2001: More Space for Your Odyssey
A look at the new travel trailers and fifth wheels from Holiday Rambler

by David Bessmer

When you take a look at the length and breadth of Holiday Rambler‘s lineup of fifth wheels and travel trailers for 2001, two things stand out. First, Holiday Rambler has restructured its luxury offerings, dropping the Imperial nameplate and resurrecting the Presidential marque. In doing so, they've become very aggressive about improving the ratio of price to posh.

Second, there are lots of imaginative new floorplans for a variety of needs, with even greater choices in slideouts to add functional, livable space to your rig. Of course, each line has some nifty new features as well. And most of the changes, big and small, came from the company's listening closely to Holiday Rambler customers and dealers, according to John Cunningham, national sales manager for travel trailer and fifth wheels.

But let's start with the big news: A new flagship line.

If you were looking at either an Imperial or Aluma-Lite fifth wheel in 2000 but didn't get around to buying, you'll want to look at the Presidential line in 2001, because that's the new name for Holiday Rambler's highline fifth wheels. (You now will find the Aluma-Lite brand name only on travel trailers.)

"The Presidential is everything Holiday Rambler has ever stood for in a luxury fifth wheel," Cunningham told me, "it has the perception of a high-line fifth wheel, but carries a mid-line price. We first showed it at the big RV rally in Gillette, WY, and it went over very big."

As noted, Aluma-Lite remains the brand name for Holiday Ramblers luxury travel trailers. And the hot-selling Alumascape brand continues to offer both travel trailers and fifth wheels, with several new floorplans for 2001.

Presidential Fifth Wheels

Features:

Like previous top-of-the-line Holiday Rambler products, the Presidential is built on a 10-inch I-beam frame, with Alumaframe construction. The underbelly has a complete metal wrap, with heavier metal in the curved side wrap. They've added two storage trunks in this side wrap area, along with optional generator prep. A spare tire mounted under the frame is standard. So is an exterior shower, especially handy for rinsing down grubby little munchkins before they track sand, dirt or worse into the trailer.

Graceful new exterior graphics are in traditional Holiday Rambler colors of blue and grey. Styled 16-inch sport wheels have chrome trim rings and center cap.

Inside, the Presidential is loaded with features. A few new or notable ones are: AM/FM/CD/cassette sound system with four speakers and new cleaner styling. Presidential comes ready for cable TV, digital satellite system (DSS), VCR, and has a video control box to handle all the switching. For the thoroughly wired, telephone jacks are included in the kitchen, bedroom and, as applicable, the computer station.

The ceiling is soft-padded vinyl. It absorbs sound, is far easier to clean than textured fabric, and adds another layer of insulation to the formerly nine-layer roof structure. Halogen overhead lights have been added in the cabinet overhang in the kitchen. Models with rear bay windows now have beautiful vertical blinds.

In the kitchen, countertops are a stone-like "solid-surface" material rather than laminate. The recessed range cover is made of this same attractive material for extra workspace. Near the sink is a handy little tip-out tray that's perfect for stowing dish scrubbers, hand soap and the like, and there's a built-in spice and knife rack. Larger side-kitchen models have a folding counter extension. The standard kitchen and bath flooring is practical linoleum that looks like ceramic tile.

Customers asked for a built-in laundry hamper. Now they have one, under the washer-dryer opening. Standard dinettes are free-standing with an option for a booth dinette, in case you need extra sleeping space for the little ones.

Cabinetry is Western Oak, which is fairly light in color. A medium-hued Colony Oak is a no-cost option with darker Walnut available for a modest up-charge. The four interior décor schemes are Coral Coast, Mahogany, Sea View and Emerald.

Options:

The Presidential is a pretty complete luxury fifth wheel, but there are a few things you can still add. Such as: Patio and slideout awnings. You can also get a Carefree one-touch electric awning on all but two models (34RLT and 36SKT). And you can choose high-gloss fiberglass sidewalls, chrome wheels and exterior security lights with switches by the door and in the bedroom.

You can add luxury to your life with a Leather Mate recliner, a king-size bed (queen is standard, but not available on 29SKD and 30SCD) or a surround-sound speaker system. And a Winegard DSS dish antenna with stand will ensure you're never out of touch with your favorite TV programming.

Several floorplans give you a choice between a roomy neo-angle shower and a garden tub.

Floorplans:

Providing plenty of living space for your odyssey means having two slide-outs in models up to 32 feet and three in models 34 feet and longer – plus making the best use of that space and giving you great choice for the way you want to live.

A new 30-footer has a door-side kitchen, rear swivel recliners and bay window and a road-side slide-out that houses the sofa and dinette (30SCD). A new 32-foot rear-kitchen model offers a roadside dinette-and-sofa slideout and a garden tub option (32RKD).

All four triple slideout models are new. The 34RLT, already a hot seller, features a huge rear living room with sofa, swivel recliners and a large entertainment center, which is housed in the road-side slideout along with the kitchen – sofa and dinette are in the door-side slideout. The 34SKT puts the kitchen on the curb side, the dinette opposite and features a roomy computer work station with plenty of storage next to an angled entertainment center. The 35CKT rotates things 90 degrees, placing the entertainment center and computer station along the rear wall, with the sofa and dinette roadside and swivel chairs opposite. The 36SKT has the same living room arrangement as the 34SKT, but the kitchen is roadside, with more counter space, and the bath is roomier.

(An advantage of Alumaframe construction: For all its strength, it's so light that even the 36SKT can be towed by a properly equipped one-ton pickup, while many triple-slide rigs of this length require a custom hauler.)

With one exception, all bedrooms feature slideout transverse beds with a large chest of drawers at the foot and terrific wardrobe space across the frontend of the coach. The exception is the 29SKD, which has a slideout wardrobe. Without a slideout mechanism under the bed, all the space is for storage, a big plus in a 29-footer.

Aluma-Lite Travel Trailers

While Holiday Rambler merged their two high-line fifth wheel lines under the Presidential nameplate, there was good reason to retain the Aluma-Lite brand for travel trailers. Aluma-Lite has earned a special reputation for combining high quality and high value. And customers continue to recognize Aluma-Lite's strengths.

New features:

In fact, Aluma-Lite travel trailers are quite "Presidential" in most respects. Exterior graphics are similar, which is to say elegantly streamlined, as opposed to the gaudy designs that festoons many current travel trailers these days.

We've got the full composite underbelly and the heavier-duty lower radius wrap with two new storage trunks. Inside, the AM/FM/CD system with cassette and four speakers and the prewiring for Cable TV, DSS and VCR with video control box. You'll see the same four décor patterns. And the same standard Western Oak cabinetry with the same options for Colony Oak and Walnut.

Countertops are lighter-weight laminate, but with stone-like solid-surface edging. And Holiday has added the same little tip-out utility tray near the sink.

There's a new china toilet in the bathroom. Walk-through bath models have a new six-panel door clad in wall-board material that helps brighten up the living room, compared to the former wood-grain door.

New options:

The popular ones are the portable digital satellite dish (DSS), surround sound, Leather Mate recliner, raised panel refrigerator door front, fold-down shower seat, and chrome wheel rims.

Floorplans:

Aluma-Lite floorplan offerings are basically the same as last year's, for good reason. "We pretty well dialed in our floorplans last year," Cunningham said. "We're offering the ones people want, and those with which we've been successful."

The offering starts with a 28-foot side-kitchen model – the one floorplan that did get tweaked for 2001. The designers flipped the kitchen, so that the sink, rather than the fridge, is no next to the door and the living room – so the galley slave can converse more easily with whoever is taking it easy.

The 30SKS, new in 2000, appeals to the growing numbers of people who are "destination camping," i.e., staying in one place for a long time. It's essentially a ranch-style fifth wheel, with the bedroom in the front and the living room at the rear, so that the big bay windows afford a view of woods, water or whatever is back there, rather than a view of the campground street.

The three largest models, at 30, 33 and 34 feet, are all front kitchen designs (all five floorplans feature dinette-and-sofa slideouts) with room for one or two swivel chairs and an entertainment center. The two larger plans have a garden tub and space provided for a washer-dryer. Twin beds are available on all but the 34FKS, which has a transverse double bed that allows for a nearly full-width rear wardrobe.

Alumascape Fifth Wheels/Travel Trailers

Holiday Rambler's largest-selling brand is its lowest-priced and offers the widest selection of floorplans, with designs for growing families, retirees, long haulers and destination campers.

New colors and graphic designs are spirited and fun, but not so wild they'll get you thrown out of the campground. (I may be betraying a prejudice against current trends in RV exteriors here. It's another thing Holiday Rambler has got right.)

New features:

Alumascape fifth wheels and travel trailers boast all-new front and rear fiberglass caps. The front is graceful and aerodynamic. On some floorplans, the rear features a triple bay window and integrated bumper. Smooth aluminum sides and painted lower radius wraps and molded-color fenders complete the great-looking package.

Inside, the designers have had a field day, adding four new décor schemes (Briar Rose, Sandstone, Blue Atlantis and Evergreen), vertical blinds in the rear bay windows, and wood fascia trim on the slide-out. New counters are laminate with matching color-permeated edging. And the interior door is clad in white wallboard material, which really brightens things up. Add new decorative glass and cabinet hardware and you're looking at the loveliest Alumascape yet.

Hookups for cable TV, DSS, VCR – with video switching box – are all standard as are phone jacks front and rear.

New options:

If you prefer something darker than the standard Western Oak cabinetry, you can choose between Colony Oak and Walnut. Booth dinettes are standard (they're more popular with younger families), but a free standing dinette with four chairs is available. So are Leather Mate recliners.

Entertainment options include the AM/FM/CD/cassette unit standard with options for up to a 27-inch TV in certain floorplans.

Outside, you can specify high-gloss gel-coat fiberglass sidewalls in lieu of smooth aluminum, along with chrome wheel rims, storage doors in the lower radius wrap, and a portable Winegard DSS dish. A one touch electric Carefree patio awning is available, too.

One very important option on the smaller fifth wheels (26 to 30 feet) is an adjustable-height suspension. Certain new pickup models are a bit too tall to accommodate standard-height smaller fifth wheels. Rather than custom-build the suspension height to order, Holiday Rambler chose to give dealers and customers the option of ordering the adjustable suspension. This lets dealers match inventory to their customers' trucks – and gives the customer the freedom to buy a new truck in the future without worrying about the fit. (That's a big plus for resale value, too.)

Travel trailer floorplans:

Alumascape offers eight floorplans from 25' to 31'. Three are new.

A growing interest in bunkhouse models spurred the introduction of the 26SKS. With double bed, sleeper sofa, dinette and bunks, this floorplan sleeps eight people comfortably in a 26-foot trailer – assuming some of them are kids. The carryover 31SKS offers the same sleeping arrangements with more living space.

The new 31CKS reflects the growing interest in destination camping with a very livable front beroom, rear living room setup.

All the travel trailers have sofa and/or dinette slideouts except the 30-foot front kitchen. The 30SKD has a bedroom slideout as well, offering terrific living and storage space in a relatively compact towing package.

Fifth wheel floorplans:

There's plenty of news here: specifically seven new floorplans out of 11 total.

At the short end, the slideout revolution has packed an incredible amount of livability into the traditional 26-foot rear kitchen concept. Door and curbside slideouts for the dinette and sofa, respectively, create a huge amount of living area. Add an optional bedroom wardrobe slideout, and you get the kind of wardrobe space full-timers are used to in a great little weekender or sportsman's fifth wheel.

There's a 27-foot bunkhouse model that's similar in layout to the 26-foot travel trailer.

The new 30-foot rear kitchen model is very similar to the carryover 29-footer, but allows for a roomier bath, an optional washer-dryer, and a standard bedroom wardrobe slideout that gives you 100% storage space under the bed.

Three new floorplans – the 30 SKS, 33SKT and 36SKT include barstools at the kitchen counter. The 33SKT has a novel L-shaped kitchen counter made possible by putting the appliances and pantry in a curb-side slideout. The 34' and 36' models have standard computer stations with plenty of storage space for office things.

Every Alumascape fifth wheel except the bunkhouse model has one or two living-area slideouts standard with a bed or bedroom wardrobe slideout either standard or optional.

It's a brave new world in travel trailer and fifth wheel design. Space is constantly expanding, and Holiday Rambler is in the vanguard. The company has gone to great lengths to get the best ideas its dealers and customers have suggested built into the 2001 line. Holiday's customer-driven innovation and flat-floor slideout technology have pushed the envelope, literally, of what travel trailer and fifth wheel living can be.

Dave Bessmer is a freelance writer living in East Grand Rapids, MI. He has spent the last 25 years in or hanging around the RV business as a publisher's representative, an RV manufacturer's representative and an advertising and public relations writer and executive. He loves fishing, and combines all three in a yearly RV trip.