American Coach: American Coach - what year to look for?

[aknavy]

Did American Coach suffer the same demise as many others in the 2008 time frame, with Fleetwood buying the name? Is there a year that marks a difference in quality for them?

[House Husband]

American Coach has always been part of the Fleetwood family.
The founding father of Fleetwood (John Crean) strived to make a quality, user friendly product. But when he retired in about 98, Fleetwood turned into another Corporate America Company. More interested in its profits than customer satisfaction. Up until about 2000 the old American Coaches were really good RVs. Then in about 2008 the quality declined again.

Richard

[chuckster52]

Originally Posted by aknavy

Did American Coach suffer the same demise as many others in the 2008 time frame, with Fleetwood buying the name? Is there a year that marks a difference in quality for them?

.....We had a 2012 Tradition and IMO ,it was the worst Motor Home out of 7 that we ever owned......we've had 3 Newmars and the major and minor problems with the American probably are 4 to 1 greater than the Newmars
15 years and 185,000 miles on the Newmars to 5 yrs and 75,000 miles on the American......plus 3 friends have Americans and the 2011 Eagle is almost rebuilt as was the Tradition....
I have had 1 American ...And Never Another.....MHO,now...C

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by aknavy

Did American Coach suffer the same demise as many others in the 2008 time frame, with Fleetwood buying the name? Is there a year that marks a difference in quality for them?

To answer your question yes the bellied up as most did and got bought up like some did. My revolution is a 2007 I bought new in 2008 which was built on the same line with the American coach units. I believe 2008 was the last year before the buy out.

[aknavy]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

To answer your question yes the bellied up as most did and got bought up like some did. My revolution is a 2007 I bought new in 2008 which was built on the same line with the American coach units. I believe 2008 was the last year before the buy out.

So - Pre 2008 = better built coach?

[MrWzrd]

Originally Posted by aknavy

So - Pre 2008 = better built coach?

Can not confirm or deny .....but...


I bought a 2004 because I liked the fit and finish and the fact that, for a 14 year old MH, it still looked and performed like new.


I have since looked at 3-4 post 2010 units and, frankly, I was not impressed and would not have bought.


So, IMHO, yes, the older units are much better made in both the material and the craftsmanship.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by aknavy

So - Pre 2008 = better built coach?

I would say better than the few years after bankrupted.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Older = Better Quality (?) is a perennial debate. I had a 2004 American Tradition and that was a year of a major design change affecting chassis and well as coach body. It was superior to its older brethren in many ways, but also had some shortcomings of its own, especially as new design. Back then, the owners of earlier coaches all lamented the changes, but new buyers were mostly favorable.

Fleetwood/American came on hard times along with everybody else in 2008 and then the new owners flailed around some. I do think I see signs of corporate greed in the newer products, but maybe I'm now one of those old-timers who just doesn't like the changes? Hard for me to judge. I do feel that the present owners of Fleetwood/American Coach/Monaco/HR are much more willing to sacrifice customer satisfaction to their bottom-line.

I think, though, that buying a mature and well-proven design is more likely to bring pleasing results than gambling on the latest & greatest. Every time a design goes through a major change, there are teething problems, especially in RVs where design changes routinely get tested in the field on the backs of new owners. If you buy one a few years old, the bugs have been found and in many cases fixed, or at least the workarounds are known.


If I was buying a new high end coach today, I'd take a long look at a Newmar or Entegra.

[FormerBoater]

Our 98 Eagle is more vintage than what you are looking for, but I was attracted to the following features of what was the flagship of the American Coach line in 1998:


-Spartan Chassis


-Mechanical C8.3 325 HP Turbo-charged Engine w/side radiator


-Generator on a slide



-Fit and finish of the coach from outside to inside (especially the woodwork)


-Large tankage (150 gallon fuel, 100 gallon freshwater, 60 grey, 40 black)


-Independent Front Suspension (fun to drive!)


-Panto-graph cargo doors (a la Prevost or Tour Buses)


-Sliding cargo trays



-> 4000 lbs of Net Cargo Carrying Capacity


- Extremely well laid out and well made electrical systems


-Single slide for simplicity



-Sold for 35% of the MRSP when new



10 years and 53K miles later we have a DP that performs flawlessly.


There are several members on this board that have 97-2000 Eagles and Dreams that have had mostly positive ownership experiences.


The 98's were the first with Independent Front Suspensions, 99's were the first with the electronic ISC engines.


I am not advocating for these specific coaches, but I strongly advocate for an older DP that was either the flagship or close to the flagship for a quality manufacturer.

[chiefM]

Originally Posted by FormerBoater

Our 98 Eagle is more vintage than what you are looking for, but I was attracted to the following features of what was the flagship of the American Coach line in 1998:


-Spartan Chassis
-Mechanical C8.3 325 HP Turbo-charged Engine w/side radiator
-Generator on a slide
-Fit and finish of the coach from outside to inside (especially the woodwork)
-Large tankage (150 gallon fuel, 100 gallon freshwater, 60 grey, 40 black)
-Independent Front Suspension (fun to drive!)
-Panto-graph cargo doors (a la Prevost or Tour Buses)
-Sliding cargo trays
-> 4000 lbs of Net Cargo Carrying Capacity
- Extremely well laid out and well made electrical systems
-Single slide for simplicity
-Sold for 35% of the MRSP when new
10 years and 53K miles later we have a DP that performs flawlessly.

There are several members on this board that have 97-2000 Eagles and Dreams that have had mostly positive ownership experiences.


The 98's were the first with Independent Front Suspensions, 99's were the first with the electronic ISC engines.

I am not advocating for these specific coaches, but I strongly advocate for an older DP that was either the flagship or close to the flagship for a quality manufacturer.

I have a 98 Tradition and ditto on the above post. Solidly built and still looks great for her age. I love my coach.

[Mark D]

We have a 2011 American Eagle that only had one warranty issue with the first owner. The rear shower drain wasn't tight enough.

It does seem this page is slanted heavily towards Newmar so take some comments with a grain of salt. I looked at an Essex and London Aire before the American Eagle. The floorplan was better in the AE but when sealed the deal was the better fit and finish, ride quality and overall sturdy feel of the American Coach.

Also Fleetwood did go into receivership but that doesn't automatically equate to a drop off in quality. Especially when an investment firm buys them out. Yes they want a return on investment but typically the steps are infusion of cash, streamlining and cultural changes.

Our 2011 is well built all wood cherry cabinets and wood work. By all wood I mean everything boxes drawers etc. On some you will see area's that the mfg. will use a press board that isnt the case with our 2011. I was replacing a bulb in the kitchen and found the bottom of the kitchen cabinets to be 3/4" plywood. The inside walls on many motorhomes are a thin wood composite, the inner walls on our 2011 are a 3/4 plywood no pressboard.

If you google American Coach liberty chassis you will find photos and videos on the chassis. Its custom built with standard front and rear components. AC has had the tank in the center long before most others did. The structure is I beam and fully powder coated.

My recommendation is to set a budget and look within that budget for one that has a floor plan that you like. If it has an ISX confirm if the head has been updated after 2015 ish. If not knock 25k off the price if they haven't. You will want the updated head due to a valve issue.

Best of luck.

[Mark D]

Originally Posted by FormerBoater

Our 98 Eagle is more vintage than what you are looking for, but I was attracted to the following features of what was the flagship of the American Coach line in 1998:


-Spartan Chassis


-Mechanical C8.3 325 HP Turbo-charged Engine w/side radiator


-Generator on a slide



-Fit and finish of the coach from outside to inside (especially the woodwork)


-Large tankage (150 gallon fuel, 100 gallon freshwater, 60 grey, 40 black)


-Independent Front Suspension (fun to drive!)


-Panto-graph cargo doors (a la Prevost or Tour Buses)


-Sliding cargo trays



-> 4000 lbs of Net Cargo Carrying Capacity


- Extremely well laid out and well made electrical systems


-Single slide for simplicity



-Sold for 35% of the MRSP when new



10 years and 53K miles later we have a DP that performs flawlessly.


There are several members on this board that have 97-2000 Eagles and Dreams that have had mostly positive ownership experiences.


The 98's were the first with Independent Front Suspensions, 99's were the first with the electronic ISC engines.


I am not advocating for these specific coaches, but I strongly advocate for an older DP that was either the flagship or close to the flagship for a quality manufacturer.

Coaches like yours are what made us look into American Coach. We would see one that we knew to be 15+ years old and while the design looked its age (not always a bad thing) everything else didn't show much age.

They were still trucking down the road and that's what we wanted.

[hardint]

One tid bit of info is 2006 is the last year for no DPF for emissions. Our 06 Traditions still looks almost new 2 owner garage kept on any coach with double pane windows expect fogging and repair or replacement. Thats our biggest expense and all manufacturers have same problem.
Ours had 12500 miles when we got it in 2014 it is a Spartan chassis with 400 Cat. Shop hard and be happy. Older coaches benefit from led tv's which can be a job as i learned.
Best advise I can offer set a max$ then consider floor plan for us it was $ then side radiator then garage kept then king bed which narrowed our search. Good luck

[mrfix]

My 2016 revolution has been great, no issues to date, it rides like a magic carpet.