Rolin wrote:
Currently looking at a 2005 Kodiak VXL2200 with a slide because I want a motorhome that is narrower (8ft or less), not as tall, that gets better gas mileage (hoping for an average of 12mpg) and will work well for us as we get older and mobility is not as great. Bigger is nice and more comfortable when parked, but we like to travel and hope to find something that is easier to drive in traffic and park.
Some Bigfoot and Born Free units also seem to be in our price range.
Sleeping on a jack knife sofa doesn't sound too attractive, but maybe that can be replaced with something better.
Any recommendations or things to look out for with Kodiak?
Currently looking at a 2005 Kodiak VXL2200 with a slide because I want a motorhome that is narrower (8ft or less), not as tall, that gets better gas mileage (hoping for an average of 12mpg) and will work well for us as we get older and mobility is not as great. Bigger is nice and more comfortable when parked, but we like to travel and hope to find something that is easier to drive in traffic and park.
Some Bigfoot and Born Free units also seem to be in our price range.
Sleeping on a jack knife sofa doesn't sound too attractive, but maybe that can be replaced with something better.
Any recommendations or things to look out for with Kodiak?
I can't tell you enough how easy these small MHs are to drive! I think my Trail Lite is just over 8', not under, but it is still remarkably easy. Most of the owners here report 11-12 MPG depending on speed.
Born Free is on our someday dream short list. I don't know if you have looked at Phoenix Cruisers, but they are well made and have satisfied owners.
Many people replace the sofa with a fixed bed. Nice foam mattresses can be purchased online for reasonable prices. It's fairly simple woodwork for any carpenter. Build a wood box in place, with a removable or hinged top, stain and seal it, put the mattress on the top. This is in my immediate plans. Get some good firm couch pillows to build up a lounging position for watching TV. Or hinge one third of the wooden top near the head to tilt up like a lounge chair, with a simple prop underneath, and use a two piece mattress. That's my plan.
Currently RV-less but not done yet.
Thanks for the reply. I like your unit on a Chevy chassis but most of the units I have seen (and the one we are looking at) are on Ford chassis. I too like the Born Free. Not many available on the used market. Perhaps if we were really patient we could score one.
Friends have a 5th wheel with a couch that has a blow-up mattress. Inflates quickly (push a button) and deflates quickly. Seems to be pretty comfortable and does not take up much space or effect the decor of the interior. Don't know what something like that would cost.
I am less concerned with the chassis manufacturer as (as long as mpg is ok) and more concerned with layout and reliability of the coach portion of the unit. Hope to keep it for about 10 years. The small Born Free and Kodiak appear to have a fiberglass roof that is more maintenance free. I know that all coaches will require attention and maintenance, some less than others.
If you left the gray globs of caulk, how were you able to get the EB to work on top of it - I thought it was critical to roll it with a heavy pressure to get EB to seat well
I am anxious to see another sofa and perhaps dinette conversion like Cheeze did. Will you remove the 4" wide storage area that is accessed from outside and probably mostly used for lawn chairs. I do not see how this would come off from the wall - seems like Cheeze did it and there were no blemishes when he took it off (it includes the ledge under the window and its cupholders.
2005 Trail Lite 213 B-Plus w/ 6.0 Chevy
The gray globs are hardened enough so rolling is not a problem. If I didn't have a partial roll of EB tape sitting around, I don't know if I would have bothered. The tape has a shelf life, which made it more worthwhile to use it before it gets too old. I did have gaps that needed to be addressed one way or the other, but I could have done it with Dicor. OTOH it would have been very tempting to buy 20 feet of 6" EB tape on ebay and just do it anyway. (EB tape is quite difficult to work around the curve of the roof, as my photos testify to.)
I cleaned the roof and caulk with soap and water and a scrub brush as the first step. I was really amazed at how clean I was able to get it that way.
Yes, I would remove that bump out thing. It's just screwed to the wall as far as I can tell. I think its true purpose is to move the sofa over so it meets the dinette to make that big bed. I'd love to start the bed project right away but I'm burned out from all these mods and fixes I've had to do. At this point I feel it is good to go. We haven't even camped in it yet, but we are hoping to head south for a quick trip in mid month.
Rolin wrote:
Hi Snowman,
Thanks for the reply. I like your unit on a Chevy chassis but most of the units I have seen (and the one we are looking at) are on Ford chassis. I too like the Born Free. Not many available on the used market. Perhaps if we were really patient we could score one.
Friends have a 5th wheel with a couch that has a blow-up mattress. Inflates quickly (push a button) and deflates quickly. Seems to be pretty comfortable and does not take up much space or effect the decor of the interior. Don't know what something like that would cost.
I am less concerned with the chassis manufacturer as (as long as mpg is ok) and more concerned with layout and reliability of the coach portion of the unit. Hope to keep it for about 10 years. The small Born Free and Kodiak appear to have a fiberglass roof that is more maintenance free. I know that all coaches will require attention and maintenance, some less than others.
Hi Snowman,
Thanks for the reply. I like your unit on a Chevy chassis but most of the units I have seen (and the one we are looking at) are on Ford chassis. I too like the Born Free. Not many available on the used market. Perhaps if we were really patient we could score one.
Friends have a 5th wheel with a couch that has a blow-up mattress. Inflates quickly (push a button) and deflates quickly. Seems to be pretty comfortable and does not take up much space or effect the decor of the interior. Don't know what something like that would cost.
I am less concerned with the chassis manufacturer as (as long as mpg is ok) and more concerned with layout and reliability of the coach portion of the unit. Hope to keep it for about 10 years. The small Born Free and Kodiak appear to have a fiberglass roof that is more maintenance free. I know that all coaches will require attention and maintenance, some less than others.
If you wanted to look for a Chevy you would have very few choices. And maybe none in the higher end units. Ford is everywhere so it can't be half bad. People do love the Sprinter diesel chassis though! Although a Born Free is high on my list, my real wish is for a Sprinter from Winnebago/Itasca (View/Navion, respectively). I'd love to have a MH this size and get mid to upper teens MPG.
Snowman9000 wrote:
Burl,
The gray globs are hardened enough so rolling is not a problem. If I didn't have a partial roll of EB tape sitting around, I don't know if I would have bothered. The tape has a shelf life, which made it more worthwhile to use it before it gets too old. I did have gaps that needed to be addressed one way or the other, but I could have done it with Dicor. OTOH it would have been very tempting to buy 20 feet of 6" EB tape on ebay and just do it anyway. (EB tape is quite difficult to work around the curve of the roof, as my photos testify to.)
I cleaned the roof and caulk with soap and water and a scrub brush as the first step. I was really amazed at how clean I was able to get it that way.
Yes, I would remove that bump out thing. It's just screwed to the wall as far as I can tell. I think its true purpose is to move the sofa over so it meets the dinette to make that big bed. I'd love to start the bed project right away but I'm burned out from all these mods and fixes I've had to do. At this point I feel it is good to go. We haven't even camped in it yet, but we are hoping to head south for a quick trip in mid month.
Burl,
The gray globs are hardened enough so rolling is not a problem. If I didn't have a partial roll of EB tape sitting around, I don't know if I would have bothered. The tape has a shelf life, which made it more worthwhile to use it before it gets too old. I did have gaps that needed to be addressed one way or the other, but I could have done it with Dicor. OTOH it would have been very tempting to buy 20 feet of 6" EB tape on ebay and just do it anyway. (EB tape is quite difficult to work around the curve of the roof, as my photos testify to.)
I cleaned the roof and caulk with soap and water and a scrub brush as the first step. I was really amazed at how clean I was able to get it that way.
Yes, I would remove that bump out thing. It's just screwed to the wall as far as I can tell. I think its true purpose is to move the sofa over so it meets the dinette to make that big bed. I'd love to start the bed project right away but I'm burned out from all these mods and fixes I've had to do. At this point I feel it is good to go. We haven't even camped in it yet, but we are hoping to head south for a quick trip in mid month.
I was thinking all the irregularities of the hard caulk globs would make laying the EB for a snug fit impossible.
My rubber roof to rear fiberglass cap seam was poorly done and a gap kept opening where I guess the fiberglass didn't fit right under the seam moulding for a foot or so in the middle of the seam.
I made a 3/8" deep channel the whole length of the seam (about 8') with two 8' strips of tape that I guess is used to weatherstrip doors. The two strips straddled the seam and were about 1-1/2" apart -- one on the fiberglass cap, the other on the seam moulding strip on the rubber roof side. I filled my "channel with a very flexible caulk by PL from home depot. This stuff stays flexible for years, and this seam probably sees a deal of flexing. It also covered all the ugly caulking on that seam. The PL catches a lot of dirt, but I think it solved the problem. Others would have used EB, I guess, but I fely more at ease w/ my idea.
I want to do a sofa and dinette fix too, but my handiwork leaves much to be desired.
If you come thru Baton Rouge, look us up.
I think if you showed Cheeze's photos to a carpenter or cabinet maker, he'd have a pretty easy job making something similar. A guy with a well equipped wood shop and wood on hand could probably zip it together in a half day. I'm not that good but I have the basic tools needed, and I can do at least as well as an RV assembler.
![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
We finally slept in the RV. We had to go visit someone 3 hours away, so we overnighted in a state park. I have to agree with my wife that a slideout for the dinette would sure open up the space. But that's not gonna happen until the next RV, so at the least I have to get the sofa out and put a bed in. Both to have a better sleeping surface and to get a bit more aisle room. The 75 lb dog really complicates things with so little floor space. She couldn't seem to settle in where we wanted her to.
![[image]](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cRD0qzYiXac/UG3MCDc6Z6I/AAAAAAAAAbc/8f96dMAOXko/s1024/2012-10-04_07-56-32_338.jpg)
I have a friend who would probably do the conversion work at a fair price. If you and your partner can stand separate relatively narrow twin beds, a sofa and dinette mod can really open up the aisle.
As for a big dog, we traveled a LOT with 4 50+ pounders, w/ little problem (they found their places, but a few territorial clashes did occur in the settling )
DW could use the dinette bed as it was built, and I'll use the one that replaces the sofa. Once that 6" wall thing comes out and a 32" bed replaces the sofa, there will be about 6" more aisle width. I think that will be a big improvement. I'll take photos and maybe a video of the process so that anybody can do it. It will be a KISS type of base, not as complicated as Cheeze's was.
The dog, don't get me rolling. She's the most neurotic and un-adaptable dog you'll ever find. We can't board her, that's why we RV. She's a rescue, 11 years old now, and we love her. But everything bothers her. Cell phone notifications, insects, fans, water pumps, you name it. Once she gets bothered, she tries to roost as close as possible to her pack leader (me).
I suppose it's good to be loved.