Input Appreciated: Fleetwood-Thor-Tiffin

[Endeavor41]

Hello All,
I’ve owned several MH’s from Class C, Two different Gas Class A’s and Two different Diesel Pusher’s. The wife and I just sold our 2015 Tiffin Allegro Bus 45LP. We both loved our coach but did not use it as intended. The wife broke our agreement and bought another house in AZ so no need to have such a get MH.
Now that we don’t have a MH the wife and I both agree we still need to get something for the short trips and visits with the grandkids. We have agreed to purchase something Class A, maybe 34-36ft. Looking at a Fleetwood: Bounder or Southwind. Or maybe a Thor Miramar. We’ve also considered another Tiffin Open Road. It’s been many years since I’ve driven a gas coach, so my question is has Ford built up the chassis to support the weight and ride? I was told by a salesman (First Warning) that Ford has made changes to the Chassis and Transmission over the past two years. I know that any ride will not be like my bus but looking for opinions from the forum on Fleetwood, Thor or Tiffin as well and comments on the all new (if it’s true) Ford Chassis.

[MSHappyCampers]

I see a lot of bad comments on Thor, but no personal experience!

[Jim_HiTek]

Thor is single handedly ruining the dreams of millions of RV buyers over several of the brands they own (but sell with the original brand name). I'd stay away from anything made by Thor.

Tiffin has always been a middle of the road brand quality wise. Claim to fame was the owner would fix things out of warranty. The sons who run it now aren't as interested in doing that. And from what I've read, their service dept in Red Bay is always full because of all the issues the Tiffins have.

The new Fleetwoods (2017-2019) I'm unsure of because I haven't read too much negative comments about them. Not sure if that's just by luck that I missed negatives or if they're trying to put out a better product during these rushed times.

Whatever you choose, be sure to do your homework on quality of the model you're interested in.

[funmoneypit]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

Thor is single handedly ruining the dreams of millions of RV buyers over several of the brands they own (but sell with the original brand name). I'd stay away from anything made by Thor.

This is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard and I have heard a lot of them on here. This is what gets Thor such a bad name on this forum, people that have never owned a Thor product making claims like this. It is also why I frequent this forum less and less just like a lot of other Thor owners. If this was even remotely true, Thor would be out of business. Millions of RV owners, SMH. Thor sells more RV's than any other manufacturer so obviously will have the most complaints. Most people don't come onto the internet to say how great their whatever is.

The best thing to do is find the floorplan that works best for you. Then go look at a few and test drive. As far as the F53 chassis, it is still basically the same as it has been for years. You can see I have a '19 now and an '04 previously. The biggest improvement has been the 6 speed transmission. The chassis itself hasn't changed much. That said, I am very happy with ours. I can drive it one handed no problem. I did do the CHF, steering stabilizer and a rear track bar. All in I have $800 in those mods. I did do them myself.

Only you know if you can go from a diesel pusher to a gasser.

Good luck in your search.

[Ohiomike]

I have a 2014 Thor Ace 30.2 we bought used last year and we love it. The quality inside was superior to comparable Forest River models. There were a few repairs we had to make due to some construction issues but all in all we were happy and knew what we were getting into. The independent rv repair guy that made the repairs told me that industry wide quality has dropped off in past few years as production has increased. He included the lines most here say walk on water with their quality. He told me I did well on the purchase. You have to compare brands within the price range if the product lines. I personally am happy and grateful for Thor being able to produce a class a motorhome in a price range that I could purchase and take my family on trips. Thor makes a product that is a good value for the money. There is a reason their brands have such a high market share.

Just like a house in a few years there might be maintenance or repairs needed. So what you should expect that with any brand. You don’t drive your house down the road at 70 mph across the country. There are going to be some issues. Electrical devices or appliances can fail. That’s not the builders fault. All brands put the same items inside basically so get the layout you like and inspect it up front. Well maintained used might be a good approach also. Good luck on your search.

[NC25T]

To me it seems like the floor plan is what matters, brand vs brand at the same price point quality is similar.

As stated ford added (finally) a 6speed trans and I believe they also retuned the hp/tq on the engine at that time. Many have stated a few simple and relatively inexpensive chassis mods transform how they drive.

The closest manufacturer to me is Rev/Fleetwood thus that’s my preference, due to being able to go to the manufacturer if needed. I had a Bounder a few years back and Fleetwood was excellent to work with.

If I was in your shoes in addition to floorpalm, I would consider what my local dealer works on.

[funmoneypit]

Originally Posted by NC25T

The closest manufacturer to me is Rev/Fleetwood thus that’s my preference, due to being able to go to the manufacturer if needed. I had a Bounder a few years back and Fleetwood was excellent to work with.

If I was in your shoes in addition to floorpalm, I would consider what my local dealer works on.

I would echo NC25T's comments about your local dealer. I was very hesitant about buying a Thor because of this forum. The thing that made me do it was we are one hour from the Thor factory and our dealer, who also does the overflow warranty work for the factory. Plus they had the floorplan that checked every box we had and then some. Thor and our dealer have been great and have not refused any of my complaints no matter how trivial.

[brandss]

I am one that believes you get what is right for you, whether it is a 5th wheel, class C, or class A gas or diesel. Regarding the Thor conversation, I do believe they have many, many coaches on the road with many happy customers.

The wife and I started out looking at Thor; we spent two year researching before we finally purchased. I can tell you that it was not this forum that kept us from buying a Thor, it was our own personal experience, looking at their coaches and seeing the lack of detail, crappy construction, crappy sales people, and the overall excuses and "we will make that right before you take it home". We spent a lot of time watching many videos and reading many reviews.

In my opinion, for the dollar to dollar comparison, their are much better options. As I said in my opening statement, you get what is right for you. This is just my opinion.

[Festag1]

We just took delivery of a Fleetwood Southwind 36P in December. Putting aside some minor items that the dealer had to take care of upon delivery, we have been happy so far. This is our first Class A so I don’t have anything to compare. As with any gas Class A, there is the expected engine noise when accelerating. Once cruising the noise doesn’t bother us. Once parked we find the MH to be very comfortable. One thing that I liked above other gas MHs was the storage bays. For a gas coach, there seems to be much more storage room than other brands. Some even have small areas that pass through despite having to account for the drive shaft. From a cargo perspective, we have our belongings and are towing a Hyundai Elantra on a dolly. I imagine you will have to run the numbers for the amount of cargo you carry. The MH does well, although I still need to get to a cat scale to see where we truly stand. So far we have traveled from the dealer in Harrisburg, PA to our home in Florida and have been out once more to Orlando for a few days.

Good luck in your quest for a MH that meets your needs.

[Roger G]

Going from an Allegro Bus to a gas coach is going to be disappointing to most people. I have owned a Southwind and an Open Road, to me the Open Road was an upgrade in interior quality over the Southwind. The OR rode and handled much better than the SW but that was mostly due to the longer wheelbase as they were both on the Ford F53 chassis. I know several people who own Thor’s, I personally have not, but to a person they all have nothing good to say about Thor. Thor is the largest manufacturer of RVs so it stands to reason that they would get the largest amount of complaints even if the percentages are equal to a smaller manufacturer. You didn’t mention Newmar but I have looked at several and I think the compare equally to Tiffin in quality. Entegra has started manufacturing a gas coach also, some say it is a rebadged Jayco but since their Diesel Pushers compare to Tiffin and Newmar I expect the quality of their gas coaches to be comparable. If I were in your situation, a B+ or a Class C on the Mercedes Sprinter Chassis would be the direction I would be looking. It is a lot less room but the quality, drive and ride is better than the average gas coach. The smaller floorplan might be a deal breaker for you, it just depends on how you are going to use it.

[Oldmso54]

We purchased a used 2016 Thor Miramar 34.1 a year ago. Have taken it on one 2 week trip and several weekend trips and while I am not a car guy or motor head or experienced rv'er - we have thoroughly enjoyed our RV. It drives fine as far as I am concerned but I have no previous experience to compare it to. The 1 and a half bath was not something we were looking for but having it now I would consider it a "must have". We just replaced our dinnette and theater seats with a larger couch and small table w/2 chairs. The bed is a little short for me but it's not a dealbreaker.

For the price we wanted to pay - new Jayco Class A's and the Thor RUV's were what we were comparing the Miramar too and in that price range we feel like we got a LOT MORE bang for our buck with the Miramar.

[UTTransplant]

I second the comment about your disappointment in a small gas coach compared to a Tiffin diesel. No gas manufacturer, even another Tiffin, will be the same. You should certainly drive some to make sure you can manage. Since you only want shorter trips, it might be the way to go. The other option is another diesel. Since you had a Tiffin before and were happy with it, look at a used diesel Tiffin, something 35-38’.

[Cat320]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I see a lot of bad comments on Thor, but no personal experience!

Same here, I've heard enough from a variety of owners, that I would narrow my search to Tiffin or Fleetwood.

[scbwr]

With that budget, why not stay with a quality slightly used DP? Unless you have a reason not to, why not stay with what will perform better on the road? We really like our Bay Star and don't have any issues with the way it handles on the road, but if I had the budget for a nice DP and maintenance costs weren't an issue, I'd have a DP.

But, if you want to stay with a gasser, take a look a the Newmar Canyon Star. I think they are hard to beat, but there's nothing wrong with a Tiffin.