Dutch Star vs Ventana

[KenNJ]

Well said Bullit!!!

The only thing I can add is every Ventana or Dutch Star owner I have ever asked said they love their coach for there own reasons. Bay Star, Canyon Star, Essex and owners up the line say the same.




Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

[don8ch]

As my signature shows I voted for the Ventana. Our previous coach was also a Newmar (2009 GrandStar FRED) so we were pretty well set on the brand. The two models we focused on were a DutchStar 4018 and the Ventana 4037. The floor plans were virtually identical with the fireplace and recliner in place of opposing couches. One thing on the DS that we could do without was the fridge in the right front compartment. We have enough room in the honkin' big residential fridge that we didn't need to lose the basement storage area. Not having a side rad also gives us a little more storage in the left rear. The test drive of the DS didn't convince me that IFS was noticeably better than the solid axle. The big thing steering wise was Comfort Drive which both have.

We love our Ventana and have no regrets.

Don

[patch-y]

Our Ventana 4003 ships from the factory on the 23rd. We considered the DS but in the end felt the Ventana fit our needs and offered a better value for us. We just finished a 9000 mile trip out west in a Thor Palazzo-----300 hp, 660 ft-lbs. I felt the power was sufficient in it--- so I believe the Ventana, at almost 2x the torque, will also be sufficient ----so the bigger engine in the DS wasn't something I felt was necessary.

There was only a handful of occasions on my recent trip where we hit a bump or pothole where the impact was noticeably transmitted to the other side......and although IFS would be nice it wasn't on my "must-have" list.

The disc brakes are on my "must-have" and the Ventana has them......

rich

[wagonmaster2]

Just spent almost 5 hours today at the Newmar dealership and now have more questions than answers. We were looking mostly at the DS 3736 and was disappointed it didn't have as much storage room as our Itasca Meridian 36G, mostly in the bathroom and kitchen in the interior, and the DEF tank and the side radiator did take up some of the outside storage. We must have an oven in the kitchen but was told Newmar doesn't use ovens at all anymore, but later this evening going through the brochure it shows an oven as an option. The 37 Ventana (which wasn't in inventory) has 360 HP while the 37 DS has 450 so that is really a plus.
Got to drive it and really liked the Comfort Drive steering wheel and the front disc brakes.
Going back Monday to try to get more answers.
This is definitely going to be harder than I thought. On each of our other 3 upgraded motorhomes we could see lots of benefits immediately on entering the new one and very few cons but this time going from a 36' Itasca to a 37' Newmar just isn't exciting us as much a we thought it would. There seems to be about as many cons as pluses so we'll see how it goes Monday.

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by KenNJ

The only thing I can add is every Ventana or Dutch Star owner I have ever asked said they love their coach for there own reasons. Bay Star, Canyon Star, Essex and owners up the line say the same.

Exactly!

We decided to Full-Time 20 years ago and started to go to RV dealers and RV shows 10 years ago. Then, for the last 3 years, I've been doing a more extensive search. Unless your last name is Trump, you can't jump into this half-assed because this is a big purchase.

We're going to be buying a new coach that retails for around $335K. The average home cost across the board in the U.S. is around $190K. We bought our home new in 1989 for $245K and Zillow says it's worth about $500K now (I still look at it as a $245K home). All RV's only depreciate in value, so I want the best that will fit into our financial comfort zone by concentrating on our "needs" more than out "wants".

The decision came down to either Tiffin or Newmar because of QUALITY and the fact that they are (somewhat) "family owned". Tiffin's workforce includes Southern Baptists and half of Newmar's workforce includes Amish and Mennonites. I want people building my coach that have good work ethics, which is something that we are losing more and more of today in America. Their hard work and diligence will payoff for ME.

The final decision hit us at the big RIVA California RV Show in Pomona on October 10th. The Phaeton's just didn't have the floor plan we liked, so now it's Newmar all the way.
.

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by wagonmaster2

Just spent almost 5 hours today at the Newmar dealership and now have more questions than answers.
Going back Monday to try to get more answers.
This is definitely going to be harder than I thought.

Tell me about it! (See my post #19 on this Thread)

I've never purchased a motorhome before, but have extensive experience with cars and boats. Prior to purchasing a new vehicle I do extensive reading (Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Internet, etc.) and research. I Know the MSRP, invoice prices, dealer holdback, and dealer incentives if any of my insider resources have knowledge. How many times have you walked onto a car lot and it seems like the salesperson doesn't know much about the car. Every single time for me. What's up with that? It's their job.

Went to the (really) big RIVA California RV Show in Pomona on October 10th where we were to finally rule out Tiffin and decide to purchase a Newmar next year.

Went to the Newmar displays to ask multiple questions on the Ventana 4037. They chose Holland RV from San Marcos (CA) to represent them (I'm into naming names). The first salesman appeared to be on drugs or alcohol and when we were passed off to another, who knew much more, he still couldn't answer all of my pertinent questions. Just as we were about to be passed off to another salesman who supposedly knew more, we took a walk. What a disappointment! What are they thinking? Do people walk onto their display and buy RVs for hundreds of thousands of dollars on a whim?

Going back today (October 19th) because we have now decided to move from the Ventana 4037 to the 4369, which will be a special order for us. I called yesterday and found out that they will have a rep from Newmar there today. Now I'll be able to get the straight scoop as I have questions about special/custom orders.

If you want the straight scoop from a dealer in So Cal, go talk to Tom at Tom Lindstrom RV in Moorpark. He is knowledgeable, easy going, and was helpful when we went there a few months ago. He has used RV's, but his new inventory only includes Newmars, so he has to be.
.

[jcervini]

A out of great dialog on the Ventana vs Dutchstar. Been leaning towards the DSDP for 2 years now, however, due to usage over next 5 years, I am switching up to the Ventana 4037 based on the value play.

Still refining the build, down to dinette of EuroBooth vs Rolltop table setup. Doe the EuroBooth come with two chairs or are 4 people expected to sit in the booth?

Has anyone upgraded the Ventana awning or just going with the standard one?

Coming from a Baystar and looking fwd to the large experience for the 2015 season.

Thanks!

Joe

[Algoma]

Originally Posted by jcervini

Still refining the build, down to dinette of EuroBooth vs Rolltop table setup. Doe the EuroBooth come with two chairs or are 4 people expected to sit in the booth?
Joe

I think the booth does not come with any chairs. We went with the roll-away table and 4 folding chairs.

[newmarpusher]

Originally Posted by Algoma

I think the booth does not come with any chairs. We went with the roll-away table and 4 folding chairs.

The Euro Booth comes with two additional chairs. It was option #
"5K285 $2646 Euro Booth Dinette & 2 Folding Chairs"
on our 2015 Ventana 4037 build sheet.

[KenNJ]

Joe,

If you order/get the booth yes, it comes with a leaf extension for the table top and two matching chairs. The chair fabric matches the pattern for the pillows that they give you for the couches. We have our extension leaf and chairs stored under our king bed. We have used the leaf and chairs and number of times. They work and look great.

[Dutch Star Don]

I went the other way. I started out (about to sign on the dotted) looking at the Ventana. I then looked at the things I really wanted in my next coach (previously had a Monaco Diplomat) and bought the Dutch Star.

When I had my Monaco Diplomat, my brother-in-law introduced me to a co-worker of his that was camping at the same campground. This co-worker had a bought a Monaco Knight. He knew I had a Diplomat and proceeded to give me the tour of his coach pointing out all of the things he had changed to make his Knight identical to my Diplomat. He had spent thousands of dollars. When he was done, I had to bite my tongue and not ask......did you swap out the ISC for an ISL.

My point.......Side radiator, IFS and several other items were things I wanted in my next coach. So the Dutch Star was what I wanted. I also realized I could have bought a Ventana and added thousands in options and made it just like Dutch Star, but at what price.

Everyone has to do their own math and buy what they can afford, but don't buy something and then realize for another $90.00 or $100.00 a month in a payment, that you didn't get what you really wanted.

[Vulcangw]

We purchased a 2014 Vantana 3436 in July and have put about 4,000 miles on it. We were in the dealer recently for warranty work and the salesman asked if we would be interested in trading up for a used Dutch Star 3736. I test drove and loved the extra power, the adjustable peddles, and the two stage engine brake. HOWEVER, my wife couldn't care less about any of that. The floor plan and decor is what is important to her. In addition to the DS 3736, we looked at a new 2014 DS 3738. My wife didn't want either them, regardless of cost. She likes our Ventana 3436 much better. She loves the pull out drawers in the pantry of the Ventana. Also, the large storage cabinet under the TV and the kitchen counter layout. She also likes our euro booth that is easily accessible when we pull into a rest stop for lunch. The interior is very easy to navigate with all slides in. She did not like the idea of trying to sit at the Dutch Stars dinky table with the slides all the way in. She didn't care about the 1.5 baths in the 3736, she liked the pantry space in the 3738, but did not like the bathroom (too small) in the 3738. She believes (and I agree) that our Ventana 3436 bathroom is much better than the DS 3738 bathroom. Regarding mechanical features, we just completed a 3,000 mile trip pulling our 3,000 pound car all over the mountains of the west. Total combined weight was about 32,500 pounds. I had no problem with the hills. I took many mountain grades at 55 mph; if 5th couldn't handle it, i simply went down to 4th and no problem. Only twice did I have to go to 3rd, and the rig held steady at 42 to 43 mph (as long as I didn't need to slow down for curves). With that said, the engine braking on the DS would be sweet to have. The exhaust brake on the Ventana does o.k. on grades up to 6%. On a 7% grade, I had to go down in 3rd, rather than 4th, and hit the brakes now and then. Going over the mountains in northern Wyoming (I forget the name of the range) we hit one grade that was 8% for 11 miles. I had to go down to 2nd gear and still hit the brakes quite a bit. Based on my wanting to keep my wife as happy as possible, I have decided to stay with the Ventana. I agree with her on the benefits of the floor plan, and I can do just fine without the mechanical improvements the DS possesses. Yes, I would really like that engine brake, but I was able to handle that 8% grade for 11 miles, albeit going down very slowly, and I will just make sure to avoid the 10% grade going into Jackson Hole. BTW, regarding fuel economy, we averaged 9.1 on a trip that had bunches of up and down hill and several days of extreme wind - side winds and head winds.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by don8ch

As my signature shows I voted for the Ventana. Our previous coach was also a Newmar (2009 GrandStar FRED) so we were pretty well set on the brand. The two models we focused on were a DutchStar 4018 and the Ventana 4037. The floor plans were virtually identical with the fireplace and recliner in place of opposing couches. One thing on the DS that we could do without was the fridge in the right front compartment. We have enough room in the honkin' big residential fridge that we didn't need to lose the basement storage area. Not having a side rad also gives us a little more storage in the left rear. The test drive of the DS didn't convince me that IFS was noticeably better than the solid axle. The big thing steering wise was Comfort Drive which both have.

We love our Ventana and have no regrets.

Don

The fridge/freezer in the storage bay is an option on the DSDP, we've had it in both our DSDP"s and will order it again.
I've never driven a rig with Comfort Drive, our first DSDP had a beam axle and the present DSDP has IFS.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by wagonmaster2

This is definitely going to be harder than I thought. On each of our other 3 upgraded motorhomes we could see lots of benefits immediately on entering the new one and very few cons but this time going from a 36' Itasca to a 37' Newmar just isn't exciting us as much a we thought it would. There seems to be about as many cons as pluses so we'll see how it goes Monday.

Kind of where we're at. We did such a good job of getting our present DSDP set up the way we wanted that until you get to the 2012 DSDP there isn't much that we lack in comparison.
Do we upgrade the stove to a induction unit and the refer to a small apartment unit and keep it? We only have 40,000 miles on it and it's in pretty good shape. Did finally figure out the reason for the slide problems though: a dealer reinforced the main slide floor and the plywood is catching on the carpet and stopping the slide. Need to fix that, finish the LED TV upgrades and we're good to go for another 40,000 miles.