Thor Forums

[jabrabu]

Hi, my name is Brad and I'm new to the forum. After much agonizing we are planning to buy a new Chateau 23U this week. Here is the long saga:

My wife really wants to do a big month-long cross-country RV trip. We checked out RV rental places and found that it was pretty expensive, and the rental units were heavily used and didn't have many options/amenities. So I was thinking that maybe I could buy a decent used RV, use it for awhile, and then sell it for close to what I paid and it would cost less than a rental, plus be a nicer unit.

We went to some big RV shows and visited some dealers and did lots of online shopping. I wanted something fairly compact to be easier to maneuver and park. I also heard that some national parks have a limit of 24 ft. for their roads & camping areas. We are a family of 3 (me, wife, 9 year old son). We wanted the over-cab bunk plus a bed in the back, and I preferred to not have a slide out to use the bed. We liked the 23U floor plan because of the barrel chair behind the cab, which most motorhomes around 24' don't have.

After lots of online shopping we found a new 2017 Chateau 23U with a lot of options that I like -- HD Max exterior, second house battery, heated holding tanks, upgraded A/C, vent fan in bedroom, leatherette seats and dinette, 3 rearview cameras, spare tire, outside shower, convenience package. The price was good but it was halfway across the country.

After more searching we found a new 2016 Four Winds 23U locally. It had the U-shaped dinette, which we prefer over the new booth dinette, but the price was higher, it didn't have any options, and it was build on the E-350 instead of the newer E-450 platform. I have some frequent flyer miles and can fly for free, so I decided it's worth it to fly to get the one with options I want and drive it back home.

So, after all that, I'm planning to fly from MD to TX on Friday, buy a 2017 Chateau 23U, and drive it back home.

If there are any others with the 23U floorplan, let me know how it works for you. Is interior storage manageable? Is it a pain to make the bed? Can 3 people comfortably sit and watch the TV? Is there room for dogs?

Thanks.