New member needs advice

[johnpitti]

Hello everyone,

My Wife and I are looking to buy our 1st MH and pretty much seatled on a 2011 Tiffin Alegro 35QBA (it has bunks) or maybe an Alegro RED QBA desiel. If anyone has either of these can you please tell me the good and bad and if the Desiel is worth another $50 or $60,000 and why. Also how happy you are with the support you get from the Tiffin Company after the sale..................Thanks very much, John & Vivian Long Island,NY and Port Orange,Florida

[Purplefans & Harvey]

[OSP1268]

As you can see by our signature we have the Allegro 32BA gas. We had a diesel 1 ton dually truck and 40' 5th wheel before and for the amount of time we used it and the miles we drove, we figured in gas v/s diesel prices that we would break about even. And so far it holds true, even though the diesel gave a little better mileage than the gas does. Service on a diesel costs more than gas, so don't forget to figure that in.
As far as service, we purchased ours through Lazy Days. They made a couple of adjustments and fixes when we did the walk through. After we got home we found a couple of minor things that still needed taken care of. We called Tiffin and they said we could take it to Lazy Days, which we did. Lazy Days performed the repairs needed and there was no cost to us. I did call Tiffin Parts Dept. and ordered a latch that had broken and they didn't even question me, they just sent it at no cost to me. That was about 4 or 5 months after the purchase.
We would buy Tiffin again and use Lazy Days again.

[monarchman53]

We debated the whole "diesel vs. gas" for a long time before purchasing our rig. Our reality is that for the next 7 to 8 yrs. we probably won't put more than 3 to 4k miles a year until we retire so it just didn't make sense to own a diesel. Also economically speaking, in the used market we could buy a much newer, nicer motorhome in a gasser than a diesel. If you are going to do a lot of traveling you'll get a much nicer ride in a diesel with air-ride suspension. If you're going to do less traveling and more time living in it, go with the gasser and save the extra money. The actual "home" is not that much different between the two, but maintenence costs are quite a bit less on the gas.
Rod

[John H...]

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

[Steve N Sal]

First WELCOME to the Forum.
Now we don't own a Tiffin but have a friend that did and they truly loved their rig. They had good support from the factory and dealer for any problems that they had and the coach was first class as far as fit and finish. As far as gas vs. diesel, well I would opt for the gas. The maintenance for the diesel is more expensive, the amount of $$$ difference between the two chassis can buy a lot of fuel, I don't believe the mpg would be that significant of a difference and with the FRED you wouldn't be getting the air ride suspension anyway (unless something has changed) which everyone seems to love for the better ride. I wanted a diesel when we upgraded to our current rig but after weighing all the factors we decided to just opt for the gas chassis. We are not sorry that we did. Hope this helps a little. Good Luck with your decision and Happy Motoring!!!!

[johnpitti]

Thanks Steve & Sal,

For all the info, every little bit helps, John & Vivian

[johnpitti]

Thanks Roger & Eileen,

For all the info, every little bit helps, John & Vivian

[johnpitti]

Thanks to everyone for their help and well wishes..............John & Vivian

[terapin-bear]

For us, it was the braking. With the diesel we had air brakes, and the response time was much more reassuring. When we drove the gasser the brakes felt less responsive, and you could feel how much weight was being slowed down. With the air brakes the stopping felt well-controlled. With that much weight we wanted the most responsive braking.

There are, of course, big differences in the engine.

There is more basement storage in the diesel by a long shot. The Allegro has nice plastic-lined compartments.

Consider each model's CCC. I think the Red has more CCC and even with that, it is limited.

Availability of washer/dryer in Red

Quietness of ride. The diesel will be quieter up front.

Pantry in kitchen in Red

Closet in bedroom in Red

Entry door is located differently in each model

Fewer seats and seatbelts in the Allegro

Bathroom window in Red

More bedroom windows in Red

35 feet is easier to navigate in the Allegro.


These were the difference we noticed in the layouts. We liked the increased durability of the diesel, the longer interval in between scheduled maintenance in the diesel, and increased generator and the standard features. We really had to do a chart of the differences in features and rate them for real value to us. If you negotiate hard, you can bring the difference between the two down about 30%. We also felt that the resale of the diesel would be better.

THEN we talked ourselves up to a Phaeton

Hope this helps!

[rocketpod]

I've been researching the Allegro 35QBA as our first RV and haven't even considered the Red because of it's added length and it's not worth the extra cost to us because we're not full timers. The diesel costs more for repairs and maintenance too. We'll be taking a lot of local trips and a couple long trips per year. The options we plan on getting are TV up front, surround sound, 15,000 BTU AC, TV in rear, CB antennae, leather sofa, leather seats, power driver seat, fridge panels, DVD monitors in bunks, tile in bedroom, Pecan interior, English chestnut cabinets (beautiful), and Silver Sand paint. The 35QBA is a great looking MH with bunks and the Tiffin quality is there... we can't wait to get our hands on one.