I have the Gammill Vision 18/8 and it will be 5 years in June since I got it. I love it. Gammill is a very good company to deal with. My husband enclosed our back porch for me & though not a giant area, it is adequate. My machine and porch are pictured in my avatar. I have the 10 foot frame and I do have 7 feet (barely) from front to back. I didn't get any extras with the exception of casters for the frame. I am glad I did, because I can push it up against the wall if I need to. I would recommend the 10' frame over the 8'. There have also been a couple of times that I wished I had gone with the 12' frame. I also have the batting bar which gives me storage for two rolls of batting under the machine. I wouldn't have had the space to store this batting without the bar. I agree with your husband on the Gammill. I don't think you would regret it!