Discovery: Discovery LXE 40G

[Dave Reyburn]

Hi folks,
Just wondering if there are any other Discovery LXE 40G owners or (other models) that wouldn't mind telling me some of the good/bad/ugly of owning one of these coaches. I'm looking at a 2019 model, but don't mind owning an older model too. How has your experience been so far? Is this the best place to get this kind of info, or are there other owner forums somewhere more dedicated to Discovery's? I'm sure there's a Facebook owners group, but I'd rather not go there. Any advice you can offer to a proespective owner? Thanks!!

[paddler1954]

We have a 2018 Discovery 40D and love it. We had a few issues during the first year shake down but no show stoppers. If I were in your shoes, I'd stick with the 2019 or wait for the 2020. The 2019s have the Aqua hot heating system that also heats your hot water. Much better than our propane heating system. I believe the 2020s will have a "glass dash" otherwise known as a digital dash. Overall, I'm very pleased with our Fleetwood.

As to forums, The Discovery Owner Association is the way to go. Very knowledgeable group of Discovery owners, they hold a Camp Discovery at Lazydays Seffner, Fl. in January. They put on seminars about every system in the Discovery, very informative.

https://www.discoveryowners.com/

[alank]

We had a 2017 40D, very few issues and never went back to the dealer, I took care of the issues.
We traded for a 2019 40M and had a leak issue with the shower that I took care of. Had a small issue with the 2017 shower also. The bigger issue on the 2019 is the dash A/C unit. It pretty hasn't worked correctly from the time we got it in April and now has been in the shop over a month out of the four months we've had it. Keep in mind that this A/C is half Freightliner and half Fleetwood. Last week the compressor seized up, through the belt off and ended up in a tow job to the Freightliner shop. Could be the compressor, provided by Freightliner, was a lot of the problem all along. They are now replacing the compressor with a new version, dryer and expansion valve, plus etc. This Freightliner problem could have been in any number other brand of coaches.
We love the 40M and indicate our satisfaction by buying a second one. Our current unit has 5 TV's and I can see 3 of them from the theater seats. Bring on the football

[Dave Reyburn]

Originally Posted by paddler1954

We have a 2018 Discovery 40D and love it. We had a few issues during the first year shake down but no show stoppers. If I were in your shoes, I'd stick with the 2019 or wait for the 2020. The 2019s have the Aqua hot heating system that also heats your hot water. Much better than our propane heating system. I believe the 2020s will have a "glass dash" otherwise known as a digital dash. Overall, I'm very pleased with our Fleetwood.

As to forums, The Discovery Owner Association is the way to go. Very knowledgeable group of Discovery owners, they hold a Camp Discovery at Lazydays Seffner, Fl. in January. They put on seminars about every system in the Discovery, very informative.

https://www.discoveryowners.com/

Thanks for responding. Great to hear no major show stoppers. I know motorhomes are going to have a variety of issues no matter how much I spend or what brand I buy. I'm ok with fixing electrical, plumbing and mechanical issues with the coach side of things and I expect problems to occur, but am hoping to find out there are no consistent problems reported by other owners (like DEF hoses hooked up backward at the factory and other crazy stuff that I see with other brands). My wife loves the idea of the Aqua hot but I'd be ok with a propane furnace too. It's cool that they are standard now on the 2019s. Does anybody have any experience with the Aqua hot systems? Would like to get some feedback on that too. I saw the new Freightliner glass screen dash boards. Looks very "WOW" factor, but I'm perfectly OK with conventional gauges infact I would prefer them! Every year they keep adding bells and whistles to make you want to buy new. I will check into the discoveryowners group. Sounds like a good resource thanks. Was this your first motorhome? Are you full timing, part timing? What duration of time do you spend in it? One of the reasons I'm draw to Discovery is that I live in Elkhart county, IN not much more than an hour drive from Decatur, which is a little closer to me than the closest Fleetwood dealer to me, so being able to get to the service center easily is a big plus. Do you tow a vehicle? How is the power of the 380 ISL Cummins overall for the weight of the coach? We'll be towing a 6000lb GMC Sierra 1500. What kind of mpg have you noticed so far?

[Dave Reyburn]

Originally Posted by alank

We had a 2017 40D, very few issues and never went back to the dealer, I took care of the issues.
We traded for a 2019 40M and had a leak issue with the shower that I took care of. Had a small issue with the 2017 shower also. The bigger issue on the 2019 is the dash A/C unit. It pretty hasn't worked correctly from the time we got it in April and now has been in the shop over a month out of the four months we've had it. Keep in mind that this A/C is half Freightliner and half Fleetwood. Last week the compressor seized up, through the belt off and ended up in a tow job to the Freightliner shop. Could be the compressor, provided by Freightliner, was a lot of the problem all along. They are now replacing the compressor with a new version, dryer and expansion valve, plus etc. This Freightliner problem could have been in any number other brand of coaches.
We love the 40M and indicate our satisfaction by buying a second one. Our current unit has 5 TV's and I can see 3 of them from the theater seats. Bring on the football

Wow. Sorry to hear about the compressor! That sucks. Any idea what caused the failure? To be clear is this the AC compressor, not the Freightliner compressor for the air system on the coach? I assume you bought new and they're repairing under warranty, but a month in the shop? Sounds typical though unfortunately. Can you share about the Aqua hot system, how it works etc. Are the other systems in the coach working well?

[paddler1954]

Dave Reyburn,
This is our second class A. We had an 08 Fleetwood Expedition 36D that we bought used in 2013. Based on our experience with it we had no hesitation about upgrading to the Discovery. Overall REV build quality is about average for the industry but in our opinion they deliver pretty good bang for the buck.

We tow a Nissan Frontier, about 4500 lbs. and the ISL is a joy to drive compared to our 08 ISB motor. We're not speed demons, usually cruise around 60-63 mph, our overall (since new over 17,000 miles) fuel economy average is 7.7 mpg. But as the motor is breaking in the fuel economy is improving. Our last trip netted 8.4mpg.

As you are close to Decatur you will be able to give yourself 6 months or so to develop your punch list then head over and get all the build defects corrected at one time. That's what we did, I fixed most of the simple stuff and then went to Decatur for the rest. Not going to waste time with a dealer if at all possible.

We aren't full timing nor do we have any intention of becoming full timers. We take the RV out usually once a month for a couple weeks then return home. This summer we did a 4 state tour with our two teen aged grand-daughters and spent about 6 weeks in the rig. Our D is very livable even with the girls.

Enjoy your shopping! Oh, be sure to use Motorhome Specialist for pricing to use in your negotiations. https://www.mhsrv.com/

[Dippytwo]

We also have problems with our dash A/C. It just doesn’t blow out cold air. We are also going to replace the theater seats because they are very uncomfortable. We knew before we bought the MH that we would have to replace the seats. We haven’t had to use the floor heating yet, but from what others have said it should be a big plus. We did use the dishwasher once and decided it will work better for us as storage. We love the washer/dryer, it’s quiet and the DW really loves the big bathroom with double sinks. The driver and passenger seat could be a little more comfy. It has the head rest that you can’t adjust and hits my shoulders.

[TheKODude]

I just purchased a 2019 Fleetwood Discovery 40' (40 M). This is my 4th RV going back to 1984. This is my first "Brand New" RV purchase.

The aqua hot works very well. Mine works off either electric or Diesel. Diesel heating works faster but electric is not a problem.

The glass dash you saw is standard on the 2020's and not available on 2019's. n fact this is the only real change between the 2 years models.

If you have concerns about Fleetwood products, plan on a tour of the Fleetwood plant in Decatur IN. It is well worth the time. You will appreciate the build.

Your concerns about fuel/DEF/air hosing hooked up backward is not warranted. Freightliner delivers the frames with engines on board and they go thru a pretty strenuous QA inspection before entering the assembly line.

My Discovery is a 40M. That means I have no propane on board as it is all-electric. I have had several other RV's and I never used a single propane oven. Wife is a bit freaky with propane so she was glad to hear this had no propane on board. (I still carry a small propane tank for the propane outdoors grill).

I love this RV. Just got off a 3 week trip to Minnesota and did use the heated floor and the fireplace on one morning.

Hope this helps...

[Dave Reyburn]

Great info Steve & Margo! Thanks for the tip on mhsrv.com. I agree they seem to offer good bang for the buck!

[Dave Reyburn]

Originally Posted by Dippytwo

We also have problems with our dash A/C. It just doesn’t blow out cold air. We are also going to replace the theater seats because they are very uncomfortable. We knew before we bought the MH that we would have to replace the seats. We haven’t had to use the floor heating yet, but from what others have said it should be a big plus. We did use the dishwasher once and decided it will work better for us as storage. We love the washer/dryer, it’s quiet and the DW really loves the big bathroom with double sinks. The driver and passenger seat could be a little more comfy. It has the head rest that you can’t adjust and hits my shoulders.

Too bad about the theater seats being uncomfortable. They charge extra for those too! I'll be sure to try them out myself so I know if they're uncomfortable to me. Thanks for the feedback!

[Dave Reyburn]

Originally Posted by TheKODude

I just purchased a 2019 Fleetwood Discovery 40' (40 M). This is my 4th RV going back to 1984. This is my first "Brand New" RV purchase.

The aqua hot works very well. Mine works off either electric or Diesel. Diesel heating works faster but electric is not a problem.

The glass dash you saw is standard on the 2020's and not available on 2019's. n fact this is the only real change between the 2 years models.

If you have concerns about Fleetwood products, plan on a tour of the Fleetwood plant in Decatur IN. It is well worth the time. You will appreciate the build.

Your concerns about fuel/DEF/air hosing hooked up backward is not warranted. Freightliner delivers the frames with engines on board and they go thru a pretty strenuous QA inspection before entering the assembly line.

My Discovery is a 40M. That means I have no propane on board as it is all-electric. I have had several other RV's and I never used a single propane oven. Wife is a bit freaky with propane so she was glad to hear this had no propane on board. (I still carry a small propane tank for the propane outdoors grill).

I love this RV. Just got off a 3 week trip to Minnesota and did use the heated floor and the fireplace on one morning.

Hope this helps...

Thanks! Yes very helpful to hear of your experiences. I'll try to do the tour next week. When you were shopping for the Discovery LXE what other brands were you comparing against? I've looked into the Newmar Ventana and the Tiffin Phaeton. I like the Discovery LXE 40's over both of those.

[paddler1954]

When we were looking to upgrade, we also consider the Ventana and Phaeton. The best price we could get on the Tiffin was $35K higher and the Newmar was close to $50K higher than the Discovery. While I would have loved to have the Newmar's tag axel, I had to respect my wallet. No regrets.

Originally Posted by Dave Reyburn

Thanks! Yes very helpful to hear of your experiences. I'll try to do the tour next week. When you were shopping for the Discovery LXE what other brands were you comparing against? I've looked into the Newmar Ventana and the Tiffin Phaeton. I like the Discovery LXE 40's over both of those.

[alank]

Originally Posted by Dippytwo

We also have problems with our dash A/C. It just doesn’t blow out cold air. We are also going to replace the theater seats because they are very uncomfortable. We knew before we bought the MH that we would have to replace the seats. We haven’t had to use the floor heating yet, but from what others have said it should be a big plus. We did use the dishwasher once and decided it will work better for us as storage. We love the washer/dryer, it’s quiet and the DW really loves the big bathroom with double sinks. The driver and passenger seat could be a little more comfy. It has the head rest that you can’t adjust and hits my shoulders.

Take the center off the top of the dash and see if you have an AURORA air conditioning system.
I like my theatre seats, had to add a small mechanism to give me 5 recline positions, but I like them.

[alank]

Originally Posted by Dave Reyburn

Wow. Sorry to hear about the compressor! That sucks. Any idea what caused the failure? To be clear is this the AC compressor, not the Freightliner compressor for the air system on the coach? I assume you bought new and they're repairing under warranty, but a month in the shop? Sounds typical though unfortunately. Can you share about the Aqua hot system, how it works etc. Are the other systems in the coach working well?

The system is the air conditioner, and just got it completed today, Sat 8/31. Freightliner called and said it's now icing up, just like it did before it completely failed the first time. Three Freightliner service shops and Fleetwood, and no body knows how to make it work properly. Lots of parts thrown at it so far. The system is an AURORA system and seems like no one likes them. May try to get a hold of Kevin at Fleetwood next week and start demanding the removal of the AURORA system. Fleetwood doesn't use them any more either as I have been told. Kevin had suggested earlier the possibility of replacing the entire evaporator box.

Haven't actually used all the AquaHot, just the water heater side and there's plenty of hot water and heats with diesel or electric, what ever you choose. If you need hot water fast, then diesel, if not, go electric and wait an hour. The heating side warms the coach with heater cores and fans, three in the coach controlled by the three thermostats, one in the storage bay and one in the water bay, both with their own thermostats. The floor is heated electrically, not with water.

One interesting thing while doing my fixes I learned is that the clothes washer only uses cold water, only has one hose. The washer has it's own heating element to heat the water much like many dish washers do. This way the length of hot water line between the water heater and the washer doesn't affect the water temp.