The motorhome is a 2009 Gulf Stream Independence model 8359. It had less than 6,000 miles on it and under 90 hours on the generator. It is 36 feet long and has two long slide outs. There is a queen bed in the back and two bunk beds just past half way back. The couch folds out to a bed and the table lowers to become a bed too. There is a generator for electrical power on the go and plenty of feet of really heavy 50 amp electrical cable to hook us up when we are at a campsite. There is a 60 gallon water tank, a 10 Gallon water heater with gas or electric power sources, heated holding tanks, a gas furnace, an outside shower attachment for Maui, and a pretty nice shower inside for the rest of us. We have a convection microwave, a built in vacuum system, a toaster, electric griddle, gas stove top, Corian counter tops with an extension, a refrigerator and freezer, three air conditioners, a remote control vent fan, and automatic leveling jacks.
We have an auto seeking satellite dish (not tracking while we drive), a Dish Network receiver that pulls in some HD channels, a 27 inch TV in the back that doubles as a computer monitor, a 32 inch TV in the front, a DVD player, overhead DVD players in each bunk area, and an over the air antenna with signal booster for digital TV signals that pulls in a lot of channels (62 is the most I have seen at one stop). The big awning on the side is automatic, has a remote control key fob and wind and rain sensors that either lower the back to dump rain if it collects, or retract it automatically if the wind gets over a certain speed. There is a pop up screen in the dashboard CD/Stereo with a color back up camera with audio (so I can hear Shelli saying "C'mon back" or "STOP" when parking), and black and white side view cameras that come on when the turn signal is used. The visibility is really very good.
We have three iPod touches, two PSP's, two Xbox 360 consoles, a 24 inch iMac, a Macbook, a Mac Pro computer, and a wireless printer/scanner onboard. For internet access have a Cradlepoint router and a USB modem that together send wifi signals to keep us connected when we aren't at a camp with internet service.
There is storage under the table bench seats, overhead cabinet storage throughout, several hanging clothes closet areas, a tall skinny pantry beside the fridge, and plenty of underneath storage areas with one pass through area. We stacked up a lot more stuff than it looked like would fit as the movers were taking away our household goods, but everything fit with room to spare. We have three skateboards, fishing gear, a big outdoor carpet, weights, scuba gear, board games, books, dvd's, cold weather clothing, clothes for warm weather, an electric space heater, and an electric guitar. We have three digital cameras, three video cameras, and a GoPro HD point of view video camera. After all that stuff, water, gas, and groceries, we still have well over a thousand pounds of cargo carrying capacity available.
We are towing our Honda Odyssey behind and have a bike rack with four bikes on it in between the motorhome and the van. The van has an Even Brake supplemental braking system installed that senses deceleration from the RV when its brakes are used and applies the van brakes.
Miscellaneous stuff:
We have a Sodastream drink maker that carbonates water and we add flavored syrups to it. It works very well and helps avoid carrying cans and bottles. We use the filtered water from our tank to fill make the sodas and make what we need at the time. Root beer, energy (a lot like Monster), and Ginger Ale are good so far. There are many other flavors we haven't tried yet. Jelly Belly Cotton Candy syrup didn't work all that well.
Repairs:
We have had to be creative to fix some issues that have risen up. The leveling system was not working right - it would stop with one front and one right leg off the ground. I was able to troubleshoot and determine it had been installed improperly from the dealership. I was able to reconnect the wires properly and get the system to work.
The standard flimsy door handle for the screen door broke, so I replaced it with another standard flimsy door handle. Apparently after years of RV engineering, there is pretty much just one poor design for this.
We had to replace the tow bar on the van. After 10 years it finally gave up after a particularly bad frost heave (bump) surprise attacked us.
Customization:
The pantry was little too small for us. The shelves were stacked too far apart and could have been set to allow four rows. We got a board cut today and found the correct clips for levelers to install another shelf. The storage works better now for extra cans and small boxes.
We added a mirror to the bathroom wall because the medicine cabinet mirror was too high up for Michael and John to see.
We put on an external cover to the bathroom ventilation fan so we can keep it open even when it rains.
We bought a 5.0 cubic foot freezer to hold all our fish from Alaska.
We put in better blinds for the windows in the bunk and kitchen area, and added blackout liners.
