My bad. My eyes are not connected to my brain. I had 98 in my head when I typed that.

Let me revise my comments because we went from an 87 to a 97.

This is in the context of stepping from a Liberty to a Liberty in my case. There was no comparison. It cost us a lot of money to step up 10 years, but we got the fuel consumption of a Series 60 compared to a 8V92, we got 5 more feet, we got a carousel closet, a coach with much more refined systems, and as much as we liked our 40 footer we would never go back to one.

The things that really make the total package such a step up, besides the carousel in the closet is the long range fuel, the complete difference in the house electrical system which took us from a black knob technology (to select the 120V power source) to the use of inverters and never a need to even think about if we have 120V. Folks who never had the older vintage coaches with converters and an inverter that had to be manually turned on to function cannot appreciate how huge that is as far as ease of use.

The additional 5 feet change the entire character of the coach and permit separate vanities, stacked washer and dryer as well as the private commode, and Di really likes having lights in every cabinet. It's the little things, but they have a disproportionate influence on how we enjoy the coach. While the chassis looks the same there are also differences that make it more enjoyable. The sound level is much lower. The chassis has automatic slack adjusters. The ride on the longer wheelbase is improved, but the rear overhang does make me more careful, especially exiting steeper driveways.

The lights are all 12 volt. That may not seem like a big deal but it makes getting bulb anywhere a nice change. The coach has ABS, discs on the front and tag axles and the increased mileage combined with the long range fuel that is on the Liberty makes 1800 mile round trips without fueling along the way easy and practical.

When we stepped up 10 years it was before pricing was what it is today. While older coaches have taken a hit pricewise they have not taken as big a hit as the late XLs and now older XLII coaches. Cash buyers can make some fantastic deals and stepping up involves far less money than when we did it. Anticipating that a late model rivet coach is a prime candidate for a complete chassis upgrade to include air bags, brake chambers, Norgens, shocks, etc. even with that cost taken into consideration a lot of coach can be bought for the money.