Luxury is measured by axles and options in the world of top-end homes on wheels.
By BETH N. GRAY
Published February 7, 2004
BROOKSVILLE - Talk about King of the Road. It's a Freightliner 389. Yep, Freightliner - as in truck.
"It's an 18-wheeler truck chassis with a luxury motor coach on it," Chuck Kellogg, a salesman for Sun RV Superstore in Holiday, explained as he talked up visitors Friday at the Family Motor Coach Association's Southeast Area Rally.
Shopping for coaches and coach accessories is a big part of the rally, which concludes Sunday at the Hernando County Airport. And the 389 was one of the most luxurious, and expensive, choices vying for people's attention.
There are only 50 units of the model - now in its third year of production - on the road, and Sun has put 24 of them there, Kellogg offered with pride. The 389 has "safety, serviceability and can outdrive anything on the property," he said.
Why would any motor coacher want a roaming luxury accommodation with a front end that looks like the cab on a semitrailer?
"I like it for the truck front," Thomas Pitts of Brooksville said with a grin. "I sat right there for 21 years," the retired trucker added as he pointed to the driver's seat.
"The coach is very beautiful," he said as he peered down 45 feet of plush, leatherlike vinyl, built-ins and entertainment electronics.
"I like it from front to rear," beamed Dave Dane, also of Brooksville. "It is beautifully done. The finish work is very nice."
Pitts, 67, and Dane, 68, then turned to a digital panel behind the driver's seat that provides control and display of an automatic generator system, automatic leveling and more. And they liked the panel's accessible positioning. In some coaches, controls are buried behind cupboards or deeper in the guts of the vehicle.
The air-ride driver's and front passenger's seats adjust to a person's weight, Pitts pointed out.
The men weren't shopping, but dreaming, they admitted, particularly after learning the list price of the 389: $389,000.
The men then claimed they are dedicated, or resolved, to what they own. Dane commands a 36-foot Allegro coach while Pitts pilots a 19-foot Pleasureway.
Many of the rally visitors who toured the 22 dealer displays of new and pre-owned motor coaches were stargazing. But William and Mimi Lindeman of Estero were in serious shopping mode for their 11th wheeled home in 27 years of coach travel.
Stopping by the rally site of Register RV Super Center, the only Hernando dealership represented, the Lindemans were in search of - maybe - a newer model of the same coach in which they have vacationed for two years, a 30-foot Safari Trek. William Lindeman, 79, admitted he doesn't keep a coach too long.
Steering ease is a high priority for him in a new selection, he said.
Mimi Lindeman, 78, wants a more convenient bedroom configuration. In their current coach, the bed is stored against the ceiling. Bringing it down fills the area, which means when one goes to bed, the other must as well, she explained.
Similarly, Bernie and Karen Hiatt of Lakeland expressed split interests in shopping for a new coach to upgrade their 39-foot Fleetwood Revolution. He targeted driveability while she looked for niceties.
Checking out a 40-foot Holiday Rambler, Karen Hiatt, 61, pointed to the vinyl ceiling; easier to clean off a squashed bug than from a fabric ceiling, she noted. And she sought less carpeting and more tile and wood flooring. "It's easier to take care of," she said.
Bernie Hiatt, 63, talked about engine and generator capabilities with visitor Tom Knight of Melbourne, a Rambler Imperial owner who shared his experiences with the model line.
Nearby, saleswoman Tammy Gordon of Tom Stinnett RV in Louisville, Ky., extolled the amenities and design features of the dealership's custom-built 39-foot Tsunami. List price: about $306,000.
Its underneath storage bay doors open sideways rather than upward. Although the motor coach doors aren't especially heavy, lifting them can pose a strain for some owners.
This Tsunami model also varies in that, in the bedroom, the bed is situated end to end in the room rather than crosswise. The configuration allows navigation around the bed, which most other coaches do not provide.
Cupboards and closets are constructed of solid wood rather than the more common wood-wrapped vinyl, Gordon pointed out.
"The paint jobs," she added, "... They're individually painted. We let the customer choose four colors and (decorative designs).
"These don't come off an assembly line," Gordon said of the high-line coaches; they are custom ordered and require more than two months to build.
Also requiring custom order, at least locally, is the latest Airstream SkyDeck coach model, which offers "the industry's only rooftop deck, complete with cushioned seating, automatic raising safety rails, a king-sized sun lounger, barbecue area, built-in wet bar and yacht umbrellas," according to the literature handed out by Register.
At $250,000, the dealership probably won't stock them, said salesman John Swack.
"They're a highly specialized thing. People who want something that specialized are willing to order and wait," Swack said.
Register has not yet had any orders, he said, but some folks were inquiring about the novel coach at the rally.
At a glance
WHAT: Southeast Area Rally of the Family Motor Coach Association
WHEN: Today and Sunday. Open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Hernando County Airport. Entrance off U.S. 41 south of Brooksville.
ADMISSION: Public admission is $4 per person.
INFORMATION: Contact the association office at 796-0154.
