As I've mentioned before, my favorite floor plan is the side dinette with rear gaucho. Sure, you have to make the bed every night, but even when I'm inside the motorhome I want to see the outside world. It's why I go camping in the first place. Being able to wake up in the morning and look out in almost every direction is a wonderful thing and I think that is lost in many of the new motorhome designs. Also, I like that the more compact motorhomes can get you to places the big rigs can't.
Some may ask, "considering how versatile the old Winnies are, why not build such a vehicle for today?" Lo, indeed they have have and they are! Starting with the LeSharo, continuing with the Rialta, and now with the ERA and the Navion IQ our friends at Winnebago Industries have taken variations of my favorite floor plan and applied them to the wonderful world of Class 'B' motorhomes.
(Okay, I know some people consider the LeSharo and Rialta Class 'C' because they have a Winnebago box on a chassis provided by Renault and VW, respectively. As far as I'm concerned if there is no cabover bunk, or the bubble on top to accommodate one then it's a Class 'B'. So let's not quibble on that little fact, and continue with my praising of Winnebago for being ahead of the curve.)
Now, I'll be the first to tell you that these cute little campers are a pint low on testosterone. They cannot compare aesthetically with the old shoebox we know and love. Also, their small power plants really limit the useful towing capacity making them a little less versatile than the big boy, save the ERA which has a decent 5000# towing capacity.
That said, the amount of livability offered by these little guys is astounding. They have all the room and creature comforts of my beloved D21 and they get over twice the MPG! Again, fuel is a relatively minor expense in my overall operating costs, but being able to get further on down the road on a tank of gas means fewer stops. Now that is very attractive, since the high consumption and small tanks of the old Winnies can make you feel like your traveling companion has a weak bladder, never missing a rest stop. Not the best way to make good time, you know? I like stopping at points of interest and the more time I spend in gas stations means less time at all those wonderful little places along the journey that make traveling by motorhome so much fun.
Wasn't it nice that Winnebago had the foresight long ago to start building motorhomes with fuel efficiency in mind? You know that means there are plenty of these little gems for sale at reasonable prices. Imagine, you could buy a 1984 LeSharo that gets better gas mileage than your SUV or Minivan. That's a 24 year old motorhome, mind you!
So, in the 11 years from when they made my D-21 they jumped from 8MPG to 18MPG. Wow! And now you can benefit from their foresight by picking up one of these little guys on the cheap. If you do then you'll also be the beneficiary of their best floor plan, at least in my opinion. So when you are sipping coffee in the morning peering out through the large windows around the dinette, think of me and thank the fine folks of Forest City, Iowa for putting together the world's best motorhomes!
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