New Zephyr or Allegro Bus, That is the question

[roboniko]

I currently have an 09 Damon Tuscany and like the coach but wanting to upgrade to a Tiffin product. I have heard so many good things about the company and are only 2 states away so I thought I would give them a try. Problem is, do I go Zephyr or Allegro Bus? Any help would be appreciated in experience between the two. Latest posts I found were from last year and was looking for something updated. Thanks in advance

[Bill Adams]

You may hear a lot of opinions, but there is no one here that can answer that question for you. You need to look at the available floor plans (primary concern) and then options as compared to your needs. Once you find the coach that best meets your specific requirements you will have answered your own question.

[roboniko]

Thanks and you are correct. Kind of torn right now and was just wondering on past experience of owners of these 2 coaches, especially the zephyr as it seems to be a little more scarce. Is it worth the extra money is the big question and still boils down to me in the end.

[airbusdriver]

Originally Posted by roboniko

I currently have an 09 Damon Tuscany and like the coach but wanting to upgrade to a Tiffin product. I have heard so many good things about the company and are only 2 states away so I thought I would give them a try. Problem is, do I go Zephyr or Allegro Bus? Any help would be appreciated in experience between the two. Latest posts I found were from last year and was looking for something updated. Thanks in advance

Tim, the zephry has more Luxury items,one step higher grade of allmost everything, using the same frame and engine technology as the Bus. The Zephyr is heavier, gets less fuel mileage for the same space.The new price for Zephyrs is significantly more than a Bus. The Phaeton of course is one step down from The Bus. It's the general rule,the more you spend,the more you get. Most of the time, anyway.

[Route 66]

The Zephyr lists for approx. $175,000 more than the Bus, so it's like comparing apples to oranges.

[Elkhartjim]

Maybe cruzer will see this post...he seems to be the Tiffin expert and can give you some real life advice.

[RVnSteven]

Originally Posted by Elkhartjim

Maybe cruzer will see this post...he seems to be the Tiffin expert and can give you some real life advice.

You might want to check out his review on the 2010 Zephyr ( RVcruzer.com - 2010 Zephyr 45QBZ Review ) it's another good one.

[nuketea7800]

If you will allow the analogy:

Zephyr -> Cadillac
Bus -> Buick
Phaeton -> Oldsmobile

The Zephyr does not use the same frame as the bus. It is on the Spartan K2 frame, beefier than the Powerglide/Spartan/Freightliner that the Bus comes on, and because of that, it has a bigger 500 HP engine and more powerful transmission.

Yes it costs more, but hey, it is the Cadillac of the lineup! So you get a lot more bells and whistles "standard", whereas you will have to pay extra for same bells and whistles in a Bus.

Check out www.tiffinrvnetwork.com for more Z and Bus owners. Lots of friendly folks there.

//Karl

[roboniko]

AWESOME!!! Thanks this was very informative...

[Cruzer]

View my Zephyr review mentioned above as well as the Allegro Bus reviews. That should give you quite a bit of information.

In addition I'll add these two points:

If you order a new Allegro Bus you will be getting the new EPA-2010 engine that uses urea and SCR injection. That's just the way that things are going to be in the future. However, it's a sizeable price increase over the previous engines - $17,500 to be exact. That brings the price difference between the Zephyr and the Bus to more like $100K. Those are list prices so your real upcharge for the Zephyr is only about $75-80 grand. And the "Z" includes a number of things as standard that were optional on the Bus.

Also, the Zephyr will continue to use the pre-EPA2010 Cummins ISM for bit yet. That means that you don't have to deal with adding urea or those other hassles. The reason for this is that Tiffin bought enough chassis to finish the 2010 model year run of Zephyrs. But, the Allegro Bus sales went through the roof (it was the number one selling diesel pusher last year) and they did not have enough of the "old" engines to finish the 2010 model year.

Other than that, the review should tell you the main differences between the two. If I could afford one, I'd think real hard about moving to a Zephyr right about now. It's an awesome coach and the chance to skip the urea hassles would make it very attractive to me right about now. But, unfortunately my bank account says "keep what you have - it's a good one".

[roboniko]

Thanks, you are truly the "MAN". I read the info and I learned more from it than the salespeople so far. It pretty much made up my mind. Now just have to sell the Damon and move from there. Looking at Dixie RV in La as I am in la. but also considering Lazy Days.

Also considering doing the Montana LLC. Anyone have experience or input on this route? I am currently a business owner so either way it will go thru the business but saving the sales tax is very tempting. Just don;t know, is it really a good way to go?

[Route 66]

Originally Posted by roboniko

Thanks, you are truly the "MAN". I read the info and I learned more from it than the salespeople so far. It pretty much made up my mind. Now just have to sell the Damon and move from there. Looking at Dixie RV in La as I am in la. but also considering Lazy Days.

Also considering doing the Montana LLC. Anyone have experience or input on this route? I am currently a business owner so either way it will go thru the business but saving the sales tax is very tempting. Just don;t know, is it really a good way to go?

The Montana LLC is being discussed here.

[roboniko]

Well thanks to everyone. I have made the jump and gone with the Zephyr. Will be picking it up later this week and looking forward to the weekend to get everything moved in and figure out all the gadgets in this thing. Wish me luck...... Will post some pics after I get her settled in.

[Skipper 05MA]

Congrats...you're going to love it!