Mile Marker 88
The town of Barstow was now in our sights, and we were about to head east on I-40, which followed historic Route 66. We were tempted to stray off the beaten path, but we were on a mission to get to Moabi Regional Park by sunset. The I-40, between Barstow and Needles, is a succession of long, gradual grades. We kept the Discovery in cruise control and let the Cummins engine do most of the work. There were a few times that we did manually downshift the transmission to a lower gear to pass a convoy of slow-moving tractor trailers, but we mostly used cruise control. Cruising at 65 mph, the Discovery revs at 1750 rpm.

Mile Marker 229
The two-hour trip between Barstow and Needles had taken us through some of the most scenic landscape in the Mojave Desert; ancient volcano cinder cones and open views for miles. We stopped off in Needles to fuel up the coach and boat.

We had averaged 8 to 9 mpg over 229 miles and burned approx­imately a quarter tank of fuel. We had the generator powering the dual roof A/C units the entire trip, and that alone consumed a portion of the fuel. Not bad, though, considering we were also pulling a 21-foot boat. Back on I-40, we had only 11 miles to go to our final destination.

Mile Marker 240
Four and a half hours after leaving the city, we had arrived at Moabi Regional Park. We weren't fatigued from the drive at all and immediately got ready to launch the boat at the marina. We engaged the reverse gear on the Discovery, and the rear-vision camera guided us to where we needed to steer with a digital triangular path.

It took only a few moments to completely trust the camera while backing up and not relying on the sideview mirrors. Once the boat was in the water, we dropped the trailer off in a nearby lot and headed to our temporary address for the week, peninsula #22, where friends waited for our arrival.

Setting Up Camp
As we organized the cabin for a weeklong stay, we set the air suspension from auto to low and activated the push-button four-point leveling system. Then we extended the dual slides. The enormous passenger slide-out on the 40G offered a great deal more room. Literally every coach owner in our camp came over to check out the interior, and they all walked away envious.

The driver's-side slide-out started behind the cockpit and spanned the entire length of the kitchen. The best part was the electric patio and door awnings, which included a wind sensor that automatically retracted if a breeze picked up unexpectedly.

The kitchen layout was user-friendly, too. The Norcold 12-cubic-foot, four-door refrigerator with ice maker and water dispenser was as nice as many residential models and kept our six days of food cold with room to spare. The freezer had so much room, we were able to keep two 20-pound bags of ice in it. We tested the GE convection microwave/oven and cooked a homemade breakfast casserole to perfection.

For outdoor cooking, there was the optional exterior kitchenette, which slid on roller bearings and opened to a complete gourmet-style outdoor kitchen with a propane BBQ grill, sink with hot and cold running water, extra counter space and a mini fridge. Even in the extreme desert heat, the mini fridge kept our ice cream frozen and beverages chilled.

With the sides fully extended, the living area was enjoyable. The 40G had the ideal floor plan for families and can sleep eight comfortably. The bunk beds, located across from the bathroom, served as our luggage storage on this trip. If you have kids, they will be spoiled with a separate flip-down TV/DVD entertainment center with wireless headphones on the ceiling of each bunk.

The Cognac interior decor consisted of beautiful earth-tone shades with soft and supple leather seating surfaces throughout. The rich Plantation Cherry-finished cabinetry offered the feeling of being on an expensive luxury yacht. Solid-surface countertops, sinks and range covers were stately, durable and easy to clean. The kitchen and bathroom sinks feature high-end Moen faucets. The bathroom is centrally located and is conveniently accessible by the living room, bunk bed room and master suite. The marble-look shower is very roomy.

Two rollout counter extensions are located on either side of the kitchen sink and are a perfect place for food preparation, allowing you to chop up veggies and slide the unwanted bits straight into the trash bin. Once you are done cooking, simply push the counters back, and they disappear into the base cabinets.

The master suite had a queen-sized Sleep Number mattress and allowed you to adjust the firmness or softness of it. With the slides extended, we could walk around the master bed and access the rear dual sliding door closet and optional washer/dryer combination.

Opposite the master bed is a wall-mounted 26-inch Samsung flatscreen LCD HDTV with home theater system. There was also a six-drawer dresser ready to swallow up enough board shorts for a weeklong trip to the river.

If you're looking for a Class A with all the amenities and one of the largest slide-outs on the market, you can't go wrong by test-driving Fleetwood's new 2009 Discovery 40G.