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Here's my favorite toy and my future fulltime home, my RV. Bought new in the fall of 2007, it is a 2008 Itasca Cambria 26a, built by Winnebago. It is on the older Ford E450 chassis, 14,050 GVWR. I can carry literally a ton of stuff in it, and pull up to 5000 lbs. I get a little over 10 MPG with it, but I pull a Subaru along to use when I get where I'm going.

I've made some improvements. I added a DirecTV receiver, and I have the Extra Innings package. I had the dealer set me up to tow my Subaru, and install hydraulic levelers. I replaced the batteries with two good Group 27 batteries that give me over 200 amp-hours storage. I installed two 100W solar panels and a controller, and see a little over 10 amps charging on a good day. I replaced the stock converter with a good 60A smart charger/converter, and I added a HF ham radio set up with 200W output and a 15 foot variable frequency vertical antenna I use stationary only. A fairly complete set of tools, bedding, kitchen essentials, and other odds and ends make it very homey.

I've been privileged to spend close to 100 nights in the unit all together. 6 weeks straight last summer. I do plan to sell the house and fulltime in this when I retire.

It is about 27 feet long, allowing me to get into some campgrounds I would not be able to get to with a bigger Class A motorhome. But the inside has enough room that I never feel cramped, even sitting out two rainy days in a row. Here's the layout.


This is the floorplan, they changed them, so I'm glad I bought when I did, it is perfect.


Here it is set up in camp, driver's side. State park near Cleveland. See the sat. dish and rear leveler?


Here I am set up for a month near a huge forest. Everything I need is in this picture.


Looking forward. That is a 27" HD TV, Gag Factors look great on it. DVD, stereo sound, DirecTV, and with the solar, I can hike all day and watch TV for 5-6 hours at night without needing to run the generator.


I love to kick back on the U-dinette. The table is huge with the leaf up. Plenty of windows for a view, or a breeze. Fantastic fan overhead keeps things cool when I'm without electrical hookups for the A/C. I had wi-fi at one park, but I'll get an aircard when I start to fulltime. Just kick back and watch Gag Factors and surf XPT, just like at home.


Looking back, plenty of kitchen, corner double bed I find quite good, corner bathroom, reefer on right (propane).


Plenty of overhead storage, and plenty of sleeping room. Curtains have a second, thicker part that pulls down for privacy.


Enough closet space for a single guy. There are 2 drawers below the big closet that are plenty big enough for socks and underwear. I've added a wicker clothes hamper that matches the inside color very well. Had more stuff than I used on the 6 week outing.


I can get the job done in here. Ignore the rug, we spilled an entire bottle of Windex on the first outing. I can hold 43 gallons of fresh water, including the 6 gallon water heater, 32 gallons of black (toilet) waste, and 37 gallons grey (sink) waste. This has proven adequate for over a week, for me and my dog. There is also a sink with a huge medicine cabinet between the reefer and the bathroom, for shaving and washing up.


Plenty of storage for food, there are several other drawers, also. I have a good assortment of pots and pans, dishes, etc. in the RV, and still have enough room for a standard week+ worth of groceries. I would not hesitate to load up and go out for 10 days without any kind of replenishment, water, fuel, eats, clothes, electric, nothing.

So, there it is. I plan to trade the Subaru for a Toyota Tacoma, so I can carry my motorcycle on the pickup, then I'll travel with 3 sets of wheels. I've read extensively on the internet about people who travel fulltime, and I follow several blogs. I can do this, and I think I will love it. For now, I really like to get out for a few days and hike and explore, while coming back to all the comforts of home. I can get ready to scoot on out of town in about an hour, including a quick stop at the grocery.


Emo dog loves the RV, too.

-Chuck, Vegetarian fanboy



How much $$$ was it?