Well, I bought an RV!... More accurately: I did NOT buy a Van's Aircraft RV-8 or or anything like that...(though I wouldn't mind having one!) My wife said "You have two aeroplanes (the Cub & the Kitplane) and I "still" don't have an RV - Recreational Vehicle!" I was looking at 4 seat airplanes like old Piper PA-28-140 "Cherokees" , RV-10, Stinson 108-2 "Station Waggons", Buchaneers etc... but my wife wouldn't have any of it!!! She insisted I had more toys than she and she wanted to go Motorhoming... All those RV-ing commercials finally got to her and she "snapped" and wanted us to go Motorhome Camping. She gave the ultimate ultimatum saying "If you don't get us a motorhome, I want a new Honda Odysee MINI-VAN!" UGH! A minivan? I'd have nothing to do with that whole mini-van thing (though the Honda Odysee was a pretty darn neato van!); I succumbed!

Thanks to the guys where I work, I was soon convinced RV-ing was a great thing too (albeit expensive). Many recommendations later, we came to the decission of finding a "Class-A" motorhome, more specifically a Winnebago, due to their safety conciousness and also resale value. A slideout was a must, but we only needed one slideout since we didn't plan on living in the RV for extended periods.

After looking at all the different types & models of Winnebagos & Itascas(by Winnebago), we came to the conclusion the model we wanted was a "Sightseer 30B". Here's what it looks like:

The nice thing about the 30B floorplan is it has a "Super-Slideout" where the couch & dinette on the port side of the yacht slides about 36 inches outboard allowing for much more room in the living area. Check out this interior with the slideout extended.

The Sightseer 30B is what the RV dealers consider their "Entry Level" Class-A motorhome. I asked "Why is it an Entry Level?" They say it's because it doesn't have all the fancy stuff and expensive (and heavy) cabinetry. Not alot of fancy "frills" and bells & whistles, just a basic RV! I love the relative simplicity of the model/floorplan as I don't really care about all the "fancy" stuff they were talking about! No mirrors on the roof or fancy wide screen projection TV or anything like that. Just our own portable "guest house". We plan on using it for a fourth bedroom for my inlaws when they come to visit for extended periods. Now they have their own guest-house they can retire into away from the rest of us, or anybody!

After many months of searching for a used one we liked at a price we could handle, we litterally found one in the classified adverts in the paper that a little old lady & man (not soo little) who had to sell their Sightseer 30B. They only owned it 2-1/2 yrs and only had 13,657 miles on the odometer. The man was a "neat freak" and very maintenance concious. I think he may have been a obsessive-compulsive as the 30B was very-very clean and even still smelled new!!! The undercarriage was even clean as he always power-washed it after each long trip. Waxed and full body covered, the unit was in better shape than other used units we'd seen at the dealrships. We couldn't pass it up!

How does this relate to building a kitplane in my garage? Well, it doesn't really, except now I have less money to put toward my project. But, my bride is beaming happiness now! This new member of our family will likely slow down my construction (slightly, specially on those long weekends), but at least my 6 & 3 yr old kids will have many years of memories of our travels & camping trips. Those darn RV commercials really do work!