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Old 10-22-2016, 11:22 AM   #1
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2017 Dutch Star Freightliner vs. Spartan chassis

We are looking at purchasing a 2017 Dutch Star 4369. This will be our first experience as RV owners. We would like to better understand the pros and cons of having the Freightliner chassis vs. the Spartan chassis to help us make an informed decision. We would appreciate any help you can provide.
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Old 10-22-2016, 12:08 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by onatrip View Post
We are looking at purchasing a 2017 Dutch Star 4369. This will be our first experience as RV owners. We would like to better understand the pros and cons of having the Freightliner chassis vs. the Spartan chassis to help us make an informed decision. We would appreciate any help you can provide.
We just recently went through this same decision. I can tell you how we came up with our decision. We ended up going with the Freightliner chasis for the following reasons:
- Tighter turn radius in/when needed
- Much larger service network if needed work done while traveling

I can tell you I drove both chasis on 2017 Dutch Stars and could not feel any difference in overall ride comfort/smoothness. What did it for me was the tighter turn difference I noticed in parking lot on both chasis. We park our coach on the side of our house & having the tighter turn was important to me.

I think it ultimately comes down to a personal preference. The Spartan chasis is a bit heavier (think about 1,000 lbs) and has little bit larger front axle rating but we do not full time & should be well within the axle ratings.

You will get opinions both ways kind of like a Ford vs Chevy preference. I posted this same question when ordering and got many responses both ways.
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Old 10-22-2016, 01:42 PM   #3
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The Spartan for me cause it has air disc all the way around. Best for emergency stop.
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Old 10-22-2016, 07:18 PM   #4
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As a 20 year Newmar/Spartan owner with over 200K miles on Spartan chassis I would recommend Spartan. Here are a some of the reasons your Dutch Star would have the better chassis with a Spartan.
! Disc brakes on all 3 axles with your 43 DS
2 Larger and stronger frame rails and cross members
3 HD wiring color coded for ease of maintenance
4 Higher resale value
5 American owned serving the RV industry for over 30 years
6 Spartan chassis has 1,580 more pounds of carrying capacity
7 Central service center for ease of maintenance
Both our London Aire and now are Essex are on Spartan plus all King Aire's
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Old 10-24-2016, 09:22 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tom chelbana View Post
As a 20 year Newmar/Spartan owner with over 200K miles on Spartan chassis I would recommend Spartan. Here are a some of the reasons your Dutch Star would have the better chassis with a Spartan.
! Disc brakes on all 3 axles with your 43 DS
2 Larger and stronger frame rails and cross members
3 HD wiring color coded for ease of maintenance
4 Higher resale value
5 American owned serving the RV industry for over 30 years
6 Spartan chassis has 1,580 more pounds of carrying capacity
7 Central service center for ease of maintenance
Both our London Aire and now are Essex are on Spartan plus all King Aire's
Just to be clear, I drive a gasser(for now). I did look long and hard at the two chassis...stripped down condition at the International Rally. During which I was offered a beautiful used Essex at what I considered a good price. BUT it was on a FL chassis.
The Spartan chassis is a heavier construction(think full wall slides), carries more (bigger basement), has disc brakes on all axles, and does not require that you move in reverse a few feet to get the tag to straighten out. The Spartan tag will snap back to straight when you place the transmission in drive. I believe the Spartan also has a air line to the rear of the coach as standard.
The things Tom stated and the few I noticed made me a Spartan fan. The next coach will be a Spartan frame.
Bob
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Old 10-24-2016, 10:08 AM   #6
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Currently the 2017 DutchStar does not have the air line. All coachs above the DS do, maybe in 2018. The DS does not have the Spartan Mtce center on the side like the other coaches another 2018 upgrade?
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Old 10-24-2016, 01:34 PM   #7
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Canuck I think the only reason the DS doesn't have the Spartan Mtce on the side is that the DS is shorter (43 series vs 45 series) and simply doesn't have the length to accommodate. From the Spartan chassis photos it looks like they are arranged across the back. Hoping to be at Midway RV on Saturday and they have a Spartan DS on the lot that I want to look at. I'll try to post a few photos.
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Old 10-24-2016, 02:44 PM   #8
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Gary I think you are right and the other story I heard from the Spartan people that the go ahead for the DS came late and not enough time to redo including the door. Can always hope for 2018 along with the air supply. Pictures are always fun if you drive it let us know what you think.
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Old 11-01-2016, 10:44 AM   #9
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Ok, took some photos of the K2 450 Dutchstar chassis. Here's a series of photos of the chassis while at Newmar and what it looks like installed (photos from the great INDOOR showroom at Midway RV, very classy operation)

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Old 11-01-2016, 11:01 AM   #10
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What is an air line at the rear of a Coach used for?
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Old 11-01-2016, 11:17 AM   #11
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The air line is for air activated towed vehicle use, such as Air Force One.

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Old 11-01-2016, 01:09 PM   #12
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I do not see the airline connection? MA and up has the air line connection unless they have started to add it to the DS?
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Old 11-01-2016, 01:25 PM   #13
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I don't see an airline connection in the photos I uploaded.

LA and above 2017 now includes the Spartan toad braking ping tank. That air connection for systems like the Air Force One has the outlet down on the chassis tow bar to the left of the toad wiring connector.

Some coaches do have an air line located in the engine compartment or in the front generator slide out area, sometimes both. It is used during a towing event so that the tow truck can supply air to the coach tanks for applying the coach brakes under tow. Can also be used for filling tires, etc as long as you keep the pressure up (motor running).
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Old 11-01-2016, 01:53 PM   #14
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Lug Nut indicated an airline for Air Force One and on a KA with Spartan that is correct. For a New DS 2017 on a Spartan not there yet.
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