OK, I'll close this out with one last posting. Ever since colliehauler asked why we would like to get rid of the Cardinal it's been on my mind. So the other day we decided to take a day trip to an RV sales lot to see what we would be getting. We really liked the Jayco Eagle 28.5RLTS floorplan and it wouldn't be a problem for our current tow vehicle but I don't think it realistically offers that much more "comfort" than our Cardinal. Surprisingly my companion agrees.
Even though I am looking at replacing the water heater, bathroom fan, mounting new tires, and rapairing the 12 volt system the Cardinal repairs would impact our finances a very small fraction of the cost of a new fiver.
Thanks all for the time and inputs.