This is part 4 of a
4 part series on our new Bay Star. See
my earlier posts on driving, weights and how we came to choose this motor home
(with this timing and purchasing it sight unseen)!
I'm starting with a
quick recap, then "the
list"! I hope there isn't a word
limit here(!) - this is crazy long but hopefully it's helpful (or an
interesting read) for at least some folks!
Our plans:
Full time for as
long as it works for us. We generally
like to "travel" rather than "park", we prefer
state/national parks and really dislike RV parks with rigs close to each other
(i.e. more like a parking lot - oddly enough that's exactly where we are
through October until we retire - cheaper monthly rate close to town!).
We used to boondock
regularly so we think we'd like to continue to do that so we'll probably have a
solar setup for longer term (dislike generator noise and exhaust). We loved our previous 1987 27' Pace Arrow and
that size worked for us other than not having a walk-around bed so we're
comfortable with shorter gas coaches.
Just not sure if we will like it for full time but we'll find out!
Must have list:
Short (preferably
around 32 ft), preferably gas
At least 2k CCC
after full fluids and our two bodies (would love more CCC but hard to find in
short) so sticker CCC should say 3k or more
Highest quality
Passenger side
windows (more than the typical small kitchen window)
Very usable with
slides in
Really wanted or preferred:
Back window
Residential fridge
Split bath with
pocket doors to separate living from bath/bed and another to separate bedroom
Linen closet
Pantry
Buffet with
table/chairs (instead of booth)
Ability to replace
furniture fairly easily (we didn't think most RV furniture would be comfortable
for full time)
All outlets wired to
the inverter
Solar
Fireplace (we love
to take off the chill in front of a heater)
Two (instead of 3 or
4) slides, preferably on the drivers side
Did not want:
Longer than 35'
(shorter gives more choices for camping and easier parking)
Full wall slide
(concern over slide mechanism with weight, often too open to bedroom for
privacy, harder to place in campsite if tree or post is in the way vs. two
slides where tree/post could be in between)
Passenger side slide
(preferred more room for lounging under the awning and fewer slides to maintain
or go wrong)
The List - what we got (+ good, - not so good, ~ so
so)
GENERAL:
+ 31', 22k chassis,
F53 6 speed, 22.5 tires, 2k+ net ccc for stuff (after us and full fluids but
empty grey/black)
+ Passenger/driver
chairs most comfortable we've tried yet (on Bay Stars)
+ 2 AC's (good if one fails and more flexible)
+ Very usable floor
plan with the slides in with minimal loss of a couple of cupboards and the
usual drawer access in bedroom with Bay Star slides
~ We were concerned about the walking space
between the two living area slides but it is very workable and comfortable but
definitely not spacious!
- None of the
outlets are wired to the inverter except the fridge (we got the impression that
this was not something Newmar would do).
Not sure how we'll address this one.
+ Having two
opposing slides in the living area means no reclining of passenger seat for
husband naps on long drives (just to be clear I (wife) usually drive!). On the other hand, it's great for feeling
spacious when open. Overall we decided
this was a win despite not originally wanting it.
- We did not care
for the 2017 "gold" paint scheme.
It was too busy, the white seemed out of place (with the
gold/black/maroon and it looked like a smiley face on the front which isn't bad
but I guess we wanted a more elegant look which isn't normally us!). We don't like a lot of black which shows dirt
and retains heat. They wouldn't let us
change the graphics (to last years for
example) but we changed out the colors as a special order (made the white
portions black and the black portion "Fawn" which was used in
2016). I wish I would have spent more
time on this part. I actually used
Photoshop to see what it would look like but I probably would have spent more
time looking at a lot of different schemes but instead we wanted to be "safe"
and stay as close to the original as possible.
But we were getting really tired of "research" and really
wanted to get it ordered so it would get here in time for retirement. I do like what we have better than the
original so I guess that's good!
- pump seems noisier
than our old motorhome but we've gotten used to it
- not impressed so
far with the "upgraded" sound system.
I think we need to figure out how to make it work for us. I wanted to bluetooth to it from my Android
phone and play music over the surround sound speakers. Apparently the next model up had bluetooth
in the receiver (but that wasn't an option offered by Newmar). We were able to work around it by
screencasting to the TV from the smartphone and turning on the sound system
speakers to the TV. But that's overkill
having to have the TV on in order to play music through the smartphone
(wirelessly). I can bluetooth to the
dash radio but haven't figured out how to make the radio go through the
surround sound speakers.
Update: When we first tried the surround sound it was with the radio in the receiver. The sound is much better with music on my phone (screen cast to the TV which is wired to the sound system). We also figured out how to adjust the subwoofer which initially wasn't working so we had no bass so it sounded terrible. We can't figure out how to update the settings using the TV and apparently we're supposed to be able to do that. The whole setup is just really clunky and seems old (and the receiver is HUGE!). I think there are a couple of separate threads on the sound system that we'll have to read to see what others have done. Sounds like it isn't just with Bay Stars.
- we also got the
Sirius satellite upgrade but we didn't realize it's almost $20/month and that's
probably not something we'd spend. We
thought it was closer to $10 and we thought there would be a huge amount of programming
that we'd like but at a quick glance we're not so sure. Some day we might look at this more closely.
- blemishes and
anomalies in the cupboards and tile floors and woodwork are hard to
assess. You don't notice them at a
glance but as time goes on, we find more and more "huh" spots. We know we will add a lot more so probably
not a biggy in the grand scheme of things but when it's new (and a lot of
money!) you want it to be perfect!
+ the extra
insulation and construction is great for sound dampening. The AC is not quite as silent as we'd like
(but much much better than our old rig) and we can hardly hear the generator
(inside at least) and it is quiet driving it (unless it's a really bad
road!). We did have to tie something
around one of the slide locks because it rattled during driving (even locked).
- speaking of air
conditioning, the front A/C doesn't seem as efficient as the back. We get good air flow in the very front but
the middle doesn't have hardly any air coming out unless we turn on the back
A/C too. I guess we thought the front
would cover the living/kitchen (remember we're really short!) and the back
would cover the bedroom but that doesn't appear to be how it works.
+ the fantastic fans
are great but the bathroom one seems ultrasensitive to moisture in the air and
will not turn on unless we override the rain sensor. Which we eventually did anyway on both fans
because we added the cover so they could be operated in the rain (live in the
NW(et) you know!) and while driving down the road.
~ The frameless windows are great but there are
also some traditional slide-type windows that are a pain to open/close and
lock. The back windows open only for
emergency so can't use them to get air flow.
I still would like to do that, but I've been impressed that we get lots
of air at night for sleeping by opening the windows on each side of the bed and
turning on the bathroom fan to around 65 degrees. So it stays on until it's colder than 65 then
turns off. Perfect (we like to sleep in
cool rooms).
Note: we were concerned the frameless windows would
be too small and not open enough but they have been fine (mainly using the
kitchen fan at low speed and it draws in lots of cool air). I think when frameless first came out for the
Bay Stars (2015?) the windows were smaller(?) so watch out for that if that's a
concern to you. We love using them in
the rain!
~ the LED "mood" lighting in the
living area seemed silly but it's actually nice early in the morning. The kitchen has a fluorescent light above the
sink - yuck. At least we think it's
fluorescent because it's a bright white but maybe it's white LED whereas the
rest are warm white LED's? We'll have to
look at that.
- a lot of noise
comes in through the vents (when you're parked next to a freeway at
least!). We purchased fan cushions for
insulation from heat so we can use those if it's too noisy. It's not really a problem but noticeable when
the rest of the coach is nice and insulated and quiet!
~ love the automated
front black out shade but wish there was one we could see through. Doesn't cut out heat though. Would love a Magna-shade but struggling with
the cost. Or maybe other internal
see-through heat barriers would be better.
An upgrade in our future on that I think.
+ roller shades
day/night are wonderful and work well but you have to remember the one version
is see-through at night when it's dark outside and light inside and sometimes
we forget and think it's the blackout shade that's down!
- with few
exceptions, everything is smaller than the equivalent house counterpart. Table, couch, drawers, and especially
cupboards (not as tall or as deep). Kind
of makes sense but it was challenging to fit our bigger things in logical
places! Our old smaller motorhome had
bigger cupboards so we weren't expecting that.
For example, the cupboards above the cab are shallow and have a shelf in
the middle so nothing tall or wide can fit there (we used to keep our road
atlas up there in the old motorhome!). I
think it would have been more functional and would have looked better to make
them at least as deep as the tech cabinet (so they would align as well). But maybe that would have intruded into the
cab too much.
~ we were concerned
that the passenger side slide doesn't have a slide topper (apparently Newmar
thinks the awning would be sufficient or there wasn't enough room in how they
implement the two). There are many times
we don't use the awning so that doesn't really work for us. After reading advice from others on the
forum, there are advantages/disadvantages to both (having and not having
toppers) so since we have both, I guess we'll find out which we prefer over
time!
Living/Dining:
+ LR passenger side
windows (3 sides of windows in slideout!).
I knew I would love this and I do!
+ two short living
area slides gives lots of floor space in the LR
+ But does have the passenger slide into camp with the awning over it which is something we didn't think we would want. But we can always put the slide in when we want to have a larger group under the awning so a win after all!
+ Mid door entry
with interior entry rail (better to see outside in your camp from
living/kitchen/dining (like having more passenger side windows!!) and a more
homey feel with the rail (and it's handy!)
+ Speaking of entry,
we were super excited to see that one of the steps opened for more storage (we
had that in our previous motorhome and loved it)
+ TV on a lift
across from couch so doesn't block window and easy to view (except from dinette
- but we watch news that way while we eat dinner. Probably looks really silly)
- TV is too big (for us) at 48". We would have preferred smaller and more counter space on top and storage on each side of the TV (underneath) with the table/chairs instead of booth.
+ Window next to
dinette is nice and large with another small window facing front. (Windows!)
- I find the couch and dinette to be barely
tolerable for comfort. However we knew
this based on our experience with testing other Bay Stars. I get around it by moving around a lot from
the sofa to the dinette to the driver/passenger chairs (probably better for me
anyway!). If we decide we like the full
time RV life (and this coach in particular), this is likely one of the first
things to replace. But it will be a
tough decision wanting to keep seatbelts and some child sleeping areas!
- Speaking of couch, we knew 68" was
barely acceptable (and includes the narrow arms!) but it's one of those
compromises you accept with the length and floorplan. We were happy it has three cushions and
works for 3 average people if the space is needed.
+ We weren't thrilled with the price of the
folding cockpit table as an option but it sure is handy (as a console - we
don't think we'd use it as a table much because we'd have to move all the stuff
off the console!)
~ New this year (I
think) is the passenger foot rest. Just
like others we tried, they aren't really comfortable for us (hit us in the
wrong spot). We got a small square
storage ottoman and it works very well!
- heat registers are
under the front seats so not as effective as they could be!
- For me, but not
DH, I find the arms on the driver/passenger chair too high and they aren't
adjustable. They are also not quite wide
enough apart for me.
+ However, the
driver chair is power adjustable which is fantastic
- But I wish the passenger chair was too!
Kitchen:
+ Residential fridge
- we love it so far! The smaller one (10
CF) works just great for us and we're
hoping it won't use as many amp hours for boondocking!
Would have preferred one more shelf in the door (there are only two).
- Convection/microwave is not what we expected
and I'm not crazy about it - but it works
- The one we had at home had grill top/bottom, this doesn't have any grilling feature
- Don't care for how it closes (latches in lower right only and seems cheap)
- It vents inside the motorhome right into the slide fascia and ceiling (really?!)
- Flip door under
the sink (for sponges/brushes) had a 3" tray at one end of the 32"
flip drawer (we think they goofed and put the sinks too close to the flip door
so the longer tray wouldn't fit). Ours
was the first model 3009 model built and we saw one later that was done
correctly. Lesson learned - don't get
the first model ever built! We saw other
improvements they made to this model when we took the factory tour on our way
home.
- A lot of the under
the sink storage was taken up with the subwoofer (weird place for it!) and
water heater and pipes so storage is limited and NO place for garbage can
without cutting a shelf.
~ They added a vertical skinny side door under
the range (for cutting boards, cookie
sheets) which is cool but made the drawers beside it narrower. Not sure which I would have preferred. Update - it's actually really handy to have
the skinny door and drawers are sufficient width and depth for our pots/pans. Decided it was a nice addition we hadn't seen
in Bay Stars before.
+ Drawers under
stove area are plentiful (since we declined to have the gas oven knowing we'd
need the space in the small kitchen with no pantry). The 5 little ones are pretty narrow though (5
inches). We managed to find things that
worked for those.
- Not a lot of
counter space in the kitchen (but we knew that was a compromise area for us
with the shorter length). We are
thinking about removing the stove cover because we don't use it as a counter
and it would open up the space behind it (when it's in the "open"
position it blocks the counter space behind it).
- Didn't think about
carpet directly under the stove (it's on the slideout). Not sure what we'll do about that one to keep
it clean and protect it. Same with couch
and dinette area.
- kind of tacky to
have the microwave plug coming out of the cabinet and plug into the wall but
it's a monster so it would have protruded more if it were behind it.
- hate trying to
clean the black plastic on the fridge and micro. Haven't figured that one out yet.
+ I have TWO
silverware drawers! The one that came
with it (except ours was missing so we got one when we saw them during the
factory tour) sits and slides on top then we have our other one underneath
(drawer is really deep). Didn't think
I'd need two silverware drawers but our knives (regular dinner knives) didn't
fit and it's actually come in handy to have two layers!
Bath/Bed:
+ Split bath with
lots of storage in bathroom! Shower and
bath not especially roomy but not uncomfortable.
- Hate the shower
doors on most of the Bay Stars with the rectangle shower. 3 separate doors on 3 tracks - YUCK on the
cleaning! So we purchased a shower rod
and curtain and use that just behind the regular doors so we don't have to
clean the doors or the tracks. Works
well.
- toilet has only
one pedal. In our previous motorhome, we
had two where you could just fill the bowl with water with one pedal and
release the water with the other. Now we
use a cup to add water as needed.
-Don't care for the
plastic seat/lid. Wonder if we can
replace that part. The pedestal part is
porcelain(?).
+ Linen closet -
generally great
- 3 out of the 5 shelves they didn't go as deep as expected due to "stuff" (wiring?) behind them, partially due to residential fridge we think. Update: we later removed the barriers so now we can go all the way back and just work around the tubes etc.
- Narrower opening than I'd like so hard to get "containers" in there. The cupboard is wider than the opening.
+ The shelves are very sturdy and able to hold heavy books and bottles. They are quite tall as well.
+ Passenger side
window, back window and two bedside windows
(windows!!!)
+ 6 drawers in
bedroom
But one of them was half high because for some reason they chose to put the heat register below the drawer on the wall instead of the floor (first time I'd seen that in the Bay Stars we'd looked at - most had 6 full drawers). Still trying to figure out what can be put there since it's so skinny (height wise).
+ Tile throughout -
we did a special to have the tile extended to the bedroom which we really like.
+ I was lying on the
bed with my head over the side looking around underneath and noticed another
cubby for storage! 9"x10" and
25" deep toward the head of the bed!
The other side had one too but it was only 6" instead of
9". We keep finding crazy places to
store things in creative ways! But
containers are a challenge (especially with this newly found space!).
~ I thought I would like the single handle
shower knob and it's nice to turn on with one handle but I'm having trouble
adjusting the temperature. The slightest
movement and it's too hot then too cold.
Also, it sticks out pretty far and I keep bumping it therefore adjusting
my carefully sought after temperature to too cold or too hot again!
~ I think I'm vent-toilet challenged in the
bathroom. Turn on the vent to clear the
humidity or get cool air but don't forget to stop it when you flush and then
resume it otherwise you get a nasty whiff of things underneath!
- disappointed that
the fantastic fan model we got didn't have a remote. That would have been handy when you're in bed
and it's getting hot. You can turn on
the fan remotely and open your window to get a little breeze.
Outside
~ Bays are ok I
think. I was worried they'd be too small
or two few and taken up with "other" things and that's true BUT I
think there are just enough bigger ones (or pass through) that it will work. DW was able to get a table, ladder, and two
chaise lounges in the pass through (barely)!
I am bay door challenged - I can never seem to close them without
slamming it multiple times (that seemed to happen on most coaches not just this
one). DW does ok with it! Super happy with side opening which was new
for 2015 or 2016. DH is surprised at how
much they hold in general.
+ Can't remember if I mentioned the side
cameras in the driving portion but I'm surprised I use them (still getting used
to looking there but when I'm not sure if it's clear, it's nice to glance there
for assurance!)
+ Love the "hidden" compartments in
the bays. They aren't actually hidden
but at first glance you don't notice them.
The space above the generator, the really long narrow spot on the
drivers side that fits our pop-up canopy perfectly.
+ Battery slide out tray, drivers side, with
all 4 coach batteries was a nice surprise
- disappointed the
generator exhausts to the passenger side (really?!) So we'll probably move
it. Or not, perhaps we'll be inside
anyway (cooking, A/C). Never mind our
guests at the picnic table or around the campfire.
- we were
disappointed we couldn't adjust the back-up camera to look further behind the
coach like other models we'd test driven.
It's probably fine because the side mirrors seem to cover it well but
not sure if we have any blind spot between the back-up camera and the side
mirrors. Will test this over time.
Warranty list(?) really small list so far… We're keeping track of things that don't seem
to work correctly and we'll try to determine if it's human error or there
really is a problem. Keep in mind, we've
been living in it a month (as of today!) so we'll probably discover more!
Left dinette booth drawer is hard to open and close
Can't seem to get the front thermostat set for the right temp (furnace or A/C) and we wonder if the thermometer is set correctly. We don't even know where the probe is so we can test it (it doesn't appear to be near the controls because if it is - it's way off!).
Having a lot of trouble closing the entry door in order to lock the dead bolt. And oddly enough we discovered it popped open while we were driving one time. We assume it just happened because someone would have honked at us (right?). But we're not sure how long it was open before we noticed it because it's back behind the passenger slideout (didn't notice air temp or sound change).
We did have a couple of issues with the slides that we fixed ourselves or that are intermittent and not frequent (a bolt issue and the front driver side randomly stops as we're bringing it in but resumes when we try again etc.).
One last thing I
would like to say to those of you trying to figure out what you might
want. We love this forum and how helpful
everyone is as it makes us consider things we hadn't thought of. But please remember only YOU know how
important something is to you so don't worry if your gut level feeling seems
different from some or even most folks.
For example, we feel like we're the exception being content with gas and
a short coach for full time (and insane desire for windows). So much of the advice just didn't seem right
for us but it makes you wonder if you will regret your choice (since there were
so many voices of (their) experience!).
Only time will tell if we will come back in a year or two or three and
change our minds but for now we are really happy with our choice. We love not having a lot of space to carry
more stuff we don't use!! It has
everything we need with enough wiggle room for two!
Good luck to all and
safe travels!
Ellen
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