Aspire Questions

[MSMatt]

Need some help from Aspire owners out there. I'm still 500 miles away from seeing a coach firsthand and haven't had a chance to make a trip, but i'm chomping at the bit, so here's my list. Any help appreciated.

1. Squeaks and rattles. Every RV co out there says they are quiet and rattle free, but when you take a drive everything rattles, slides, cabinets, appliances etc. I'm not expecting perfection, but some of these brand new coaches are junk. How's your Aspire in this regard?
2. Propane. We'll be doing a bunch of winter trips in the boonies, running aquahot heat and water in cold weather, how much propane are you using?
3. Are there power outlets in the under coach bays?
4. How is video run through the coach, 5 cable component video, or hdmi?
5. Multiplex lighting controls, gimick or can't live without? They look cool.
6. Power. Can you hold your speed on the grades?
7. Last but not least, I haven't heard many complaints here, but if you could change or fix something, what would it be? and we're not talking about prices

Thanks for helping me get an Aspire fix!

[rvguy02]

I can help with some of these... Noise wise our Aspire 40DRQ is very quiet on the road. Any rattles or squeaks we hear have been caused by our own stuff in the drawers (pots and pans, silverware,etc). There are occasional noises that might be coach related on very rough roads. For example, driving back from Florida to Chicago earlier this month was a "rougher" ride because it was so cold outside. The asphalt is less pliable in cold weather. The coach components are more stiff, etc. This caused what I would describe as a tighter, more rigid ride. The further north we went and the colder it was outside, the more the ride tightened up. Bottom line - as the outside temperature dropped into the 30s and then the 20s you might notice a stiffer ride. Compared to our gas coach - even in cold weather - the Aspire was amazing! There is no going back once you drive a DP. The Aspire feels very solid and well built. I felt like I was in the most comfortable tour bus ride imaginable.

Propane wise we found running the Aqua Hot to and from Florida during cold nights/days did not seem to drain our tank too quickly. Granted, we only needed it for a total of 3 or 4 days, but I was impressed with apparent efficiency using LP.

Overall our 40DRQ is the "real deal" in terms of overall build quality and functionality. If I could change anything on our coach I might have moved the main TV to the opposite side of the living room, but it's no big deal. Regarding inputs for video, I would contact Entegra to be certain. I do not have access to ours right now to verify. Plus, on our maiden voyage earlier this month we did not pay too much attention to video stuff...

I hope this helps! I would not hesitate to buy another Entegra in the future based on our experiences so far...

[rvguy02]

Forgot to mention there are several power outlets in the basement.

[MSMatt]

Thanks RVGuy! One last question, why did you choose the 40' over the 42'?

[Bee950]

My coach is very quiet going down the road..

I thought the Aquahot ran on Diesel? I dont have it... I do have a big propane tank that lasts a looong time.

The video in my coach is ran via HDMI

I have the dinosaur model where I have switches for lighting.

I have no problem going uphill. It has plenty of power and I pass a LOT of RV's. I dont notice much of a difference in fuel savings running 70 in lieu of 60 or 65...

I have 110 and 12 volt cigarette plugs in the cargo bays.

The only thing I would like is the ability to feed the Wineguard to the outdoor TV. I think it is possible, but I havent figured it out yet.

[rvguy02]

I bought the 40' due to several reasons...

1) Price - we could handle the payments on the 42' since we've still got two daughters with college educations that we are paying for.

2) My wife did not like the layout in the 42' with a combined shower toilet and neither of us liked the rear bath payout.

3) The 40' was more manageable for our space at our house.

Having said all this, I certainly prefer the CCC of the 42' over the 40' and the tag in terms of handling. As our daughters "get off the payroll" in the next few years I smell a tag in our future... Despite these things, we LOVE our 40DRQ. It will serve us very well in the coming years.

Before I forget... we also love the lighting on the coach. The dimmers are a gimmick I suppose, but a really nice one!

[Ann n Gene]

Bee, on our coach the winegard feeds to the outside tv on Component 2, you can control the dish with the remote for the receiver/DVR as it is radio wave controlled and will do a nice job from outside the coach.

[MSMatt]

Thanks for your input Bee, although I'd hardly call that a dinosaur! Just a guarantee that the minute you buy the best today, the next year comes out with a new whiz bang feature.