The LaGreca Family

Joe and I were laying in bed last night, in North Las Vegas, and we were talking about how much we have enjoyed traveling in the Damon Challenger.  I figured I would do a little review, for anyone who cares, as we drive towards San Diego, (I don’t really like the desert scene all that much…it gets kind of old & it’s very dry).

*Driving*

Joe has done all of the driving. I have yet to try. I don’t really like to drive anyway, but I need to learn how to drive this thing because it’s too much to ask Joe to drive 100% of the time.  Everytime I ask him how he is doing, he says he is good.  He has been a CHAMP chauffeur.  One of our biggest concerns about this RV was the size (length). At just over 34ft. in length, we were both very nervous about driving, parking & getting in and out of places.  With our first trip nearly behind us, the verdict on the length – NOT a problem!

Being a passenger in this RV has been fantastic.  I am the local chef, nanny, dog gestapo, dishwasher and playmate. I enjoy sitting in the front with Joe, but that means I have both dogs on my lap. I also enjoy playing in the back with NCL (as long as the roads aren’t windy, and there is no traffic).  It’s nice to have options with NCL.  He can sit in his carseat (which is locked down in the chair right behind me), he can sit in his booster seat at the dinette, we can play on our bed in the back, or we can make a “bounce house” in the hallway and throw balls around.

*Sleeping*

Our queen bed in the back is actually really comfortable.  I have to say, I am a “bed-snob”. (For the record, I am also a “water-snob.”)  It is so awesome to travel with your own pillows, sheets and blankets. I have traveled so much for work over the years and I am over staying in a hotel. I don’t like it.  The beds are never comfortable and you know a MILLION people have slept in them…ick.  I just don’t like it.  Oh – and you never get a down-comforter in a hotel (unless you go to Germany or Switzerland).

Nicholas has been sleeping on the dinette bed for half the trip (while we were in Idaho, we had him in the pack-in-play).  The dinette bed is plenty big enough for a little guy, and I brought my body pillow to use as a barrier on the edge – since NCL has never slept in a normal bed before.  Having NCL sleep in the dinette was Joe’s idea and I was not in favor of it.  I didn’t want him to fall, or have free range to get up whenever he wanted.  But, Joe was right (as he usually is). NCL did great. He slept really well, as long as it was warm enough for him — he still won’t keep a blanket on during the night.

*Eating”

It is SO awesome to bring the kitchen with you on a road-trip.  Think back to when you were a kid and you went on a road trip with your parents…in your regular car.  Your parents probably packed snacks and an ice chest to keep milk cold, etc.  And you either ate in the car, while buckled in your seat (getting crumbs everywhere and probably spilling your grape soda….yes, that was me) or your parents had to stop the car to get in the ice chest & you ate in the parking lot of McDonald’s (secretly wishing you could get a Happy Meal and play in the playground instead of eating your turkey sandwich and fruit).

Or, maybe you just always stopped for fast food.  Well, there are two things I don’t love about going away from home (vacation, or work travel).  #1 is packing and unpacking all of your stuff (clothes, bathroom, etc) for multiple hotel stays, and #2 is eating out for every meal.  In the RV, I can go in the kitchen, put lunch together and sit at the table w/ NCL while we watch the scenery go by.  Joe eats while driving – I know that isn’t the best, but sometimes we plan stops around meals and he can eat at the table pretty quick and then we get back on the road.

*Bathroom/Showers*

Our RV has a SWEET bath/shower combo. It’s perfect when you have a 19 month old.  The bath is the right size for a little dude.  NCL took a few baths in the RV on this trip. He did well. I brought a few toys and he was happy to play around in there, just like home.  Joe and I took our first showers in the RV while we were in Vegas last night and this morning.  (We used facilities at the RV park in Zion at the beginning of the trip and we bathed in the house while we were in Idaho).  Of course, the shower is small and the water pressure wasn’t great – but for an RV, we really have nothing to complain about. It’s nice to have all your stuff right there – don’t have to take it far.  It worked great.

*Space*

The Damon has SO much space.  The living space is amazing. As soon as we get settled at a campsite – we put the slideout out and we have a pretty big “livingroom.”  NCL gets his toys out and can throw the ball…or, chase the dogs around (this is what he did for most of the trip. I guess the dogs would argue that there is NOT enough space…to get away from the boy).

The storage we have under the RV is unbelievable.  I feel like we packed the entire house and garage before we left and we still have SO much storage leftover.  The BOB stroller has it’s own compartment right outside the door – it’s perfect.  Joe and I are both LOVING the amount of storage we have.

*MPG*

Obviously, you don’t buy a motorhome without thinking about the cost of gas to travel.  Before we bought this RV, our research included the pricing of roadtrips and we were using 6-8 MPG in our calculationgs.  6 is probably a little too conservative, and 8 is pretty generous (so we thought!).  Guess what we are averaging for this entire trip?  9.5 MPG!!! Joe and I were both incredibly surprised and EXCITED.  (I know, it’s a total joke compared to our Prius – which averages about 48 MPG…but, we didn’t buy this RV to “save money”)

**Overall**

We have had some problems here and there.  We have a list of things we would like to fix, add or change – but I think that is probably normal.  If we would have bought an RV as old as we were originally looking at – our list would be 10 times as long.

If I were going to rate this RV on a scale from 1 – 10, I would give it a 10! (This coming from the girl that was TOTALLY against the RV purchase for YEARS!) I just asked Joe the same question, and he said, without hestiation, “a 10 – I love this thing.  For what we can afford, it’s a 10!”

So, who is buying one next?  We are ready to get a camping group together – summer, here we come