Traded, just finished extended shakedown

Dmiles · 04-16-2010, 08:19 PM

It was tough to say goodbye to our old friend and family member, the 2001 Winnebago Brave, but we traded it for a new to us 2007 Forest River Lexington 283 GTS. We spent the first 11 nights we owned her on our shakedown cruise from Florida, to South Carolina, and finally home to Virginia.

Given the tradeoffs, we aren't missing the loss of room so much due to the 3 slides. So far, so good. We hope to keep this one for a good long time. So far, we love it!

Jim Stewart · 04-16-2010, 08:52 PM

That's Purdry! Congrats on the new MH. I don't think I have ever seen a "C" with three slides, looks like it has a lot of room. How's that bathroom?

Dmiles · 04-16-2010, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart

That's Purdry! Congrats on the new MH. I don't think I have ever seen a "C" with three slides, looks like it has a lot of room. How's that bathroom?

Thanks Jim. You know, one of the things I had heard from previous owners of this exact model that moved up to a class a was the size of the bathroom became an issue. Honestly, I have found the bathroom to be just fine. It is a split bathroom with the shower across the hall. I really don't notice the bathroom being much smaller than the Brave. And one thing I really, really like is the full size porcelain toilet. And there is a sprayer that actually has enough force to clean the toilet completely if needed. Now I do notice the shower being a bit smaller, but really not that much.

I'm not crazy about the bifold doors in the hallway that separate the bathroom area from the kitchen, and the bathroom area from the bedroom. There is a real door on the bathroom itself. I think I'm going to get rid of the front bifold door, and build out the wall just a bit so I can make it so when you open the bathroom door far enough, it will latch, closing off the bathroom/shower area from the kitchen. That's the way our Brave was (it used a spring loaded piano hinge to hold the door in the position that closed off the kitchen area) I really liked that in the Brave.

I will say, the craftmanship is not up to the standards of the Winnebago. Nothing major, I mean we don't have any water leaks or anything like that (knock on wood) but there are things that could have been put together better that actually were on the Brave. But for the money, so far so good.

tedward1555 · 04-18-2010, 05:22 AM

That is really nice! Congratulations.. From the pics it looks like they did a great job with the interior design. Is that a microwave/convection oven below the cooktop? If so that is a great idea.. Looks like a high end residential unit

Dmiles · 04-18-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedward1555

That is really nice! Congratulations.. From the pics it looks like they did a great job with the interior design. Is that a microwave/convection oven below the cooktop? If so that is a great idea.. Looks like a high end residential unit

Thanks Ted, for the kind words. Yes, it is a microwave/convection oven. It works for us because the DW mostly uses a convection at home, and I don't think we ever actually used the gas oven in our Brave.

Life is a tradeoff sometimes, and so far, this is working for us. Can't wait to get back out camping in it!

skipwil · 04-18-2010, 05:19 PM

Congrats' on the new Lexington. I owned a 359ts Geo/twn and really liked it. The customer service at Elkhart was exceptional. They have a lot of BANG for the buck.
Safe travels...