Road House is a 2003 38 ft Safari Cheetah by Monaco, Class A Diesel Pusher with a 330 hp Caterpillar engine and 2 slide outs. What’s a Class A you might wonder or a diesel pusher… well, constructed on either a commercial truck chassis, a specially designed motor vehicle chassis, or a commercial bus chassis, a Class A motorhome resembles a bus in design and has a flat or vertical front end and large windows. In 1989, the addition of slideouts dramatically changed the industry because they allow a wider living area, provided that the vehicle remains completely stationary during their extension outwards. A diesel pusher motorhome is typically a Class A that is powered by a diesel engine mounted in the rear of the RV. Why is all that important?? Because this style of coach is made to last with a high end truck chassis and motor. The Road House weighs about 30,000 lbs and the diesel pusher Cat engine has high torque for climbing hills and pulling our tow vehicle. This also means a quiet ride as the engine is in the back. All a matter of preference but we opted for this model and went for a older model with low mileage to get all the amenities we wanted.

When we started seriously considering a life style change in late 2016, a RV seemed like a great way to see the US. I had been doing online research, reading blogs, visiting RV dealers and really liked the amenities, floor plan and fact that she was built by Monaco Coach who has a stellar reputation for high end, well built coaches. Buying an older, low mileage coach meant we were able to get all this without the massive price tag of a new coach – aka, we could afford it and not drain the retirement savings account!

We are the third owners of Road House (named by us) and were lucky to buy her from a private party who had taken really good care of her. That said, she is older and had not been used much recently so there was somethings that needed to be replaced or repaired but nothing serious. The interior was completely fine but we wanted to do some upgrading to the furniture, carpet and flooring which set us back about $10k but we are really happy with the results.

 

 

We also added a Splendide washer/dryer combo. The coach came plumbed for this type of unit but the dryer needed to be vented. Yikes…this meant cutting a hole in the side of the coach for the vent. It’s a great thing to have a handy, engineer in the family!