Sometimes amid the inevitable fanfare that heralds exciting innovations, solid, traditional values can be overlooked.

For instance, last year Holiday Rambler introduced its Presidential Suite and Alumascape Suite fifth wheel lines, with lowered chassis frames that allow for enough finished, unobstructed basement storage area to house a small drum and bugle corps (although an optional exterior stereo system would probably be a more practical way of keeping up the fanfare, requiring less in the way of food service.)

The Suites concept remains a brilliant one and has proved enormously popular. However, Holiday Rambler had the good sense not to drop the conventional Alumascape fifth wheel line. They entered 2007 with two floorplans, and recently expanded the floorplan selection to four for 2008 — one of which is the 32CKQ featured here.

The point is that at lower prices than the Suites series, with similar amenities, quality and construction, the standard Alumascape fifth wheel remains an extremely solid value for people who need basement storage that is merely excellent, as opposed to cavernous. The mere fact that it is built by Holiday Rambler counts for a lot.

“Alumascape fifth wheels carry a five-year structural warranty,” Brad McKinney, national sales manager for Holiday Rambler towables pointed out. “They’re the only fifth wheels at this price point that offer that kind of warranty.”

Solid New Floorplan

There is nothing radical about the new 2008 32CKQ floorplan, unless you consider it unusual to find a layout that is nearly perfect for a couple who travel a lot or have gone full-time. Thirty-two feet is a nice, manageable size for towing. And the quad-slide layout provides the kind of livability you could only find in a monster coach — better, really, since the living quarters are wider rather than longer.

A good example of what this means is the 32CKQ galley. The coach overall is very similar to the Alumascape 33CKT. Not to knock the latter, but I prefer the 32-footer’s wrap-around kitchen design (made possible by the addition of the fourth slideout) to the L-shape of the 33, because it has the cook and/or bottle washer facing the living room (ergo the guests, the spouse, the TV, etc.) far more often. You can dig into the fridge on either coach without having to shove the cook aside, but on the 32CKQ, you have access to the sinks from either side of the counter. If I could have this feature at home, it would improve my marriage by a small but measurable margin.

The slightly shorter floorplan still provides plenty of kitchen cabinet space, what with the overheads hung from the ceiling above the U-shaped counter. Also, there’s a nice, tall pantry against the forward wall.

The rest of the living area works beautifully. Given the placement of the sofa, dinette (or optional free-standing table and chairs) and moveable lounge chairs, it’s easy to gather six people around the TV for a movie or a game. There’s plenty of room to move around, yet the placement of seating encourages a certain social intimacy.

And speaking of TV, I especially like the way the entertainment/computing center is done in these coaches. The TV has been moved from the right side of this slideout to the center, overhead. This opens up some work area while centering the TV relative to the sofa opposite.

“Alumascape fifth wheels carry a five-year structural warranty,” Brad McKinney, national sales manager for Holiday Rambler towables pointed out. “They’re the only fifth wheels at this price point that offer that kind of warranty.”

Another feature McKinney stressed is the side aisle configuration upstairs, with all the bath fixtures enclosed in a single room. This might not be the ideal configuration for families or people who frequently take a second couple along as guests, but there are distinct advantages for a couple in the area of privacy and convenience in having the commode next to the lavatory rather than across the hall.
The bedroom layout features a walk-around transverse queen size (60 inches × 80 inches) bed, a large closet across the front wall and good cabinet and dresser space.

Forty Years and Still on Top

And then there’s the way this coach is built. What could be more solid or traditional than Holiday Rambler Alumaframe construction, the company’s claim to fame since shortly after the dawn of civilization, when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House and I was in high school? This aircraft-style interlocking (rather than butt-welded) aluminum body-framing technique yields an amazing strength-to-weight ratio, to the point that nobody has figured out a better way to build travel trailers and fifth wheels in more than 40 years since it was introduced. Alumaframe allows for the convenience of placing electrical outlets and switches on the walls, where they belong, builders of coaches with laminated sidewalls have to run all wiring through floors and cabinets. Also, Alumaframe is the basis of Holiday Rambler’s exceptional weatherproofing system.

This is a couple’s coach, one that people will be using many months of the year in a wide range of weather and climates. Coping in comfort with weather extremes is one of the best reasons to consider this coach.

Walls: Beneath the heavy-gauge (.040) aluminum skin or optional fiberglass is the Alumaframe interlocking grid, filled with 1-1/2-inch fiberglass that is bonded in place so it won’t sag. Inside the framework is a vapor barrier, then a layer of bead foam board that adds R-value and keeps heat from being conducted through the aluminum framing. Then there’s a second vapor barrier next to the interior paneling. Even the baggage doors are insulated.

Roof: The roof is all that and then some. It’s peaked for water run-off. The roofing is BriteTek material that’s virtually puncture-proof and doesn’t streak, laid down over luaun backing. Then there’s a layer of thick, tapered bead foam over the Alumaframe structure that’s filled with fiberglass like the walls. Below that, vapor barrier, structure foam, vapor barrier, luaun and the padded vinyl ceiling.

Floor: Another six-layer wonder with plenty of insulation. And of course, the underbelly in completely enclosed so that the ducted heat system helps keep fluid tanks and plumbing from freezing.

In short, this is a coach that keeps you warm when it’s cold out and cool when it’s hot out, another one of those traditional, basic values Holiday Rambler has been delivering since the last ice age.

It’s also a coach that’s built for the nation’s not-always-perfect roads. The frame rails are 10-inch I-beams for superior strength and rigidity. The undercarriage is wrapped in an aerodynamically smooth, hazard-resistant composite material.

The rig rolls on a pair of 6,000-pound Super Lube axles and 16-inch radial tires (spare standard.) Payload capacity is in the area of 4,000 pounds, another benefit of Alumaframe weight savings.

Taking It Easy

The coach is incomparably equipped for easy outdoor living. The patio awning is standard. And there’s that great Holiday Rambler water management bay that puts all the controls for freshwater and waste water — including the no-fuss holding tank flush system — conveniently at hand, along with an outdoor shower, soap dispenser and paper towel rack. All the baggage and service bays are well-lighted, and exterior security lights are standard.

Honest Quality

I cannot tell a lie: someone chopped down cherry trees to make the cabinetry that comes standard in this coach. That’s just the first of many ways in which this coach displays traditionally splendid Holiday Rambler quality and décor sense. Cabinet doors and even the refrigerator door panel are solid, raised panel cherry, although there’s liberal use of decorative glass in selected cabinet doors to keep things brighter and more exciting.

Cabinetry construction is same-old Holiday Rambler — which means heirloom quality, with dovetailed hardwood drawers on roller guides and superb finish work by the company’s own craftsmen.
Holiday Rambler maintains another of its traditions in supplying the best in modern appliances, including a standard home theater and surround-sound system with an option for a flat-panel LCD TV with hi-def tuner. (Get this. 4:5 cathode-ray TV is a tradition whose time is all but up.)

Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of the new Suites models (Alumascape and Presidential) in these pages. Covering great new innovations is always exciting, and this concept is certainly here to stay. But taking a close look at the latest lineup of traditional Alumascape fifth wheels is an eye-opening experience. It’s easy to see why there’s still enough demand that Holiday Rambler is expanding their offerings in this market niche.

Like Fourth of July, the opening day of baseball season, and traveling south for the winter, the truly great traditions constantly renew themselves. The 2008 Alumascape towable line — and the new 32CKQ — is another great example of that process.

Dave Bessmer is a freelance writer living in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has spent over 25 years in or around the RV business. He has authored several features for Holidays magazine.