Community Forums

Dennis Dean · 11-04-2015, 07:49 PM

Well I am a new bounder owner and I have to say I have found my next new coach already

I have just seen the new Pace Arrow 38k
2016 Pace Arrow LXE by Fleetwood RV
This is the bounder in a diesel chassis, wow. Hope it isn't this hard every year to see the new coaches roll out.

ITs the 35k floor plan in a 38 footer with a cummins engine!!!

Rockwood27 · 11-04-2015, 08:54 PM

It has a GVWR of 32,400 and a GCWR of 33,000 lbs. What does a moped weigh?

We_B_Tripn · 11-05-2015, 06:22 AM

The new Pace Arrow is a nice looking coach. I've been looking at the Bounder 36H since I have two young kids who will want to be bringing along friends and the new PA 38B would certainly compete as far as the floorplan goes.

One of my hesitations on the Bounder 36H is while it has great seat belt capacity and sleeping capacity, I'm concerned that with 2 adults, 2 kids, dog, possibly friends, and "stuff", we would really stress the limits of the OCCC.

The inverse is that while the PA 38B sleeps plenty of people, it only looks to have 5 seat belts (versus 8 in the Bounder). Personally I find it interesting that the builders design coaches that either sleep more than they can carry or sleep more than they can place in seat belts.

Of course the other debate is features. The 30th Anniversary Edition Bounder has some really nice features, including under-chassis LED lights, ePlex lighting controls, 2nd heat pump up front while the PA has 2-piece W/D, GPS, hopefully more OCCC, and best of all it's a diesel.

Decisions, decisions.

z3406 · 11-05-2015, 06:42 AM

The Pace Arrow 38K and the Expedition 38K share the same floor plan. What differs is the chassis. The Pace Arrow has a freightliner XC-S chassis. The Expedition has an XC-M chassis. What that means is the Pace Arrow is near the Max weight of that chassis the towing capacity and tongue weight are doubled on the Expedition. They both have Cummins ISB engines the Pace Arrow rated at 340 HP and 660 Lb Tq, The Expedition has 360 HP and 800 Lb Tq. That's because the Pace Arrow uses the Allison 2500 transmission, the Expedition the Allison 3000 Xmsn. Again the Pace Arrow is right at the max rated power for that transmission the Allison 3000 can take a LOT more power than 360 /800. Pace Arrow has a TPO roof the Expedition has a Fiberglass roof. The Pace has a plank floor the Expedition has porcelain tile. Go to the Fleetwood web site and build simililary equipped coaches and the difference is about 24k. I saw the Expedition at the Rally in Decatur last year and really liked what I saw, seeing the new Pace Arrow has me researching what the differences are between them as I am likewise intrigued. The more I look at it the more inclined I am to stay with my Bounder, the differences just don't add up to the 70K it would cost so I can say I have a DP.

Dennis Dean · 11-05-2015, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by z3406

The Pace Arrow 38K and the Expedition 38K share the same floor plan. What differs is the chassis. The Pace Arrow has a freightliner XC-S chassis. The Expedition has an XC-M chassis. What that means is the Pace Arrow is near the Max weight of that chassis the towing capacity and tongue weight are doubled on the Expedition. They both have Cummins ISB engines the Pace Arrow rated at 340 HP and 660 Lb Tq, The Expedition has 360 HP and 800 Lb Tq. That's because the Pace Arrow uses the Allison 2500 transmission, the Expedition the Allison 3000 Xmsn. Again the Pace Arrow is right at the max rated power for that transmission the Allison 3000 can take a LOT more power than 360 /800. Pace Arrow has a TPO roof the Expedition has a Fiberglass roof. The Pace has a plank floor the Expedition has porcelain tile. Go to the Fleetwood web site and build simililary equipped coaches and the difference is about 24k. I saw the Expedition at the Rally in Decatur last year and really liked what I saw, seeing the new Pace Arrow has me researching what the differences are between them as I am likewise intrigued. The more I look at it the more inclined I am to stay with my Bounder, the differences just don't add up to the 70K it would cost so I can say I have a DP.

Al your spoiling my fantasy here!! Dang numbers !!

We_B_Tripn · 11-05-2015, 07:18 AM

Good comparison, especially about the chassis.

z3406 · 11-05-2015, 08:02 AM

Dennis
The differences in that 2016 Bounder over mine has me tempted that way too. You really have a substantially improved coach. If I do upgrade it will most likely be at the Rally in 2016. Last year Fleetwood gave a 10K incentive on diesel coaches and 5K on gas coaches at the Rally.

HSnyder · 11-07-2015, 10:45 PM

Anything under 350hp is a small block. And is gutless. For any power or torque it must be 350hp or above. I've learned the hard way.

ga traveler · 11-08-2015, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockwood27

It has a GVWR of 32,400 and a GCWR of 33,000 lbs. What does a moped weigh?

I am hoping this is a misprint. Surely the motorhome is able to pull more than 600 lbs without being over gross.

z3406 · 11-08-2015, 08:35 AM

Just to clarify something. All the coaches in this class use the Cummins ISB engines. The current ISB is a 6.7 liter turbocharges inline 6. As far as I can find out the only difference between the horsepower output is determined by the engine control unit. This same engine is available in 300, 340 and 360 hp for motor home use. As far as I can tell the chassis/transmission are what drives how much power/torgue the engine is allowed to produce. For the Pace Arrow the Allison 2500 Xmsn is what is limiting the engine to 660tq and 340hp. Please if someone else out there know of any internal engine differences responsible for the power difference in the ISB engine educate me, I've been researching this for awhile now. I suspect it would be relatively easy to get an aftermarket tune for the ISB that will exceed the xmsn's rated capabilities.
ga travler, the key to what we can pull is finding out what this coach actually weighs I suspect there is a fair amount of leeway between what it weighs and what its max capacities are. There are 2 Pace Arrows at RV trader Right now you can see pics of I'ld sure like to see what the actual coach weights are.

Grandpavan · 12-03-2015, 10:51 AM

I just saw the new Pace Arrow on the Fleetwood website and was excited. Not so much now. I have a 2015 GMC Sierra crewcab for a toad so my next coach has to be able to tow 6,000 lbs.

z3406 · 12-03-2015, 12:22 PM

Grandpa
Then look at the Expedition, They are built on the XC-M chassis and have a 10,000 lb tow capacity. Price difference between the PA and Expedition is about 25K.
FWIW I'm in the process of trading up to a 2016 30th anniversary Bounder with the 6 speed xmsn. Found a good deal on one and after test driving it I see no need to go to the additional expense of a DP. A DP would have been about 100K more.

Grandpavan · 12-04-2015, 07:07 AM

z3406 - Thanks for the input. I too don't really want to go to a DP, mostly based on cost. There are a few gassers out there that have 24,000lb chassis with 30,000lb CGVW. What I find amazing is that manufacturers put a 6,000lb towing capacity on a coach and then put a 5,000lb hitch on them. Go figure.

z3406 · 12-04-2015, 08:21 AM

For the kind of money we're talking it may be a lot cheaper to buy a car just for the TOAD usage. We bought the Sonic specifically to be the TOAD. It was 13k brand new and I would buy another in a heat beat it's a fun little car to drive. As we type this I'm waiting for the dealer to move the motorcycle carrier from my trade in coach to the new coach ( requires welding). I can do both a bike and car and fit in the 5000 /500 lb Tongue weight .