If you’re in the market for a used motorhome, there are some great deals
to be had at local dealerships. Most of them will be relatively new
and, if you look long enough, you’re sure to find a few with hardly any
appreciable mileage. About the only thing most will have in common is a
lack of slideouts.
If there’s one concept that has served to define motorhomes in the 21st
century, it’s the slideout — and if you want to understand how these
room extensions have popularized mobile living, you don’t have to look
further than the new Sportscoach Elite 40QS.
First introduced as a three-model line in 2005 — each a
three-slideout floorplan — the Elite has evolved into a quad slideout
floorplan for 2007. The quad-slide configuration doesn’t increase floor
space so much as it increases the residential quality and livability of
the coach, front to back. By itself, the fourth slide (home to a
curbside vanity/desk and 17-inch flat-screen TV in the master bedroom)
might be just a footnote in the motorhome’s evolution — but when
coupled with certain design revisions elsewhere in the coach, it
underscores what can happen when a manufacturer is willing to implement
design changes based upon owner feedback.
Comfort is as much a result of a component being easy on the
eyes as it is soft to the skin, and our test coach definitely rated high
in visual appeal. Sportscoach offers the Elite in seven swirling
full-body-paint color schemes, plus a “flame paint option.” The company
offers an array of fabric color selections intended to add character to
the coach. The Elite can be ordered in a choice of four complementary
color combinations. The cabinets — or, rather, inside storage as a
whole — rank as perhaps the single most distinguishing feature of the
’07 Elite.
Like its predecessors, the ’07 Elite relies on a Freightliner
XC raised-rail chassis. In standard trim, the coach is powered by a
Caterpillar C7 7.2-l turbodiesel with more than enough power (350 hp,
860 lb-ft torque) to propel the Elite — with its 32,000-pound gross
vehicle weight rating — at a comfortable clip.
Do manufacturers still build Class A coaches without slideouts?
Absolutely — but after spending any appreciable time in the
Sportscoach Elite 40QS, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without all
that extra space.
For complete details and full test impressions on Coachmen’s
Sportscoach Elite 40QS, pick up the October 2006 issue of MotorHome
magazine on the newsstand — then subscribe to MotorHome
so you can stay informed on the latest motorhome tests, previews,
technical information, products, travel destinations and more.
