Hello! We are the Moser’s who live in the San Francisco Bay Area and love to visit the many State Park beaches along the coast of California and Oregon. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful place, and we invite you to join us by reading about our RV Trips. As you can see, we have a small vacation home with a really big yard!
Our current motorhome, a 2023 Newmar Bay Star 3014, the Big Blue Box (BBB).
Our second motorhome, a 2017 Winnebago Adventurer 35P, the Big Silver Box (BSB).
Our first motorhome, a 2013 Winnebago Sunstar 26HE, the Big White Box (BWB).
MobileMosers.com 
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Hello fellow RV travelers from Florida. We live aboard and stay in the Florida keys for the winter and travel for 6 months during the summer. All that, more or less. We eill be back out in California next summer, visiting my son in Eureka.
I enjoyed your posts. See you back in the Golden State next year!
Hello there- i saw your Blog on a iRV2 forum and wanted to ask you some questions about your RV. We are moving up from our travel trailer and looking at a 2016 Vista Rally 26HE. Would love any input you have!
Karen, I’d love to talk to you about 26He! please message me on iRV2.com anytime. I’ll share the good, the bad, and the ugly, but overall it’s been a great coach for us!
Al
I’m Macnut, I am Gary from Goldenmate Energy. We admire your insights on the iRV2 forum. Would you be interested in testing our batteries? Here’s our website: https://goldenmateenergy.com/, you can contact me via marketing@goldenmateenergy.com
Thanks, Gary, but I sold the 26HE and I already have a great battery setup in our Baystar.
Al,
We looked today at a 2013 Vista. Now trying to read up on them. Saw several posts about wheelbase and other scary warnings of handling in wind with semi’s.
Looks like you still have your unit from what I can tell. So you are still alive and either have Popeye forearms or only drive on deserted roads on calm days!
Can we get some advice/recomendations before we take the plunge?
Scott
Yes, some of the posts sound scary, but I have to tell you my experience has been really good. Living near the coast I have been in pretty windy conditions with no issue, and trucks passing me is not a problem. Ford made some improvements to the 2012 chassis which probably account for the difference. This is my first RV, so it could also be that I just don’t have any other reference point. However, I didn’t expect Ito ride like my car! 🙂 The ride of the F53 chassis is rough because it has leaf springs. Some people add different shocks or sumo springs or other hardware to compensate. I have not felt the need to do so. There is also something called the Cheap Handling Fix that stiffens the ride in the back, but I haven’t done that either. Overall, I am satisfied with the ride just the way it came from the factory. Oh, one thing to look at is tire pressure. Once, a dealer increased mine to 100psi, from the recommended 82psi and the ride was terrible until I figured out what they had done. I keep mine at 87psi and it rides great. Best of luck to you on your research and purchase, and many happy miles to you!
Thanks for your timely response. I appreciate the advice from a satisfied owner. There are soooo many options and opinions to sort and sift in the process as a first time buyer that it does get overwhelming. If only it was as simple as “A, B, C” !
But each of those have a crazy wide range of possibilities. Price/year/options/size/condition/longevity/reliability/resale…
Yes, it can be over-whelming. In our case, we knew we wanted a Winnebago, Newmar, or Tiffin because we wanted quality. We also knew wanted a class A, but on the shorter side because we are weekend warriors and like to visit state beaches over a 3-day weekend. Anyway, that’s how we narrowed our choices down to fit our needs. I’m sure you will find just what you are looking for! Take care!
Al
Hi Al, so glad I found your blog. I’m really torn between the 2023 Newmar Bay Star 3014 and the 2023 Winnebago Sunburst NP. Which would you consider has the best insulation for early spring, late fall camping? Thanks Joe
Thanks, Joe! The Newmar is much better insulated than either of our Winnebagos were. Overall, it has better fit and finish and quality construction. Winnebago probably uses more automotive like construction techniques, so you can go online and use their CAD system to examine all the parts of your RV. However, Newmar compensates by having better customer service. I’ve called them a couple times for help and they have been awesome. Once, when I had a problem with my awning they came to my campsite in Palm Springs! It turned about to be an adjusting of the tractioner that took 5 minutes, but I didn’t have a ladder at the time and could not have fixed it myself. As you probably know Winnebago Industries owns both Newmar and Winnebago. Newmar seems to be the higher end of their product line. I don’t think you could go wrong with either.
What do you use to create the maps you post of your trips? I’d like to do the same and store them as trip records.
Great Blog…tons of great information! I’ll be following in the future.
Hi Stu! I use different tools. In the last post I just took a screen shot of Apple Maps.
However, I have 2 apps that allow me to save trips.
inRoute, which I really like for planning, because it helps you choose a route based on different factors, like elevation or curviness. It costs $5/mth or $40/yr.
The second is RV Life’s Trip Wizard. It’s great for finding campgrounds and even planning where you need to fill up your tank based on your travel radius. It’s $20/mth or $65/yr but you can find discounts for your first year.
Hi Al. I also live in the Bay Area and we are looking at Newmar 3014 and 3225. Do you mind if I ask how your year with your Newmar has been and if you still feel it’s the right choice for you? We are coming from a 32.5ft gasser and mostly go to State and National parks, which is why the 3014 seems like the best choice, but the exterior storage seems limited compared to the 3225. Also, did you have a good experience with Mantaca?
Our first year with the Baystar has been good. We had a few small issues and Newmar warranty took care of them all. We were also looking to downsize into a smaller gas coach from our 36 foot Winnebago. We don’t feel like we gave up much living space at all. There is definitely less storage, but more than enough for us to live in a couple months at a time. Inside, we have some empty cabinets. We also have enough basement storage, but there is no compartment large enough for our zero gravity chairs, so we gave them away. Otherwise, no issue. We love the layout, construction, and better insulation.
Our dealer was good for the sales process, but they did not live up to my expectations for service and repair. When they washed the coach before delivery, they put lots of swirls in the paint from using the wrong kind of brush. They also were not able to solve some issues the first time. I recommend DeMartini in Grass Valley, because they have a great service team.
thanks for the feedback. We are also looking at DeMartini, so that helps. We are “weekend warriors”, so we don’t need a lot of storage, but our zero gravity chairs was one of the things I was thinking about. We are going to look at the coaches next weekend, so I’ll take some measurements.
Love your blog BTW. We are relatively new to California, so your trip blogs are a help for finding places to go.
Thanks! Glad we can help give you some ideas! We feel blessed to live here as there are so many great places to RV within a days drive. Wishing you the best!
Read with interest your BS 3014 reviews. We purchased a 2023 in May of 23 as we upgraded from a BS Sport 2903. Got to say our experience was nearly identical with issues and observation. Been RVing for 40 years and happiest with the Newmar…after you get through that first year of minor fixes. Will continue to check in on your site regularly as you have some great and useful info. Rubiconrick- San Diego
Thanks, Rubiconrick! Since this was our third RV, we knew what to expect the first year, but glad to have our issues fixed! 40 years of RVing! That’s awesome. I don’t think we’ll match that, but hopefully many years to come!
Hi Macnut, I’m Gary from Goldenmate Energy. We admire your insights on the iRV2 forum. Would you be interested in testing our batteries? Here’s our website: https://goldenmateenergy.com/. You can aslo find me via marketing@goldenmateenergy.com