Hi,
I just checked the floorplan & specs of the Georgetown 364TS. You need to take a serious look at the specs.
That rig is on a 22,000 lb. GVWR chassis with a 26,000 lb. GCWR. It's also a triple slide model with 2 baths. You have 7 people. You want to full-time in the rig.
When we were doing the research for our rig (a bit of 10 years ago) I figured we would need between 2,500-3,000 lbs. of cargo carrying capacity for people, food, water & stuff. We needed to flat-tow our Honda Odyssey minivan (4,460 lbs.). The rig we liked the best (and ultimately purchased) is the dual slide, dual sofa motorhome in our signature. Empty, it weighed in at 18,800 lbs. It is also on a 22,000 lb. GVWR chassis with a 26,000 lb. GCWR. Towing the minivan means that to remain under the GCWR the motorhome, fully loaded, had to come in at 21,500 lbs. or less. That gives us just about 2,700 lbs. for people, food, water & stuff. Our rig also came with 12 seatbelted positions from the factory (driver, passenger, 3 on each sofa, 4 dinette).
All that said, we have flirted with the 26,000 GCWR when loaded for extended trips. If we went full-time, we would need much more storage space and cargo carrying capacity.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the floorplans where the bunk beds are a paper-thin wall away from the "mommy & daddy" space. You're going to full-time and I assume you and your wife will want some privacy at least occasionally. We like having all of the kids sleep up front. Much better, in our opinion and experience. We don't have to worry about tender ears "listening in". We opted for dedicated living space over dedicated sleep space. Morning/evening changeover really isn't that bad, if the bedding is stored above each sleeping position. But there are those who really like the bunk floorplans. Personally, I wouldn't trade our dual sofa plan for anything. It's nice to have enough living room space and seating so we can all watch a movie together on a rainy day.
In addition, those bunks come at the expense of closet space. Assuming you each will have at least 3 pairs of shoes (sneakers, dress, water shoes), that's 42 shoes that will need to be stored!!! And if you're planning on doing winter activities, then you will need space for boots & winter clothes as well. Just mentioned this to get you thinking. The space fills up fast! Seven people in a rig will get cozy. Tripping over shoes is not fun! LOL
Maintenance on RV's, motorhomes especially, can be very expensive if you have to pay someone else to do the work. If you're mechanically inclined, then you can save by doing the work yourself. BUT...you need to have the tools. Which brings us back to needing more storage space and cargo carrying capacity.
A small nitpick on the 364TS. The awning is only 12 feet wide. That's not very big. Ours is 20 feet wide. I know that's about all they can do with the slide configuration, but we generally like to have the picnic table & grill under the awning, as well as the bikes at night & in the rain. Not going to happen with only 12' of awning.
And a slightly larger nitpick: The specs have freshwater listed as 50 gallons. In my opinion, that isn't enough if you plan to do any boondocking with 7 people. We have 80 gallons in ours and there have been times I've wished for more. But water is 8 pounds per gallon, so again, weight can become an issue.
Some additional questions, if I may.
What minivan are you planning on towing that only weighs 4,000 lbs.? Are you going to flat-tow or put it on a dolly or trailer?
Do you know how many belted positions the 364TS has?
What ages are your children? If they are real young, you need a fair amount of storage space just for "baby support". Stroller, play pen, diapers, etc. Not necessarily heavy stuff, but bulky. And the older kids...what sports equipment/toys/games will they want to bring?
To be quite honest, I don't think you're going to stay under the weight limits of that Georgetown chassis with your crew. I bet the rig weighs at least 19,500 lbs. empty, if not closer to 20,000 lbs. That only leaves you 2,000 - 2,500 lbs. for people, food and stuff and that assumes your minivan will weigh in under 4,000 lbs.
ON EDIT: I just read these three statements from FR Webpage
here:
"
Each Forest River RV is weighed at the manufacturing facility prior to shipping. A label identifying the unloaded vehicle weight of the actual unit and the cargo carrying capacity is applied to every Forest River RV prior to leaving our facilities." So if you can find one at a dealership, you should be able to get the unloaded weight fairly easily.
and
"
The load capacity of your unit is designated by weight, not by volume, so you cannot necessarily use all available space when loading your unit." Their way of saying it's your responsibility to make sure you're under the weight rating limits.
and
"
Actual towing capacity is dependent upon your particular loading and towing circumstances, which includes the GVWR, GAWR and GCWR as well as adequate trailer brakes. Again, you need to know the actual weights.
There are those on here who don't pay as strict attention to the weight limits and aren't terribly bothered by exceeding them. If that's you as well, more power to you. But if you're the type that would be bothered by running overloaded, then you need to know the numbers BEFORE you buy so it doesn't happen.
So where does that leave you? If I were you, I'd look for an older 38 - 42 foot DP within your price range with the dual sofa layout. Finding bunks might be hard, but you might be able to rig up a "drop down" bunk up front like many of the new rigs have. However, the DP doesn't absolve you from knowing and understanding weight limits. There are DPs which have weight problems as well.
I wouldn't recommend the full-size van/Travel Trailer option. We did investigate that, but then everyone is crammed into the van when you're on the road. In my opinion, there is NO BETTER way to travel with your family than in a motorhome. It's just so convenient to have everything at your fingertips while travelling down the road. Plus, when you're stuck in traffic due to rush hour/construction/accident, it's nice to have a bathroom at hand, especially with little kids. When we hit stop & go traffic, we use the time for potty breaks & snack/meal time. By the time the traffic clears, we hit the gas and keep rolling while most of the cars on the road are heading for the first rest area.
But the best advice I can give you is to take your time doing your research. Don't rush into anything and feel free to ask lots of questions here. It took us 2 years to decide on our motorhome. We started looking at small hybrids to tow behind the Odyssey, and ended up with the 36' gas class A TOWING the Odyssey. LOL But the fine folks on this forum were instrumental in helping us buy the right rig the first time. There's a lot of practical experience here. :)
Good Luck,
~Rick
