Keeping the dream alive!

so this weekend, during my "break" from the kennels I decied to go to a dealer (DeWalt's in PA) where I knew they had one of the models that I wanted to "see".  The dealer was nice and non-pressuring as I told him from the start I was over a year away from doing this, actually it was a pleasant experience.  I looked at the coachmen chapparrel 340qbs, with the 1.5 bathroom.  It was nice, but the only thing I didn't like was the fact that the bathroom doors also doubled as the bedroom(s) doors, which left a 1.5" space underneath the dor and a 2 foot space above the door, because it is the high profile model.  They didn't have the wyoming in stock that I liked, but I got the liturature on it and it has a door for the bedroom AND bathroom, but I wonder how high it goes...? 

A couple of questions:
in the literature I got from the dealer, in the options section, it says "mandatory option", what the heck does this mean ????

The wyoming 342 BHTS has a base weight of 10,410 lbs. and a carrying capacity of 3,800 lbs. Pin weight of 2,270 lbs.  Would a 350 series truck be enough or would the truck need to be a step up? 

Do you like the lifting of the bed for storage, or is there a better way to make that space a little more available?

Has anyone had any crappy experiences with Coachmen?  How well are they built...?

How tall is too tall in rv max height?

I know this sounds weird, but when I walked in (and maybe I am just not used to this as I live in a very well built 120 year old farmhouse) it felt  :-\"light, and lacking"  :-\ if that makes any sense.  It reminded me of our mobile home back in Texas...is that normal??

Anyhoo, if you wanna stop by my place, southern NJ, I would love to see how different models are made...

-Adrienne

The wyoming 342 BHTS has a base weight of 10,410 lbs. and a carrying capacity of 3,800 lbs. Pin weight of 2,270 lbs.  Would a 350 series truck be enough or would the truck need to be a step up? 

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That trailer has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 14,210 lbs.  Allowing a reasonable safety factor of 10%, you will want a truck that has a tow rating of 15,800 lbs.  If you plan on touring the mountain or Pacific west, make that 20% and 17,800 lbs.  The very top of the 2006 F-350 line can tow those numbers according to Trailer Life's 2006 tables.  The top of the line I refer to is the 6.0L Turbo Diesel with dual rear wheels, and a minimum of a 4.30:1 rear end ratio. 

That is a big trailer, and really is creeping into F450/550 tow body equipped chassis and medium duty truck country.

I know this sounds weird, but when I walked in (and maybe I am just not used to this as I live in a very well built 120 year old farmhouse) it felt  "light, and lacking"  if that makes any sense.  It reminded me of our mobile home back in Texas...is that normal??

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Not really.  Trailers and motorhomes really are light compared to a stick house.  I was raised in an Army family.  The Army paid to move use every four years, people and household goods.  The limit the Army would pay for was 20 tons of furniture and appliances.  Most families of senior officers and non-coms  had issues making that limit.  20 tons is 40,000 lbs and that was just contents, not the housing itself.  I know of no trailer that goes up to 40,000 lbs or even half that.

We never had an objection to lifting the bed for storage...you get used to it Keep in mind the lifters can be a problem..breaking, pulling their mounting screws from the mount, etc.