Bounder: 2015 Fleetwood Bounder Classic 34B

[BernieCheryl]

Dear Folks:

I am new to this forum, and new to the idea of a Class A Motorhome (though I've been doing a ton of research).

My wife and I just put a small deposit on a 2015 Fleetwood Bounder Classic 34B. We go for a test drive this coming Wednesday, and I either buy it or let it go. It is brand new, and I am getting it at a good price because it has sat on the dealer's lot for way too long. I have a few questions and would be grateful for any help anyone can give me.

1) Does anyone want to warn me away from the coach? Does the '15 Bounder Classic have some inherent defect that should tell me to steer clear.

2) What do people think of these coaches in general, particularly the Bounder Classics?

3) I notice that the coach's interior batteries are two 6v batteries. I assume these are wired in series to provide 12 volts, or is the coach's internal DC system a 6 volt system? How long do these batteries last without charging? I am an experienced RV'er, having had either a pop-up or travel trailer for over 20 years, and I don't need to run the A/C while I am boondocking, but I wonder what happens if I use the furnace for a few nights.

That's probably enough questions for now. Assuming I buy the coach, I look forward to being a member of this group.

Bernie Poskus

[rbylsma]

We have a 2015 Bounder Classic 34B and are very happy with it. All new coaches come with a number of issues that need to be fixed, so go over things very closely and get the dealer to fix them before you take possession if you can. It is much harder to get things fixed after the sale. Our generator would only run for 15 minutes or so because of an intermittent connection that I fixed my self during our first trip. There was no horn relay installed. Just minor stuff. The batteries are connected in series to supply 12V. I haven't had any problems with running overnight on them. The coach has a good charger/converter and running the generator will charge them up pretty quickly. The first thing to do is change all in the interior lights to LEDs. I ordered from Amazon and got all the bulbs I needed for under $200. That will save your batteries as you can run them all for what a single incandescent bulb draws. I like the warmer, more incandescent, yellowish light so went with what is called warm white, or about 3000K color. Also ask your dealer to recalibrate your leveling system, or you can search on line for the procedure. Makes the auto mode work much better, but I stick with manual which seems to work best. We traded up from a 2014 Storm and are so much more happy with the Bounder Classic. You miss some of the next level benefits of the regular Bounder, but I think they have the same bones and for much less money. You'll love it!

[jondrew55]

Looks like a nice floor plan. I'd just make sure everything is working correctly. Who knows why it sat on the lot?
Our 2014 Excursion 35C was a leftover and it was fine. Just was not a popular floor plan I suppose. I like Fleetwod products which is why we went with the Discovery when we felt like we needed something bigger.

Good luck

[BernieCheryl]

Thanks for your comments, folks. You are making me feel more easy about the purchase. It's hard to spend that much money without wondering if you are doing the right thing.

I am wondering if rbylsma could send me the link to the Amazon page that has those LED bulbs. I would really appreciate it.

Some of the bulbs in the 34B seemed to be LED's and some seemed to be incandescent. Am I correct in that? It seemed that the ceiling lights were LEDs (when we were in there, I never felt those lights get very hot) while the lights primarily on the lower surfaces (ie, over the bed) seemed to get hot.

You are absolutely correct that switching from incandescents to LEDs saves an incredible amount of juice.

Thanks again.

[BernieCheryl]

I forgot to mention this.

You miss some of the next level benefits of the regular Bounder,

We looked at a regular Bounder. First off, although we could have afforded it, the price did go well beyond what I had budgeted for a motorhome. Second, the fridge in the regular Bounder ran only on electricity (or at least that was what the sales person said), and we do want to do a fair amount of boondocking. Living here in Colorado, it's a crime if you don't. Thus, I wanted a fridge that ran on propane as well.

[jondrew55]

Since you bring up boondocking just keep in mind that the battery set up that comes with your coach provides very limited power, so you'll have to run your generator for tv, microwave etc more (I assume there is some sort of inverter to provide 110V off the battery).

Lots of people are avoiding propane refrigerators these days and going with electric only residential units. I don't think the propane ones cool as well as electric (I've had several in my previous MH and travel trailers) and many people are concerned about potential fire hazards of the propane fridges (do a search on this forum for discussions on that subject). Personally, I would not make a decision based on the the fire issue as I think the risk is somewhat overblown, but that's my opinion.

Generally speaking people advise to buy as much RV as your budget can afford. But you are the one who has to write the check. Enjoy your new coach and let us know how things go.

[mojoracing]

We love our Bounder! The battery setup from the factory in ours is two 6 volt batteries. We have had no problem running the heat all night and when I fall asleep with both the tv and satellite system running, its still on in the morning with plenty of juice left to go. Enjoy your new coach!

[mojoracing]

Dont worry about the fridge fire issue. The Bounder comes with a Dometic fridge. Almost all of the fires happened with Norcold fridges.

[rbylsma]

GRV Ba15s 1156 1141 High Power Car LED Bulb 24-5050SMD AC/DC 12V-24V Warm White Pack of 10

are the bulbs I used in the fixtures

HERO-LED SG4-12T-WW Side Pin G4 LED Halogen Replacement Bulb, 2.4W, 20-25W Equal, Warm White 3000K, 5-Pack(Not Dimmable)

are the overhead fixtures. You'll need to slide the plastic part off the pins and cut them down a bit, then they're a perfect fit.


Nothing in my Bounder was LED from the factory. The only ones I haven't changed yet are the three over the mirror in the bathroom.

[tippytoe]

We bought a 'left over" 2014 Bounder Classic 36R last summer and we love it Our 6 volt batteries are a little weak, they are bulging a bit, so we will be replacing them I think they had not been regularly charged while sitting on the dealers lot for almost two years. So it might be good if you could have your dealer replace those. If not, Costco has them for about $84 apiece.
By the way, our previous Fleetwood had the same setup; the batteries held up just fine when boondocking for four days. Also held up ok when boondocking overnight in 10 degree temperatures.

Front end alignment - our previous Fleetwood wore out the front tires way to soon, so this time we had the alignment checked on our own. The shop said that the toe-in was way out and we definitely got our money's worth by not having to prematurely replace the tires.

I think the "Classic's" first came out about 2010, and no, I don't know of any inherent defects in them. We got ours because we loved the floorplan, and the price was a lot better than the regular 2016 and 2017 Bounders.

[BarryN514]

We bought a new 2013 Bounder Classic, 34M, when the 2014 were out for about 5 months so safed a lot of money cause the dealer wanted to get the 2013 gone. This oct we would have had it for 3 years and no major concerns, just little things.

The only major complaint is that Bounder put out a owners manual that covers most Bounder so when you look for something for you specfic model you might not fine it. Good example our vacume flush for toilet stopped working and the book did have the correct place to locate the fuse, so had to call Fleetwood.

Enjoy!