Let me show you the Alfa - a long post

Although it won't come home  until next week, the Alfa is starting to feel like it belongs to us.

The following post is a reflection on my first impressions of it, and a recap of thoughts I've had during  sleepless hours as I visualized what I liked about it.

All of the pictures were shot very quickly after we had decided we were going to buy. 

In the Family Motor Coach Association review the Alfa See YA Founder Edition series, hence forth to be known as "the Alfa," is described as a toned down, simpler class A with fewer electronic gadgets and other luxuries.

This is just fine with me.  I never wanted the washer with the 18 different cycles, nor the sewing machine that could do 67 fancy stitches and was run by a computer.  It seems the more electronics something has, the more electronics there are to malfunction!  But I think Craig likes electronic gadgets...

It is reviewed as having generous storage and tall indoor ceilings.  Both are true.

 For my non-RVing friends who might be reading this, the storage bays on the outside  bottom part of an RV are called the basement. Two are shown here.

This is a look into one of them.  As you can see they go deep into the RV.  The yellowish things are the two extra dining room chairs, and there's a waste basket at the back of the bay.

One of the simplified features is
 the floor panel that you put in place under the passenger side chair. It's manual, not electronic.  Tsk, tsk, you actually have to fold it up and down by hand.  Must take at least 10 seconds to do, but it can't malfunction!

Another thing missing in the cockpit area is a "computer shelf" for the co-pilot.  I saw one in a few other rigs and liked it.   My lap will just have to do. Not a deal breaker.

A plus in the cockpit are the night shades that pull down over the front  and side windows.  I like them better than curtains because they are cleaner.  Curtains get so dirty.

I like the light color of the sleeper sofa.  The pillows will go, and will be replaced by something more interesting.
The upholstery is in good shape and it is pretty comfortable to sit on.

The wood table is not as tiny as it looks.  It  has a leaf and can be expanded to seat four.

I really like all of the windows the Alfa has.  It is one of the lightest coaches we have seen. The downside to that  is the dinky venetian blinds.  But if they work, they will stay for a while.  The carpet is hard to see under the dealer's plastic, but looks like a sad gray- brown color.  The other  flooring is linoleum.  A few nice throw rugs will brighten it up nicely.

Opposite the couch is a comfortable recliner, with foot stool and a little table. The copilot  seat swivels around, so you could use the little table to play cards or a game.

I  like the light colored cabinetry.  We saw some very posh rigs with dark woods that seemed very beautiful, but felt dark for such a small place.

 I'm a simple person. The wood is pretty basic, but very functional.












There are three huge cabinets above the chair.  I measured them and figure they will easily hold my bread maker, crock pot, toaster, blender and iron on the top shelves,  and the lower shelves will accommodate a series of baskets  for things like tea, dry goods, and other smaller everyday items.

I like the fact that there are several fans.  There are two small ones in the front and one in the kitchen, two ceiling fans, and two vents with exhaust fans in the ceiling.  I like fresh air, so maybe in moderate weather we can open some windows and move the air around without the air conditioner on all of the time. Some of the windows have screens.

I like the size of the two sinks.  It has a cartridge type water filter. The counter space is limited, but I've been practicing cooking with less space and have thought about a few ways to make the best of less room. I like the fact that it has both an oven below and a microwave/ convection oven above.

I

Because the Alfa is a bit taller than some coaches it has a higher interior ceiling (7'6") and thus there is room for cabinets above the cabinets!

I have never had trouble reaching my top shelves, but I'm going to have to get a step stool to reach into some of these.  I have to think about what seldom-used but necessary things to put up there.


I'm happy that it has the larger four door refrigerator.  I considered this a must have!  I don't really care about the ice maker.  I'd rather have the extra cubic feet of freezer space and use a tray or two, but Craig will like it.

A very functional feature of the kitchen is the trash hatch. There is a place for the trash can inside the cabinet and you can either use the small hole or lift the panel for bigger stuff.  There is a door on the outside of the coach, just above the basement doors, that opens so you can empty the trash from outside.

Opposite the refrigerator is a large cabinet that has three big drawers on the bottom and a large, deep cabinet above.  I think this will be pantry space, and I'll have to figure out how best to use it.

Further along are two large cedar lined four door wardrobes with eight drawers below.  Not sure if we own enough clothes to fill them...

The Alfa floor plan different in that it has a divider down the center isle with a blank wall on one side and the bathroom vanity on the other.
The shower and toilet are on one outside wall, and the wardrobe mentioned above is on the other.

The medicine cabinets are generous with six mirrored doors.  We don't have that much medicine.  I'll have to think of something else to put in them. I hope there's an outlet somewhere there, I can't see one in the picture.  I looked around the coach and felt it had lots of them in good places.

The wood door next to the vanity opens onto a big cabinet on top and a hamper on the bottom which is not very big, and I can imagine emptying it to a larger laundry bag on the wardrobe floor!

Speaking of laundry, about the only thing missing is a washer dryer.  Not a deal breaker!  I think I will be fine going to a laundromat once a week.  That way the wash gets done all at once.



I didn't take any pictures in the bedroom.  It has windows on both sides and more drawers and end tables.

The bed is horrible, but that can be changed! My salesman promised to see if he could find a better mattress in one of the other unsold rigs, but in the long run we may buy a new one.

There's a TV in the front and one in the bedroom.  I don't watch much TV myself, and use my laptop to watch DVDs and Netflix streaming.  But there's a satellite dome and an antenna. It would be funny if the antenna could pick up anything from our mountain home location.

So that's a look our new (to us) second home on wheels.  Not perfect, but pretty nice for an "anytime ride".

I'm not sure where our first shakedown trip will go.   Craig says just driving it home and parking it here will be an adventure!

 We are trimming trees this weekend and I have professionals coming before we bring the Alfa home.

It's going to be an interesting winter in  "Merikay's Woods."