Adventure Bound
We are just an ordinary couple who want to see the world. We took early
retirement in 2000 after buying a 36’ Winnebago Class A motorhome. We sold
all our worldly goods that couldn’t fit in our new home and then we moved
in.
We spent 3 years traveling around the nooks and crannies of the U.S.,
using mostly 2 lane back roads.
After being introduced to Mexico by the Mexican Connection, a chapter of the
Escapees RV Club (more about both Escapees and The Mexican Connection on the
Good Guys page), and spending 2 winters traveling around most of Mexico, we
decided that we were ready to trade our home in for a more suitable rig for
adventure travel.
We must have spent close to 3 months driving around the Western U.S.
looking at what we thought were viable options. From Born Free in Carson
City NV., Big Foot outside Colorado Springs CO., Tiger in Denver CO., Lazy Daze
in Montclair CA., Trailblazer in Irvine CA., and then finally Xcursion in Brown
City MI. We eliminated the Big Foot, Lazy Daze & Born Free as they were all
built on van chassis with two wheel drive, although we could have had them
converted to 4 wheel drive by an after market supplier in Red Bluff CA, we
thought that a factory built 4 wheel drive on a truck chassis would be our
best bet.
That left the Trailblazer, the Tiger and the Xcursion. The Trailblazer is
a 32 ft. rig built on a Ford F350 with a tag axle. This is a really nice,
well built rig but the tag axle and length made it difficult to maneuver in
tight places. A pity because we really liked it and Henry at Trailblazer was
willing to make all the changes to the inside of the coach that we wanted to
make. The Tiger was on the other end of the scale, it is a 19 ft. rig built
on a 3/4 ton Chevy. The only change they were willing to make was to
substitute the Chevy for a Ford. Although this rig would be great for a
single traveler, it was really a tight fit for the 2 of us and a Rottweiler
that were used to a 36 ft. with 2 slides.
That left the 25 ft. Xcursion on a 1 ton Dodge. Joe at Xplorer Motorhomes,
which builds the Xcursion, was willing to change anything or everything; the
chassis (we wanted a Ford F550), layout within the coach (location of TV,
extra closets plus many other substitutions), length of the wheelbase (we
wanted 189’ vs. the standard 163’), making the choice of the Xcursion quite
easy. Read all about our Adventure Travel Rig on the Rig
page.
