AVIDA Esperance best selling Motorhome in Australia

pnichols wrote:


- The air conditioning appears to be via a central outlet instead of distributed ducts? However the heating may be distributed ducts.

- It looks like there be no, or only very limited, storage under at least one of the two dinette seats? I can't see the lower section of the second dinette seat, however.

- Where's the roof ladder for waxing of the roof, and emergency chaulking and/or various other unexpected repairs while out and about on a trip?

- Wonder what the ceiling height is in that portion of the coach not under the roof bubble?

- Is that a generartor exhaust pipe coming out the rear right under the bed? Probably that isn't good for low-noise napping on a hot afternoon when camping without hookups but needing to run the air conditioner.

- Some folks may prefer double galley sinks for low-water-use when rinsing and washing dishes while camping without hookups.

- Is there a seem all along the roof edge, or is that a rolled-over - and hence leakproof - roof to sidewall edge joint?

- Are those natural wood floors .... or engineered wood floors for superior long term dimensional stability in varying temperatures and humidities?

- I guess that there's a closed dry-sink/dry-toilet and wet-shower back there somewhere?

- What's the tank capacities?

- And .... like others have mentioned .... you better be fully dressed whenever you're in bed so you can get up out of it in the morning without an OOPS moment.

It doesn't strike me as being all that practical for general high-flexibility RV'ing use. I wouldn't take it off-pavement at all, except on very level, firm, and flat .... graded roads.

All that being said, it looks like a very cutesy rig!

4x4van wrote:
Alot of your post sounds a bit snarky to me, but maybe I just misunderstood your points. As for me, it is nice to see something different than the fluffy generic units that we in the US have become accustomed to and accept without complaint. Different layouts, different colors & materials; sure would be nice for US manufacturers to at least look around and start giving us some variety and options.

The colors and materials appear very nice in that unit, and a few other things stand out as well; the high back dinette seat (on one side, anyway), swivel cab seats (used to be common in US class Cs but no longer), the aerodynamics certainly look nice, and it appears to have lots of outside storage, both basement and above floor level.

Hmmm ... photos and specs of many recent Class C units manufactured outside of the U.S. seem to paint them, IMHO, as containing a lot of "fluff". The old phrase we used to describe cars seems to apply to some of those pretty boy highway queen rigs - "all show and no go".

The points I listed are merely some concerns and issues that I noticed from studying the photos. Here's how my list above stacks up with respect to our simple old fashioned generic American unit (2005 24 foot Itasca on an E450 chassis), that, IMHO provides more value than many recent rigs from other places:

- We have about the same ground clearance as the typical stock pickup truck. This means that our coach exit doorsill, sewer drain, and generator exhaust pipe are up high, too. The exit doorsill height is mitigated by an automatic step that tucks way up high when retracted.

- We have distributed heating and cooling with full digital controls.

- All of the volume under both of our two dinnette seats is available for storage.

- We have a roof ladder that has stood up under heavy use al long time for roof inspections and waxings.

- Our ceiling height is around 6' 8" everywhere, including the shower stall.

- Our generator is where it belongs in a Class C .... between the axles to help keep weight distribution optimum and to keep fumes, noise, and vibration away from the two queen beds.

- We have double galley sinks.

- Both of our side roof edges along their entire length are rolled down over the side panels 3-4 inches to eliminate any seam leaks there for the life of the motorhome.

- Flooring in an RV boils down to a matter of fluff versus practical preference. We would not want natural or engineered hardwood floors in an RV for a variety of reasons, but if one wants hardwood flooring in their RV it should be of the engineered kind for better stability in a mobile environment.

- I could not see the shower/toilet/sink layout in the photo. Our shower is separate from the toilet and the shower and toilet are separate from the rear sink.

- Our FW capacity is 45 gallons, our BW capacity is 39 gallons, our GW capacity is 29 gallons, our propane capacity is 18 gallons, and our fuel capacity is 55 gallons. The BW and GW tanks can combined by valves, if desired, for a total capacity of 68 gallons.

- The rear queen bed, shower, toilet, and sink can be curtained off to make a private area separate from the rest of the motorhome. The cabover queen bed can be curtained off for privacy, too. The motorhome came stock with this setup ... we did not have to make it that way.

We have over one ton of extra carrying capacity so we can load up the RV with impunity due to it being a small Class C, yet on an E450 chassis.

None of my comments above are meant to be snarky ... just meant to maybe help some folks better know where to look for comparative value in a U.S. sourced, or other, Class C. :)

Give credit where credit is due. Sometimes someone does something better than we do. Accept it, learn from it, and make changes.

Can't wait until we have more import options.

pnichols wrote:

:h It sure doesnt' appear that way to me. i.e. Note the low-slung chrome engine exhaust pipe opening just inches above the ground!

Also:

- The air conditioning appears to be via a central outlet instead of distributed ducts? However the heating may be distributed ducts.

- It looks like there be no, or only very limited, storage under at least one of the two dinette seats? I can't see the lower section of the second dinette seat, however.

- Where's the roof ladder for waxing of the roof, and emergency chaulking and/or various other unexpected repairs while out and about on a trip?

- Wonder what the ceiling height is in that portion of the coach not under the roof bubble?

- Is that a generartor exhaust pipe coming out the rear right under the bed? Probably that isn't good for low-noise napping on a hot afternoon when camping without hookups but needing to run the air conditioner.

- Some folks may prefer double galley sinks for low-water-use when rinsing and washing dishes while camping without hookups.

- Is there a seem all along the roof edge, or is that a rolled-over - and hence leakproof - roof to sidewall edge joint?

- Are those natural wood floors .... or engineered wood floors for superior long term dimensional stability in varying temperatures and humidities?

- I guess that there's a closed dry-sink/dry-toilet and wet-shower back there somewhere?

- What's the tank capacities?

- And .... like others have mentioned .... you better be fully dressed whenever you're in bed so you can get up out of it in the morning without an OOPS moment.

It doesn't strike me as being all that practical for general high-flexibility RV'ing use. I wouldn't take it off-pavement at all, except on very level, firm, and flat .... graded roads.

All that being said, it looks like a very cutesy rig! :)

1. Ground clearance appears similar to US class C's in the same length range (26')
2. Most smaller Cs in the US do not have ducted A/C either, although Ryan has clarified that this unit does indeed have the ducted unit.
3. I can see full sized access doors under both dinette benches; likely plenty of storage there, less equipment (electrical converter, furnace, ?).
4. Roof ladder would be nice, but many US models are sans-ladder nowadays as well.
5. Ceiling height looks to be similar to any US class C.
6. Does indeed look like a generator exhaust. Oh well, with a bed in front AND back, the genset has to reside somewhere.
7. I agree; double sinks would be better (and an easy thing for the manufacturer to use if their customer base wanted it).
8. Looks like a rolled-over joint, but hard to tell from the pics.
9. Flooring has been addressed; it is indeed engineered flooring.
10. Bathroom has also been addressed (yes, it does exist back there).
11. Nearly all US class Cs have dismal tank capacities, but this one is low even by those standards, especially the black (only 5 gal?).
12. While the open layout would not be ideal for families, it is certainly a change from the claustaphobic layouts that most RVs are stuck with.

Alot of your post sounds a bit snarky to me, but maybe I just misunderstood your points. As for me, it is nice to see something different than the fluffy generic units that we in the US have become accustomed to and accept without complaint. Different layouts, different colors & materials; sure would be nice for US manufacturers to at least look around and start giving us some variety and options.

The colors and materials appear very nice in that unit, and a few other things stand out as well; the high back dinette seat (on one side, anyway), swivel cab seats (used to be common in US class Cs but no longer), the aerodynamics certainly look nice, and it appears to have lots of outside storage, both basement and above floor level.

PNichols wrote:
It drives like a van would from any manufacturer - just a little stiff in the rear due to underloading, which is telling us that we can load it up with no weight concerns - but otherwise feeling rock solid

Well at least you admit the ride is not that good. No the ones brought into Australia, rapidly did meet anyone's expectations,in any respect, much more than the " E450 v Sprinter" threads

RobertRyan wrote:
Manufacturers used them here as a base, Not many takers., they thought the cheap chassis would help them sell, but it did not. The E350 has a very poor reputation as a MH Base

Robert, like I said earlier "You must have driven the wrong U.S. built motorhome.".

Perhaps yourself and other folks from Australia should have tried out something like this Great American Classic ... and then maybe the impressions over there of ultimate coach quality and Ford chassis worthiness would have been different:

http://www.coachhouserv.com/model-232xl.php

BTW, our small Class C built on the optional heavy duty Ford chassis has nothing to do with white-knuckle driving. It drives like a van would from any manufacturer - just a little stiff in the rear due to underloading, which is telling us that we can load it up with no weight concerns - but otherwise feeling rock solid under all conditions we have subjected it to on, and off, pavement. The E350 chassis loaded up close to it's maximum under a small Class B+/C can be a whole different and negative experience from the E450 chassis loaded way under it's maximum under a small Class B+/C ... so the two should not be lumped together when comparing Class B+/C motorhomes in the 21-25 foot range.

Tried out quite a few US Motorhome bases, (no it is not a Truck Camper),but did not impress ,,cost and ride were not good. Since gone to a Ford Ranger

cgmartine wrote:
RobertRyan, you are showing your Nationalistic streak mate! No need to compare and contrast. Your country's motorhome is very nice! Okay?

Yes a very nice well built, nice handling unit. The E450 I drove in the U.S. was far from that, gave you " white nuckles" driving it
Units have been bought cheaply from the U.S., but people do not want them. It also applied to some Chevrolet based units, their demise was rapid
Units like this Coachman Concord, were brought in and shunned

pnichols wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:
..... very below par chassis

You keep stating that.

Please quote engineering and design facts, data, or specifications to back that up regarding the Ford cutaway van chassis under so many Class C motorhomes. :h

Manufacturers used them here as a base, Not many takers., they thought the cheap chassis would help them sell, but it did not. The E350 has a very poor reputation as a MH Base

RobertRyan wrote:
..... very below par chassis

You keep stating that.

Please quote engineering and design facts, data, or specifications to back that up regarding the Ford cutaway van chassis under so many Class C motorhomes. :h

RobertRyan, you are showing your Nationalistic streak mate! No need to compare and contrast. Your country's motorhome is very nice! Okay?