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Old 02-02-2016, 07:05 PM   #1
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Entegra Aspire or Forest River Charleston?

Quick intro... I just joined iRV2 but my wife and I have been long time campers/popup/RV'ers (although we haven't owned one in about 5 years).

Here is the situation... I travel a good bit within the SE as I am in sales and my territory covers Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas (we live in Atlanta)... I can't stand flying and have gotten to the point that I can't stand hotels. Sooo... we are thinking of taking the plunge and buying a Class A. For the next 5 years I would use it for work and for vacations with the wife and kids. But in 2021 our last child will be out of the house and at that time my wife is considering taking early retirement (teacher) and joining me on the road. We would keep the house as our "home base" but 65% of the time we would be all over my territory.

We are probably 12 months out from purchasing but I have already started the research and putting together a budget on what it would take for us to do this (payment, insurance, etc)...

The 2 units I am currently looking at is the Entegra Aspire and FR Charleston 430BH. My hope would be that by the time we purchase we could find a nice, barely used one with less than 10,000-15,000 miles.

What are your thoughts on these models?

I have been watching Great Escape You Tube channel about the issues he has had with the Entegra... it boggles the mind how most of these issues can't be caught at the factory. Where is the QC?

Anyway, I look forward to contributing to the forum and appreciate any thoughts on these units. Appreciate it.
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Old 02-02-2016, 09:38 PM   #2
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I can only help a little. We haven't looked at Forest River but were very impressed with the Aspire. A nice young rep from Entegra told us lots of good things about the unit when we were at the Tampa show. We may go with Winnebago due to styling prefs if we go to DP but the Aspire is a strong contender.
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Old 02-03-2016, 06:49 AM   #3
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No question here. ASPIRE ALL THE WAY
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Old 02-03-2016, 09:22 AM   #4
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We own the Charleston's cousin, a Forest River Berkshire. We have seriously looked at both the Aspire and the Newmar Dutch Star. We have had very good luck with our Berkshire and Forest River has been excellent to work with. Aspire will give you the two year warranty so it may be possible to pick up a gently used Aspire with some warranty left. I would add that the likelihood of that may be low because the bunk model Aspire is relatively new.

For me it would probably come down to price. You may want to look into the Dutch Star 4312 and 4313 as possibilities also. The Dutch Star has something that I think is a great idea which is an emergency exit door rather than window. I should add that this is only available on the 4312.
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Old 02-03-2016, 01:05 PM   #5
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I have owned both a Forest River Berkshire and an Entegra Cornerstone. I thought both were good coaches for their respective price points. I'm not sure what the price difference is for comparably "gently" used coaches for Aspire vs. Charleston. However, having owned both, I can say without a doubt the Entegra is a higher-end coach, and the Aspire will (again, in my humble opinion) be a much better rig in the long run. I would imagine the Aspire costs more on the used market than the Charleston, so I guess it depends on your pain threshold when it comes to $$$.

Either way, I think you'll enjoy either one. Both will be a lot of fun. I just think Entegra will offer better customer service, and will most likely have a lot more high-end features than the Charleston.
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Old 02-03-2016, 07:02 PM   #6
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Thanks for the input...

My wife likes the Entegra 44R Bunkbed floorplan for the kids and eventually grandkids. I would love to find a gently used 2016 in about 8-12 months but reading the Entegra Forum with the new 2017 features for the Aspire seems like that might be a good purchase as well as getting the full 2 year warranty.

Any idea of what MPG I would see while towing a Ford Explorer on a tow dolly?
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Old 02-03-2016, 08:07 PM   #7
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This isn't even a "fair' comparison. More like comparing a Cadillac to Chevy !
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Old 02-03-2016, 08:16 PM   #8
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You will get 7.5 to 8 MPG in the Aspire while towing. Towing or not towing makes very little difference MPG-wise.
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Old 02-04-2016, 05:32 AM   #9
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Aspire! We are extremely happy with ours.
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Old 02-04-2016, 06:28 AM   #10
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just my opinion- I don't think the forest river Charleston would even be in the same class as the entegra. in 2013 I walked through these Charleston's and they were low quality builds maybe they have stepped up there quality in the newer ones. as far as the entegras go.. all you have to do read the spec sheet.. tap on the out side skin of the coach. open and close doors... just that difference alone puts it in another class.
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Old 02-04-2016, 06:30 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skypilot_1 View Post
This isn't even a "fair' comparison. More like comparing a Cadillac to Chevy !
Jus sayn
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Old 02-04-2016, 08:35 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fatherof5 View Post
Thanks for the input...

My wife likes the Entegra 44R Bunkbed floorplan for the kids and eventually grandkids. I would love to find a gently used 2016 in about 8-12 months but reading the Entegra Forum with the new 2017 features for the Aspire seems like that might be a good purchase as well as getting the full 2 year warranty.

Any idea of what MPG I would see while towing a Ford Explorer on a tow dolly?
We average 8.5 mpg with our 2015 Aspire towing about 5k
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Old 02-04-2016, 12:36 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skypilot_1 View Post
This isn't even a "fair' comparison. More like comparing a Cadillac to Chevy !
Jus sayn

Think you would be surprised if you looked at a Charleston today from where they used to be. Forest River has beefed up the Berkshire and the Charleston quite a bit over the last several years. They're not your father's Charleston anymore to paraphrase the old expression.
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Old 02-04-2016, 02:54 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRUSA14 View Post
You will get 7.5 to 8 MPG in the Aspire while towing. Towing or not towing makes very little difference MPG-wise.
We tow a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited 4 down with a 2015 Newmar Ventana 4037. 400Hp Cummins ISL Engine.

Maybe it's the box-like, knobby tired Jeep, but our milage varies quite a bit when towing. We get 10-11 with no TOAD and 7-8 with the TOAD.
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