Our RV is a 2018 Holiday Rambler Navigator XE 35E. There are a number of reasons we settled on this model of RV. We spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons of buying new or used. Base on Don’s level of ability to support maintenance and upgrades, we decided to go with a new RV. We know from our research that we would need to work through the shakedown of a new RV and be prepared to test and manage the warranty repair lifecycle.

The ability to get an RV with a diesel engine did not seem possible when we first seriously started looking at an RV to support our nomadic lifestyle. We had been looking at gas Class A and was close to purchasing one when we discussed the carrying capacity would only have about 600 lbs. after filling up the fresh water tank & propane, towing weight, and loading three people on the RV. If we planned to stay with partial hookups campsites we could run the fresh water tank partial and could make it work. The carrying capacity did not support the additional weight to add solar and other upgrades to support boondocking or digital nomad needs. One of the decisions we made early on in the searching for an RV process was to find something that would support our needs and to eliminate options we “could make work”. When we found the RV we purchased we had 3,800 lbs of capacity we knew this would meet our needs. This was achieved because the Navigator XE is a diesel pusher.

We went with the 35E model since it included adequate sleeping accommodations for a third person. The 35E is a bunkhouse configuration with two bunks and there is a front cab bed that lowers over the driving area. The bed that lowers from the driving area is a queen size sleeping area. The floor plan needs for a married couple differ from one that includes a 14-year-old. While the bunk area is occasionally used, we use it for additional indoor storage. The living area is smaller than the models we looked at without the bunkhouse. Our RV has enough space for three people to cook, eat, work, and be entertained.

The RV does include a residential refrigerator. We debated the pros and cons of a residential refrigerator and a two power RV style refrigerator. The biggest con for the residential refrigerator was related to power consumption when not connected to power. The benefits include greater capacity and the freezer that is colder than a two power model. The Navigator XE includes a 2,000W inverter and a battery bank that includes four 6V 200Ah batteries for a total capacity of 400Ah and 200 Ah of useable capacity. This might sound counter-intuitive, we think the residential model will provide greater capacity for fresh foods for boondocking. We settled on the residential refrigerator with an understanding we would need to run the generator more while not connected until we made the investments in a larger battery bank and the addition of solar power to offset the use of the generator.