Community Forums

redeldo · 12-14-2006, 06:52 AM

Any opinions how Alpine stacks up against the Bus and the Star. All three look good and all three have minor issues. The Alpine minor issue is the opening above the residential refrigerator looks like it could have used some trim to hide the opening. I tend to see a lot of Buses and a lot of Star but very few Alpines.

Also, I understand the Tiffin turns out 12 to 15 motorhomes per day, and have no idea how many Newmar makes a day. Any idea on how many Alpine produces as that may indicate why so few are seen. How about service East of the Mississippi?

We have been looking at and for a 36 mid door and a 40 mid door and like what we see. Hopefully we will find some or more to look at closer than California.

Thanks in advance for any information.

redeldo · 12-14-2006, 06:52 AM

Any opinions how Alpine stacks up against the Bus and the Star. All three look good and all three have minor issues. The Alpine minor issue is the opening above the residential refrigerator looks like it could have used some trim to hide the opening. I tend to see a lot of Buses and a lot of Star but very few Alpines.

Also, I understand the Tiffin turns out 12 to 15 motorhomes per day, and have no idea how many Newmar makes a day. Any idea on how many Alpine produces as that may indicate why so few are seen. How about service East of the Mississippi?

We have been looking at and for a 36 mid door and a 40 mid door and like what we see. Hopefully we will find some or more to look at closer than California.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Lyle & Cath · 12-15-2006, 05:24 AM

I can only speak of our experience. We owned a Dutch Star and loved it until we ran into our Apex. There was no comparison to the driveability. The Peak chasis of WRV is fantastic. I do not believe the comparison should be between Kountry Star but rather at least a Dutch Star and for the Apex between Mountain Air and Essex. Newmar makes many coach's while WRV makes only a few a week. That is why you don't see too many Alpines or Apex's. One of the factors that you should consider is that you need to drive the ones that you are interested in and see which you like best.
Best of luck in chosing your coach.
Lyle & Cathy
Apex 1

Stretch · 12-16-2006, 03:48 PM

I dont believe that the Apex compares favorably to either the new Mountain Air nor the Essex at this time. Perhaps after Mr. Lee has his way with WRV things will go north. Time will tell.

Lyle & Cath · 12-18-2006, 12:34 PM

Well like I said Stretch, I only spoke of our experience. Granted my experience with Newmar was from 2002 until 2005 so I don't know the latest and greatest from Newmar. So it is from that time frame that I made the comparison against my 06 Apex. But to each his own, that's why we have several hundreds of different coaches out there.

Lyle
Lyle & Cathy
Apex 1

Ted III · 12-18-2006, 02:23 PM

I would think that if your only complaint with the Alpine is the lack of molding over the refrigerator I am certain that they would be more than willing to accomodate you with additional molding.

You might want to ask the other manufacturers if they will put a Peak chassis under their coach so it would handle like an Alpine.

Alpine builds app. 200 coaches per year.

I would think that picking a coach is really a personal thing. Drive them each and go from there. Comfort in driving has and always will be my number 1 priority.

Jeff and Cheryl · 12-18-2006, 05:45 PM

I am the third owner of a '98 Alpine coach. Both previous owners loved the coach but life circumstances forced sale. The Peak chasis makes the Alpine one of the most enjoyable coaches there is for driving. I've had very few problems with this coach in the two years I had it and most of those I brought on myself. Western RV does an excellent job with matching engines to power needs so there is no problem with pulling mountain passes. As Ted III notes, drive all of your likely candidates and then decide.

Sully · 12-19-2006, 07:04 AM

We tested everything from Beaver to Winebago during our search for a coach that fit our needs. There is no perfect coach, and probably no perfect coach owner, sorry Lowell. None that we tested drove and handled like an Alpine and few had a mid door which we required. No our Alpine isn't perfect, but for us it is as close as we can get in our price range.

Sully

Rick M · 12-19-2006, 01:03 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sully:
We tested everything from Beaver to Winebago during our search for a coach that fit our needs. There is no perfect coach, and probably no perfect coach owner, sorry Lowell. None that we tested drove and handled like an Alpine and few had a mid door which we required. No our Alpine isn't perfect, but for us it is as close as we can get in our price range.

Sully </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I second all that Sully said!
Some may not see the importance of Driveability but we all are in this for enjoyment and how a coach handles is one of the most important factors of traveling and feeling rested instead of frazzeled.
Mid doors are also important to enjoyment with a homey feeling to the coach.