[tuga]

Forest,

The short answer is NO! I have been in State Parks and small CGs: it doesn't bother me if I have to pull up/back up to get in the site. If I am sticking out of a site (Marathon in Florida keys) by a few feet it's o.k. with me. I have had my slides brush up against small tree limbs without any scratches or other problems. I'll have Louise hold a small branch off of the coach with a long handle brush. Most CGs today are aware of slide issues; they trim branches back and make some sites wider.

Regarding the inverter/battery use overnight: when I use the coach alone or with guy friends we will overnight in a WalMart. The batteries are 6 years old and they are just starting to need a recharge after about 8 hours of TV, lights, electric refrigerator/freezer. With fresh batteries you should be able to use those appliances for about 18 to 20 hours before they need charging. My batteries (when they are new) take about 4 hours of generator time to fully charge them.
My coach has a 2500 watt inverter/charger and 6 8D batteries for the house use.

The Aqua Hot which provides heat for the coach and hot water for showers uses battery power. So that is another appliance you need to be aware of when considering a newer coach.

I would buy a total electric coach compared to a propane unit; but that's just me. I like the dependability of a household Amana refrigerator/freezer. The generator will burn about .8 of a gallon per hour with a full load. At today's prices, your cost of operation would be $2.80 per hour X 4 hours to recharge the batteries = $11.20 per day. Figuring in the cost of oil and filters at about $4/day - you are at $15/day.

The microphor toilets use 1/2 gallon per flush. Water is free so this is a non-issue IMO. I hold 168 gals. We fill up with water about every 3 days. We don't even try to conserve water.

Re: Slides. Once you live in a coach with slides you won't want to go back. If you are going to full time - you definitely will enjoy slides. They are easy to extend/retract and for the most part trouble free.

When that house sells - buy a 45' with slides and don't look back!

Best Wishes, and good luck!