| Most RV owners probably undergo a considerable amount of homework and shopping before they purchase a new motorhome. It’s a large purchase after all, so they probably seek advice from veteran RVers, draw on any RV experience they already have, walk through many different models and really think the decision through. It’s unlikely that most RVers would end up with a motorhome by chance or as an impulse buy — and this would explain the success of the Holiday Rambler Vacationer.
“The customer who does the research is our buyer,” said Holiday Rambler Sales Manager Kevin Atkinson. “These are the people who are out taking a look at a lot of motorhomes and talking to other owners, and they might have already experienced an RV of lesser quality, so they know when they see high quality.”
In a tour of the new 2008 Vacationer XL, it is that high quality that Atkinson hammers home again and again. Not only that, but there’s something else that makes the new Vacationer XL stand out: high quality and upscale amenities at an economic price.
“No one else has a diesel motorhome in this price point with these kinds of amenities,” Atkinson said. “And the sales are showing that. We can’t build these fast enough.”
It’s easy to find the amenities he’s referring to on the ’08 Vacationer XL, all you have to do is look up. It starts with full body paint and graphics, and continues on with redesigned front and rear caps. The caps are sculpted and shaped like the most expensive HR models, and they wrap around the sides of the coach much further than many other manufacturers’ models. “This improves visibility,” Atkinson said. “And the windshield also drops deeper than most RVs in the famous “Holiday Rambler smile.” It’s the best view out there.”
The view inside is just as impressive. A new 26 or 32-inch flatscreen LCD TV is mounted above the cockpit, out of the way as you walk up the front entry steps, and the plush new surroundings are seductive. A tile runner has been added from the front steps to the kitchen tile and it’s surrounded by thick, comfortable carpet. There are several large windows in the living area, which keeps the occupants bathed in light during the daytime, unless the day/night shades are pulled.
Guessing Game
Once Atkinson is inside the Vacationer XL with someone taking a tour, one of his favorite activities is to play the cabinet guessing game.
“How many cabinets do you think are in here?” he asks. Most guess in the neighborhood of about 20 cabinets, which seems reasonable at first glance. Atkinson then proceeds to open each cabinet, starting at the front of the coach, counting off each one. In the 2008 Vacationer XL, he finishes in the bedroom with a count of 52.
“I just doubled and almost tripled the amount of storage that the customer thought was in here,” he said. “We have 25 percent more cabinets and drawers than the average motorhome does, in all our products.”
Another thing that should be mentioned about the cabinets — this year, the standard wood choices are cherry or maple, which have been offered in the past as options costing several hundred dollars more.
Floorplan Features
The floorplans in the latest version of the Vacationer XL have also benefited from change. Three of the six floorplans are new: the 34SBD,the 36SBD and the 38PLT. The 34-foot SBD offers an all-in-one
bathroom, a front facing bed with a passenger side slideout and facing sofas in the living room with a driver side slideout. The 36SBD
features the same sofa and slideout arrangement and a similar bathroom configuration, but the queen bed faces the driver side.
The 38-foot PLT brings two facing slideouts in the bedroom with the queen bed facing the passenger side. The bedroom also houses two lounge chairs and a table that could be used as a work area. The shower is separate from the private toilet, and a storage hutch is a centerpiece of the living area.
The other three carry-over floorplans include a 34-foot, 36-foot and 38-foot model. “The Vacationer has grown over the years,” Atkinson said. “It used to be that we just had 34-footers available and now we have 36 and 38-foot floorplans.”
New standards in all floorplans include a SpaceSaver convection microwave, a stainless steel kitchen sink with single lever pull-out faucet and satin black cabinetry hardware and bathroom accessories.
The most prominent new option is the standard run savings package with Eclipse automatic awning, home theater system with upgraded speakers and subwoofer and a three-camera rear vision system with audio and adjustable center camera. A separate DVD player in the bedroom and a front film protective mask are the other new options. The bedroom also stands out because of new, thicker padded headboards that lend an atmosphere of luxury.
One amenity offered in the Vacationer XL, not offered in most other 38-foot motorhomes, is the option for a gasoline or diesel-powered chassis. The GM Vortec V8 engine is offered as an option in the 38PLT and 38SDD models, while the others receive a Cummins 325 HP diesel.
The Foundation
For Holiday Rambler sales guru Atkinson, there is one place he tends to differ from others when it comes to his approach, and he’s assisted here because it’s a category where Holiday Rambler stands out from the crowd.
“Traditional RV sales tells you that women are only interested in the looks, but I always preach: steel, steel, steel,” Atkinson said. “That’s because we’re talking safety here. There’s a lot sitting on top of that chassis, and we have the safest steel cage and structure out there.”
He admitted that it’s easy to focus on good looks when a motorhome has the looks of the 2008 Vacationer XL, but to overlook structural integrity and build quality would be a mistake.
“If you build and sell from a standpoint of function, foundation and safety, everything else falls into place,” he said.
Standing behind the Vacationer XL, Atkinson pointed out the functional difference. Ninety percent of all diesel motorhomes on the market are built on the same chassis that are used for work trucks or service vehicles, while the other 10 percent are built by luxury coach companies. There are many big differences between the two types of chassis, but one of the biggest is sticking out the side. “Service vehicle chassis vent the exhaust directly out the back,” Atkinson said. “We vent the exhaust out the side.”
The reason?
“Have you ever seen a service vehicle pull a nice white Jeep Cherokee behind it?” Atkinson asked.
Experienced Eyes
While many new potential RVers might not notice the location of the exhaust pipe, they also might not look underneath the chassis, but there are important things going on here as well. On the ’08 Vacationer, the chassis is coated with a thick paint undercoating, applied in a high-tech downdraft booth. “In other coaches where the undercoating isn’t applied [so] well, the body can start to rust in as little as three months,” Atkinson said.
In addition to the undercoating beneath the chassis, up front there is expansion foam sprayed all around the base of the cockpit to prevent drafts of air coming up. “I’ve worked for other companies, so I know it’s a big problem,” Atkinson said. “But here we have a very comfortable cabin.”
The electrical compartment at the front of the coach is also extremely well sealed with expansion foam, which helps prevent water intrusion in an environment that must stay dry.
Inside the electrical wiring box, during his tour Atkinson points out the wiring diagram with all the wires labeled as spares. He counts 14 of them on the 2008 Vacationer diesel. The spares are there in case owners want to add new components over the life of their coach. “This is something that our Roadmaster chassis have had for years but it doesn’t get mentioned a lot,” he said. “But it’s very significant to people who want to continue to work on their motorhomes.”
Ride quality in the ’08 Vacationer XL Roadmaster chassis starts with leaf spring suspension, a performance suspension package, our gas shock absorbers and a hydraulic anti-lock braking system. In the Workhorse UFO chassis, the front suspension is built on monoleaf springs, swaybar and Bilstein shocks, while the rear suspension features coil springs and Bilstein shocks, plus a torque box that minimizes body roll.
Electrical management is handled by a 55-amp electronic power converter or optional 600-watt inverter, with power storage in two six-volt house batteries and two 12-volt chassis batteries. Water heat is provided b a 10-gallon liquid propane gas/electric water heater and space heating by a 35M BTU or 40M BTU propane furnace. Two 13.5M BTU air conditioners handle cooling, and heat pumps are optional.
The “nickel test” is one of the last things Atkinson does to demonstrate superior quality in the 2008 Vacationer XL. He starts the Onan 6.0 kW generator and waits a few minutes for it to adjust to the load. Then, to show customers just how well housed this component is, Atkinson stands a nickel on its edge on top of the generator. When it doesn’t fall over, customers can see just how quiet and perfectly seated it is.
Writer Ty Adams hit the road full-time powering his coach with biodiesel. His project is available at www.biotrekker.com. |
