advice for year round living in an RV

[ncroberts4]

NEED ADVICE!!!
I'm looking for a pre-owned RV to live in year 'round up in the Four Corners area of NW New Mexico. There will be 1-2 people living in it. Temperatures vary here from high teens in the winter to 100 in the summer, with large daily swings in the spring and fall. I will have full utilities (gas, water, electric) plus a septic system.
Comfort will be paramount, while towability, etc, is obviously less important. I will want at least a queen sized bed (1BR), full shower/toilet, kitchen and a comfortable living space with dining and living area. I'm thinking that this means at least 31' length.
Are there particular makes or models that I should consider for this application? What about slide-outs? Do they make it tougher to heat or cool? Is it possible to convert the propane stuff to natural gas? Any other features or options that I need to consider?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. - NR

[injoysrvin]

We have an Airstream TT, We had class A's , but they loose alot of head through the single - paned front windows. We have wintered in ours for several winters and the propane bill was alot less and we stayed warmer. The airstream holds up better over the years also.

[dadburnett]

We have a fifth wheel with a single slide and I dont have any real sense of heat loss through the slide. One thing we would do next time is to have a bedroom slide ... crawling in and out of bed, over the foot of the bed is a pain ... especially if you convert to a sleep number bed as we did. The bed is also more difficult to make. We did convert ot a full length queen ... most RVs have short queens.

We also regretted not getting an oven. The 3-way microwave oven combination simply has not worked. We either have to nuke something or rely on a crockpot.
If you have any "large" family members, have them get into the shower and check it out. And more impotantly, sit on the toilet and see if it is user friendly. You might also want to opt for a free standing table with chairs.
Aside from these things, your biggest challange will be closet and storage space.

[highpockets]

Look at the Park models if you are not going to be towing it that much. :)