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Old 02-13-2014, 09:41 PM   #1
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Newmar or Entegra

Are there any Newmar owners here that have owned an Entegra Cornerstone and traded to a Newmar. I am trying to make a purchase decision. After much research and a few test drives, I am still not at a point to pull the trigger. I test drove a used King Air as well as a used Cornerstone. Both have plenty of power. I drove both coaches in crosswinds and both did very well. However, I think both coaches may have had a tendency to "wander" ever so little but just the same, it seemed to be there . What I mean by "wander" is the tendency of the coach to steer to one side or the other (due to a cross wind or road crown, or even on a level road with no wind) which then requires a steering correction to bring it back to going straight down the road. I am wondering if Comfort Drive prevents that. Please let me know your experience if you have Comfort Drive and also if you have driven both a coach with Comfort Drive and the Cornerstone.
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Old 02-14-2014, 07:49 AM   #2
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Comfort Drive will make the difference for the money with what ever coach you will buy in Newmar line up.
2014 King Aire and Owners Guide.
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Old 02-14-2014, 07:55 AM   #3
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The Comfort drive setting is adjustable and you may have not had it set for the winds you were experiencing. I've driven Cornerstone, Heritage, and own a King Aire and can tell you that the Newmar is the best in crosswinds hands down. We usually only know that it's windy outside if we see tree branches blowing. It's that stable and quiet.
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Old 02-14-2014, 09:08 AM   #4
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Robert,
We moved from a 2002 Beaver Patriot to a 2011 Newmar Essex. This past Spring we did a 6 week trip across the west in winds that were pushing 70 MPH (thank you Wyoming) and I white knuckled it every day... at the end of the day, I felt like I had been beat with a baseball bat! With the Essex, we've driven in equally high winds, crowned roads, and through some of the worst road construction imaginable (thank you Texas)! I would NOT be without a Comfort Drive equipped coach!! Once you drive one it becomes a hands down "deal breaker" for us!
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Old 02-14-2014, 05:56 PM   #5
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Hi RobertBC,

A forum member "Bullheaded" previosuly owned a Cornerstone, sold it and recently purchased a 2014 King Aire. If you search the forum "New Rig Show Off" and look up the thread "2014 King Aire 4593", Bullheaded has some pictures of his King Aire and shares a bit about his experience with his King Aire. While I do not yet own a Coach yet, I have looked and researched numerous brands and without question my first choice is the Newmar King Aire. Good luck with your research.
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Old 02-18-2014, 09:24 PM   #6
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Robert, I recently traded from a Travel Supreme-predecessor to the Cornerstone on the same chassis by Spartan. While I've only driven 150 miles with Comfort Drive, I can already tell I won't be going back to a conventionally-steered coach. It's really a winner.

BTW...when you compare one chassis to another, you'll Note the Cornerstone claims to be on a K-3 chassis, which is a stretch. I crawled under a CS and was struck by the appearance of a so-called K-3, which looked exactly like my K-2. I found out it IS a K-2, but equipped with a 600 HP motor. Apparently they are, for some reason, allowed to advertise it as a K-3. If this is of importance to you, go for the King.
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Old 02-18-2014, 09:36 PM   #7
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We have owned 3 Newmars, and you won't go wrong in buying one.

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Old 02-18-2014, 09:41 PM   #8
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Quote:
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Robert, I recently traded from a Travel Supreme-predecessor to the Cornerstone on the same chassis by Spartan. While I've only driven 150 miles with Comfort Drive, I can already tell I won't be going back to a conventionally-steered coach. It's really a winner.

BTW...when you compare one chassis to another, you'll Note the Cornerstone claims to be on a K-3 chassis, which is a stretch. I crawled under a CS and was struck by the appearance of a so-called K-3, which looked exactly like my K-2. I found out it IS a K-2, but equipped with a 600 HP motor. Apparently they are, for some reason, allowed to advertise it as a K-3. If this is of importance to you, go for the King.
Curious what did you see under the cornerstone that looks like a K2 chassis. I have looked close at both newmar and entegra, both a K3's. We ended up going with the entegra because we didnt like the floor plans newmar had to offer. Then you throw in the 100-200k price difference that sealed the deal for us.
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Old 02-18-2014, 10:16 PM   #9
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In general, I'm talking about the size of the lower rails running longitudinally under the basement floor. The K-3 has much larger rails than the Cornerstone. The k-3 relies more on creation of a longitudinal truss from axle to axle as opposed to a couple of beams carrying the load as with the K-2. There were other bracing changes as well. And interestingly, I, too, really wanted to stay with the successor to the TS line, but the lack of a big slide floorplan made me go with Newmar.
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Old 02-18-2014, 10:56 PM   #10
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Quote:
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In general, I'm talking about the size of the lower rails running longitudinally under the basement floor. The K-3 has much larger rails than the Cornerstone. The k-3 relies more on creation of a longitudinal truss from axle to axle as opposed to a couple of beams carrying the load as with the K-2. There were other bracing changes as well. And interestingly, I, too, really wanted to stay with the successor to the TS line, but the lack of a big slide floorplan made me go with Newmar.
Each manufacturer specifies the way they want a chassis equipped. Newmar and Entegra do have some differences between their configurations. However, for you to make a statement that some how Entegra uses as "so-called K3 chassis" is totally without merit. I think the guys at Spartan just might disagree with your comments.

Entegra adds additional cross bracing both horizontally and vertically to add additional rigidity. It is a K3 chassis.

It gets a bit tiring to listen to the constant bashing that seems to occur when SOME Newmar owners comment on Entegra coaches.

Both Newmar and Entgra build quality coaches. I would argue, short of a Prevost, probably the 2 best production coaches currently available. When I was making a decision on which coach to buy, it was down to those 2 companies. I just happened to pick the one that I thought was best for my family. It is reason we have chocolate AND vanilla.

Someone who buys either brand has made a good decision.
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Old 02-18-2014, 11:37 PM   #11
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I would guess we need some pictures of the raw chassis' of both configuration's from Spartan to see if there is a difference, before this thread gets to a boiling point.
The MFG, Newmar and I'm sure Entegra do some real changes in their chassis shop that neither MFG would not discuss here, so maybe to argue about how the chassis came from Spartan is a mute point.
As has been said both companies produce excellent coach's time will tell how they all stand up on resale's in the market place in the coming years.
The OP was asking the drivability between the two companies coach's is what I read in first post and that is something in my view that he is going to have to decide by driving them.
Its something like I felt when after driving many Ford chassis and than driving a Workhorse chassis, in my present coach, you felt the difference immediately on the first drive.
Most coach purchase's by people get decided by the floor plan that wife likes and the husband hopes he gets the chassis he wants under it.
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Old 02-19-2014, 07:59 AM   #12
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Sorry, Cripps if I offended you. I was merely offering a quick engineering opinion of what I've seen. And, for the record, I remain very partial towards the Entegra line....I think there's a reason their sales have been so strong. If the floorplan would have fit, I'd be driving a Cornerstone right now. In fact, I am becoming a bit more cynical on the chassis structure of this Essex, but will reserve that for another thread.
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Old 02-19-2014, 09:53 AM   #13
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We all buy our brand of choice because it fits us. I think Newmar and Entegra are top notch. We just didnt feel that newmar fit us. We liked how the Entegra drove much better. I drive performance cars on road courses and like to feel what is happening. With comfort drive the feel was gone. So for me Entegra was the answer. Also we wanted an extension of our house as we live in our coach 7 months a year. Newmar designers like the "bling" which does not fit us.
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Old 02-19-2014, 10:15 AM   #14
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The Cornerstone was on a K2 chassis earlier. I'm not sure when they went to the K3, but it's possible you were looking at a K2 if it was an earlier chassis.
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