Transitioning from 5th Wheeling to Motorhoming

ASSEMBLY

In April of 2021 we ordered a Newmar Ventana from National Indoor RV Center in Lewisville, Texas. We planned delivery for the following Spring, 2022 and finalized our customizations with Newmar in December. Construction began in March. 

 In early March, our Newmar factory representative provided us pictures of our Coach being built in Nappanee, Indiana.

An Onan 8KW Diesel generator is mounted in the front under the cockpit. We ordered the all-electric option, with 8 AGM batteries and no propane tank.

Our customization included replacing the door-side sofa with a televator TV and custom cabinets.

The street side slide will contain our residential refrigerator, dinette and theater seating.

Our rear bedroom has a wardrobe closet and two opposing slideouts.

The mid-ship walk thru bathroom has a large shower and double sinks.

This is the rear 9 L Cummins Diesel Engine

DELIVERY

We departed the Rio Grande Valley on May 3 and took delivery of our new home on May 5 at NIRV in Lewisville, Texas. 

The initial walkthrough took most of the afternoon as systems were explained and demonstrated.

We had a parking spot behind the maintenance area behind NIRV with 50-amp service and water to accommodate moving.

Picture taken from the cockpit. The ceramic tile floor has three zone floor heat.

One of our customizations was to install theater seating with an end cabinet instead of the full-length sofa.

Another customization was to delete the opposing sofa and replace it with cupboards and drawers in front of the televator (television on an elevator).

Theater Seating

Retractable Buffet Table with cupboards and drawers below and a 20-cf. residential refrigerator.

In leu of a dishwasher, we ordered a large cupboard below the induction cooktop.

The cupboard next to the sink is a pull-out pantry.

Our 4334 floorplan included a dedicated desk and office chair.

Open bathroom with a double sink vanity.

Linen closet and a large shower with fold down seat.

Bathroom with hidden emergency egress door/ladder.

Drawers in bedroom slide. We optioned the washer/dryer closet as storage.

Queen bed option with nightstands, overhead and large closet.

Gotham Full Paint Exterior Graphics

We optioned for the rear ladder.

We have the Freightliner Chasis

This is the inside view with all the slides pulled in. We are ready to begin our next adventure.

We hooked up our "Toad" and started our trip to Livingston on May 15.

GETTING SETTLED

After moving all our possessions into our new home, we drove to Escapees, Livingston, to sort through our stuff and get organized. While we were in Livingston, we received a delivery from Amazon or Etrailer almost every day. To name a few things, we built a shelf in the basement, installed a five-drawer tool chest in the basement, installed three roof vent covers over the fantastic fans and loaded and reloaded the basement several times in order to get everything where we wanted it. The cupboards were lined with rubber mats and reorganized many times before Virginia was happy.

While we were in Livingston, Kurt completed his written and driving skills test for his Class B non-CDL license upgrade. We also had our coach weighed and measured with the Escapees Smart Weigh System, that allowed us to accurately adjust the tire pressure and program the TPMS System.

We had a quiet site at Escapees Rainbow Park with a short walk to the pool and mail service.

The cupboards allowed for extra floor space versus the standard sofa.

Although a king bed was standard, we actually optioned for a queen bed, in order to maximize floor space. We didn't like the mattress that was included and purchased a new queen mattress at Nebraska Furniture Mart before leaving the Dallas Area.

The large skylight over the shower has a built-in protective cover.