Any experience with Allegro Bay?

[Jerry & Sydney]

We are in the process of purchasing an '08 35 TSB Allegro Bay with Fredy Cummins 620@1600.( I have no idea what all that means)I just hope it is a reliable choice. We are leaving a beautiful Alpenlite 32' Agusta RL because our tow vehicle a 2003 F250 Ford diesel has died on us again, after just 9400 miles on a brand new motor. Can't take the lack of reliability, so trading in the Alpenlite. Any experience with Allegro Bay?

[paz]

There are several choices of chassis for the Allegro Bay, one of which is the Freightliner FRED (Front Engine Diesel) that uses a 340 hp Cummins diesel engine that produces 620 lb-ft of torque at 1600 rpm. This is a lot of torque at low engine speed that will give you plenty of hill-climbing power. If you do a search for FRED, you will find a number of threads.

Our Allegro Bay is on a Workhorse chassis not a FRED, but anyone I have ever talked to or read about likes the FRED chassis. The FRED wasn't available when we bought our motorhome, but if we were to buy a new Allegro Bay today, it would most likely be on a FRED because the FRED has a higher gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) than what is available with Workhorse. Our motorhome only has 2 slides, but the higher GVWR is important with the newer motorhomes with more slides. You should have plenty of carrying capacity with the 3-slide 35 TSB.

We are very happy with our Allegro Bay. I don't think you will find a better built motorhome than a Tiffin product. And Tiffin stands behind their products should something go wrong. Tiffin has the reputation for the best customer service in the industry.

[historyljc]

Of the 13 coaches in our Northwest Florida Allegro Club, 3 of them are Allegro/Allegro Bays. All 3 are FREDs. To my knowledge, there have been no problems or complaints with that running gear.

[Jerry & Sydney]

Thank you so much for your input, yesterday we were told the unit we had put a deposit on was previously sold, then today they told us the sale fell through, we plan to drive it tomorrow, not sure if we are getting a runaround or not. We'll let you know what happens.

[Jerry & Sydney]

Thank you for your input, we would love the Phaeton but haven't found one we can afford.

[Gouda]

We are very happy with our FRED. It is a 340 HP, 6.7 l engine and 6 speed transmission. I think, but am not 100% sure that all Bays are that combo. Our mileage has been very good and it has been problem free in the 7000 miles so far. It drives well and has more than adequate performance. We could not justify the additional cost for a Phaeton. The majority of the furnishings are the same and our model is plenty big inside. In my opinion, the Allegro Bays are the best buy in the motorhome industry. A Allegro Bus is another matter...Next one we buy will be one of those.

[Jerry & Sydney]

We are still undecided, the Phaeton is so much more &&& but after driving it it is so much quieter and smoother riding....we are bouncing around, the dealership called today and they are taking in trade a 2008 35' 3 slide Holiday Rambler, we'll look at it in a couple days....it's less $ than all the others, any one out there with A Holiday Rambler? I have no idea what model.

[paz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sydney cain We are still undecided, the Phaeton is so much more &&& but after driving it it is so much quieter and smoother riding....we are bouncing around, the dealership called today and they are taking in trade a 2008 35' 3 slide Holiday Rambler, we'll look at it in a couple days....it's less $ than all the others, any one out there with A Holiday Rambler? I have no idea what model.

Sydney, have you looked at the Allegro RED? The RED is a Rear Engine Diesel available on a choice of several chassis. The Allegro RED doesn't have all the frills of a Phaeton, but it is a rear diesel (quiet) with air bag suspension (smooth-riding). The Allegro RED is much less expensive than the Phaeton with a list base price around $180k. There is a 36' and a 38' floor plan.

[Cruzer]

The Allegro RED was created just to fill that price gap between a FRED and a Phaeton. Check out my review of an Allegro RED at http://www.rvcruzer.com/2009_36QSA.htm for details. You get the rear engine and air-ride benefits of a Phaeton yet the price isn't as high.

[deputydog]

I have a 2005 Allegro Bay and after looking at hundreds (if not thousands) of coaches, I think it's a great bang for the buck. Ours is the 8.1L gas on W22 chassis. I'd go for a diesel if I was going to go full time or do a lot of mountain driving, but for here in Florida the gas is fine.

The quality of construction is better than most. There are a few "cheesy" things and rest assured that EVERY coach is going to have some issues/bugs that you will need to fix - that's just part of having a rolling house.

Good luck in your quest

[dajudge]

I just traded in my 1994 allegro bay diesel for a gently used 06 allegro bay w22 workhorse with the 8.1, two slides and don't regret it one bit. Just completed 4800mi round trip to the canadian maritimes and everything went beautifully. The front passenger double glass window was cloudy, but tiffin sent one free to my local dealer and it just cost me the labor. I sure didn't find any thing cheesy about my 06 allegro bay. The fit and finish compares to some of the high line diesel pushers i have seen ant much higher prices.

[MuckSavage]

I, like Gouda, also have an '08 Allegro Bay. We love it! I actually like it better than the Phaeton for our own reasons. Ours is Fire Red on Pewter & everyone stops to comment on what beautiful colors it is. Also, it's the first FRED alot of people have seen first hand, so there's been alot of questions asked by fellow campers. A biggie for me is that on a trip from South Jersey to Maine & back, running the dash air & genny, We averaged 10.8 MPG towing our Cherokee! Good Luck!