Community Forums

GrandPaPat · 04-08-2018, 08:07 PM

My wife and I have purchased a 2015 Anthem 44B in great shape this week and will spend the next few weeks learning and prepping for a three month journey from Florida up into New England, then into Canada, around the north side of Great Lakes, down Wisconsin to Chicago where we used to live to visit kids and grandkids. Then to Middlebury, on to Spartan school, and then roll down south back to Marco Island, Florida.

Our first coach was a 2015 Winnebago 34T DP that we had to highly modify to make it safe and comfortable to drive. We chose Entegra this time after also looking at Newmars and Tiffins.

This forum is a great asset and thanks to its many knowledgeable contributing members. The seller was impressed with my knowledge of this particular model to which I credit this forum!

I will have many questions certainly in the following weeks and months. The first of which is how on earth do we plan such an extended trip of three months?! The first time we just wandered around the USA for six months and 10,000 miles looking for the right place to live in retirement. We chose Marco Island, but it is too hot in the summer -- hence the Anthem!

Oh and we have two cats, so advice on litter box locations in a 44B floor plan would be helpful too.

Patrick McGinn
Linda Murphy-Knoll
2015 Anthem 44B with 2018 MKX Toad

brobox · 04-08-2018, 08:16 PM

Welcome to the forum Pat.

Matt D · 04-08-2018, 09:09 PM

Welcome and congratulations Pat.

If I had that kind of time to devote to a trip, I would make as few reservations as possible and let the thermometer and serendipity be my guide.

If you haven’t seen parts of the country, now is the time.

I would deduct one beer or wine from my nightly limit for each hour on the Interstate.

-Matt

DebbieMH · 04-08-2018, 09:18 PM

Congratulations and welcome to the Entegra family! As far as scheduling your trips ... I use Allstays App, Mapquest and then RV Parky. RV Parky is great to put everything in and it shows your mileage, RV parks to stay in as well as Walmarts, Pilots, etc. Can print it out or give a link to friends that can follow you. RV Parky is free .... RVParky.com

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

Gary.Jones · 04-08-2018, 09:31 PM

Pat

We travel with two cats. Here is something you need to be aware of. When your slides are “in” in a 44B, there is a large hole that opens under the right side of the bed (the side closest to the bathroom) and a cat will wonder through that whole if you let it and can be crushed if you put out the slide without knowing where they are.... we never let our cats behind the mid-ship door when the slides are in ... be careful and always know where they are.

Things are safe when the slides are fully out

Oh, the litter box is in front of the pantry when we are moving, and is in front of the bedroom dresser drawers when we are parked with slides out.

Gary

Gary.Jones · 04-08-2018, 09:38 PM

Pat

I agree with Matt. When we travel it is usually for ~ 3 months and we never make long term plans far ahead....we find too many things or places where we want to stay longer and other things we thought we would like, but bore us to tears.... use the resources mentioned by Lynn and figure it out as you go.

Gary

Dippelj · 04-09-2018, 02:36 AM

Sounds like a great trip. We live in Ontario and have travelled north of the Great Lakes several times. You are in for a treat. Lots of great scenery and places to stay and very safe travelling amongst friendly people.

hpykmpr47 · 04-09-2018, 03:27 AM

We travel with 3 elderly cats in a 2016 Anthem 44B. I created a hide away spot under the bed for the one that likes to hide away while traveling and the other 2 just lie on the bed in a tent created with pillows and a blanket. They have been traveling with us now for almost 9 years.The litter boxes are one small one in the center bathroom beside the toilet and a larger one in the rear bath in front of the left of the rear closet. It is correct that there is an area where they could get in under the bed when the slides are in but in the 2 years that we have had the coach this has not happened. We always check where they are located before extending the bed slide. Safe travels ..... Alan.

brobox · 04-09-2018, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt D

I would deduct one beer or wine from my nightly limit for each hour on the Interstate.

-Matt

Best travel advise every posted.

hdgoldie · 04-09-2018, 06:10 AM

Welcome to the family! As I'm sure you know, always find the cats before operating slides. We no longer travel with a kitty but have in the past. We had to use pillows to block the access to the areas behind the bed when the slides were in. If your furkids are crate friendly, you might consider crating them while opening/closing slides and rolling. But I suspect you have a method already that worked for you in your old coach. We use Good Sam's mapping tool to plan routes and stops. We supplement that a truckers atlas, RVParkReviews, AllStays, BigRigs and the KOA web site. If I can't find anything that looks appropriate, I'll ask on this forum. There's usually someone who has stayed in an area and knows a park where we would fit. Since we are heading west this summer we do have reservations made for most of our trip. We're looking at four months and 8k+ miles. We'll also be at Entegra and Spartan in September - maybe we'll see you there. When I get to a computer I'll change our signature line - we are now driving a 2019 Aspire 44B.

Anthem15 · 04-09-2018, 06:59 AM

Congrats on the "new" coach We've put about 13,000 miles on ours since October and LOVE it! Only regret is we didn't do it sooner! Have fun.

lowejug · 04-09-2018, 12:32 PM

Welcome... you got a great quality coach..

X2 on Rv parky app for nightly stops..

We like to travel loosely goosey style..

Have a destination of course but just start cruising with goals in mind but

Stop and see what u want along the way..