When the call of the open road is sung with such a sweet and powerful melody that you just can’t resist casting your eyes toward the far horizon and wondering what’s over there… then it’s time to step aboard the new 2007 Navigator, turn the key in the ignition, and submit to the temptation to travel.

The Navigator is the flagship of the Holiday Rambler motorcoach line, and as such it offers the highest level of comfort and convenience. Even though it is the top of the line in the Holiday Rambler family, the Navigator is by no means ostentatious. There is nothing pretentious about it; everything, inside and out, is wonderfully functional. Oh sure, it is also handsome beyond compare, but there is not much here that is just for show.  

To prove my point, pull out some cabinet drawers and take a look at how they’re built — dovetail joints, solid hardwood faces, steel glides, sturdy hardware. Examine the countertops and the dinette table and the nightstands and the vanities and the window sills — all of these are made of solid, durable, easy-care Corian® material. You won’t find anything better in a custom residence. And if you continue to scrutinize the rest of the Navigator — over, under, around and through — you’ll see that the whole coach is put together with the same attention to quality. I rest my case.

Well, okay, I’m not going to rest my case quite yet. There’s a lot more to talk about before we’re done. It’s a fact that when you reach the top of your game it’s difficult to make improvements. I sometimes get the feeling that if the Navigator were a trap shoot, it would be breaking 99 out of 100 clays. And every year, they come back and try to hit that last one. And every year, I get the sense that they’ve hit it. But they’re never satisfied. They want to hit it even harder next time.

One of the ways they hit it harder for 2007 is to make the Navigator taller on the inside. Interior height is now 84 inches, which has resulted in the clear impression of greater roominess. To the actual physical increase in headroom, the designers have visually increased ceiling height by the use of smoke and mirrors. Well, okay, they don’t actually use smoke — but they do use mirrors. In both the living room and the bedroom, artfully styled ceiling recesses incorporate mirrors and lights, resulting in a very appealing design effect that seems to give you a crystal sky overhead. People come into this coach, look at the ceiling and go nearly speechless. About the best they can come out with is, “Wow!”

But it isn’t all just about creating an elegant mood. There’s a practical side, as well. The added headroom makes it possible to do things like installing an optional ceiling fan in the master suite, which I really like. There are days when you don’t want the air conditioner running, but it would be nice to move the air around a bit, and the ceiling fan is ideal for this.

While we’re talking about the bedroom, allow me to extol the virtues of the bed itself — equipping the coach with the optional king size Sleep Number bed means you can make the mattress as hard or as soft as you like, providing infinitely adjustable comfort. The bedroom in our review coach (45PBQ) is truly a master suite to be enjoyed.  It offers room enough to easily move around the bed, access the full-width rear wardrobe (with etched mirror doors), use the dresser area with its eight deep and wide drawers, work with the clothes hamper, and enjoy the large corner vanity. Storage space is more than ample for clothing (both folded and hanging), as well as blankets, pillows, linens and all sorts of other stuff. Most everything about this bedroom is perfect.

For privacy, a lockable solid hardwood door slides across the aisle leading from the bedroom to the forward portion of the coach. The next space forward happens to be the bathroom area, with a large shower enclosure on one side of the aisle and a private commode on the opposite side, wherein resides a toilet and a large vanity with sink and medicine cabinet. If desired, the door to the commode can be left open without losing privacy, because the entire bath area can be isolated from the rest of the coach by using the sliding aisle way doors. The arrangement provides the greatest flexibility by allowing the bathroom to be used by guests, while maintaining privacy in the bedroom, or by opening the bath area to the bedroom for convenience.

Just forward of the bath area is the laundry center. The coach we reviewed was equipped with stackable Bosch Axxis units, the washer on the bottom and the dryer on top. The question of whether it is better to have a single combination washer/dryer or a stackable set comes down to personal preference. The stackables take up more space, but allow you to work on two loads at the same time — one in the washer while the other is in the dryer. Combination units allow more space in the cabinet for laundry products, and also give the convenience of loading the clothes and never having to shift them to a dryer. Your choice in the Navigator, because both systems are optional. If you don’t order the laundry appliances, you end up with an extra closet that would make a wonderful pantry, because it is directly adjacent to the refrigerator. 

Speaking of the refrigerator, the one in our review coach was nothing short of awesome. It was the 20-cubic-foot Maytag residential unit that can be ordered as an option. If you want to feel like you never left home, this is the fridge for you. The rest of the kitchen is every bit as functional and conveniently laid out as could be hoped. The twin sinks (one small and one huge) make after-dinner cleanup a breeze, even if you’re washing large pots and pans. The recessed two-burner Kitchen Aid gas range, and the overhead Sharp Carousel convection microwave oven will handle even the most creative recipes. The integrated Corian sinks and range have matching covers, so when they’re not in use they can be concealed and the covers employed as parts of the countertop. Lots of nice drawers and cabinets provide plenty of places for utensils, dishes and all the rest of the kitchen accouterments. 

Across from the kitchen is the dinette, and I really like what the designers have done here. The optional fabric/leather sectional booth arrangement is elegant and comfortable. This is a very nice place to have dinner — turn the lights down and the romantic mood of a corner table in a fine restaurant is created. When dinner guests are part of the evening, the cantilevered Corian tabletop slides out so a leaf can be added. 

With opposing slideouts, the living room expands into a truly gracious place to entertain guests or just to live a carefree lifestyle with room to dance. The dance floor, by the way, has changed. For 2007, all the Navigator floorplans feature a tile floor that leads all the way from the cockpit to the bedroom. The only place carpet is used is in the bedroom, beneath the dinette table, and there are sculptured carpet areas in front of the sofa and J-lounge in the living room — all the right places to keep your tootsies warm and cozy, while eliminating the primary wear (and soiling) area in the middle of the room. To help keep the entire coach interior clean, you can now order the Navigator with an optional central vacuum system that was not previously available. 

Day/Night shades with blackouts are now standard throughout the coach, providing total control of how much outside light you want to allow in, or how much privacy you desire. Among the items that have been moved off the options list and onto the standard equipment list for 2007 are two great pieces of entertainment gear — a 20-inch LCD TV in the bedroom and a 37-inch LCD TV that is hidden in the ceiling above the cockpit. These televisions make use of the fully automatic digital satellite system, so you’ll never have to worry about missing your favorite programs. In fact, if you want, you can also order the new optional exterior 32-inch LCD TV for those times when you would like to enjoy some entertainment beneath the patio awning. 

While we’re talking about the awning, I should mention that the new Navigator has been modified on the outside by moving the Girard automatic patio awning to the top of the roof. New front and rear end caps blend into the awning, and rooftop trim elements that match the shape of the awning housing on both sides of the coach carry the theme all the way from front to rear. With this change, all the roof-mounted equipment disappears from view, while making the coach look sleeker. Girard automatic window awnings are new options.  

In prior years, if you wanted the convenience and added safety of the SEE-Vision Coach Monitoring System, you would have to order it as an option. But starting in 2007, this highly prized equipment that helps eliminate blind spots while you’re driving, and provides an added measure of security while parked, is now standard. As the primary driver in our family, I can’t say enough about the value of the optional Eaton Vorad radar-based collision avoidance system. With a big coach like this one, I highly recommend it. 

One of the great changes for ’07 is the addition of the RV Sani-Con Tank Drainage System to help ease the labor and the cleanup involved in draining the waste holding tanks. The Sani-Con uses a 12-volt grinder/pump that forcefully removes all the ugly stuff from the blackwater tank, then uses the water from the gray tank to wash the inside of the black tank and flush everything out. And all this is done without having to fuss with wearing a hazmat suit to protect yourself. I like it, and it’s now standard equipment on the Navigator. 

The Aqua Hot heating system also moves up from the options list to the standard equipment list in 2007, as does the power cord reel and the power water hose reel. I know that these bits of equipment are not necessarily pretty or fancy, but they are almighty handy for the one who is outside working on the business end of the shore power, water, and sewer hookups. To a guy like me, they are very important, and I’m happy to see them added as standard equipment. 

As a driver, I appreciate the power and stability of the Roadmaster S-Series chassis, with 10 air bags and ten Bilstein shocks, eight of which are mounted outboard to provide rock solid stability when cornering or when faced with devilish crosswinds. You get your choice of powerplants, ranging from the standard 500-horsepower Cummins ISM-II, to a 515-horsepower Series 60 Detroit Diesel, to a 525-horsepower Cummins ISX. No matter which engine you select, they are all mated to the venerable Allison 4000 MH 6-speed automatic transmission, that seems to always know exactly which gear is needed. 

My only advice is that unless you want to buy a Navigator, don’t ever drive one — because once you experience this coach from behind the wheel, you’ll never be satisfied with anything less. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, I dare you to give it a try.   Amen — now I rest my case.