Looking back, the motorhomes of yesteryear were really meant to be all things to all people, rather than a perfect solution for a specific requirement. With features that often pitted price against panache and sensibility against style, they were adequate for most buyers, but likely perfect for none. Today, focus groups, the Internet and the ever-shifting needs of RVers has changed all of that. If you’re in the market for a new motorhome, the chances are excellent that someone has built the ideal coach for you.
The Serrano 34M comes with ample seating on a large, streetside slideout.
The Serrano 34M features a good-sized master bedroom with adjoining bathroom.
If your priorities happen to center around entertaining, then you should definitely give the Serrano 34M by Thor Motor Coach some serious consideration. Unlike most diesel motorhomes, which are built with traveling couples in mind, the 34M seems perfectly poised to engage your social network. Boasting both an expandable L-shaped hide-a-bed sofa with air mattress and a U-shaped dinette in the large streetside slideout, it has the accommodations for a crew of revelers. But with an amidships half-bath and full rear bath, it provides the privacy you want when the party is over.
The largest of five floorplans in the Serrano lineup, the 34M also offers the amenities you would expect in a diesel- pusher. Starting with the cockpit, you’ll find standard Leatherette driver and front passenger captain’s chairs, a six-way power driver’s seat, a Sirius Satellite Radio-ready audio system with CD player, and a backup camera with audio and side vision cameras.
Across from the large slideout is a galley outfitted for the traveling chef, with an 8-cubic-foot double-door refrigerator, recessed three-burner high-output gas cooktop, convection microwave oven and residential double-bowl sink. A pressed composite countertop is standard, but a solid surface is available.
The amidships half-bath offers a porcelain toilet, lav with sink and a small linen closet. And on the outside wall is a 32-inch LCD TV that is easily viewable from almost everywhere in the living area. If that’s not enough for you, a home theater system with DVD player is optional, as is an outside entertainment center with 26-inch LCD TV, AM/FM stereo, CD/DVD player, iPod-ready jack and speakers.
When it’s time to retire for the evening, the Serrano offers a comfortable place to relax, with a walk-around queen-size bed in a curbside slideout, plus dual closets and a full bath featuring a shower with glass door, porcelain toilet, lav with sink and a linen closet.
Beyond eye candy like European-style curved cherry cabinetry lays real substance, both inside and out. Dual 13,500-Btu low-profile ducted air conditioners are standard, as are dual-pane windows, a one-piece windshield, fully automatic hydraulic leveling jacks and an outside shower. Other notables include a 6.0 kW Onan Quiet Diesel generator, dual 6-volt batteries, 50-amp service and heated/ enclosed holding tanks.
OK, so maybe it’s still a challenge to find the perfect motorhome, the one you see in your mind’s eye, but it appears as though manufacturers such as Thor Motor Coach are getting closer to providing what buyers really want with each passing year.
The 2012 Thor Motor Coach Serrano 34M floorplan.
Chassis: Workhorse W20DEngine: MaxxForce,6.4-l diesel 230 HPFUEL: 40 GALgvwr: 22,000 lbsExterior length: 35′ 2″Exterior width: 8′ 5.75″Exterior height: 11′ 5″Wheelbase: 218″Freshwater cap: 50 galGray-water cap: 26 galBlack-water cap: 69 galLP-gas cap: 22.7 galBase msrp: $168,000
Thor Motor Coach 800-860-5658, www.thormotorcoach.com.
To find this motorhome, or browse more than 4,000 others, visit the RV Buyer’s Guide.
