looking to purchase king aire

[pepin len]

I am looking at possibly purchasing a newmar king aire and would like some feedback from king aire owners regarding their personal experience (good or bad) and how the coach handles with the spartan K3 chassis. Thank you.

[Renden]

Do King Air owners come to this Forum

Would be surprised you would get much info here, but if it happens - we will see.....it is another RV

.....and I love to see one on my RV Resort in Fort Myers

[saydiver]

Some random thoughts:

The K3 chassis is nice, although it's not as smooth a ride as I think it should be going down the road. Spartan said it's because it has a stiffer suspension. I have no comparison though since our King Aire is our first coach.

Because of the height and weight of the coach we stick to truck routes, when possible. A trucker's guide is a requirement with a 13' 4", 50K+ lb. coach.

Traveling through the mountains is a non-issue. It's very nice to have that much power.

Fuel mileage is lower for the K3. We average about 6.5 mpg.

The K3 radiator is built like a tank according to Spartan, so we were told a radiator guard was not necessary for our trip to Alaska. We had no issues with the radiator on our trip.

We sometimes have issues in campgrounds because of the height and weight of the coach.

Would we buy another one? Yes, and plan to sometime in the future.

Sue

[Jetsmania]

Hi! Good Luck on your search for a coach. Are you looking for a new or used King Aire? If you choose a King Aire you will find that with the comfort drive steering, 54,000 lb GVW, and either a 600HP or 650HP (depending on Model year) 1950 ft lbs of torque, it is hard to match the ride and power of the King Aire. Our current coach had aprox 7000 lbs of carrying capacity. It also has huge basements. All 3 axles have disc brakes. That is just part of the selling points. We have owned a 2009 and currently have a 2012. I will be glad to answer any specific questions. You can either ask on the forum or send me a private message and i will send you my phone number. If you are looking used I know of a super clean 2009 with 15,000 miles on it (not my old one). regards, Paul

[Jetsmania]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renden Do King Air owners come to this Forum Would be surprised you would get much info here, but if it happens - we will see.....it is another RV .....and I love to see one on my RV Resort in Fort Myers

Hi! Are we banned from this forum?

[Route 66]

As little as you have been here lately, we've been considering it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetsmania Hi! Are we banned from this forum?

[Jetsmania]

Hi! That's a Good One!! and well deserved!

[ottffss]

Ditto double six

[Lug_Nut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Route 66 As little as you have been here lately, we've been considering it.

Yeh, The Jets Man nearly lost his Amigos button for his tardiest!

Peter

["007"]

You have to give the Jet'sman a break this year he has been a busy man this summer and now he's ready to roll.
The last King Aire he had he had the Newmar crew busy with updates at Tampa show.
Plus my Patriots have been giving the Jets a rough time this year.

["007"]

Welcome pepin len to Newmar forum & irv2.
Here is a brochure and a Owners Guide on the 2012 King Aire.
King Aire Newmar site.
Good luck in your quest and maybe a future Newmar family member.

[cwg]

I only have a K-2 chassis, but I sure do have K-3 envy!!! I have driven a bunch of them including both demos and Jetsmania's former and now new rig. Plus I have driven the Travel Supreme Select Limited which before going out of business was on a K-3 chassis. I found them to be a superior ride quality; plus the power was perceptually better. That alone is enough to make me want to pop for one the next time ( I said make me want to, not that I may be able to).

As increible as it sounds, the ISX Cummins on them all got better mileage than the ISM 500 hp engine. On several trips traveling in tandem (same fill ups, same speed, and same exact route) the 600hp and 650hp every time beat my mileage.

Bottom line for me is if you are in the market for a great chassis and engine combination, you would be hard pressed to find one better than the K-3. Good luck

PS. At our park in Ft. Myers there are several King Aires on site and most of the owners formerly had a K-2 chassis. Not a single one of them would retreat from ownership of the K-3.

[Skipper 05MA]

We have owned an 05 Mountain Aire, 08 Essex and now the K3 for the last 10 months. The biggest step up was from the Mountain Master chassis to the K2. Significant improvement in ride, handling and storage....but an also significant drop in fuel mileage with the K2. Albeit still pretty new, we get about 1/2 to 1 miles per gallon better on the K3. It never seems to strain. Love the additional storage in the bays which are taller. We opted for one the last 2011's without the DEF and an additional 50 HP. Not sure I would be able to tell the difference.

Personal preference but we like the washer/dryer in the rear bath rather than midship. Our impression was it reduced the space in the galley.

If you want to see a pic of a 2012 with a custom paint job check out CoachLight RV's site. It belongs to the owner. He just took delivery recently after driving a 2011 Essex for about 8 months.

Good luck with your venture.

[Treelog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetsmania Hi! Are we banned from this forum?

Jetsmania, i am assuming your coach has the full wall slide, if so how do you like it thinking of buying a 2012 off lot here in oregon