Newbies and Questions about the 2014 Coachmen Catalina 243RBS
TXScubaBugs said
08:02 PM Mar 31, 2014
Hi all...first time posting so I will give a brief overview. Married, 38, DH is 46, retired from the US Army, but not retired for good. We both can retire when I am 50 with full benefits. I'm a govt employee, he is now a teacher and scuba instructor. We have two 6 month old pug puppies, a 22 year old son, a married active duty 20 year old son in Alaska and a sophomore son in high school. We are avid travelers, scuba divers, sailors, etc. We just came back from our fifth trip to Key West and met a FT RVer on Trumbo for the first time while there. I stumbled upon this site this past weekend and spent 8 hours reading Howard and Linda's story and starter blog.
We will probably move up to a FW when we go FT in 2025, but for now we have weekends and a few weeks in the summer available for travel. After extensive research, but no physical visits, I think we have decided on the 2014 Coachmen Catalina 243RBS as our starter RV. Here are my questions...1. As this is the 50th Anniversary for Coachmen, they are offering a pretty sweet free package for this and a few other floorplans (is it worth it?), 2. Is our better bet to wait for the 2015 RV Shows and look to buy the 2014 model that should still be available (and hopefully cheaper), 3. We have a leased F-150 SuperCrew with Tow Sway Control and Tow Package, that shows a GVWR of 13,500 lbs. (is this enough truck for this RV).
I've seen all the post to not buy new, but we don't want the potential maintenance issues right off the bat and the Anniversary Edition is pretty darn sweet (DH likes the separate master bedroom aspect). Thoughts? We can upgrade the lease to a F-250 or more if we determine the GVWR is not enough.
Our travels for the next few years will be no further west than Albuquerque (Mother in Law), but mostly east to FL and the Keys. We have free entrance to all TX State Parks, discounts at most National Parks and access to all military bases. I don't think a caravan is possible for us to schedule just yet. We do own a timeshare and have access to Rental RV's to try before we buy. We have stayed in an RV before and both have experience (from the military) pulling trailers and boats recreationally.
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
07:01 AM Apr 1, 2014
Welcome to the forum!
From a quick look, your F-150 should be OK. I found a gross weight on the trailer at 7500 lbs plus the truck should be less than your GVWR of 13500.
As far as the anniversary package goes, its more of a sales gimmick. Every year they update and upgrade models, change them enough to have a "New" model. If it has the amenities your looking for then go for it.
Happy Camping!
TXScubaBugs said
03:01 PM Apr 1, 2014
Privacy is a big concern and want for my DH. See post above about buying a rig with a separate master suite. With this being said, is a better configuration with the bath between the bedroom and the living area or with the bath on the opposite end of the rig from the main bedroom? Having lived on a catamaran for a week, I can assure you the smell coming from the head within our cabin was not so nice after a few days. How much of an issue is this in the more current RV's? Again our trips will be mostly weekends and a few weeks in the Summer until I can retire.
Hi all...first time posting so I will give a brief overview. Married, 38, DH is 46, retired from the US Army, but not retired for good. We both can retire when I am 50 with full benefits. I'm a govt employee, he is now a teacher and scuba instructor. We have two 6 month old pug puppies, a 22 year old son, a married active duty 20 year old son in Alaska and a sophomore son in high school. We are avid travelers, scuba divers, sailors, etc. We just came back from our fifth trip to Key West and met a FT RVer on Trumbo for the first time while there. I stumbled upon this site this past weekend and spent 8 hours reading Howard and Linda's story and starter blog.
We will probably move up to a FW when we go FT in 2025, but for now we have weekends and a few weeks in the summer available for travel. After extensive research, but no physical visits, I think we have decided on the 2014 Coachmen Catalina 243RBS as our starter RV. Here are my questions...1. As this is the 50th Anniversary for Coachmen, they are offering a pretty sweet free package for this and a few other floorplans (is it worth it?), 2. Is our better bet to wait for the 2015 RV Shows and look to buy the 2014 model that should still be available (and hopefully cheaper), 3. We have a leased F-150 SuperCrew with Tow Sway Control and Tow Package, that shows a GVWR of 13,500 lbs. (is this enough truck for this RV).
I've seen all the post to not buy new, but we don't want the potential maintenance issues right off the bat and the Anniversary Edition is pretty darn sweet (DH likes the separate master bedroom aspect). Thoughts? We can upgrade the lease to a F-250 or more if we determine the GVWR is not enough.
Our travels for the next few years will be no further west than Albuquerque (Mother in Law), but mostly east to FL and the Keys. We have free entrance to all TX State Parks, discounts at most National Parks and access to all military bases. I don't think a caravan is possible for us to schedule just yet. We do own a timeshare and have access to Rental RV's to try before we buy. We have stayed in an RV before and both have experience (from the military) pulling trailers and boats recreationally.
From a quick look, your F-150 should be OK. I found a gross weight on the trailer at 7500 lbs plus the truck should be less than your GVWR of 13500.
As far as the anniversary package goes, its more of a sales gimmick. Every year they update and upgrade models, change them enough to have a "New" model. If it has the amenities your looking for then go for it.
Happy Camping!
Privacy is a big concern and want for my DH. See post above about buying a rig with a separate master suite. With this being said, is a better configuration with the bath between the bedroom and the living area or with the bath on the opposite end of the rig from the main bedroom? Having lived on a catamaran for a week, I can assure you the smell coming from the head within our cabin was not so nice after a few days. How much of an issue is this in the more current RV's? Again our trips will be mostly weekends and a few weeks in the Summer until I can retire.