Sophie , the Next Chapter in Our Life.

Note: This post was originally started in March of 2020. Then Covid-19 happened. Listening to the scientists and medical community we decided to be responsible citizens and did not travel during the year except for two brief trips in the late fall when the numbers were going down. It is now March May of 2021 and we are preparing to travel again, having had our Covid-19 vaccine shots. That is when I rediscovered this "LOST" post that was partly finished, first in March of 2020, then in March of 2021. I hope to post more often during our travels as we resume a more normal Life.

"Sophie", named by Linda just because she really liked the name, is our new 2020 Leisure Travel Van RV. The model is the "Unity", and the floor plan is the RL which stands for rear lounge. The chassis is a 2019 Mercedes-Benz sprinter. To say we love it is not even close to reality, way beyond all expectations is a better way of saying it.

It was a little over 18 months ago that we traded in our 2006 Holiday Rambler Endeavor for a Mobile Suites fifth wheel that has remained parked on our lot at Retama, as our residence. It turned out that we missed the freedom and joy of RV traveling so much that we decided to get a RV to do just exactly that, as we have no desire to travel in the fifth wheel. We've toured a number of manufacturer's production facilities over the years and knew there were many brands that we had no interest in because of the poor quality we saw during the factory tours. We settled on two brands, Coach House and Leisure Travel Van (LTV for short). The reason was twofold, first they both manufacture what is known as a B Plus RV and second they are very high quality.

We wanted something that was both small enough and well equipped enough to be able to stay in Forest Service, as well as State and National Park campgrounds yet roomy enough so that we could travel for months at a time and not feel cramped. After much consideration we settled on Leisure Travel Vans and when they introduced the RL floor plan for the 2020 model year we knew that was the one for us. We actually bought it without ever seeing a 2020 Unity in any floor plan. As a side note as to how popular the Unity is, if you order a new one today it will be 12 to 14 months before you will receive it.

In a way, we lucked out in buying ours. Since our flights to and from our Antarctica trip were through Miami, we decided to spend the week after returning on the West Coast of Florida where Linda's parents lived for a number of years after they retired. While there we visited Gerzeny's R.V. World who is a LTV dealer. The result was they had a RL on order for dealer stock that was due in before the end of April. Working with Tim Belile and Paul Gruber we learned it had almost all the options we wanted and was in one of the three exterior colors that we were considering. The two options it didn't have where both ones I had worked on in the coach and would have no trouble adding myself.

It was less than three months from the time we put down a deposit on "Sophie" until February 29th when we picked her up. We had decided to drive over to Nokomis Florida where Gerzeny's was located taking a long some of the basics and then planning to take three weeks more or less to drive back to Retama. After a overnight stay about 15 miles from the dealership we drove to Avon Park Florida where we are staying for a week to hopefully learn much more about her.

And with that background, let's take a "quick" look at Sophie. Non-Brief Bob!

Our first view of Sophie. Tim stopped the golf cart so Linda could take this photo. Don't laugh, but we weren't sure whether the main color of Sophie was white or off-white. We had seen the color chips when we were in before, but couldn't remember what the color was and the colors in the brochure were not much help.

Snappy Happy Linda was into photographing the fair young maiden.

The first touch by the new happy half owner and a big smile by Sophie's salesman, Tim.

It's about to be one small step for Bob and one giant leap in lifestyle for Linda and her man.

The official happy buyers, happy salesmen photo. Tim and Paul were awesome to work with.

Where one of the two options we wanted but didn't get would have been located. The reason those options were not available was because Sophie was already far enough along in the production schedule when we bought her, that no changes were possible. This is where I will add the macerator to pump out the waste tanks instead of using the "stinky slinky" hose. We had the macerator on the coach and loved it. The other add on I will install will be a hard wired surge protector. I will install both when we return to Retama and I have the necessary tools.

We brought just the basics to stock Sophie for the trip back to Retama. Linda had everything in boxes along with an inventory of what was where. Did I ever marry well. Happy Bob.

It may not look like much, but is most of what we will need during our three week plus return trip to Retama. Of course, once Ms. We Need This realizes what she didn't pack, I'm sure the stores along the way will benefit from her shopping trips. Bad Bob.

The Cherokee all hooked up and ready to go. The RVI Ready Brake3 is by far the best braking system we have ever bought. Guess the third time really is a charm.

It is going to take a while to understand everything about the Sprinter chassis. You might notice the window beside me being down. Eventually I realized it was down and raised it. So many readouts, so little knowledge of what they all mean. Baffled Bob.

 We are talking a very large dash command center here. So many options. So many buttons. No time to take my eyes off the road and experiment to discover what all they do. It was only after we arrived at the first night's RV park that I discovered the button that toggled back and forth between the GPS and the rear camera. I'll just say that during the drive Linda informed me in the tone that means for me to not say another word, that she wasn't going to touch any thing on the panel and I was to keep my hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Obedient Bob.

Our first night of camping was included in the sales price, and the really nice thing was it was only about 15 miles north of the dealership. That was something I definitely appreciated. Once there Linda immediately set about making Sophie our Traveling home away from home. Looking at this photo  few days later as I write this, I can tell you that at least half of the items you see in the drawer are no long in it, This being our 5th RV, it was a certainty to happen. Where Was It Put Bob and Linda.

This is the place I stopped writing in March 2020. Everything that follows was written one year later by hopefully, not so faulty memory Bob.

Below is one of those, "I have no idea what I was thinking when I uploaded this photo," images. It is of the cockpit of Sophie, but I assure you there will be far better photos in the future. Besides, what it would look like today, March 21, 2021, would be definitely different.

The entrance door and Linda's seat. Bad photographer Bob.

One awesome thing the RL model has. Everything is controlled by four touch interface panels panels. Two in the front, one in the bathroom and one in the rear lounge. It took us a while to learn how to use them, but once we did, we would never go back to light switches all over the place, thermostats on walls, battery voltage meters that may or may not work and tank monitors that don't monitor. Were they perfect? No. But that is what warranties are for, Lol.

I can't believe how far off the white balance in the camera that took this photo was. Please look at some of the more recent posts (when I finally get around to posting more often) to see what the interior colors really look like. I don't know if it was bad photographer Bob of Linda, but whoever it was was needs to go to photographer school. 

The kitchen viewed from the entrance door.

Looking towards the entrance door and the refrigerator, with the stove and sink in the foreground.

The great thing about the refrigerator is the doors the frig and freezer open from either side. Time has taught us we very seldom ever open them from the rear of the RV. Other owners results may vary. Confused Bob.

Just to show the refrigerator opens from either side.

View from up front looking at a beautiful woman sitting in the rear lounge. 

The bathroom. I promise far better photos will follow. Hopefully with a beautiful model seated in the image. Bad bob. No, Really Bad Bob. Something tells me if I took a photo of said model sitting there it very well could be Dead Bob.

This was an attempt to show the bathroom mirror is hinged and covers the window in one direction as show above and severs as a wall mirror in the other. As mentioned before, far greater detail will become available in future posts.

The rear lounge. The REASON we bought the RL model. The more we us it the more we love it.  Far more on the this will be be posted in the future.

Linda Photo. I don't have a clue other than it shows her Coconut Yuzu wine I make for her, her tomatoes she has grown and a cup of coconut yuzu wine in the the little stand she bought beside where she sits. Did I ever marry good, or did I. Ultra lucky Bob.

The TV in the rear lounge. It isn't quite as large as our 65" Samsung in the coach house lol, but given the small space of the rear lounge, it is just fine.

Thus ends that very first post, the one that was delayed over a year, The one that has the horrible not so very good photos. The one that gives a hint as to how awesome our LTV Unity RL is. I hope you will follow along as we share just how much we enjoy Sophie.