I was given a rather odd assignment earlier this month: test drive and "test live" an RV for three days from Riverside, Calif., to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLII. Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath went along with me, but certainly not to add experience to the ticket. The closest either of us had previously come to a recreational vehicle was blowing by one at high speeds on the freeway, and being in our mid 20s, we were hardly stereotypical RV folk. And as our drive story Two Guys, a Truck and a 31-foot Fleetwood shows, it was hardly smooth sailing. But unlike Top Gear, at least we didn't burn down our Caravan...
Before we could depart from Fleetwood RV headquarters in Riverside, though, we had to get there from our Santa Monica headquarters. Our long-term Kia Rondo was chosen for no particular reason, but it capably held our ample amount of stuff for the journey. I was greatly impressed by its 2.7-liter V6 engine, which aided in slicing through traffic in the Inland Empire to avoid being late. The transmission is quick to downshift and there's plenty of passing power, although it felt just wrong driving that aggressively in our humble Rondo. That was nothing compared to the 20,000 pounds of truck and trailer to come, though.
Feature Drive Story: Two Guys, a Truck and a 31-foot Fleetwood
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
estreka says:
04:26 PM, 02/26/08
Last summer I had the luxury of driving a 35' motorhome (1 piece) for a friend. She bought the thing thinking it'd be like driving a limo. Once she realized the complexity of it all, my services were rendered. I can tell you driving a truck'n'trailer is far easier than a motorhome.
Btw, loved the story. Oh, and my god that's a nice trailer. That's nicer than my house!
tlcruz says:
04:35 PM, 02/26/08
I loved the story!!! It makes me wanna go camping! I havent done it in some 5+ years! But the trailer looks great! And I love the Super Nintendo bit!
desmolicious says:
04:59 PM, 02/26/08
"to witness the biggest spectacle in sports. "
Umm, no. Try World Cup soccer.
Cool story.
SubyTrojan says:
05:11 PM, 02/26/08
GREAT story, James and Mike!
Quote of the day:
"Um, it's accelerating by itself."
I can actually visualize Mike saying that! LOL =Þ
johnmarco says:
08:38 AM, 02/27/08
Entertaining article. Laughed several times out loud. But where is the section on driving the Fiesta? I was waiting for it the whole time and only saw mention of it in the photo captions.
(Off topic here) The comment-handling on this entire blog is very annoying. You never know when reading them if they will be displayed oldest-to-newest or vice versa. And when posting a comment, it is always displayed on a new page, even if only a handful precede it. How about always displaying them oldest first, on just one page?
SubyTrojan says:
11:13 AM, 02/27/08
johnmarco, as long as you're signed in to Edmunds/Inside Line, the comments should always be displayed chronologically oldest-to-newest. If you're not signed in, you'll seen the newer comments above older ones. If you have a program that automatically removes your web browser's cookies or if you do that manually on a regular basis, you'll have to sign in again.
johnmarco says:
03:49 PM, 02/27/08
ST, thanks for the tip. I do in fact remove cookies often (CCleaner.) That explains the erratic comment display.
SubyTrojan says:
03:59 PM, 02/27/08
You're welcome. :o)