We're planning a long RV trip on the west coast this summer in a Winnebago View 24J, but have never been in an RV before, never mind the 24J. So this family of 4 booked a last minute "test drive" in Gerard's over the holiday break.Parked across from our Canal St. hotel in downtown New Orleans, Gerard's cousin Rick walked us through all the features and functions of the RV, but also left us with a nice folder of cheat sheets that we could refer back to after he left. Also, he welcomed us to text him any time with questions. So we weren't worried.We found ourselves locked out of our first night's reservation, as the state park locks its gates at 5pm ET and we failed to notice the time zone shift while cruising east on the Florida panhandle. So we woke up in a Walmart parking lot, a rite of passage. And also we were able to conveniently pick up a few plastic storage bins and a laundry hamper to keep things organized.We made it back and forth to the Keys for a brief family visit, 2200 miles roundtrip, in 7 days. The RV gave us no trouble. The dashboard panel informed us we needed to fill the DEF reservoir twice during the trip, but you can get it at any gas station convenience store it seems. And the first time we tried using the generator to get coach A/C running on an especially hot day stuck in Keys traffic, it shut itself off after a minute the first few times we tried to start it. But on the 3rd or 4th try, it stayed on. And then never shut itself off again for the few times we used it on the rest of the trip. It must have just been hesitant from lack of use. We could easily have gone all week without using it at all, but wanted to get practice with every feature of this RV.Similarly, we used the shower and the toilet more than we probably would on a real trip, but wanted experience dumping and flushing gray and black tanks. 💦💩✅Mileage as reported by the dashboard panel was consistently around 13.5mpg, though on the death march driving days keeping up with traffic in 70mph zones, mileage was done around 11mpg. Fair enough. If we had the time to kill and drive 55mph everywhere instead we could probably get over 14 or 15mpg? The diesel tank must be around 21 gallons, or at least that's how much we put in when we let it get lowest. Usually we'd get 250-275 miles between fills, but that's without keeping fresh/gray/black tanks at minimum, driving slower, or any other attempts to conserve.The RV was well equipped with most necessities and comfy linens. Things we wouldn't have minded: reusable plates/cutlery and a broom. A coffee machine might have been a nice touch, though we enjoyed stopping for coffee to break up our long hauls. Fridge was nice and big and often held leftovers! A water bottle I put in the freezer froze, so that apparently works. ;) Between cabin USB ports and inverter plugs (either on 30A service or via generator) we kept all phones, tablets, laptops, and most importantly Nintendo charged up and ready for use. We also watched one of the included DVDs (Madagascar 3) and a previously downloaded Amazon Prime movie (Footloose) on my iPad using the available HDMI port in the compartment behind the TV. Fun!Sorry for the long review! All this is to say we had a successful test drive of the 24J, and we now have some experience to help plan our next longer trip and eliminate some of our anxiety about the unknown. Thanks Gerard and Rick for the great rental!
5 Photos submitted by Benj L.