RE: ccc for fulltiming
Hey fisheroo, by the way welcome to the forum. the HitchHiker has worked out well. In fact we still haven't found a floor plan we like better than the one we have. It has a side bath with tub which is hard to find now. We had a few minor problems when it was new. The big plus is like I said previously, we have 80,000 actual road miles and the chassis is going strong. We have replaced 1 hot water heater, 1 A/C, 1 vent fantastic, 1 antenna, 2 awnings, 1 toilet, most of the 12volt light fixtures, bathroom taps (sink/shower). Last fall we replaced the rubber roof at the factory because it was looking pretty bad (not leaking).
I took out the stairs in a poor bit of driving last spring in a gas station and had a problem replacing them because the new ones are wider. So the RV has lasted to the point some of the items are getting hard to replace when they expire. I'm a little worried about my thermostat control board that controls the A/C and furnace. They don't make anything that resembles the one on my wall. So far the original fridge, furnace, stove and on board Onan genrator are still with us as well as all three holding tanks and fresh water tank. Suspect we will have to replace the fridge one day soon; however, it should be cheaper than buying a new RV.
We have been back to the factory twice for work and have come across a few disgruntled people, but for the most part everyone seems to like the Hitchhiker.
The new Hitchhiker LS and Discovery model are now aluminum framed. The more expensive models are still wood framed. Our Hitchhiker II is wood framed and has lasted well. The Factory folks claimed they had to go to Aluminum to keep the overall price and weight down in the mid-entry level models. They are still vacuum bonded but, the aluminum conducts heat/cold through the walls in the places where the aluminum is located.
The insulation has been good and we have used our RV in temps down to about 0 degrees. We like the slat windows in the older model Hitchhiker and they had many, many windows. They are great for letting cool breezes through while keeping out the rain when open. However; they are not too great for keeping the heat out in the hot summer. We have had to use reflective insulation on the sunny side windows of the RV and foam pads in the vents to keep cool when the A/C is running. The newer RV's use dual pane sliding windows in some models and probably work better when hot.
Bottom line: We like our HitchHiker and are sold on vacuum bonding construction. The Alpenlite is another good vacuum bonded RV to consider. We have toured their factory in Yakima, WA and were impressed. You should tour as many factories as you can before making any decision on which RV is best. Good Luck.