New Coach Build

[molliandjeff]

Hello to all:

We are new to this forum:

My wife and I are days away from buying our first coach. We have test drove Tiffins and Newmars. We loved the ride of the Allegro Bus and are settling in on building the Allegro Bus 40' AP.

I do have a few questions on options: Any thoughts would be appreciated:

1. Heated floors $4900. We plan to travel across the US over the years. Any reason not to add this option?

2. Extended cycle batteries - any help understanding this option would be greatly appreciated. Salesman was not too helpful with this. I called Tiffin to get their sales to help me, but were out of town Friday when I called.

3. Solar Panels - We will mostly hook up where we go, but should we still consider this option. Also, if you get this does it take the place of getting extended cycle batteries?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Molli and Jeff

[RV Wizard]

Hello and We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences. I am sure you will enjoy our website and forums. Good luck, stay safe and keep us posted.
It would be most helpful if we knew how you were going to use the coach. Will you be full time or have to store it in winter? Will you be stopping in route for the night with no hook ups? Will you tail gate? Things like this will make a difference in whether you should buy certain options.

[greg4444]

I heard many positive comments about the heated floors, so I wanted those. It was in the top 10 things to have for many folks...

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by molliandjeff

Hello to all:

We are new to this forum:

My wife and I are days away from buying our first coach. We have test drove Tiffins and Newmars. We loved the ride of the Allegro Bus and are settling in on building the Allegro Bus 40' AP.

I do have a few questions on options: Any thoughts would be appreciated:

1. Heated floors $4900. We plan to travel across the US over the years. Any reason not to add this option?

2. Extended cycle batteries - any help understanding this option would be greatly appreciated. Salesman was not too helpful with this. I called Tiffin to get their sales to help me, but were out of town Friday when I called.

3. Solar Panels - We will mostly hook up where we go, but should we still consider this option. Also, if you get this does it take the place of getting extended cycle batteries?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Molli and Jeff

For better coverage to your questions Jeff, you might want to send a Moderator a PM asking them to move your thread over to the Tiffin section. Good luck and have fun building your new Coach!
My opinion:
Heated floors a must
As far a upgrading the batteries, are they talking about moving up to AGM's? If so, it would be a good upgrade from wet cells if you are not a maintenance type person. I am replacing mine right now, with wet cells. A personal choice I suppose.
Solar panels:
If not dry camping a lot, no need for them.

[jacwjames]

Solar panels come in handy just to maintain the batteries while parked. I have 325 watt of solar panels and in sunny conditions can easily replenish the batteries.

[CountryFit]

i read a lot good comments about the heated floor. one is here http://www.irv2.com/forums/f112/lovi...rs-275464.html.

for the solar, well, i installed 1200w on my roof so i can share my experience... yes, it's a must imo if you plan to boondock. but how much does the factory charge you? if they ask more than $3000 for 500w, i would just ask the factory to bury a pair of #4 wag wires from roof to battery bay. done. there are a few very reputable solar installers out there with a nice job and less money.

for more cycle batteries, i am guessing it refers to agm. some people like it. but how much more they'll charge you is the question. keep in mind, batteries are easy to replace. lithium is a few years away before becoming popular in rv application. at some point, you might want to go for lithium directly. just my personal opinion, take it with a grain of salt.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Heated floors are pricey but very nice to have. No reason not to have them if the budget permits.

I don't know what an "extended cycle" battery is. That is not standard battery industry terminology, so some advertising tag that Tiffin has come up with. If it refers to AGM as opposed to flooded cell, I would recommend it. Ditto if it's lithium technology instead of lead-acid.

Solar panel: not of much value if you rarely camp without shore power, or even if you only do the occasional overnight stay without hook-ups. Based on your brief description, I would say it not something you need to add, but it certainly has no down side if you aren't sure.

[molliandjeff]

To all 6 that replied to my post. Thank you so much for the quick responses.


We have settled on the heated floors as a yes.


I am getting more info on the batteries from Tiffin on Monday to make sure the thier terminology is accurate to make the correct decision.


Since we will not be off the grid more than a couple days at a time, we will opt out of solar.


We will be taking 1-2 week trips each month from Georgia after we get our new coach.


We really appreciate the comments, they are very helpful.

[lenny-shawna]

Hello,
I do not have heated floors but wish we did. As far as batteries and solar go, definitely upgrade.


Many times when you are traveling to your destination you may want to boondock or you simple cannot find a park to stay in so battery or generator power are your only options. Running a generator for you refrigerator (main use of power consumption)is not always ideal. If you stay at some parks (federal/state) you my be restricted on generator run times so again you will be dependent on your batteries.


When it's time to replace my AGM batteries I will replace them with new AGM's as they are maintenance free, leak proof and don't require venting. I have 6 house batteries and will try to adapt the battery compartment to hold 8 batteries instead of the 6, that's how important they are to me.


Good luck on your new rig.

[Smitty77]

Good luck with your upcoming new rig, exciting time!

Be interesting to here what Tiffen says about those batteries. If it is an AGM option, vs say a high capacity bank, I'd ask them which AGM's they're going with, and if you have a choice in choosing the brand. If so, I recommend Lifeline's, as they are in a an AGM leave of their own.

Best of luck to you on the full purchase process,
Smitty

[dons2346]

Of the three you mentioned, I would only go with the heated floors. The solar,if you want it, can be installed after market with a better installation. I have no idea what an "extended cycle" battery is. If that are not Lifeline branded AGMs, I would skip that also.

[RodK]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

for the solar,.........i would just ask the factory to bury a pair of #4 wag wires from roof to battery bay. done. there are a few very reputable solar installers out there with a nice job and less money.

+1 for this. That can be the hardest part of the install, but very easy to do while being built.

You don't have to go solar right away, but if you decide that you want it, having those wires run will save a lot of hassles.

[Coma]

Heated floors for sure.

I clean and check my conventional batteries twice yearly. They are now 5 YO.

Solar. There are many venues that lack or have limited power. Racing events, Rallies, Air shows and events like Quartzite. If I were building a Coach I would max the Solar just to give flexibility to go last minute when all the power sites are taken. You will discover lots of ways to use your MH you haven't thought of yet.

This RV life is a great adventure, enjoy!

[molliandjeff]

Perfect. Will ask them to bury the solar wires as you mentioned. Heated Floors check. sending in the build sheet tomorrow.


Thanks to all. I will keep you posted.


Thanks IRV2 and members