumed) Born Free had slides." Isn't it interesting that the only two class C motorhomes to get five stars from the RV consumer Group come from the only two manufacturers who still refuse to build rigs with slideouts? :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #19 – January 07, 2009, 11:32:47 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98416Quote "I thought (assumed) Born Free had slides."Isn't it interesting that the only two class C motorhomes to get five stars from the RV consumer Group come from the only two manufacturers who still refuse to build rigs with slideouts? :-) Andy, The Coach House Class C, that does offer slides on some models, also gets 5 star ratings.From the Testimonials page on the Coach House web site: "RV Rating Guide, published by the RV Consumer Group, has given the Coach House Platinum a 5-Star rating on all reviewed products." (I don't know what "all reviewed products" refers to.) http://www.coachhouserv.com/Sharon N.Crossville, TN
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #20 – January 08, 2009, 08:10:15 am Yahoo Message Number: 98418On Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:24:36 -0000, "Andy Baird" wrote these inspiring words:QuoteIsn't it interesting that the only two class C motorhomes to get five stars from the RV consumer Group come from the only two manufacturers who still refuse to build rigs with slideouts? :-) Andy, if I recall correctly, handling is one their criteria. Lazy Daze, Born Free, Sportsmobile do little that affects handling from the way the manufacturer designed it, so they do not lose marks in the handling category. That coupled with quality in the other rating categories earns them five stars.Always wondered how Jeeps raised up "way high" handle.Cheers, Don
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #21 – January 08, 2009, 09:56:51 am Yahoo Message Number: 98422"The Coach House Class C, that does offer slides on some models, also gets 5 star ratings."Thanks fo reht correction, Sharon! You're right. I didn't recognize the Coach House name, but when I looked it up in the RVCG ratings guide, I found that most of their "Platinum" motorhomes did indeed get a five-star rating.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #22 – January 08, 2009, 10:36:34 am Yahoo Message Number: 98423If I recall correctly, Coach House went out of business, so it might be irrelevant.Quote "The Coach House Class C, that does offer slides on some models, also gets 5 star ratings."Lee
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #23 – January 08, 2009, 10:42:41 am Yahoo Message Number: 98424wrote: I found that most of their "Platinum" motorhomes did indeed get a five-star rating. --- And, for those "5 stars", one gets (a choice of in the 27') two floorplans, one slide, who-knows-what quality of after-sale dealer/manufacturer support, and a "suggested retail price" of close to $150,000. For overall "bang for the buck", Lazy Daze still comes out *way* ahead, IMO, but, as always, YMMV.Joan
Re: visit to the Mothership / Slides Reply #24 – January 08, 2009, 11:23:03 am Yahoo Message Number: 98426QuoteIf I recall correctly, Coach House went out of business, so it might be irrelevant. Do you have something to back that statement up? I haven't heard about Coach House going out of business, according to the Coach House Owner's December 2008 Newsletter, http://choc-talk.net/Newsletter_37.pdf, there's no indication that they've gone out of business. In fact, Coach House is due to attend the Tampa RV Show according to the Newsletter. Doesn't sound like a company that has gone out of business or is on the verge of doing so.Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
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