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As full timers, we are on our 2ndCarriage
We started full timing in a 2004 Carriage XTRM5. The 5 slides were great, and originally it was nice having the added room 5 slides gave us. We lived in all climates with it, which included winters in Wisconsin to Summer in Arizona. We could not have enjoyed it more.... yes, here comes the rest...
Quality of manufacture was awesome. We had the typical issues of owning a new rv, and except for having to deal with Mr. Roger Stickle at Carriage, the issues were finally resolved. (Note: Roger now has a new boss, Mr. Kent Roberts, and between Kent Roberts and his assistant in the Midwest, Ms. Sandi Seafoss(sp?), the customer service at Carriage now is first class. Before Kent and Sandi, I would have cautioned you about buying the Carriage. Now, you can rest assured you will be taken care of immediately and efficiently. These people have gone out of their way for us. Way above and beyond. They are really phenomenal.
Sorry for the rabbit trail.
The issues we really had with our XTRM5 were only with the layout and how we had it equipped. First, the kitchen was small by the L-shaped peninsula and the overhead cabinets. When one of us was cooking in the kitchen, we couldnt talk to whoever was anywhere else in the living area. The desk was great. The entertainment center was great. It was an all around nice rig. Second, we should have had a generator installed in it. That was a huge thing we did wrong. We did ok on the battery when we needed to (staying overnight in a parking lot, etc.) but we would have really liked the generator because it would have freed us up from having to stay hooked up all the time.
Here is what we did:
We traded our 5 slide in for a 4 slide 2006 Carriage with the Arizona slide. Our new model is the CW 374. It is much more open. we put our kitchen table (bistro style with stools) in the back window and the slide now has a leather couch and a glass top desk in it. Our refrigerator is now twice as big as the last one, and every time we get in the RV, we are thrilled to be at home. It is really beautiful, and now that this one is outfitted the right way, we are completely satisfied with it's performance no matter where we are. The two big extras in this one: 1. We had the Astro Foil insulation added when we ordered it. 2. We added 2 extra LP Tanks and had a wall put in the front bay to divide them from the generator. We can run the generator for hours at a time, and have the entire RV lit up, including using the Air Conditioner, feeling right at home.. even in a Wal Mart Parking lot.
One example of how this RV performed in extreme weather: In February of 2007, we were travelling from Houston to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. we stayed overnight in the parking lot at Wal Mart in Kankakee, Illinois, and the temperature was hovering at right about 18 below. We parked the truck, left it idle, started the generator, let it run a feww minutes to warm up, opened the entire RV up, and enjoyed the evening. We slept all night with the generator running, and the next morning we closed everything up and kept on going toward Milwaukee. Aside from spending some extra money on LP, we did just fine. I am telling you these are some really great RV's!!
I hope this helps, and I apologize if I was a little long winded. if you would like to talk more, please email me and I would be glad to show you pictures, etc.
Our pulling vehicle: 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 extended cab, 8 ft. box. INCREDIBLE TRUCK!!!!!!!!
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