New Class A advice needed

[Midniteoyl]

Originally Posted by bsinmich

Don't get taken in by all of the storage space that is available. I remember back in 1990, when Bounder was the first with basement storage, that the carrying capacity as stated in Motorhome magazinie was adequate if you filled them with ping pong balls. Things have changed over the years but carrying capacity is something to still be aware of. If you consider a used unit you can upgrade to higher quality. We have had 2 Fleetwoods with no majorp problems but there are many that are higher quality out there. My Newmar has R16 insulation in the ceiling and R11 in the walls and floors. The AC system in a Newmar is one of the quietest on the market. We have been Rving since 1969 so have had a lot of experience on different things over the years.

Sorry, my '89 Sun Vista has full pass-thru basement storage.. Full year before the Bounder.

[nrc1963]

Originally Posted by tanstaafl

Hi,
My wife and I are considering the purchase of our first motorhome. After getting overwhelmed at the recent Hershey RV show, we have spent some time searching the internet for various makes and models looking at all of the different floorplans. We came to a decision that we wanted a gas model with a bath and a half and the option of a washer/dryer as well. We have it narrowed down to the following choices (all 2013 models) in order of preference:

1 - Fleetwood Bounder 35k
2 - Forest River Georgetown XL 360ds
3 - Thor Hurricane/Windsport 34e

My first question is if there are other models out there that we should be considering. My wife is adamant that it has to be a bath and a half with the option of adding the washer/dryer, while I want to keep the price down as much as possible. Right now the Bounder is at the top of our price range.

My second question is on overall quality of the above 3 units, mainly in terms of frequency of repair of the coach itself, since I think all of them are on the same chassis (please correct me if that isn't true).

Any and all comments/opnions are welcome.

Thanks,
Mark

I would definitely take a look at the Tiffin 34 TGA an awesome this to will be my first rv but for full timing and it's gas and the tiffin coo pansy is ranked no 1 in cust. Service ask around the board as soon as I finish my book that's the way I'm going after many hours of research and a lot of advice from kind people from this forum tiffin came out on top. Go down to the factory and definitely take a tour bob tiffin always makes time to answer any questions himself a true caring person can' t wait to get mine my other two friend on this board also naught one one for fulltime another for seasonal and they to love tiffin
Good luck and you will be very very happy campers

[tanstaafl]

Originally Posted by HabitatGuy

Fun dilemma isn't it! We have a '06 Thor Windsport 36Z, which is the bath and a half model. We love the floor plan and understand why you want that layout. Every unit we look at either new or used, we compare to what we have and they usually come up short. We have had our coach nearly a year now. When we purchased it, it was a 5 year old 10k miles pristine unit and we paid about half of original list price. We have been on two major trips and many weekenders. The bath and half really makes it more livable and the private rear master bath is wonderful. We have had zero mechanical issues to date(although we all know that day will come as it is a motorhome and eventually you will have issues). I have done some upgrades and custom touches. But nothing else other than oil and filters. The Ford V10 runs like a dream and I have no problem with grades or cruising with the big boys. We weigh in at 21,300 ready to roll and tow a 4200 lb Jeep Liberty. On our current trip we averaged nearly 7 mpg from Indy to the Smokies. Our best so far. Now you asked about Thor experience and this is ours. I will say though that we looked at new Thor Windsports at the Louisville Good Sam rally and we were not very impressed with the new ones. In our model year the Windsport was clearly a step up from the entry level Hurricanes. We feel that there is little difference noe between the two lines. Mechanically most of the gasses are comparable, find the floor plan that you love and decide if you are happy with the other features and build quality and go for it. You will love the life!

It certainly is a fun dilemma, especially now that we have decided to look at used as well. Now there are a whole bunch more possibilities to look at, and it will probably be that much harder to finally narrow it down. Fortunately we aren't in a hurry and can afford to take our time.

[Midniteoyl]

You will know when that 'right one' comes along..

[jfran304]

Check out the Tiffin 36LA. If you are not in a hurry you can get a pricing sheet from Tiffin, pick out what you want and then send it to different dealers requesting their lowest price. If they do not have it in their inventory they can order it and you can go to Red Bay, Alabama, tour the factory and watch your coach being built. If you see anything that you aren't happy with they will correct it before it leaves the factory.

For warranty work it doesn't make any difference who you buy from. If you have any problems with a dealer all you have to do is call Bob Tiffin and he will handle it. If there isn't a Tiffin dealer in your area he will authorize warranty work by any dealer you choose.


http://www.tiffinmotorhomes.com/pdfs...o36LAflyer.pdf


Check out the Tiffin RV Network for more information from Tiffin owners.

TiffinRVNetwork

Jon

[tanstaafl]

Originally Posted by jfran304

Check out the Tiffin 36LA. If you are not in a hurry you can get a pricing sheet from Tiffin, pick out what you want and then send it to different dealers requesting their lowest price. If they do not have it in their inventory they can order it and you can go to Red Bay, Alabama, tour the factory and watch your coach being built. If you see anything that you aren't happy with they will correct it before it leaves the factory.

For warranty work it doesn't make any difference who you buy from. If you have any problems with a dealer all you have to do is call Bob Tiffin and he will handle it. If there isn't a Tiffin dealer in your area he will authorize warranty work by any dealer you choose.


http://www.tiffinmotorhomes.com/pdfs...o36LAflyer.pdf


Check out the Tiffin RV Network for more information from Tiffin owners.

TiffinRVNetwork

Jon

Jon, Good advice on the Tiffin 36LA, although I'm not sure if I should be thanking you or cursing you! That is by far the nicest motorhome we have seen to date. The only unfortunate problem is that it is a little over the budget we had originally planned on. Oh well, the wife really fell in love with it, so I guess we will just have to figure out a way to make it happen.

Thanks,
Mark

[ga traveler]

Originally Posted by Midniteoyl

Sorry, my '89 Sun Vista has full pass-thru basement storage.. Full year before the Bounder.

Several coaches had a rear compartment that went all the way across. Bounder was the first with an elevated floor that gave you huge storage. Basement models have two steps up inside the motorhome.

[Midniteoyl]

Originally Posted by ga traveler

Several coaches had a rear compartment that went all the way across. Bounder was the first with an elevated floor that gave you huge storage. Basement models have two steps up inside the motorhome.

Nope.. hate to disagree, but I have full pass-through basement on mine.. elevated floor too. Seen an '88 Gulfstream exactly the same too. Unless there's some technicality (I do have a driveshaft 'hump'), the info that Bounder was first appears to be incorrect.

[jfran304]

Originally Posted by tanstaafl

Jon, Good advice on the Tiffin 36LA, although I'm not sure if I should be thanking you or cursing you! That is by far the nicest motorhome we have seen to date. The only unfortunate problem is that it is a little over the budget we had originally planned on. Oh well, the wife really fell in love with it, so I guess we will just have to figure out a way to make it happen.

Thanks,
Mark

Mark,

Sorry that I made you go over your budget but I think you will find it worthwhile.

If you have checked out the Tiffin RV Network you have read how Tiffin stands behind their coaches even after the warranty has expired. If there isn't a Tiffin Dealer near you or if you aren't happy with the dealer near you Bob Tiffin will authorize you to take it to a dealer of your choice for warranty work. We are on our 2nd Tiffin Allegro Open Road. We made the mistake of buying a 26 footer with only one slide in the bedroom figuring it would be large enough for us and the 4-legged kid. We soon discovered we needed more room so we traded it for a new Allegro Open Road 35 TSA with 3 slides.

A lot of Tiffin owners say they have managed to get 25 to 27% off of MSRP if they do not have a trade in.

Good Luck,
Jon