Wanted: Glendale 36E41TBR

We are getting ready to hit the road but we’ve hit a real snag. You see, I’ve been looking for an older Glendale 36E41TBR bunk house unit that is in good condition, but I’ve not found one that is still good enough to haul around the USA and isn’t too expensive.

So today, can I ask you to help us by keeping your eyes open for a good and fairly inexpensive glendale bunk house unit for my family and I.

I believe I can purchase one in Canada or the US and transfer it to Canada, so if you have a lead, I’d be willing to follow it up. I will say though, if the sellers want more then $40,000 for one, then it’s definitely out of our price range.

If you know someone who has one that is still in pretty good shape, doesn’t have any major water damage and is willing to give it away, I’ll be really interested!!! I would even look at other bunk house 5th wheels if the price was right.

Thanks very much!

See you on the road – Frank.

Contact us by clicking here

Glendale RV

With continued searching we’ve come across an RV that just may be a perfect fit to our family! This RV is made by Glendale. It’s their 36E41tbr model. There are several reasons we really like it. And to boot, when we saw it, we said, this is it! This is the ‘right’ one. (Almost sounds like we are dating!)

But to be serious, here’s what we liked about what we saw:

  • Bunkbeds – We have three kids and the eldest is a teenager and the only boy. So I felt that he needed just a bit of privacy from his younger simblings. This unit has two rooms (albeit small, but still rooms), with two bunks in each one.
  • Excellent use of space – Everything is well thought out. For example, the table, which is a standard type with standard seats, has an easy extension that can be pulled out allowing all of us to sit at the table together. And to boot, the seats have seat pads that lift up and you can store a small amount of bits and pieces in each. Very neat idea.
  • Counter space – my wife loves the extra counter space available inside this RV. It’s a bit more then most and a little less then the high end units. Very adequate though.
  • One bunk on the passenger side, folds up permitting you to use this space as extra storage space accessible from the outside. I would definitely use this space as I only need 3 bunks for 3 kids.
  • The bunk rooms have their own toilet and sink! This will definitely add to the privacy that we have at night! Say no more.
  • The front design of the RV is unique. The RV is technically only 36 feet beyond the king pin but also extends an extra 5 feet forward of the kingpin. Glendale provides this space by way of extending and lipping the front over the cab of the truck.  This is a double bonus. First, the master bedroom is actually big and laid out nicely and second, if you add on a wind scoop to the truck’s roof, you can definitely improve your gas mileage, because of the areodynamics from the scoop to the RV.

Unfortunately, there was only one drawback, in my mind, price. This RV is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. But in terms of what we’ve seen it’s definitely the forerunner to all other models. I did make mention of a Jayco we looked at, but I do prefer this unit.

So we are on the hunt for one of these units. It looks like we will probably be purchasing this unit used from the USA, so we are looking for leads. If you’ve had any experiences with the 36E41TBR I’d really like to hear them.

Jayco RV

I’ve been looking at various 5th wheel RV units and today I took a peek at some Jayco RV units. In particular, I’ve been hunting for a unit with bunk beds for my kids. Having three kids is always an issue when it comes to finding bunk units. Seems that most RV manufacturers think that we only can have two children.

We came across a really nice Jayco RV that just may fit the bill. It’s a 345BHS. It has the bunk unit in the rear of the 5th wheel and it contains a fold-up bunk unit! Very nice. The layout wasn’t perfect, but there is room for at least three kids to sleep on bunks and you can also allow the kids to close the door to their room to enjoy some ‘get away from mom and dad time’.

Here’s a screen shot of the layout of this Jayco RV unit:

Jayco 345BHS RV

(This photo is complement of Jayco RV.)

Another point about this Jayco RV is the separation of the bathroom from the master bedroom. I really hate when the shower or sink is in the master bedroom. Also, the bathroom is a nice size. You can actually turn around without knocking your self in the arm or head. Nice!

So, my wife and I are considering this unit. I think it could be a winner. Nice length, nice amount of storage and Jayco thought about making this unit usable.

I’d like to hear if you’ve had any experiences with this Jayco RV. Please feel free to post your comment or questions below! Thanks!

Toy Hauler RV

In our quest to find the ‘right’ RV for our needs, we’ve been considering the latest fad, the toy hauler RV. This travel trailer and 5th wheel style gets it’s name from the fact that you can tout your ‘toys’ such as quads, motorcycles, snowmobiles and the such in it’s back ‘garage’.

This is an interesting type of RV because you can find them in the longer length’s such as 35′ to 40+’. The last 10-15 feet are reserved for the ‘garage’. And there is normally a drop down tailgate on the back that also seconds as the rear wall.

I personally don’t have any toys to haul, but the flexibility of the back is certainly interesting. Also, in many of the toy hauler rv types, there is normally a bed loft over top the back part. This is great for a bit of a private bed area for one or two adults. We felt that this could fit our eldest teenage boy.

Now, in the back, many of the models comes with the option to have two queen sized beds that are on a motorized track. This allows the beds to be moved to the ceiling when not in use. Very nice. My only frustration is the fact that I wish that these beds were only ‘single’ and not ‘queen sized’ beds. This automatically causes you to loose about 2 feet of storage in the back when the beds are down.

So, I’ve also considered this unit because of the fact that it can come with nothing in the back, allowing me to install a custom bunk unit. Just today, we were looking at a Jayco model (not a toy hauler RV), that had a metal bunk unit that allowed you to collapse it up into the wall when not in use! Now, if I could find that unit by itself and install it in a toy hauler RV – I’d have my nirvana.

Some things I didn’t like about the toy hauler RV style is it really seems to be oriented to the younger ‘party’ crowd. So seating is more party oriented and not family oriented. Boy, never thought that that would be an issue! But it does seem to be in many models.

The other thing that turns me off with the toy hauler rv’s is the price. Since they are somewhat of a novelty, they can be many $1,000’s more expensive then their comparable length cousins.

But I’d like to hear your comments about this unique type of unit, so I would welcome your comments regading toy hauler rv’s.

Thanks!