Deciding between Momentum 395MS and Solitude 382WB (Opinions needed)

[cggerth]

Hi everyone, I've been researching RV's for over 1 year to prepare to buy one. We have a build date for our F350DRW in 3 weeks so it's finally time to make a final decision on the RV. I've done extensive research (when I say extensive, imagine crazy research. I created an impossibly long spreadsheets for style, weight, payload, tanks, layout, and many other things to help us determine what RV layout we wanted. After a year, too many hours of videos, and more than a few RV show and dealership trips we are down to these 2).

Momentum 395MS (no 1/2 bath in garage, King bed upgrade)
Solitude 382WB. (King Bed upgrade)

Our situation: Just 2 adults, both working in IT full time and on conference calls 1/2 a day. (This is important for layout as we both talk fairly loud on calls). We plan to get a dog after we get comfortable with our RV (Most likely it'll be a large dog 50-100lbs) and a cat in the future.
We will not be full timing, but when we go out, it'll be 2 weeks - 2 months at a time.

We will also be carrying with us 1 to 3 road/gravel bikes (very high end, 10k each. Fully decked out for ultra-distance races) and 1 recumbent trike.

Pros/Cons about the different models for us:

Solitude 382 WB:
Pros:
LOVE the huge bathroom and so much space in the bedroom. Very easy to access closets in bedroom, lots of room to change clothes (especially after a shower). I'm in love with the idea of a big kitchen with lots of storage. FULL PANTRY!!!! (need I say more). Wonderful big open front living to really relax in.
Cons:
We would have to remove a couch in the FL and replace with desk/storage. Even with noise cancelling headphones on for conference calls, we would be fairly close to each other which can get annoying (especially if you are trying to think and you hear the other conversations. Have I said we are both fairly loud Talkers at home we have offices in opposite ends of the house)
My recumbent trike can fit in the slide out tray, but the racing bikes would have to travel on a bike rack (not a big deal) but would also have to be removed every campsite and setup under the pin box. While there are lots of things to keep them dry (covers, tents) I still worry about having 1-3 bikes worth 10k each outside all the time. It's one of those piece of mind things.

Momentum 395MS
Pros:
LOVE the garage. In the garage we can setup extra storage, setup a big office, and plenty of room to not only store all the bikes/trike while in transit, but also store them while camped inside the garage (potentially on the wall) or out of the way. Great spaces for a larger dog. Having the garage and back patio deck for us and the animals appeals to me. We love the layout of the living room/kitchen. While it is tight, we like the idea of the L shaped couch to really relax. We also have options to either keep the other love seat, or move it and get more storage (or turn it into a single smaller recliner and storage, or even a pet area). We love that this comes with a dinette. I know many others get rid of them, but we always use a table for eating. Plus the dinette gives us a 2nd workspace for work. While it's tight, the bathroom/bedroom is a decent setup (much better than the 376THS)
Cons:
The bedroom/bathroom is tight. While there is room to dress after getting out of the shower, there isn't a lot of room. While I want more room, the layout gives me just enough that I can live with it and hopefully not hate it. The lack of storage in the kitchen. (I think we can compensate for this by adding more storage in the garage, especially without the 1/2 bath).

I think the decision comes down to a few things.
Do I want a bigger bathroom, more room in the bedroom, and a bigger kitchen but a sub optimal working environment and worry for the bikes and trike. OR better working environment, a huge garage to transform into anything we want, ability to carry lots of toys in the future but a smaller kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

If you have any advice or experience with either of these models. (pros/cons) I'm hoping someone has a piece of advice or experience that can help us finally make that decision confidently where we aren't 2nd guessing ourselves.

(we will have a truck that can pull either unit, I also doubt the difference between the 42' and 44' model will make a huge difference on campsite locations and/or driving).

[USA in a Chevrolet]

Hi everyone, I've been researching RV's for over 1 year to prepare to buy one. We have a build date for our F350DRW in 3 weeks so it's finally time to make a final decision on the RV. I've done extensive research (when I say extensive, imagine crazy research. I created an impossibly long spreadsheets for style, weight, payload, tanks, layout, and many other things to help us determine what RV layout we wanted. After a year, too many hours of videos, and more than a few RV show and dealership trips we are down to these 2).

Momentum 395MS (no 1/2 bath in garage, King bed upgrade)
Solitude 382WB. (King Bed upgrade)

Our situation: Just 2 adults, both working in IT full time and on conference calls 1/2 a day. (This is important for layout as we both talk fairly loud on calls). We plan to get a dog after we get comfortable with our RV (Most likely it'll be a large dog 50-100lbs) and a cat in the future.
We will not be full timing, but when we go out, it'll be 2 weeks - 2 months at a time.

We will also be carrying with us 1 to 3 road/gravel bikes (very high end, 10k each. Fully decked out for ultra-distance races) and 1 recumbent trike.

Pros/Cons about the different models for us:

Solitude 382 WB:
Pros:
LOVE the huge bathroom and so much space in the bedroom. Very easy to access closets in bedroom, lots of room to change clothes (especially after a shower). I'm in love with the idea of a big kitchen with lots of storage. FULL PANTRY!!!! (need I say more). Wonderful big open front living to really relax in.
Cons:
We would have to remove a couch in the FL and replace with desk/storage. Even with noise cancelling headphones on for conference calls, we would be fairly close to each other which can get annoying (especially if you are trying to think and you hear the other conversations. Have I said we are both fairly loud Talkers at home we have offices in opposite ends of the house)
My recumbent trike can fit in the slide out tray, but the racing bikes would have to travel on a bike rack (not a big deal) but would also have to be removed every campsite and setup under the pin box. While there are lots of things to keep them dry (covers, tents) I still worry about having 1-3 bikes worth 10k each outside all the time. It's one of those piece of mind things.

Momentum 395MS
Pros:
LOVE the garage. In the garage we can setup extra storage, setup a big office, and plenty of room to not only store all the bikes/trike while in transit, but also store them while camped inside the garage (potentially on the wall) or out of the way. Great spaces for a larger dog. Having the garage and back patio deck for us and the animals appeals to me. We love the layout of the living room/kitchen. While it is tight, we like the idea of the L shaped couch to really relax. We also have options to either keep the other love seat, or move it and get more storage (or turn it into a single smaller recliner and storage, or even a pet area). We love that this comes with a dinette. I know many others get rid of them, but we always use a table for eating. Plus the dinette gives us a 2nd workspace for work. While it's tight, the bathroom/bedroom is a decent setup (much better than the 376THS)
Cons:
The bedroom/bathroom is tight. While there is room to dress after getting out of the shower, there isn't a lot of room. While I want more room, the layout gives me just enough that I can live with it and hopefully not hate it. The lack of storage in the kitchen. (I think we can compensate for this by adding more storage in the garage, especially without the 1/2 bath).

I think the decision comes down to a few things.
Do I want a bigger bathroom, more room in the bedroom, and a bigger kitchen but a sub optimal working environment and worry for the bikes and trike. OR better working environment, a huge garage to transform into anything we want, ability to carry lots of toys in the future but a smaller kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

If you have any advice or experience with either of these models. (pros/cons) I'm hoping someone has a piece of advice or experience that can help us finally make that decision confidently where we aren't 2nd guessing ourselves.

(we will have a truck that can pull either unit, I also doubt the difference between the 42' and 44' model will make a huge difference on campsite locations and/or driving).

I have never had a toy hauler so I won’t comment. However I’ve had queen & king beds. I found king beds have very little room around them for making the bed etc. my Solitude came with a king & I switched it to my queen before leaving the dealership. Whoever purchased my fifth got a brand new uncomfortable mattress & I kept my very comfortable Sealy Cocoon Queen mattress.

[FT4NOW]

I would pick the 395, you'll have a safe dedicated place for those bikes. You can turn the garage into anything you need as far as work, storage, office space. I think you might regret the Solitude when you dont have a good bike storage solution. With the price of them, I wouldnt want to mount them on a rack hanging off the rear of the RV.

[Gronk1]

What ft4now said. We carry 2 aluminum mtn bikes & a high end Specialized road bike with our Solitude. Bike racks on the back of the 5er are a no go as the bikes would get abused with bouncing. The two aluminum bikes are on a rack at the front of the truck & the road bike rides on the king bed.
Two bikes are chained up under the front cap to a landing leg, the road bike stays inside. All this is less than ideal, but it works.
I think you would be happier keeping them inside & out of sight.
We love our king bed...after we replaced it, the one that came with it is like sleeping on asphalt. Sue would rather put up with some inconvenience when making it than go to a queen-especially since I'm a thrasher

[geotex1]

As you have well found, there are pros and cons to each choice. I personally would want proper storage for the bikes of such value. I would either go TH or check to see if I could adapt the rear slide tray storage of a rear deck model. I actually fabricated tilted racks for someone 5-6 years ago to carry their bikes this way, but those were a couple of more ordinary Treks. Honestly, I'm surprised we have not seen more models of non-TH 5ers with enclosed bike storage! Seems that trend was ditched with the popularity of outdoor kitchens. Oh, that does remind me of a mod friends did with their former Hemisphere. They actually pulled out the outside kitchen and stored their bikes in that space, with front tires removed. They since fully retired and bought a nice Class A and have their Goldwing and mountain bikes in a tagalong enclosed trailer. Sorry for the tangents! Lol

[LMagelitz]

I vote for the Momentum, especially with future pets!

[WhittleBurner]

I say go for whaat you think will work best but first go find one on a lot and spend a couple hours in each mimicing your daily routine with the visoin of a larger dog roaming about. This could give you a more realistic comparrison.

Also keeep your eyes out in the near future for a 2 bedroom (no bunks) Solitude, one could be converted to an office easily

[cggerth]

Thank you everyone, this feedback really helped and helps confirm my concern about the bikes is real and not imaginary.

We did rent a Front living for a week in Alabama in March. This is how we determined we want a table to eat at (and work at), we can survive working together if 1 person is at the table and 1 person in the FL facing away from the table worker. We strongly prefer a king bed (though we could survive with a queen) but will upgrade the mattress first thing. The owners tried to fix it by putting a mattress topper, but it was a very low-quality mattress topper along with the mattress. Most important, we learned how to go with the flow when things go wrong. (like running out of propane when it's 40 degrees outside and the furnace stops working overnight)

The rental helps us solidify what we were looking for inside living space which is how we narrowed down to these 2.

We kept the gravel bike inside and it was really annoying moving the bike in and out when needed. (My trike stayed in our SUV so it was locked up).

I also realize that our circumstances will change in the future once one of us retires (or we win the lottery)

I think we will go with the 395MS. While the bathroom/bedroom are more cramped, we just get so many more options with the garage and peace of mind with our toys. (as long as we can figure out how to store them in the garage while at the campsite without me tripping over them all the time or you will hear my frustration across the world)

[A.Texas.Yankee]

Thank you everyone, this feedback really helped and helps confirm my concern about the bikes is real and not imaginary.

We did rent a Front living for a week in Alabama in March. This is how we determined we want a table to eat at (and work at), we can survive working together if 1 person is at the table and 1 person in the FL facing away from the table worker. We strongly prefer a king bed (though we could survive with a queen) but will upgrade the mattress first thing. The owners tried to fix it by putting a mattress topper, but it was a very low-quality mattress topper along with the mattress. Most important, we learned how to go with the flow when things go wrong. (like running out of propane when it's 40 degrees outside and the furnace stops working overnight)

The rental helps us solidify what we were looking for inside living space which is how we narrowed down to these 2.

We kept the gravel bike inside and it was really annoying moving the bike in and out when needed. (My trike stayed in our SUV so it was locked up).

I also realize that our circumstances will change in the future once one of us retires (or we win the lottery)

I think we will go with the 395MS. While the bathroom/bedroom are more cramped, we just get so many more options with the garage and peace of mind with our toys. (as long as we can figure out how to store them in the garage while at the campsite without me tripping over them all the time or you will hear my frustration across the world)

What is your time frame you are looking to purchase your 395? My wife and I are considering a change (new baby on the way) and may be putting our '21 on the market. I'm not sure where new pricing is. Just thought I'd throw that out there if interested. Ours does have the half bath, but it's a small half bath, lol.

[cggerth]

Once our truck is built and it has a delivery date we will start the actual buying process. (most likely through a broker to help us). we are only looking at the non 1/2 bath, but will keep you in mind once we get a delivery date. (Production is scheduled sept 19th so hopefully it won't slip).