AVIDA Esperance best selling Motorhome in Australia
It is 26ft long has a GCVWR of 18,000lbs
Forum Discussion
We're talking at cross purposes here on many issues.
1) Some of those Australian units don't appear to have the clearance of a common full size U.S. pickup truck ... many U.S. Class C units do (especially the shorter ones) when built on the typical cutaway van chassis. Also, are those Australian units sporting LT215/225 tires or something smaller in diameter? (An LT215 tire, BTW, has a larger diameter than a LT225 tire.)
2) Many (small) U.S. Class C rigs do not come with distributed ducting for both systems, only the more practical ones do.
3) Dinnette seat storage is more accessible than other horizontal-access-only internal storage areas. Dinnette seat storage is usually via the end of the bench AND from the top of the bench by removing the cushion and it's support board. We find our dinnette seats' full volume top acces is super convenient for any size items that will fit there.
4) I wouldn't buy a Class C - U.S. sourced or otherwise - without a strong roof top access ladder on it. Read in the forums about ease of rooftop access while in storage, and more importantly - about the need for unexpected rooftop access on the open road or in campsites. We have a crowned and slippery one-piece fiberglass roof. No way am I going to step side-ways off a step ladder onto the edge of it, or no way am I going to prop a ladder against it and risk marring of the wall material or edge of the roof - even I could figure out where to carry a ladder in/on a small Class C during travels.
5) If the RV in the initial photos in this thread is anything inside like the bubble-roof Class Cs I've been in here in the U.S., the low ceiling area behind the bubble is not acceptable for tall folks. I'd never buy one designed like that.
6) A Class C generator never belongs behind the rear axle if it can be between the axles instead. It's too heavy to be back there unloading the front axle.
9) Flooring is a preference - with hardwood flooring in an RV being on the cutesy side .... not the practical side. Try over-flowing a tank once on the inside, or having a water line break once with the water pump left on to see what I mean.
10) We like the shower and toilet together - but definitely the bathroom sink separated - so that we can more conveniently use the bathroom sink instead of the kichen sink for dumping of kitchen water. Our grey tank is smaller than the black tank and the bathroom sink dumps into the black tank .... we even-out filling of the two tanks' capacities when drycamping by using the grey tank less and the black tank more for grey water when the grey tank approaches full. This extends our drycamping.
11) Are the OP's posts intended for his local market or the U.S. market ... with respect to tank capacities. Even if for his local market ... I thought that the Australian RV experience could includ a lot of remote outback caravaning for many customers - which implies long drycamping episodes, which implies large-as-possible tanks - even more so than in the Western U.S.
12) My unit came stock with curtaining off capability - no option needed for that.
IMHO, this whole discussion comes down to preference - does one prefer a more cutesy RV or a more practical RV - especially at the price point(s) we're talking about? At prices like $135K, I would expect plenty of both with not a lot of compromise. However to be fair - the U.S. ~$150K Coach House Class C motorhomes do not always come with enough of both, either. :)
1) Some of those Australian units don't appear to have the clearance of a common full size U.S. pickup truck ... many U.S. Class C units do (especially the shorter ones) when built on the typical cutaway van chassis. Also, are those Australian units sporting LT215/225 tires or something smaller in diameter? (An LT215 tire, BTW, has a larger diameter than a LT225 tire.)
2) Many (small) U.S. Class C rigs do not come with distributed ducting for both systems, only the more practical ones do.
3) Dinnette seat storage is more accessible than other horizontal-access-only internal storage areas. Dinnette seat storage is usually via the end of the bench AND from the top of the bench by removing the cushion and it's support board. We find our dinnette seats' full volume top acces is super convenient for any size items that will fit there.
4) I wouldn't buy a Class C - U.S. sourced or otherwise - without a strong roof top access ladder on it. Read in the forums about ease of rooftop access while in storage, and more importantly - about the need for unexpected rooftop access on the open road or in campsites. We have a crowned and slippery one-piece fiberglass roof. No way am I going to step side-ways off a step ladder onto the edge of it, or no way am I going to prop a ladder against it and risk marring of the wall material or edge of the roof - even I could figure out where to carry a ladder in/on a small Class C during travels.
5) If the RV in the initial photos in this thread is anything inside like the bubble-roof Class Cs I've been in here in the U.S., the low ceiling area behind the bubble is not acceptable for tall folks. I'd never buy one designed like that.
6) A Class C generator never belongs behind the rear axle if it can be between the axles instead. It's too heavy to be back there unloading the front axle.
9) Flooring is a preference - with hardwood flooring in an RV being on the cutesy side .... not the practical side. Try over-flowing a tank once on the inside, or having a water line break once with the water pump left on to see what I mean.
10) We like the shower and toilet together - but definitely the bathroom sink separated - so that we can more conveniently use the bathroom sink instead of the kichen sink for dumping of kitchen water. Our grey tank is smaller than the black tank and the bathroom sink dumps into the black tank .... we even-out filling of the two tanks' capacities when drycamping by using the grey tank less and the black tank more for grey water when the grey tank approaches full. This extends our drycamping.
11) Are the OP's posts intended for his local market or the U.S. market ... with respect to tank capacities. Even if for his local market ... I thought that the Australian RV experience could includ a lot of remote outback caravaning for many customers - which implies long drycamping episodes, which implies large-as-possible tanks - even more so than in the Western U.S.
12) My unit came stock with curtaining off capability - no option needed for that.
IMHO, this whole discussion comes down to preference - does one prefer a more cutesy RV or a more practical RV - especially at the price point(s) we're talking about? At prices like $135K, I would expect plenty of both with not a lot of compromise. However to be fair - the U.S. ~$150K Coach House Class C motorhomes do not always come with enough of both, either. :)
