The Birth of a Bus

Congrats Marty and Diane.  Don't know how I missed this earlier.

Coach turned out great.  Hope you enjoy many, many miles in her.

Mike

Nice rig Sarge, welcome to the Allegro family! It's really great being able to call the OEM # and actually speak to a tech that works on these. We absolutely love ours.

Great to hear you guys made the right decision. Hope you are getting better weather now to enjoy it!

Well, I will wrap up the Birth of a Bus story. We have had it about 2 months now and love it. We are settled in and it is feeling like home. I still continue to do my modifications to tweak things the way that works best for us. That may be the next thread!  But here are a few pics of the finished product, the way that we picked her up.

#1- This is how she looked when we arrived to pick her up. Clean and shiny, except for all the stickers that they insist on putting on everything!

#2- This is from the entry looking towards the back. All of the lighting is LED and about half are dim-able. We also opted for the booth dinette this time. We had a free standing table and chairs in the last several coaches,  and decided that the booth was more functional and comfortable. There is pull out storage under the seats.

#3- Solid surface counters and tile back splash give it a high end feel. There is a Wolf induction cook top and 2 deep solid surface sink basins in the kitchen area. On the right side of the cabinet area is a set of 3 pull out drawers on a slide out island with a matching solid surface top.  This is also the theater seating unit we opted for instead of a pull out sofa bed or L sofa. (I will later reconfigure the theater seating unit). 

#4- One of the things we loved about our Phaeton, and bought this floor plan because of the same feature is the corner mounted TV, and the fireplace underneath. The TV can be seen from anywhere in the rig, and it's amazing how much we use the fireplace. The counter top area next to the TV is the section I had added at the factory. That space used to be for a stand alone recliner, but the counter is way more functional. (I modify it as well a little later).

#5- This is the half bath that Diane didn't think we needed. I stuck to my guns, as I am usually the one in there!  Actually it has remained quite functional, and convenient to boot.

#6- The residential refer is the same as the one that was in the Phaeton. We love it and wouldn't have another gas refer. The blank wall next to it usually comes with "standard art work" from the factory. Since I was there for the build I had them not put it up. We will put up our own stuff to personalize the rig. We still took the art work though and will put it up if we ever sell the rig.

#7- The king size bed was one of the primary reasons for trading up to this coach. It turned out to be an outstanding idea. It is a sleep number bed, and we both sleep like a baby most nights. The illuminated blue panel on the wall is part of the Spyder system in the rig.  Most all of the electronics are on the various touch pads around the coach. As a later add, I bought a "Coach Proxy" program that syncs with the Spyder system and we can control the coach with our cell phones or computers.

#8- Drivers side bedroom cabinets. The entertainment cabinet is below the TV. Another "master" spyder panel on the wall next to one of the 3 roof AC thermostats.

#9- Drivers side master bedroom. The tall cabinet on the right is the stacked washer/dryer. Sink area in the corner,  and the mirrors are on the double closet in the rear. (BTW, the guy taking the pics was our salesman, Jared)

#10- And the rest of the master bath. Solid surface shower with 2 shower heads, maceration toilet, and the rest of the clothes closet.

That's pretty much and overview of the inside of the rig. We are still making it our own, so that means I still have mods to do!

I could do a whole section on the outside stuff, but most people are not as wrapped as tight as me about every feature of a motorhome!  Thanks for coming along on the journey!

Wow! That's really nice, Marty. Thanks for sharing those pics.

I was introduced to a Bath and a half coach today, it is a very nice floorplan, and not a floor plan that I had considered before today. I am going to revisit it again tomorrow when they can have the coach cooled down, as I dropped in this afternoon without prior notice and the coach was blazing inside.

It has turned out to be one of my favorite features!  It's amazing the longer the DW and I spend time together, the more our "systems" sync up....

It's stunning! Congratulations again ?

Thanks Jackie!

You have a nice coach.
Bill

Congratulations all round Marty, and thanks for sharing the story with us. I'm still amazed that, having seen your prior coach, you wanted something "better". But it's definitely a step up. Hope you both have many enjoyable times and trips.

Man... what a dump! You're actually going to have to live in that thing?  ;D

You better know I'm kiddin'...that coach is gorgeous! As I said before, I love that floorplan. I hope it's troublefree for you both and ya'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Congratulations!

Nice looking coach Marty.  Happy for you and Diane.

I for one am one of those people who would like to see the exterior, storage, engine bay, etc of the coach if you find it in yourself to take pictures.  I like to see the meat & potatoes of the coach vs. the fluff.

Mike

Man, that is a beautiful coach Marty! I love all the automation and how it all works together.

Kev

Nice photos.. Congratulations!

Hey, thanks for teh update.  I've been wondering how well things were going.

Is that a floor hatch in the master bath?

Marty:

I have to agree about the half-bath. Before we got our Bus, we though that a half-bath was a waste of space. We gradually came around. After 5 months, I don't know how we lived without it.

zmotorsports said:

I for one am one of those people who would like to see the exterior, storage, engine bay, etc of the coach if you find it in yourself to take pictures.  I like to see the meat & potatoes of the coach vs. the fluff.

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Add me to the list of "would like to see" also, please.

It's a great looking coach.

So I'm not the only one that doesn't have a TV that is overhead?  That was one feature I was looking for when I was looking for a coach.
I assume you don't have one overhead as there was no picture looking towards the front of the coach or any of the cockpit area.

Have fun with your new toy.  ;D

blw2 said:

...
Is that a floor hatch in the master bath?

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Likely it is, Brad. Diesel pushers  generally have the engine more or less under the floor in the rear of the coach. In my Beaver the hatch was in the closet (and just outside it, too), which was all along the back wall, while in my Ventana it's like Marty's, with the engine hatch in the bath, because the bath is in the rear.

Tom said:

Congratulations all round Marty, and thanks for sharing the story with us. I'm still amazed that, having seen your prior coach, you wanted something "better". But it's definitely a step up. Hope you both have many enjoyable times and trips.

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Thanks Tom. Diane "blames" me, and I think she is right!  There was just some stuff that bugged me with the Phaeton, and it wasn't fixable.  When we decided to sell the house,  that's when it all started coming together.

kdbgoat said:

Man... what a dump! You're actually going to have to live in that thing?  ;D

I hope it's troublefree for you both and ya'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Congratulations!

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Yeah, it's been pretty good so far. There are a few small problems that we have discovered with systems, but we are getting them  taken care of.  Nothing major to complain about.

blw2 said:

Is that a floor hatch in the master bath?

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Good eye Brad! Yes it is. Even though it is a side radiator, there is a hatch to get to the top side of the motor for service. I haven't had it off yet, but I will!

mrschwarz said:

Marty:

I have to agree about the half-bath. Before we got our Bus, we though that a half-bath was a waste of space. We gradually came around. After 5 months, I don't know how we lived without it.

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Mee too. There is no more "waiting my turn" when the moment is right.  It is one of my favorite features too!

RedandSilver said:

Add me to the list of "would like to see" also, please.

It's a great looking coach.

So I'm not the only one that doesn't have a TV that is overhead?  That was one feature I was looking for when I was looking for a coach.
I assume you don't have one overhead as there was no picture looking towards the front of the coach or any of the cockpit area.

Have fun with your new toy.  ;D

Click to expand...

That over the front TV was one that we deleted in the build. It was "standard" in the floor plan, but we have never used it when we did have one in the previous coach. I had that one taken out as well. With the mid ship angled TV, the one over the dash was just something to run into, and dust. With it gone the view out the front  is greatly enhanced.

I am inspired guys! I will take some pics of the outside stuff and provide a little more insight into the storage and external stuff.  I love "gear heads"!!