Community Forums

ghoticov · 07-19-2016, 12:38 PM

Hey guys....

Iam looking at two coaches and trying to weed through the sales BS. Hahahaha

I was told by the guy selling the Bounder that the Bounder is on a better made chassis than the Tiffin. As far as I knew they are both on a Ford F53 24k# chassis, right? He said the Bounder rides better than the Tiffin....which I thought was interesting.

Do you guys have any thoughts between these two coaches. They are priced very close. They are also expecting a new Bounder 35k any day so we want to see that since its layout is closer to the Tiffin 36LA.

Marc

Mike and Cha · 07-19-2016, 01:13 PM

I would go with the Tiffin for several reasons, the biggest is the fit/finish is better, and the quality seems a little better. Compare things like the cabinets, bathrooms, fireplace set up, TV set up, TV's used, countertops, outside TV, bigger generator ect and you will see a difference. As to the chassis that is BS as Ford makes all the chassis. The Tiffin will have either the 24k or the 26K Ford Chassis. When we were doing our research it came down to the Newmar 3610(which we bought) and the Tiffin 36LA, which are pretty much identical in floorplan. The Bounder was 4th on our list behind the Winnebago 36' with bath and a half.

Ours was built on the 26k chassis and it drives great. The Tiffin drove great too. The way the MH manufacturer engineers the MH body to the chassis does make a difference in ride and sound. In my opinion, the Bounder we drove didn't ride as well as the Newmar, Tiffin, or Winnebago. We actually went with Newmar after the Tiffin dealer started playing games with us and we started looking closer at the Newmars, and are really happy we did. You might want to look at the Newmar 3710, which replaced the 3610 this year before you make any decisions. It is a few inches longer, has the bath and a half, fireplace/TV set up, L-shaped couch ect just like the Tiffin. The only real change was they made the bed a kingsize this year.

Good luck, do your research and don't let the salesmen who generally know very little about the MH's as well as using them influence your decision.

ghoticov · 07-19-2016, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

I would go with the Tiffin for several reasons, the biggest is the fit/finish is better, and the quality seems a little better. Compare things like the cabinets, bathrooms, fireplace set up, TV set up, TV's used, countertops, outside TV, bigger generator ect and you will see a difference. As to the chassis that is BS as Ford makes all the chassis. The Tiffin will have either the 24k or the 26K Ford Chassis. When we were doing our research it came down to the Newmar 3610(which we bought) and the Tiffin 36LA, which are pretty much identical in floorplan. The Bounder was 4th on our list behind the Winnebago 36' with bath and a half.

Ours was built on the 26k chassis and it drives great. The Tiffin drove great too. The way the MH manufacturer engineers the MH body to the chassis does make a difference in ride and sound. In my opinion, the Bounder we drove didn't ride as well as the Newmar, Tiffin, or Winnebago. We actually went with Newmar after the Tiffin dealer started playing games with us and we started looking closer at the Newmars, and are really happy we did. You might want to look at the Newmar 3710, which replaced the 3610 this year before you make any decisions. It is a few inches longer, has the bath and a half, fireplace/TV set up, L-shaped couch ect just like the Tiffin. The only real change was they made the bed a kingsize this year.

Good luck, do your research and don't let the salesmen who generally know very little about the MH's as well as using them influence your decision.

Thanks for your response!

I actually am considering a Newmar because I read great things about them. My issue is there is no Newmar dealer or service center near me (Central California) so I would have to drive 180 miles to get it serviced.

I found this one that we really like (looks wise) and may go see it:
http://www.rvtrader.com/dealers/Tom-...3710-118426155

But again, its 180 miles away and I know we can buy a Tiffin here in Fresno, CA.

I assume that Newmar has just as many issues as Tiffin? They all seem to possibly have little things that happen but we do want a quality MH. I thought the Bounder might be in the ballpark but to me, the quality wasn't what the Tiffin was. It wasn't terrible but it just wasn't as nice in my opinion. But the salesman keep saying the Bounder will ride better than the Tiffin because of the way they mount their MH's to the chassis. Something that I had never heard.

timmy g · 07-19-2016, 08:42 PM

Marc, the Bounder is on a 22,000 lb. chassis, with smaller tires, weaker frames, less storage, and no upgrade to a 7,000 watt genset. I looked at the bounder 35K and bought the Tiffin due to chassis upgrade. i would do your homework on this one.
Tim.

ghoticov · 07-19-2016, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmy g

Marc, the Bounder is on a 22,000 lb. chassis, with smaller tires, weaker frames, less storage, and no upgrade to a 7,000 watt genset. I looked at the bounder 35K and bought the Tiffin due to chassis upgrade. i would do your homework on this one.
Tim.

The 2017 Bounder we saw was on a 24k # chassis and had 22.5" wheels. Maybe that is an upgrade for 2017?

There is also an upgrade (called the "LX" version) where it has a 7k generator and a few other things but the coach we were looking at didn't have it.

It's a nice coach but not as nice as the Tiffin IMO. I am still at a loss at the sales guy saying the Bounder handles better than the Tiffin.

Mike and Cha · 07-20-2016, 12:07 AM

Marc, I see the Newmar you were referring to is at Tom Lindstrom's in Moorpark. The 180 mile drive to Tom Lindstrom's would definitely be worth the drive. We bought from Tom and he is about 80 miles from us. I can't tell you whether the Tiffin will have more issues than the Newmar or not. But I can tell you that Tom does a PDI second to none and when we picked ours up he made sure everything worked as it should and demonstrated that it worked. We have only had two minor issues with ours, one some minor adjustments and the second was the micro wave recall. Both times we took it in we stayed with the MH and took it home the same day. His mechanic does quality work and anything I can't do myself I have no problem making that drive if I have to. I would definitely at least look at and drive the Newmar before you buy as this is a significant purchase and worth the time.

Tom is a great guy and he is one of a kind, he is honest, ethical, trustworthy, and very knowledgeable about the Newmar line. He will treat you great both before and after the sale. We love ours and are really glad we took the time to go to Moorpark. As far as price we only paid about $1000 more than the Tiffin 36LA. We have referred several people to Tom, even out of State buyers and people further away than 180 miles that have bought from Tom once talking to Him and seeing the Newmar product.

ghoticov · 07-20-2016, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

Marc, I see the Newmar you were referring to is at Tom Lindstrom's in Moorpark. The 180 mile drive to Tom Lindstrom's would definitely be worth the drive. We bought from Tom and he is about 80 miles from us. I can't tell you whether the Tiffin will have more issues than the Newmar or not. But I can tell you that Tom does a PDI second to none and when we picked ours up he made sure everything worked as it should and demonstrated that it worked. We have only had two minor issues with ours, one some minor adjustments and the second was the micro wave recall. Both times we took it in we stayed with the MH and took it home the same day. His mechanic does quality work and anything I can't do myself I have no problem making that drive if I have to. I would definitely at least look at and drive the Newmar before you buy as this is a significant purchase and worth the time.

Tom is a great guy and he is one of a kind, he is honest, ethical, trustworthy, and very knowledgeable about the Newmar line. He will treat you great both before and after the sale. We love ours and are really glad we took the time to go to Moorpark. As far as price we only paid about $1000 more than the Tiffin 36LA. We have referred several people to Tom, even out of State buyers and people further away than 180 miles that have bought from Tom once talking to Him and seeing the Newmar product.

Thanks so much for the reply and info. Hearing first hand from someone certainly makes it much more attractive. Were you able to get the typical 28%-30% off msrp. The Newmar is anout $10k (msrp) more than the 36LA we were looking at so Im curious what kind of discount Tom offers.

Mike and Cha · 07-20-2016, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghoticov

Thanks so much for the reply and info. Hearing first hand from someone certainly makes it much more attractive. Were you able to get the typical 28%-30% off msrp. The Newmar is anout $10k (msrp) more than the 36LA we were looking at so Im curious what kind of discount Tom offers.

Marc, yes that is the ballpark discount. Just give him a call and he will be straight up with you on what he can do, and he will stick to it. I would send an email response to the add or from his website, he will call you and answer any questions you have and will not continually hound you like some dealers do. When we bought ours Tom was giving a better discount than they did on the Tiffins. I think the Tiffin discount was only around 22% at the time.

To me the Newmar was worth a little more for two reasons, the fit and finish seemed a little better, and Tom, although not pushy really sold me on the Newmar Brand, and overall quality. I told him the other brands I was looking at and he never put them down, only reinforced how well the Newmars are built.

When going to other dealerships, they always put down the brands they did not carry. One dealer who didn't carry Newmars, but had Tiffin, Winnebago, Fleetwood, and Georgetown told me that Newmar was on the bottom of the list, we just walked off the lot as we knew he was being dishonest just to get us to buy his product.

Tom's lot is a small one with little overhead, but he is one of the top 10 Newmar dealers in the US. Everyone I have referred to him, has contacted me and thanked me as they found someone they could trust and felt comfortable buying from.

ghoticov · 07-20-2016, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

Marc, yes that is the ballpark discount. Just give him a call and he will be straight up with you on what he can do, and he will stick to it. I would send an email response to the add or from his website, he will call you and answer any questions you have and will not continually hound you like some dealers do. When we bought ours Tom was giving a better discount than they did on the Tiffins. I think the Tiffin discount was only around 22% at the time.

To me the Newmar was worth a little more for two reasons, the fit and finish seemed a little better, and Tom, although not pushy really sold me on the Newmar Brand, and overall quality. I told him the other brands I was looking at and he never put them down, only reinforced how well the Newmars are built.

When going to other dealerships, they always put down the brands they did not carry. One dealer who didn't carry Newmars, but had Tiffin, Winnebago, Fleetwood, and Georgetown told me that Newmar was on the bottom of the list, we just walked off the lot as we knew he was being dishonest just to get us to buy his product.

Tom's lot is a small one with little overhead, but he is one of the top 10 Newmar dealers in the US. Everyone I have referred to him, has contacted me and thanked me as they found someone they could trust and felt comfortable buying from.

Wow, what great feedback. I will definitely contact him and see what he can offer. I got the same thing from two different dealers. One was the Tiffin dealer, who put down Thor (who also carries Thor and talked them up after realizing we were looking at the Palazzo briefly) and the other was the Fleetwood dealer who said the Bounder rode better than the Tiffin, which I know can't be true.

So this is great info and Tom sounds like the kind of person I want to do business with.

HavingABlast · 07-20-2016, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

Marc, yes that is the ballpark discount. Just give him a call and he will be straight up with you on what he can do, and he will stick to it. I would send an email response to the add or from his website, he will call you and answer any questions you have and will not continually hound you like some dealers do. When we bought ours Tom was giving a better discount than they did on the Tiffins. I think the Tiffin discount was only around 22% at the time.

To me the Newmar was worth a little more for two reasons, the fit and finish seemed a little better, and Tom, although not pushy really sold me on the Newmar Brand, and overall quality. I told him the other brands I was looking at and he never put them down, only reinforced how well the Newmars are built.

When going to other dealerships, they always put down the brands they did not carry. One dealer who didn't carry Newmars, but had Tiffin, Winnebago, Fleetwood, and Georgetown told me that Newmar was on the bottom of the list, we just walked off the lot as we knew he was being dishonest just to get us to buy his product.

Tom's lot is a small one with little overhead, but he is one of the top 10 Newmar dealers in the US. Everyone I have referred to him, has contacted me and thanked me as they found someone they could trust and felt comfortable buying from.

I fully agree with this. Had almost the same experiences at other dealers. Had a guy at one of those other places continually calling me with a "better deal" while I was at work, and while on the golf course.

We read about Tom Lindstrom on this forum, and drove north 170 miles to see for ourselves. Our experience from beginning to end far exceeded our expectations. I've since referred many people to Tom. And, have met dozens of folks on the road who have purchased their rigs from Tom as well. They all had the same positive experiences at his dealership.

You owe it to yourself to at least check it out. Weather or not you purchase from him, you will be treated with honesty and respect.

Best of luck in your search.

ghoticov · 07-20-2016, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HavingABlast

I fully agree with this. Had almost the same experiences at other dealers. Had a guy at one of those other places continually calling me with a "better deal" while I was at work, and while on the golf course.

We read about Tom Lindstrom on this forum, and drove north 170 miles to see for ourselves. Our experience from beginning to end far exceeded our expectations. I've since referred many people to Tom. And, have met dozens of folks on the road who have purchased their rigs from Tom as well. They all had the same positive experiences at his dealership.

You owe it to yourself to at least check it out. Weather or not you purchase from him, you will be treated with honesty and respect.

Best of luck in your search.

Thanks so much for your response. Did you guys end up buying a Newmar from Tom?

HavingABlast · 07-20-2016, 04:53 PM

Yep. We bought a 2015 Ventana 3636. We opted to take delivery at the factory. They call this CPU. For five days you camp at the factory. You have a technician assigned to you who will fix things that need fixing. He/she will show you how every thing works and answer questions. In my case, he answered lots of question. Some, more than one time (I am apparently a slow learner).

We absolutely love this coach. There are many that are longer and more expensive. But this coach was/is the perfect coach for how we use it. This was the result of two years of evaluating what was important to us and what manufacturer we wanted to go with. Finally, an other factor was who we wanted to purchase the coach from. It all came together in the end.

Take your time and enjoy the process. If you have more questions, pm me and I will answer what I can.

- Jerry

TMan59 · 07-20-2016, 05:16 PM

Just a comment on travel and service.
I typically travel 250 miles to have Premier RV in Junction city do our work.
I have no issue traveling that far to have something fixed right/once.
So if the best brand and service is 180 miles, that's a easy drive that more than likely you will make far fewer times than to a close dealer who fixes the same thing 3 times.
Just my opinion, hope it helps.

ghoticov · 07-20-2016, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HavingABlast

Yep. We bought a 2015 Ventana 3636. We opted to take delivery at the factory. They call this CPU. For five days you camp at the factory. You have a technician assigned to you who will fix things that need fixing. He/she will show you how every thing works and answer questions. In my case, he answered lots of question. Some, more than one time (I am apparently a slow learner).

We absolutely love this coach. There are many that are longer and more expensive. But this coach was/is the perfect coach for how we use it. This was the result of two years of evaluating what was important to us and what manufacturer we wanted to go with. Finally, an other factor was who we wanted to purchase the coach from. It all came together in the end.

Take your time and enjoy the process. If you have more questions, pm me and I will answer what I can.

- Jerry

Very cool, glad you found the one for you.

We keep going back and forth on buying a new coach. One minute we love the idea of having a new, top of the line gas coach with all the new features... black tank flush, inverter, 4 batteries, residential fridge and the list goes on. Ours is a basic, entry level class A. We like it, it still looks new and only has 16k miles on it. But then we realize that the new coach is going to be $900 / month versus the almost $400 we pay now. So it will be at least twice as much a month. Is it worth it? THAT IS THE QUESTION.... and we continue to wrestle with it.