2007 RT back in the nest

[Doneworking]

In September 2006 we brought home our new 2007 Roadtrek 210 Popular. We had ordered it as a gift to ourselves for our 30th wedding anniversary. We equipped it as we wanted for our type travel and use. Previously, we had owned a 190 RT and an Intervec Horizon Class B. So, we were no strangers to B World and had owned a couple of Cs over the years.

In September 2013 we purchased an eleven month old Phoenix Cruiser with 7500 miles on it which came up for sale less than four miles from our home. We wanted to do some more extended camping in one spot and have a little more "house" to do that in the RT could provide for weeks at a time.

We kept both RVs until March 2014 at which time we took our RT down to Houston and PPL consignment sellers. It was purchased quickly and at a fair price by a lady who just happened to be the president of PPL! She called and fully disclosed her interest and her position and asked if I would have a problem with her buying it and did I consider that a conflict. No, I did not but I appreciated her forthrightness and disclosure. I found PPL to be very professional and a nice outfit with which to do business.

Well, we have enjoyed the heck out of our Phoenix Cruiser and used it for almost four years now for extended periods of dry camping. I consider PC to be a really top of the drawer Class C custom manufacturer. That being said, we never ceased to miss our old Roadtrek. We have to store the Phoenix a few miles from our home. Our home has an HVAC third garage with a door nine feet tall which we had built originally for the RT 190. It was great to walk out of the house directly into the garage and have the RT190 there for years and then the 210P there for many more years. Simply put, we love our Phoenix Cruiser and missed the heck out of our Roadtrek at the same time!

Well, guess what? The Roadtrek showed up one day on the PPL website for sale and I called Diana at PPL and asked her if she was selling our child!! Yes she was. We made a deal on the phone in about ten minutes. She had taken the same meticulous care of our child since that we did for almost seven years and she had enjoyed it and was glad to see it go home to the original mom and dad who she knew would care for it in the future.

Diana is lovely lady and has been at PPL for decades. She and I laughed because she could never recall someone buying back their old rig like we were doing. Well, we picked up the Roadtrek last Thursday and Diana had taken incredible care of it in the years she owned it and had not put a lot of miles on it. We will always be grateful to her for kindness and friendship and the care she took of our 30th wedding present!

Now, we have two RVs! Our RT is in the garage and is immaculate. It looks no different than when we picked it up at the dealer eleven years ago. We also have our beautiful Phoenix Cruiser and we will continue to use it for its large tanks, spaciousness and reliability, particularly in our extended dry camping which goes on for weeks at a time.

It seems excessive to have two rigs, but researching a lot of forums I find that it is not as unusual as it seems at first blush. And when you are getting a little older, you might as well enjoy yourself and your retirement.

We plan on touring more with the RT and camping more with the PC as long as we can and hope that will be many years to come.

Thus endeth the saga of the return of the baby to the nest!!

[BBQ]

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I hope you both made money on the deals

[mumkin]

What a great story! Enjoy them both... and spend all of that inheritance money.

[Doneworking]

Well, the other part of the story is simply this: we actually prefer the older Roadtreks over the newer models. I spent over an hour going over a new 190P at an RV show last year. I remembered the fit and finish on our old 2007 and compared it to the newer rig.

Candidly, I simply don't want the hassle of the latest glitters on these things. I don't want high tech stuff that is expensive to buy and expensive to repair. I don't want to start my engine to have a generator and I don't want all the expensive and tedious control boards that seem to be everywhere on the new rigs. The old tried and true Chevy chassis and 6 L engine I know and trust am simply comfortable owning.

To each his own. A lot of folks love all the gadgets and conveniences.

Plus, the layout of the 2007 is twin beds (apparently no longer available) with a night stand in between and that allows for more aft storage accessed through the back van doors than the couch that makes out into a bed allows. Now, that newer arrangement is very popular and better received, not for us and our way of packing and traveling. I just figure with less than 42,000 miles on the rig and storing it inside I can keep it tiptop for many years.

I am going to run it down to the trusted local shop and have them go though the engine and probably put on a few new hoses and belts and I will have them check the brake system and just give it a good full inspection.

[mumkin]

I don't blame you... agree that the old tried and true stuff is fine for most of us. RT seems to be trying to go after the younger users who tend to think more techie stuff makes it better.

Last I heard the twin beds (called Dinette in RT lingo) is still an unadvertised option on special orders of the 190 and 210. My little 170 has the power sofa, but I hate that set up... rather have a platform bed to get the storage underneath that the power system eats up.

And definitely the build quality was superior in the past.

[Doneworking]

Mumkin, you and I have been on these B forums for a long time. We both have seen and experienced a lot of changes in B World. Now, a lot of the "quality issues" that bother me in the newer rigs I look at may originate when I look at the sticker price adn the need to control by blood pressure.

That being said and being a guy that has some background in building things, I just look at a lot of details that may not be important to most people but are important to me. After 2008 and the financial debacle most of these family or privately owned manufacturers (Great West, Roadtrek, Chinook to name a few) just never really recovered. As I recall Roadtrek was sold by the family that started it to a private investment group that flipped it to another similar group and they have now sold it to a big European firm. Like that Dutch Canadian engineer that started Roadtrek, I appreciate design and fit and finish.

My 2007 Roadtrek has, for example, an abundance of solid select maple used in the cabinetry. Not chipboard with a maple finish, not veneer but solid wood in many areas. Being an old wood worker for years I appreciate things like that. A lot of buyers just don't find as much importance in those details as I do and they are better off for it.

Paul

[mumkin]

There are a couple of the old family owned companies still going. Pleasureway has maintained their quality, but have moved away from the Class B to the small Class C's. (only one B left in their line) Leisure Travel sold to Triple E, but that is a family owned company too... and their quality may even be better. BUT... they no longer make any Class B rigs... only small Class C's.

Real wood cabinets with no thin veneer... what a concept... sigh...

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by mumkin

Last I heard the twin beds (called Dinette in RT lingo) is still an unadvertised option on special orders of the 190 and 210. My little 170 has the power sofa, but I hate that set up... rather have a platform bed to get the storage underneath that the power system eats up.

Why they call it a Dinette option is a mystery since the option really has nothing to do with the rear dinette feature. I think the power sofa was developed industry wide to address the legal seating constraints of the "Dinette" layout which under current seat belt regulations only allows one person in the rear area when underway. The power seat permits up to three persons in the same area.

[Doneworking]

Here is a link to the blog about us buying back our baby, the Roadtrek 210P. Diana is president of PPL Motorhomes. The picture at the top is Diana, my wife and me when we picked up the Roadtrek last week.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/rvnana/

[Doneworking]

Two months ago I started this thread. Yep, we bought this 2007 RT 210P new and sold it and then repurchased it four years late in July.

So far, we have changed all the fluids and a few seals, the belts, checked the engine out, new filters, belts and a few hoses. With less than 42,000 miles and storage for all its non-traveling life indoor from us and the second owner this baby is almost like new. I have checked out al the rv "stuff" and pronounce all is well.

Having owned three Class Cs and four Bs over the years and having had our Phoenix Cruiser Class C for four years now I remember why we have always come home to a B. 2007 was the last model year prior to the economic calamity of 2008 that saw many RV manufacturers go bye-bye. Shortly after, the family that had started Roadtrek almost forty years ago sold the company and as I recall the company has been sold three times since then. So, our rig was built prior to those difficult years.

I must say I had remembered the quality build of RTs back then but I did not remember the absolute precision and quality of the build as well as it existed. These last couple of months really going through our 2007 with a fine tooth comb has just increased my appreciation for this product. We could not be happier that we bought back our child!

The woodwork, finish and extremely well designed and engineered 2007 is a vehicle we plan to keep for a long time. Keeping a vehicle like this in an air-conditioned/heated garage at our home is really the major contributor to the quality of a ten year old rig.

It is nice that my aging mind underestimated the recall of just how well those RT products were ten or twelve years ago. The new ones are nice, but this one fits our pistol better because of the twin beds and superior storage to a brand new 210P.

The difference in driving a C and a B is known to many on this forum. Simply put, it is the difference between driving a heavy, quality Chevy van and Ford truck. The difference in handling and ride is truly consequential.

Also, those Flexsteel front seats in our RT are never to be forgotten on 500 mile days. I don't know if RT still uses those FS seats, but they are incredibly comfortable.

Glad we got our baby back in the nest! This winter, I build a new armoire of matching maple, pull the third seat and enjoy even more storage.

Paul

[Phoebe3]

Originally Posted by mumkin

Real wood cabinets with no thin veneer... what a concept... sigh...

My Coachmen has real maple cabinets and drawers, but I think the pieces on the sides of the cabinets are veneer. Pretty sure PW still uses solid wood.

I know I shouldn't care as much as I do - veneer is probably lighter and more durable, but I love the look and feel of solid wood and it helped me choose the model I bought.

The door and drawer hardware was also important - they are all metal and work very well. I know if I had bought a different company's product, I could have replaced the plastic hardware, but as I was going through the van I couldn't help but wonder, if they cut corners on the stuff I could see, what did they do with the stuff I can't see?

[mumkin]

Sometimes it is better not to look. LOL

I miss the beautiful solid wood in my 2011 LTV Libero, but I needed something smaller that would fit in my driveway.