Community Forums

highwing · 05-30-2006, 10:43 PM

Looking to upgrade to a diesel pusher. Getting close on a 2001 Caribbean by National. Any feed back on the pro's and con's for this unit? I know that it is not being manufactured any longer. Thanks for any info.

highwing · 05-30-2006, 10:43 PM

Looking to upgrade to a diesel pusher. Getting close on a 2001 Caribbean by National. Any feed back on the pro's and con's for this unit? I know that it is not being manufactured any longer. Thanks for any info.

RV Wizard · 05-30-2006, 11:42 PM

highwing, welcome to iRV2.com. We are glad to have you join us here and look forward to reading our your adventures and experiences. Sorry to say I don't know much about this coach but National does pretty well overall. Do you know what chassis it is on? The only this that I can recommend is to do what you are already doing; take your time and you will find the info you are looking for. You can do a search on our forum by ckicking on the "Find" button and unchecking the box for more results. Good luck, enjoy and stay safe.

Bill Davis · 05-31-2006, 05:42 AM

We also looked at the Caribbean. Drove it and found it was a real slug. Believe the engine is too small. Hence not being offered anymore.
We are on our second National motorhome, they build 'em good. Just not the Caribbean.

highwing · 05-31-2006, 07:22 AM

Mike; BIll: Thanks for the replies. This Caribbean is on the Spartan chasis and has the horse power ugraded to 275. May be still to low of HP. I assume thats all the 5 speed allison can handle? Thanks again,Steve

chasfm11 · 05-31-2006, 03:49 PM

Steve, the actual performance should be a combination of weight and horsepower. The ISBs that some makers put into 28,000-30,000 pound coaches a few years back gave the engine a bad reputation. To diverge a bit, I think that Michelin got a bit of a bad rap when makers put too much weight on the XRVs but that is another whole thread or two.

You might want to look at the GVW of the Carrribean. If you know the engine's horsepower, matching that against the weight on about 100lbs per HP. That should give you an idea. On one of the other Forums, Brett Wolfe actually published a chart of how much HP was needed to push different weights up a 6% grade at various speeds. It isn't just the HP/torque by itself.

highwing · 06-02-2006, 12:19 AM

Chasfm11: Your right! Big HP doesn't always mean big performance. I belive the caribbean's weight with the 275 HP should be enough. I'll check out Brett Wolfe's HP chart you mentioned. Thanks for the info.

gizmo · 06-19-2006, 03:23 PM

i believe they only built the caribbean for one year.be carefull

Ragman · 06-22-2006, 03:58 AM

Highwing, We have owned a 2000 Sea View by National for over four years. We have enjoyed it,but also also are looking for a diesel pusher. In our search we have put Newmar, Monaco and Alfa See Ya before National.

Our Sea view has a stress crack on the passenger side windshield. I called RV Glass Solutions (1-888-777-6778) a large windshield manufacturer, for replacement and found out it was $1150 installed. While talking to their representative, he checked their records and told me that all National MHs 1999-2001 windshields have a terrible record for stress cracks. He told me on one 2000 Tradewinds, they replaced the windshield seven times. A very good friend of ours has a 1999 Sea View, and his passenger windshied not only cracked top to bottom, but is also falling out at the bottom. We were camping with him recently and he has the bottom all taped with duct tape to hold it in. Anyway, if we bought another National product, it would be a 2002 or newer.
Good luck!

Bill Davis · 06-25-2006, 08:36 AM

We had a cracked windshield on our previous motorhome, a '98 Seabreeze. National replaced it free, although it was out of warrenty. Said it was obviously a stress crack. No problems so far with our 2005 Seabreeze.

CharlieW · 06-29-2006, 01:17 PM

I have a 2000 35' Sea View which I have had for 3 years, and just had the driver's side windshield replaced due to a rock, but not the RV's fault. We love our Sea VIew, and are looking at the 2006 Sea Breeze, which seems to have the same shell, but many upgrades.