Owning both a Serenity & Unity

Our experience going from a Serenity to a Unity

My husband and I joyfully owned our first Small motorhome – a 2011 Serenity corner bed model for 4 years. But after several wonderful adventures allowing us to assess our travel styles and habits we decided to sell it and purchase a 2015 Unity with a Murphy bed. I thought it could be helpful to explain our decision to those here who are evaluating their own purchase decisions.

For the longer trips we began to take (4-6 weeks) the Serentiy corner bed became too constricting, as did the corner bathroom. We are not large people but my propensity to get up for nightly treks to the bathroom became annoying. Sure – moving my rear end from bed to potty a mere 2 feet away was kind of convenient for me, but it was disturbing to my husband. Then there was the HOT factor, as in, my husband is a human heater all on his own and snuggling so close in a double bed wasn’t as fun as it was when we were in our 20’s.

I began longing for the Unity with that King sized Murphy bed and a bathroom big enough to bend over and change my clothes. Soon my longing became rather obsessive as we both starting watching those tempting Leisure travel Videos! Uh oh…

Last year our Serenity was rapidly sold to some very happy campers and we soon became the proud owners of the Unity.

We just returned from a 4 week trip through Canada and here are the pros and cons of our new digs:

Pros:

1. The larger bed was heaven! More comfort and less disturbing to each other for inevitable nighttime fidgets and trips to the loo. I have to say, we slept as well as we do at home.
2. The larger bathroom was a definite bonus too! Nice and private and large enough to shower and change in. Since we use the bathroom almost exclusively (over public facilities) this works for us.

3. While TV isn’t a frequent activity for us while on the road, the larger one in the Unity was a nice feature when we were watching our beloved Warriors loose the championship! 🙁

And the Cons:

1. We really missed having windows on both sides of the rig. The Murphy bed makes this impossible when the bed is up and the table is in use. To help compensate, we installed a big mirror there to make it feel less closed in.
2. We also missed having that big wrap around dining area that was in the Serenity, as this Unity has a much smaller dinette, but it was workable.
3. Finally, having that couch in the back of the Serenity for the occasional afternoon nap was a bonus we no longer have. Yes, there is a convertible couch in the Unity but you have to choose between the couch and the dinette.
   The Unity requires more overall readjusting for bed, couch and dinette. Naps now? We take those in our outdoor zero gravity chairs.

Are we happy with our move from the Serenity to the Unity? Yes, we most definitely are. No regrets. There is nothing like a good night’s sleep and feeling like you are in a “normal” bathroom. But the truth is, when you choose to roam in a smaller RV, there are pluses and minuses to each model and so you have to assess your most important individual desires, wants and needs. I was once told that the most frequent reason people trade in their RV’s is bed comfort. I believe it! It happened to us.