15RB, 16BH, or 17RD for 2 adults, 2 kids? How's the winter package?

[Parkhoppers]

We have the 17RD and we enjoy it (two adults). We don't have the climate package, but have camped in winter and were very comfortable. We had no issues with any of the interior pipes freezing/breaking, but did get a little ice in the black/grey drains and the bottoms of the holding tanks. (Perhaps the climate package could solve that, but since I'm not familiar with it, I couldn't say.) We did find that because the largest portion of the main sleeping area is over an outdoor access storage area (cold air), there was a great deal of condensation forming under the mattress. (Which I remedied by installing slats under the mattress to create a warm air space). The factory supplied mattress in this unit is terribly cheap and uncomfortable. We replaced it with an encased coil futon mattress for perfect comfort. The dinette area breaks down to a second full sized bed, so there's plenty of room for two more adults. Our AC unit works fantastic, and the furnace is super warm. The only thing I don't care for with this model, is the black water plumbing design.... The drain pipes come out of the black tank and into an immediate, and very tight, U-turn, with a gate valve smack in the middle of it. Extra care needs to be taken to prevent pipe clogs.

In my opinion, the 15RB with the fold out bed probably wouldn't be as comfortable in winter weather. And, again, just my opinion, the bunkhouse seems like it would be ideal for two kids, as the bunks offer them each some personal space and plenty of room as they grow. That leaves the dinette area for the adults, so when you go to a dealer to look at the unit, you might want to go ahead and break down the table and set up the bed to see if you find it comfortable enough. Our experience with cushion beds is that they aren't the most comfortable, especially as they break down over time.

I hope this offers some help. Best of luck in your search.

[zimm]

I'm searching for a small, lightweight TT for my wife, me, and two boys (4 and 6). We were looking at rpods, but the AR-one has me excited about the extreme and climate packages that are available. I'd love to be able to winter camp as well. Any owner's inputs for the layouts working with 2 kids? Any use the tip out bed? How's that compared to a rigid camper?

Does the 5000btu A/C work okay? I'm interested in that because my Honda EU2000i could power it.