Newmar Dutch Star Order ( 2020 4326 )

[thankful8]

Hello,

First time RV buyer here. I'm planning to start full timing with my large family soon and looking to factory order a Dutch Star 4326. Sleeping arrangements are critical for us ( 6 kids, 14 to 5 ).

Floor plan:


Does anyone know if it's possible to get a booth dinette option that converts to a bed? When I "build" via Newmar website, I see two options:

• EURO BOOTH DINETTE WITH EXTRA LEAVES, REMOVABLE TABLE LEG, & 2 FOLDING CHAIRS
• FLEXSTEEL EURO BOOTH DINETTE WITH 1-6" TABLE LEAF

From what I can tell, neither of these convert to a bed. But, it looks like this was an option on older DS?

Is this a type of customization Newmar can do? If not, what are my options?

I had previously considered the Thor Aria 4000, which sleeps 10 with it's over-cab bed, but moved to Newmar Dutch Star because of seemingly better quality and tow capacity.

Thanks for your help!

[A Traveler]

You want to full time with 8 people in a motorhome? Yikes!

[Dutch Star Don]

Post deleted

[creativepart]

Have you considered a RV model with bunks? Or perhaps a 5th wheel with a separate room with 4 bunks?

[NLOVNIT]

If you're set on a DS, with that large of a family full time, I'd think the 4310 would suit you better. 2 FULL baths, bunks, sleeper sofa AND jackknife sofa.

Lori-

[redbaron73]

We traveled with 4 kids ages 6,10,16,19.

Two qirls slept on queen sleeper, oldest boy slept on jack knife and other on the floor. That was in our 4347.

We spend a lot of time tent camping, so sleeping on the floor was not a big deal for any of them, and sometimes they would trade out.

The ventana has a booth that converts into a bed, but is not very big. You could probably get that put in the dutchstar without much effort.


The other thing to look at is a fold and tumble double bed where jack knife goes and substitute the queen sleeper sofa for a bunk bed sofa.

That would give you 4 separate beds for kids, plus the double fold and tumble and the booth bed.


If you go with the floor bed option, we bought a twin size air mattress that used the same pump as the sofa. Made it very comfortable.

The only issue I had was I was first to wake up and getting out of the coach for my morning walk involved a miniature Olympics obstacle course.

[RandDescape]

I have the Ventana 4310. I chose the 4310 over the 4326 because of the length of the bunks (longer in 4310). The 2nd full bath was also a plus for us.

I got the option that puts an 8th seatbelt in the booth. With that booth option they gave me a cushion that goes on the tabletop when it is dropped to seat height and you get a 65 inch or so bed on the booth. That won’t cut it for my family.

So what I do is drop the booth table to the seat height - remove all cushions drag over the ottomans and put an inflatable queen perpendicular to the wall in that space. With that I have 3 queen beds; the bunks; and still have the 55” jackknife free (ok for little kids).

So I can sleep 8 adults plus 2 kids in that config. And I have the 8 matching seatbelts.

Adding on to RB’s obstacle course comment I will say that everyone in the main living area needs to be on roughly the same sleep schedule - or you have to be setup to wake and go outside without a lot of fumbling around.

[Mapnerd]

Originally Posted by redbaron73

We traveled with 4 kids ages 6,10,16,19.
The ventana has a booth that converts into a bed, but is not very big. You could probably get that put in the dutchstar without much effort.

True. It's actually the VTDP's default booth option, called the ComfortBooth.

As Kpecks said, its not very big. I wouldn't try to squeeze an adult in it but normal sized kid under 15 would probably be fine. We considered it for a while but after seeing it its small size at Newmar's design studio, we decided we'd be better served by just carrying an air mattress and setting it up in the middle of the living room if needed.

None of the other booth options convert to a bed.

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

If you're set on a DS, with that large of a family full time, I'd think the 4310 would suit you better. 2 FULL baths, bunks, sleeper sofa AND jackknife sofa.
Lori-

I would agree. That many folks in a coach, it's going to be tight all the time and a second full bath will be a stress reducer. Just imagine everyone trying to get ready all at the same time before you go out to a restaurant or something and you only have 1 full bath. Yikes.

With that many folks in a coach, I would consider going the triple bunk route. I'm not sure if it's a special Newmar does or if folks are taking it to one of the nearby carpenters on their own to get it done, but there are a few posters on this forum that have triple bunks. Triple Bunks are tight but with 8 people in a coach, you should probably get used to that feeling.

[TXTiger]

Not to put a damper on your plans but have you considered a toy hauler fifth wheel trailer. Many have drop down happy jack beds in the garage which are two queen size beds. Also several have a half bath in the garage. Mine even had a loft over the garage with another queen sleeping area. Both the garage and loft were cabled for a television. Some models even have A/C in the garage.

[willipaul]

when i ordered my DS 4236, i had them special in a ventana dinette booth, that would break down into a sleeping area....

it was a big mistake....it was good at neither task.....extremely uncomfortable both ways, and incredibly noisy going down the road....so many squeaks and rattles....

i had newmar rip it out after 1 yr of ownership and went to the extendable euro dinette with two leaves and table leg, and euro lounger sofa setup....was the K555 option in 2018......

this couch setup, as a bed, is not nearly as good (twin vs. a queen with the longer couch) but the euro lounger area and the booth are far better for our purposes....

so, to answer your question, you can get a booth in a DS that sleeps...it's the ventana comfort booth dinette...but i would not recommend it....

if you get the extendable euro booth dinette with two leaves, 2 chairs, and table leg, and the regular couch up front (comes out to a queen), and then the jackknife across from it (good for small kids only) plus the two bunks, you can sleep 6. but the kids on the jackknife are gonna outgrow that pretty quick and end up on an air mattress(s) on the floor....

[RandDescape]

Since a toy hauler was brought into the mix I'll share my experience with the Canyon Star 2921. We had that for 4 seasons with the drop down queen+ beds in the garage. We thought that would be perfect - because it also got most folks out of the main living area.

Thoughts for living w/ a large group full-time in the CS:

• They don't make the 3921 anymore now the 3927 with a smaller slide to increase weight carrying capacity. Because this is a gasser you will need to know how much weight you have in passengers and stuff forward of those rear wheels. With all 7 of us and the dogs we had to keep all of our stuff in the garage during travel and move it forward when camped to keep the weight within limits on the front axle.
• You really need at least a bath and a half for that many folks full time
• If you are going to be full time and you want to tow a car and use up the full CCC inside the motorhome you are limited to a 4k toad. There are very few toads that will hold everyone and be under 4k and towable 4 down. If you can't tow 4down then you have to subtract the weight of the tow dolly from that 4k.
• With that many folks you want a real refrigerator

As for the toy hauler - remember that then your tow vehicle needs to have seatbelts for everyone - and you are going to be taking that everywhere you go.

I got a chance to measure my Ventana 4310 booth - exactly 65" wide between the fixed portions measured pantry side to sofa side. Leaving 5" around a queen mattress. Also there is about 2' free floor space from an 80" mattress up against the dinette window to the nearest part of the kitchen sink. So you can get around pretty easily - as long as you are quiet and not carrying something large.

["007"]

With all our kids teens on down we pulled a sleeper pop-up never pulled cars, always rented, worked many years for us.

[RandDescape]

One more thought. The “bunk sofa” that Newmar started to offer a few years ago.

The 87” sofa when changed to a bunk is shorter than a standard twin. It also has a height issue - usually in the DPs there is a set of cabinets above the sofa in a slide. The top bunk is pretty high off the floor and I think eliminates the cabinets and may still be tight on headroom.

Regular bunks in a slideout have more room because the bottom bunk is low to the floor relative to a sofa.

[thankful8]

Originally Posted by redbaron73

We traveled with 4 kids ages 6,10,16,19.
The ventana has a booth that converts into a bed, but is not very big. You could probably get that put in the dutchstar without much effort.

I think we are going to go with this option, waiting on Newmar to confirm. Thank you for recommendation!