Valencia 35MB

[lslblues]

M Liner - thanks for the impression and opinions. For those that feel like the 38 RW or BB is too large, may be a great fit. Options are always good things.

Regarding the overhang - if the overhang length is the same, and the wheelbase is shorter, you will run into more risk of dragging the tail and the tail will swing more when you turn.

[Mmontheroad]

@m liner- Thanks for the detailed impressions!

On one hand it doesn't seem logical to go with the 35MB given all the tradeoffs for less than 3 feet. On the other hand... I've been in Yosemite for a week, and I checked to see what would fit in the Upper Pines campground: The 35MB would fit in 62 sites. The 38s would fit in... 0. I know I could probably squeeze the 38 in without issue... but 35/36 is a common official cut-off. Our travel style is as close to our destination as possible- biking and hiking from our "base" without having to drive every day. I wonder if the trade-offs are worth it. Can't wait to check them out in person.

Did you happen to see it with the slides closed? It appears the rear bed is still usable when the slides are closed but wanted to confirm.

[Ziggy8321]

Originally Posted by Mmontheroad

@m liner- Thanks for the detailed impressions!

On one hand it doesn't seem logical to go with the 35MB given all the tradeoffs for less than 3 feet. On the other hand... I've been in Yosemite for a week, and I checked to see what would fit in the Upper Pines campground: The 35MB would fit in 62 sites. The 38s would fit in... 0. I know I could probably squeeze the 38 in without issue... but 35/36 is a common official cut-off. Our travel style is as close to our destination as possible- biking and hiking from our "base" without having to drive every day. I wonder if the trade-offs are worth it. Can't wait to check them out in person.

Did you happen to see it with the slides closed? It appears the rear bed is still usable when the slides are closed but wanted to confirm.

I have been lieing to campgrounds for years. If the cutoff is 35' and you are 38 or more, just tell them your are 35'. Anyone ever measure your coach at check-in

My 45' went into many 40' max sites, my current 36 I actually lie about it being 40' for larger sites

It really does work. Plus it makes you feel good, or at least it did me.

Get the one you like and learn to lie.

[M. Liner]

Mmontheroad,
I did see the unit with both slides in. The bedroom/bed are accessible, but with the foot of the bed up against the clothes dresser one would have to climb on the bed to get to the other side. One could only access the upper wardrobe closets.
The bathroom and refrigerator were also fully accessible, and, if one had to spend the night in a roadside rest stop or Walmart parking lot it did not feel overly cramped, IMO.

[M. Liner]

Ziggy8321,
It seems some of those length restrictions were posted in another era. A far greater problem I find traveling during the summer is just finding an available campsite if one did not make reservations, especially around weekends, but that would be a discussion for another thread.

[stanlow1]

The only issue I'm having is the lithiums absorb so much power so easily it can overheat the charger/inverter. The solution is to throttle back the charge rate from default 100% to 30-40%... which seems to solve the overheating problem. A better solution is better venting and ideally passive heatsinks to manage the heat generating from pushing upwards of 8k watts power from the Onan into the batteries... I'm noodling on how to reengineer the inverter bay with better ventalation and heat dissapation.

I have a fix to vent the cabinet.

I added an inspection cover to vent the storage cabinet and installed 1/2 inch mesh screen to keep any unwanted animals out.

On Amazon.com order a Valterra 5 inch access hatch and a 5 1/2 inch hole saw. Order a good hole saw. The metal cabinets steel is thicker than it appears.

The mesh screen is installed on the underside.

[Jeep_Life]

Any updates to this thread? I think the 35MB May be the perfect fit. And from what I have researched there is no dealer like IWS. They seem to really stand behind their customers.

[PremierPOWER]

any updates on real world impressions of the 35MB compared to the longer 38' Valencia floor plans?

[Rumline]

No experience with the 35MB other than looking at one a couple times when we were choosing what to buy. Personally I just like the layout better on the 38RW. The mid entry on the 35MB is nice but the fridge placement is weird (IMO). Washer and dryer in the hallway is kind of nice; we would have taken them out and put in a dishwasher and more drawer/closet space.

[Rumline]

My edit timed out so to the above post I'd like to add:

On the 35MB the kitchen is a little longer but the RW has a slide-out pantry. But really the big difference is the bedroom itself. In the 35MB, you get a queen bed that you have to shimmy around and not really any extra room. In the 38RW, you get room to move around comfortably. If you use the bedroom only for sleeping this may be a waste. But for us, we wanted to be able to work from the road, so the bedroom can double as our office. It has a counter that is just over ideal standing desk height, and with one of those cushy floor mat things it's not too bad. We have younger kids so it's nice to work in there with the door closed while the rest of the family is in the living room area.

We ended up with the 38RW and while it is large we haven't had an issue yet. I did the "lie" method twice, both times at National Forest campgrounds, saying that we were 35' long. Even with that, we still had plenty of room and weren't sticking out into the road. (Thanks for the advice @Ziggy8321 !) The amount of storage for a non-fulltime family of 4 is sort of obscene. I just installed a gun safe for long guns in the rear closet and it barely changes the available space. We could have fit that in the 35MB, but not without significantly affecting closet space.

We love the split bath layout with the three pocket doors; it is so practical for our family. I'm glad we didn't end up getting the 38BB, which was my initial pick, because the bathroom in both the 35MB and the 38RW is much larger and better laid out for multiple users. As in, someone on the can or in the shower isn't tying up the whole bathroom; others can still use the sink and vanity to get ready. The vanity area is a little wider in the RW than the MB but I'd still pick the MB's bathroom over the BB's 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.

[PremierPOWER]

Originally Posted by Rumline

My edit timed out so to the above post I'd like to add:

On the 35MB the kitchen is a little longer but the RW has a slide-out pantry. But really the big difference is the bedroom itself. In the 35MB, you get a queen bed that you have to shimmy around and not really any extra room. In the 38RW, you get room to move around comfortably. If you use the bedroom only for sleeping this may be a waste. But for us, we wanted to be able to work from the road, so the bedroom can double as our office. It has a counter that is just over ideal standing desk height, and with one of those cushy floor mat things it's not too bad. We have younger kids so it's nice to work in there with the door closed while the rest of the family is in the living room area.

We ended up with the 38RW and while it is large we haven't had an issue yet. I did the "lie" method twice, both times at National Forest campgrounds, saying that we were 35' long. Even with that, we still had plenty of room and weren't sticking out into the road. (Thanks for the advice @Ziggy8321 !) The amount of storage for a non-fulltime family of 4 is sort of obscene. I just installed a gun safe for long guns in the rear closet and it barely changes the available space. We could have fit that in the 35MB, but not without significantly affecting closet space.

We love the split bath layout with the three pocket doors; it is so practical for our family. I'm glad we didn't end up getting the 38BB, which was my initial pick, because the bathroom in both the 35MB and the 38RW is much larger and better laid out for multiple users. As in, someone on the can or in the shower isn't tying up the whole bathroom; others can still use the sink and vanity to get ready. The vanity area is a little wider in the RW than the MB but I'd still pick the MB's bathroom over the BB's 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.

Thanks for the detailed reply! My wife and I also were thinking the BB model would be nice, but mostly for extra storage. A couple weeks ago we went to our local dealer and walked through the RW. Fell in love with the huge closet space. We dont have kids, so we really dont have the need to have the ability to sleep 9 people. I really wish Renegade would make a rear wardrobe floor plan on the Verona line. Or I wish that Renegade would order the S2RV chassis with the locking differential and the Wabco Onguard system (adaptive cruise, blind spot assist, collision avoidance, lane departure).

I also plan to "lie" but am wondering if anyone ever runs into anywhere actually measuring? Last month, while renting a 33' class A, we did the Independence Pass in Aspen. 35' was the max length and there was some sort of automatic sensor measuring system that would flash lights on a sign if a vehicle over 35' passed it. Wondering how common that would be?

[Happi Campah]

Originally Posted by Rumline

My edit timed out so to the above post I'd like to add:

On the 35MB the kitchen is a little longer but the RW has a slide-out pantry. But really the big difference is the bedroom itself. In the 35MB, you get a queen bed that you have to shimmy around and not really any extra room. In the 38RW, you get room to move around comfortably. If you use the bedroom only for sleeping this may be a waste. But for us, we wanted to be able to work from the road, so the bedroom can double as our office. It has a counter that is just over ideal standing desk height, and with one of those cushy floor mat things it's not too bad. We have younger kids so it's nice to work in there with the door closed while the rest of the family is in the living room area.

We ended up with the 38RW and while it is large we haven't had an issue yet. I did the "lie" method twice, both times at National Forest campgrounds, saying that we were 35' long. Even with that, we still had plenty of room and weren't sticking out into the road. (Thanks for the advice @Ziggy8321 !) The amount of storage for a non-fulltime family of 4 is sort of obscene. I just installed a gun safe for long guns in the rear closet and it barely changes the available space. We could have fit that in the 35MB, but not without significantly affecting closet space.

We love the split bath layout with the three pocket doors; it is so practical for our family. I'm glad we didn't end up getting the 38BB, which was my initial pick, because the bathroom in both the 35MB and the 38RW is much larger and better laid out for multiple users. As in, someone on the can or in the shower isn't tying up the whole bathroom; others can still use the sink and vanity to get ready. The vanity area is a little wider in the RW than the MB but I'd still pick the MB's bathroom over the BB's 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.

So I picked out " I just installed a gun safe for long guns in the rear closet and it barely changes the available space ". Can I ask what you installed for a safe and what you used to anchor it? We just purchased a 2020 38RW and it is one of the accessories I "need" to add.

[Rumline]

Sure! I purchased a Hornady RapidSafe AR Gun Locker. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B089NXS6JR I see now that they have a slightly wider model available, the "XL" which I probably would have selected instead. Oh well.

Disclaimer: this is not a "safe", it is a Residential Security Container. If you are unaware of the distinction I encourage you to do a Google search.

I chose this model partially because it is UL listed and on California's list of approved firearm safety devices. The primary purpose of it is to keep my 6-year-old son from accessing my gun(s), not to prevent ninja swat teams from stealing them. It has RFID capability however I have disabled that and use only a 6-digit code to open the door.

On to installation. This model can be installed either in a vertical or horizontal configuration. I chose vertical so that the door can open all the way. Otherwise the closet doors would prevent it from opening fully. However even in a vertical orientation it still needed to be stood off from both the floor and wall so that the door would clear.

On the right side I added 2x4's in a ladder configuration. I used screws to secure them to the wall to the right, which is made of several layers of plywood and encloses the washer and dryer. I made sure that there were no plumbing or electrical lines in this area. On the floor I used 5/8" plywood to raise it up sufficiently for the door to clear the closet door track.

Then to install the "safe" I needed a right angle adapter for my drill so I could really get in there and drill through the body of the safe. Could have layed the safe down and drilled the holes from the outside I suppose but I wanted to make sure they lined up with where the 2x4s were. I only put screws through that wall on the side and not down into the floor as well, as I wasn't sure what was under there. Even so it is very solidly attached and doesn't budge if I tug on it.

If I were to remove the whole apparatus I'm sure the wall would look pretty ugly with all the holes. I guess the safe is staying installed for the next owner!

[Happi Campah]

Rumline,

Thanks for the reply and detailed install and photos. Roger that on the "Residential Security Container" and not a "safe". Being on the road adds a whole new dimension to being a responsible gun owner. I was originally thinking of a rack which is electrically operated similar to what is found in a cruiser but your install has changed my mind. Nice work!