Best Motorcoach Brands?

[nforus]

Originally Posted by PorscheVille

Davidki, good question .... I'm not looking at full time. I'd just like to travel and see a lot of North America before I get too old. When I was young, I camped a lot....now, I have no interest in the "roughing it" part. I like driving. I like seeing sights. And I'm looking forward to traveling to bowl games, tail gating, taking the grand kids on short trips, etc....when I retire and don't have a career that demands so much of my time.

The coach I'm currently lusting after most is the Tiffin Allegro Bus 45UP. It is an unusual floor plan in that the full bath is forward of the bedroom and there is a half bath in the back. We have an adult child that will travel with us and that floor plan will keep him out of our bedroom.

Hi Porscheville,

Make sure that you re-read post # 10 from GaryKD, that advice will serve you well. If your living conditions sway you towards the Tiffin bathroom arrangement, buy it!! These forums tend to be brand centric so pick the layout that works for you. The surviving MFG's are all taking care of their customers.

Good luck with your search, and remember, the fun of the RV lifestyle is more about the view looking out of your windshield then it is about the brand on the back of your bus

JMHO

[alpha99]

Originally Posted by Cooperhawk

Don't rule out Winnebago. They make coaches in many price ranges and seem to not have many unhappy customers. They are the largest RV manufacturer in the world.

Agree, Winnebago.

[Bamaman]

Porscheville: You don't say where you're from, but if you're interested in a Tiffin, why don't you schedule a tour of their facilities in Red Bay? They're 2 hrs. from Memphis, 2 1/2 hrs. from Nashville and 2 hrs. from Birmingham--all serviced by Southwest Airlines.

They're a family run operation, and Mr. Tiffin lives in my town. I'm very close friends with his brother in law who was a neighbor of ours. The family is very approachable and great people. They're a different style operation than anyone in the RV world.

[alpha99]

Originally Posted by Ancabuild

I've been reading, looking, taking test drives, for the last 3 years and waiting for this housing market to improve so that I can sell the stick, brick and mortar house and go full time, and in all of it, it has come to two units that I would consider. One would be Newmar Ventana (3635) or Meridian (36M) one of my considerations is, I need a unit that I can do must of the service and maintenance so those units still are simple enough that I feel I can tackle just about anything that needs trouble shooting. I guess it comes to personal preference. DW wants a King bed, she is small 5'-3" and I am a 6'-8" mexican ( yes they had to waste two to make one my size) so theres no compromise on that, I like the gas stove, love the comfort drive, in all my searching I feel that Newmar builds a great coach, you get into the larger fancier units and when trouble arises you must take it in to fix it. Make a list of the must haves and the other creature comforts that you want, and then go from there.

Hi Ancabuild,

I am in Woodstock, also. PM me and I'll show you my Winnebago Journey and impart whatever knowledge I have gleaned through experience.

Of course, free advice is worth what you pay for it!

Cheers!

[Ancabuild]

Got it

[gemini5362]

i have a tiffin and I love it. But to be a bit different. I am living in my allegro bus now. Have been since may of last year and not sure how much longer we will be in the area my wife is working. Depending on how you are going to use it are you sure a class A is best for you. 5th wheels have come a long way in the last couple of years. You can get a cedar creek top of their line 5th wheel. They have a residential refrigerator. Automatic hydraulic leveling. A lot of the bells and whistles that used to be reserved for class A. The layout is nice and to be honest it has more room than my allegro bus. list on the cedar creek is about 125,000 so should be purchasable for 90 to 100k. If you are going to be going places every couple of weeks and driving cross country sightseeing you cannot beat a class A diesel pusher. If you are going to go somewhere and stay a few months like texas or florida for the winter. I honestly think a 5th wheel with their lower initial purchase cost and lower upkeep costs might be the way to go.

[srrobe]

Originally Posted by PorscheVille

3 years from retirement and I've been looking online at various Class A coaches and getting serious about it. Lately though, I've read some forum horror stories and thought I'd join and start getting some thoughts from owners about coach brands they think highly of and about buying new vs. used.

Coaches I'm thinking about are Tiffin Allegro Bus, Entregra Anthem, Thor Tuscany. (I read on an Entegra forum about a leaking roof on a new Cornerstone and now I'm nervous.) I have three years, want to learn as much as I can and listen to folks who know and are not trying to sell me a coach.

All opinions on what you'd buy are welcome.

Don't get to fixed on opinons in the forums. They represent a small percentage of the total number of owners. Don't get me wrong. There is a wealth of info available and this one is one of the best. Just keep in mind that those having issues often yell the loudest and the opposite is true, sadly, with those that aren't. Every coach on your list will have a positive and a negative critic. Every Mfg. has and will have that one coach that has more than its fair share of issues. What's important is how those issues are taken care of. You are considering some fine coaches. Figure out what is best for your plans and budget, take your time, and above all enjoy the journey

[PorscheVille]

Originally Posted by gemini5362

i have a tiffin and I love it. But to be a bit different. I am living in my allegro bus now. Have been since may of last year and not sure how much longer we will be in the area my wife is working. Depending on how you are going to use it are you sure a class A is best for you. 5th wheels have come a long way in the last couple of years. You can get a cedar creek top of their line 5th wheel. They have a residential refrigerator. Automatic hydraulic leveling. A lot of the bells and whistles that used to be reserved for class A. The layout is nice and to be honest it has more room than my allegro bus. list on the cedar creek is about 125,000 so should be purchasable for 90 to 100k. If you are going to be going places every couple of weeks and driving cross country sightseeing you cannot beat a class A diesel pusher. If you are going to go somewhere and stay a few months like texas or florida for the winter. I honestly think a 5th wheel with their lower initial purchase cost and lower upkeep costs might be the way to go.

I'm in Louisville and will probably visit Tiffin in the future. I met the President of Entegra Coach at a boat/RV trade show here a couple of months ago while looking at an Entegra Anthem. He had a lot of good things to say about the dealer that is here in KY. Tiffin has a dealer less than a hour from me which is nice.

I got to spend some time driving a diesel pusher on a cross-country tour when Cummins was introducing their 600-hp engine (what is now the ISX15) about 17 years ago and really enjoyed it. I thought "I could get used to this!"

[wnytaxman]

Gather as much information as you can and determine what your priorities are and then go forward. You mentioned the problem that one person had with a Cornerstone but Entegra has seemed to have conquered many of their issues. To properly evaluate Tiffin you may want to check out the Tiffin RV Forum for some of the issues that Tiffin seems to be having and has had for the last several years.

There are many good coaches in the price range you are looking. We have had good luck with our Berkshire, but they do not have the floor plan or amenities that we are looking for in our next coach. We will probably go with either an Entegra or Newmar.

[JJT]

Originally Posted by PorscheVille

I'm in Louisville and will probably visit Tiffin in the future. I met the President of Entegra Coach at a boat/RV trade show here a couple of months ago while looking at an Entegra Anthem. He had a lot of good things to say about the dealer that is here in KY. Tiffin has a dealer less than a hour from me which is nice.

I got to spend some time driving a diesel pusher on a cross-country tour when Cummins was introducing their 600-hp engine (what is now the ISX15) about 17 years ago and really enjoyed it. I thought "I could get used to this!"

If the dealer in KY you are referring to is Youngblood RV in Mayfield, I can attest that they treated us extremely well on our recent Anthem purchase. We had been RVing for years, beginning with a pop-up, a couple of pull behinds, and two fifth wheels. Finally decided to take the plunge on a diesel pusher. Roger Youngblood made us a great deal on a new end of model year 2014 Anthem, and took our fifth wheel and 3500 Ram on trade. It was a 6 hours trip for us from MS, but well worth it. Could not be happier with the Anthem. Only issue we've had is with the high speed wiper not functioning, which both Entegra and Spartan helping me through that small annoyance.
Good luck with your search.

[austx]

Porscheville,

Before buying our Itasca Meridian, we were seriously considering a Tiffin and found out from owners on www.tiffinrvnetwork.com that certain Tiffin dealers give 25-30% discounts on new Tiffins. And people travel a great distance to get the best price!

We got an MSRP price list from Tiffin for a RED 33AA - base price and price of each option. We checked off the options we wanted and emailed it to 5 dealers (Sherman, Davis and 3 others) saying "give us your best price - you get one chance, no post-quote negotiation".

We got the best price (29%) from Karen Cornelius at Sherman's RV in Tupelo, MS. Tho we decided on Itasca Meridian we highly recommend Tiffin Corp and Karen at Sherman. And everything was handled by email!!!

I would suggest joining www.tiffinrvnetwork.com to talk to Tiffin owners. Good luck in your search and future retirement.

[DD788Snipe]

IMHO, Newmar, Integra and Tiffin and in that order. I owned 2 Winnebagos and I'm not impress white there stuff that was built in the last 5 years. Nothing wrong in particular just too plasticy. Newmar and Integra are almost the same although now owned by Thor Inc. Newmar and Tiffin are family owned and I think that really is a plus. Also if your buying new Newmar is very good at making changes (minor that is) if you order from the factory. County Coach is a great rig but it is an orphan (no offense to the CC owners out there) I purchased my first DP last year and I do all my own maintaince so I've had to come up to speed. My last 2 were gas. It's been fun. I love challenges (real gear head and love wrenching and troubleshooting stuff) and the members at IRV2 have been a wealth of info and help. I would also suggest you buy used. Say 2 to 3 years old. You avoid the drive off depreciation that is huge on a new rig, less in sales taxes and the PO will have worked out most of the bugs already that usually come with any new rig. Good luck and happy hunting.

[DebbieMH]

Originally Posted by DD788Snipe

IMHO, Newmar, Integra and Tiffin and in that order. I owned 2 Winnebagos and I'm not impress white there stuff that was built in the last 5 years. Nothing wrong in particular just too plasticy. Newmar and Integra are almost the same although now owned by Thor Inc. Newmar and Tiffin are family owned and I think that really is a plus. Also if your buying new Newmar is very good at making changes (minor that is) if you order from the factory. County Coach is a great rig but it is an orphan (no offense to the CC owners out there) I purchased my first DP last year and I do all my own maintaince so I've had to come up to speed. My last 2 were gas. It's been fun. I love challenges (real gear head and love wrenching and troubleshooting stuff) and the members at IRV2 have been a wealth of info and help. I would also suggest you buy used. Say 2 to 3 years old. You avoid the drive off depreciation that is huge on a new rig, less in sales taxes and the PO will have worked out most of the bugs already that usually come with any new rig. Good luck and happy hunting.

Entegra is not owned by Thor ... it is owned by Jayco.

[Smitty77]

A third on Gary's input.

Suggest:

-Pick you budget range
-Keep kicking the tires, and more important, walking in sitting down for awhile in as many coaches as you can. (With slides out, and with slides in.)
-Both of you come up with a list of Must Have's and Nice to Have's.
-Narrow the search down to the manufacturers and models that seem to hit your lists the best.
-Decide on new, or used. (If used, add two other budget related items into your planning: 1) Baseline maintenance catch-up, and 'making it your's' changes. 2) Emergency contingency fund. (Do this fund even with new, but larger if used.)

Some great values on used coaches, and for the same budget price, you can move up the food chain in quality.

An opinion I share, and of course everyone is always welcomed to ignore(-!), is to: Drop years to remain within budget, and buy the highest quality coach that you can. Quality lasts.

OK - done with that.

If new, in order of my view of preference (And as you mentioned wanting to do your own maintenance, I assume that you are not going for a mega million big buck ride!):

-Foretravel
-Newmar
-Country Coach (If the new model is available in time.)
-Integra

If buying used:
-Same as above, except more Country Coach models will be available
-Monaco and the Holiday Rambler equivalent, Dynasty on up with the Executive being the sweet spot in the line up.
-Beaver (in later years, crossed over with Monoaco) Patriot of Marquis
-Alpine
-Travel Supreme
-Wanderlodge

Honorable Mention (And few on the used market.):
-Tripple E
-Rexhall (Great bang for the buck, with a very strong steel cage frame.)


Remember the wise words of many posters over the years:
-If Moma is not happy....
-Buy more power then you feel you need (BIG BLOCKS ROCK). You don't lose too much in MPG, if at any, as the engines are not working as hard to do the same job.

And, have fun along this part of the journey!!!

Best of luck to you,
Smitty