My first MH was a Minnie 31K (or might have been a C" then). Floorplan was a little different then. Had a CRT TV over the fridge, but the rest was about the same. The biggest thing we didn't like was the shower that is basically in the hall.
I now have a 2014 Leprechaun 319DSF. I have had a water leak, as have others, but as of now it is fixed. It is not hard to fix if you have a dry garage to work in, but I understand that not everyone wants to or can do this type of work. I do believe if you ordered a new unit, you would not have a leak problem, as the factory has made great efforts to eliminate this problem. I looked at the Minnie but there were just too many things about the Leprechaun that I liked better.
The main things I like about the Leprechaun:
1. Shower is not in the hall, like Winnie, Jayco, and Sunseeker. It is in the bedroom, angled at 45 degrees towards the bed. You have a separate pocket door that closes off the entire bath/bedroom. So, one person can be taking a shower, and another in the toilet/sink room with that door closed. All the others require you to swing the toilet door open to close off the bedroom shower area, so the person in the toilet room has no privacy.
2. Coachmen has no external step. For the way we camp, this is great. No noisy step that you have to wait to come down, or makes noise when you use it, or you might leave down when you pull off. Just step into the coach.
3. The 40" TV coming up out of the counter is at the perfect level for watching from the couch. Plus it's big.
4. The 32" TV on the outside is in the perfect location as well. It is just really nice to be sitting under a 21" awning with such a nice TV arrangement available outside.
5. The fireplace. The ambiance of the fireplace at night is fantastic. It also will heat the coach down to around 45 degrees outside. So, little or no furnace coming on while you're trying to sleep.
6. To me, appearance matters. The interior treatments, colors, wood, ultraleather, solid surface countertops, etc are the best looking there is in the available class C's.
Even after having a leak, I still am glad I bought my Leprechaun.
For the reasons above, plus others (like what I think is the best looking full paint), I just don't want the others. Each buyer has their own list of needs/wants, and for me nothing else excited me like the Leprechaun.
Regarding downsizing, I have had 4 class A motorhomes. Things I like about C's:
1. Lower roof height. The Leprechaun is 10'10". There's almost nowhere it won't go.
2. 16" wheels. You can change your own tire on the road, and have your tires balanced by any good tire shop.
3. The cab is all Ford engineered. Doors on both sides for ease of getting in and out, especially when arriving and setting up camp, gas stations, rest stops etc. Both front windows go down. Really nice when driving around a campground, state park etc. Safety equipment, such as airbags crush zones etc all Ford engineered. I like the cabover. This is where you can throw jackets, packages etc.
4. The sun is always in your eyes in a Class A, so they put shades on the side windows and huge sun visors on the front. The cabover is like a giant baseball cap-keeps the sun out of your eyes.
Anyway, that's my opinion. By the way, other than the one water leak which I had no problem fixing, my coach has been completely trouble free.
CT51
