Venetian: Checking out the Venetian J40

[Dippytwo]

We just checked out the Fleetwood Discovery LXE 40M and loved it. Took it for a test drive and liked everything except the head rest on the driver and passenger seats. They sit to low and can not be adjusted. It hits my upper shoulders but maybe I just have to play with adjusting the seat until I get it just right. We will be looking at a Thor Venetian J40 in a couple days to see if we like that.

We have also looked at a Tiffin Red and a Forest River Berkshire XL, but they didn’t really fit the floor plan we want.

We are looking at 2019 models, hoping to get a good deal as they start rolling out the 2020 models.

For those that have a Venetian, how do you like them? What do you like or don’t like about them?

[z3406]

Some advantages of a Venetian
Hydraulic Slideouts, ISL 9 400HP on a 2019. The 400 is software upgradable to a 450 by Cummins dealers, Traveler Satellite antenna, it comes with the Direct TV dish and components it is capable of converting to Dish with a Winegard conversion kit. Washer dryer Standard, Venetians come with the drop down front bunk standard. 2019 should have Aquahot water and heat, 2019 will have central AC drains not over the roof and sides. The J40 is being replaced by a very similar model for 2020. The 2020 models have the 380HP engine not the 400. General RV has some very nicely priced J40's on their web site.

[z3406]

One more thing
A Venetian comes with a 150 gallon fuel tank. I've gone 770 miles and still had a quarter of a tank left.

[Dippytwo]

I like that it has the 150 gallon tank and the extra power in the engine, but a little nervous about the quality being its a Thor. We just sold our Thor ACE and had some trouble at the start (some of the trouble was that I took it to CW for the repairs and had to have the same problem fixed twice), but the past 2 years it was trouble free. I know all new MH have some problems at the start, so we will give the Venetian a fair chance.

[z3406]

You are going to have issues with any brand new coach. I have owned Fleetwood and Forest River in the past. My advise is. Test Drive the coach before paying for it. Perform a good pre delivery inspection and get as much fixed as possible what the dealer can't fix have reported to the factory in writing, again before you pay for the coach. Find out where the factory service center is located. After spending enough time in the coach to find any issues schedule a trip to the service center and take it there. I have no faith at all in dealer service departments, something you use for a last ditch emergency situation. Any issues with the coach get them reported to the manufacturers service center while the coach is still under warranty, in my experience as long as it's been reported while the coach is under warranty they will honor it. My goal is to have the coach as close to 100% perfect after a year of ownership as possible. Also the hourly rate for non warranty repairs is cheaper at the service centers than at a dealership.

Ensure you spend enough time with the coach with the coach when you take delivery to know hoe everything works so many systems and they change all the time.

[Dippytwo]

Well, we test drove the Venetian J40. Since is was a few hours away from our house and we already sold our ACE, we got a hotel room for the night. First time we had to do that in 3 years. Now we know why we want another MH, the hotel sucked.

At the dealer there happen to be a Thor rep, so I asked him if the quality improved over the last 3 years when we bought our ACE. He said yes, was like night and day, not only was the quality better, but the workers were happy, so I thought “cool”.

When we gout out to the J40 since the slides were in we took it for a test drive first. The dealer cranked up the gen, turned the coach a/c on and we had the dash a/c on high. It drove very nice, I think better then the Discovery LXE, and the seat was a lot more comfortable. We drove it at least 30 minutes and noticed that the dash air really wasn’t that cool (it was around 97 outside). Got back to the lot and leveled it, put the slides out and also noticed that the coach was hot (the coach a/c’s had been running the whole time). The thermostat shows that it was around 100 inside the MH. Cool air was coming out of the front a/c, but the rear a/c was blowing hot air. Our first thought was “it’s a Thor”. I wished I had seen the Thor rep after the test drive.

To be fair, we will try to see is we can find another J40 to look at and have them turn on the air and see how fast it cools down. The Discovery has 3 a/c and cooled the MH down pretty fast. I did like some of the things better in the Thor like the ride, power, larger fuel tank, but I also like that the Discovery was propane free. They use the diesel (and elect) for the aqua hot, seems to be built a little better, and that the profile looks better, don’t see the a/c from the outside.

Right now I think the Discovery LXE took the lead.

[z3406]

The big thing that steered us to a Thor is the overhead bunk and grandkids. At that time Thor was the only place to get a diesel pusher with opposing slides and the front bunk. Since then I know Fleetwood has added that feature as an option to some of their coaches.
You make a lot of very good points not the least of which is the propane free. Remember that both coaches have heat pumps so until the temps drop below 40 and the heat pumps lose efficiency you won't need to be using any propane. I'm assuming the Venetian will make hot water with electric only I'm not familiar with their current water heating system.
My T42 also has three A/C units, driving down the road on a HOT day the dash A/C and one of the roof top units keeps the front comfortable assuming then coach isn't heat soaked. Once set up things cool down pretty quickly but moving to DP land remember this. That hot engine is sitting under the back end of the coach and you'll feel the floor back there radiating heat for several hours after you shut down, I suspect that is going to affect any DP but it does make the rear A/C's job more difficult.
Here is another thought. We were recently at a Thor Diesel Club Rally and if there was one common problem it was the slideouts on the Aria's. I'm not saying that Fleetwood is having any slideout issues but with a 40 ft coach with full wall slideouts I'ld be a lot more comfortable in the long term with hydraulic slideouts.
Good luck on your purchase.

[The Debster]

There are many things about the Venetian that we absolutely love. The air ride suspension, the floor plan with ours was the desk and dinnette/buffet rather than a booth, the residential fridge, the fireplace, the drop down bunk, and the rubber roof (we live in hail country). With ours tho, we did not have good luck in the build. Well over 50 things that needed fixing and it was in the shop for the 9 months of the first year that we owned it. Finally went back to the factory where they fixed most but still not all. I would definitely caution you to be sure your slides work without a problem. We are still having trouble with our 27' slide. Now that we have the suspension fixed it drives like a dream. We love that we stop way less for fuel than ever. Hubby is an electrical engineer and loves the ability to monitor the power usage from the firefly.
Bottom line is this unit met all our requirements but was poorly built.

_________________
Debster
2018 Venetian 38'
2018 Jeep Cherokee

[z3406]

FWIW
The Fleetwood coach I had before this one had over 90 items on my warranty punch list. Some minor, some not so much. That coach took three trips to the factory service center to get everything corrected. This Venetian has had a total of about 60 items on it's punch list. Some minor some not so much. It will be going back to the service center for the third time early next month. My coach is now about 6 months past the warranty end date but the issues being taken care of were reported to Thor prior to the warranty expiring.
If you want a lot of frustration with a coach use the dealer service departments, it you want to streamline the process use a factory service center. Living relatively close to where most of the coaches are built makes it simple for me to schedule a service center visit. Thor only has the one service center in Wakarusa IN. Fleetwood has a center in Decatur IN and another on the west coast in Oregon. If I lived in South Carolina a Tiffin would be on the top of my list as they are built in Red Bay AL.
After warranty is done the labor rates at the two factory service centers we have been to are lower than my local dealer and would be getting my business.

[z3406]

Deb
If at all possible try and attend the Thor Diesel Club Rally in Goshen this October. Thor will repair up to three items labor free there. All the major suppliers on your coach will have representatives there to answer your questions or help you with issues. Oil changes, detailing etc can all be arranged . Camp Freightliner will have sa school there also, we went last year and it's well worth the time and expense. Last years Rally was easily the best Rally we have ever attended made lots of new friends who were looking forward to seeing again this year.
Dippy
Check this thread to get an idea of what to expect if you do deciede to go Venetian
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/2017...ce-362546.html