Community Forums

mikebrls · 08-15-2013, 01:49 PM

doesn't matter what you buy there will be bad press about everything .

I just bought a Thor palazzo dp for a little bit more then a tiffen gasser .

and yes they are entry level dp's but just as nice as any gasser I have seen as far as fit and finish and you get the ride of a rear engine diesel with air brake's and air suspension not to mention great mpg's.

I guess this all come's down to everyone other then other Thor owner's bashing Thor, but at the same time there are more then 60 palazzo owner's on this site that love there coach and yes there are some small problem's but they all get fixed .

So buy what you like and what fit's your need's.

don't listen to anyone other then yourself when buying a new coach " sometime's you are paying for name recognition "

mike

Sky_Boss · 08-15-2013, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemini5362

having spent a lot of time on a Forum that was not anything to do Rv,s I appreciate the job the moderators do of keeping the posts on topic and keeping it from getting personal. I have had a couple of times where my posts were deleted and a polite note from the moderator telling me I needed to stay on topic but the notes were polite and my comments were not what they should have been. Your work makes this a more enjoyable forum.

I know this is off topic but...agreed!

Trekkers · 08-15-2013, 02:21 PM

We are also looking but in the 43-45 foot range. My biggest concern about Newmar's Kingaire is that there is poor load carrying capacity. This is actually better in the Mountainaire but the internal storage was not so good. We were disappointed in the overhead storage and that was true about Entegra when we looked last year. Since we are full timers, the internal and basement storage and load carrying capacity are important considerations for us as we will be bringing all that we own.
We haven't come to a final conclusion yet but the Allegro Bus 45LP is presently at the top of our list.
I'm not sure that is as important to Alam or what their anticipated usage will be. But if you are on the road very much you will definitely appreciate good internal storage. This may not be the same issue in the length you are considering but I will give my advice to at least consider that. It is one thing when we were buying for the first time that never crossed our mind. Now whenever we are seriously looking we have our tape measure with us and measure every cabinet, drawer, nook or cranny that promises to be a place for storing something.

Slate Run · 08-19-2013, 07:31 PM

Quick question for all the Tiffin supporters here? We recently spent a long day at a Cummins shop waiting for our Winnie as it was being serviced. I got a chance to really eyeball a beautiful Phaeton that was in the lot. It was a triple slide, about 38' long, and quite frankly seemed to be suffering from some serious structural issues. On the driver's side there was a serious crack in the skin, radiating from the lower rear corner of the slide opening down to the lower edge of the skin. This crack was under significant pressure and it was bulging outward in pressure ridge. On the curb side, the belt line trim wasn't straight at all, it dipped significantly below one slide, and sagged conciderably after the rear wheel. The rear cap was distorted and appeared to be racked due to the tail sagging, and the rear baggage doors had real odd gaps that also indicated sagging and structural issues. What gives here? My old Journey has a laser straight belt line and the gaps and panel fit look 1000X better. Was this thing wrecked, or is this more common that you would imagine? Not bashing, but it was real interesting to see.

Lault · 08-20-2013, 04:32 AM

Read the tiffin forum and you will see a lots of structural issues, even on new units. My Phaeton was eat up with problems including a sagging interior ceiling. These are issues that should not exist in 2014 units. Tiffin will make all repairs if you want to hang out in Red Bay Al for months on end. Some Tiffin owners love the Red Bay vacation every few months. Different strokes !!

itgeekgal · 08-20-2013, 08:44 AM

Our Tiffin was built in 09, at the time the economy was so bad Tiffin was only producing 4 coaches a day and was down to a skeleton crew (they did not lay off by seniority but instead kept the best). We were on sight for the build and it was an incredible experience, knock on wood we've had very few issues.

That said, I'm hoping for a downturn in the market before we buy another... I don't think they are doing as good of a job at today's production rate as they were in 09.

Sky_Boss · 08-20-2013, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itgeekgal

...That said, I'm hoping for a downturn in the market before we buy another... I don't think they are doing as good of a job at today's production rate as they were in 09.

UM...do you really mean that?

If companies just enforced good Quality Assurance regardless of production schedule then the problem wouldn't exist. It just sounds a little "off" to wish for an economic down turn.

Sorry...

Alam · 08-20-2013, 12:40 PM

Thanks everyone for your inputs.

We have been going around the entire state of California looking at RV's especially in search of a Newmar model we had in mind. NOT ONE Newmar dealer had what we were looking for on the lot. Every Newmar dealer we visited only had a few new coaches for us to look at. Yes along the way in search of Newmar model, we looked at rvs by Thor, Forest River, Coachmen and fleetwood. We felt that quality was lacking a little.

After spending countless hours, we have decided to go with Tiffin. We have narrowed our search to two models. Allegro 34TGA, gasser or Phaeton 36GH, DP. Yes we are aware of the price difference but those two have the floor plans that we like the best. Yes, we are aware of all the problems with Tiffin but we feel that whatever issues arise, Tiffin will be there to resolve it.

We were concerned about after the sale support. With Newmar so badly represented in California, we didn't feel confident that we can get prompt and proper service and support from Newmar. I am not bad mouthing Newmar. They make a fine coach but we didn't feel confident enough to go with Newmar. It's just our experience in trying to search for a model that we wanted to look at. I'm sure there are people who says we can order Newmar model that but we feel that since this is a BIG investment, we don't want to order without checking out the finished product. It is like buying a new home, you will not want to purchase a new home based on a catalogue.

Also as my wife likes to point out, if we have to belong to a owners forum for support, she rather belong to a forum with nicest and most helpful forum members without making you feel stupid. We both felt that TRVNetwork members were most helpful.

Once again, thanks everyone for your input.

Selah · 08-20-2013, 02:37 PM

Alan, I noticed that you are looking at both a gas coach and a DP. Let me tell you our experience. We purchased a 2013 Allegro 36LA last December. We had never had any kind of RV before, not even a tent so did not know how much we would like it. Well... We really liked the Allegro and the RV experience. We quickly found our selves spending more time on the road than at home. Fast forward to June of this year. Traded our seven month old Allegro for a new Phaeton.
The Allegro was really nice and I thought it handled well but the diesel is so much quieter, the ride is smoother, and the handling is ridiculously easy. So, if you don't mind the initial cost and additional maintenance I would recommend the Phaeton. Might save you some money down the road.

luvlabs · 08-20-2013, 02:44 PM

Alam,

When we decided to go fulltime this Spring, we did our due diligence and tried to find Winnebago and Newmar models to look at (we lived in the mid-Atlantic region). It wasn't too hard to find Winnebago DPs but we were not impressed. It was impossible to find any Newmar models to look at. Nothing, nada, zip within 200 miles of us (and the nation's capital).

We already owned a Tiffin gasser and were quite pleased with it. We knew the company, we knew the dealer network, and we were comfortable. We ordered a Phaeton 36GH and are in Red Bay now watching it being built. The Tiffin workers have been great, friendly, and really helpful.

I think Tiffin does as good a job as any other manufacturer and is really nice about working with you. One of the QC inspectors was in our coach today marking things he wasn't happy with. He handed us a roll of tape and invited us to mark things we weren't happy with as well. How cool is that?

A lot of people are amazed how many people bring their coaches back to Red Bay. We talk to them to see why they are here and my estimate is that 75% of them have minor issues that I would have fixed myself or let the local dealer fix. But Red Bay is a quiet little town, people are nice, and it is almost a vacation. If you do have serious problems, the resources to get it fixed correctly are here - no waiting for shipped parts, phone calls back and forth, etc.

Good luck on your new coach.

Sky_Boss · 08-20-2013, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Selah

...
The Allegro was really nice and I thought it handled well but the diesel is so much quieter, the ride is smoother, and the handling is ridiculously easy. So, if you don't mind the initial cost and additional maintenance I would recommend the Phaeton. Might save you some money down the road.

YEP...been there, did that...doesn't matter what manufacturer you choose.

nforus · 08-21-2013, 08:52 AM

This thread has probably already gone on too long, but I can't resist the urge to weigh in. We've been in 25 states this Summer alone and have spoken with lot's of Tiffin and Newmar owners. Our opinion is that you can't go wrong in choosing either one. Both the Tiffin family and the Miller family are committed to customer service, build great coaches, and are the kind of people you want to do business with.

All class A coaches are going to be pretty nice to live in once you're at the campground, The question is, what was your driving day like in getting there? To that extent, we would recommend getting as much power as you can afford. Having the power to not struggle up hills and to be able to pass slower vehicles makes the driving day go much easier. A diesel coach is also going to weigh more which makes it more stable in crosswinds.

One of the big differences we see between Newmar and the other coaches, is the Comfort Drive Steering assist system that Newmar has. We're on our 4th Diesel pusher and this Comfort Drive system is the real deal, it makes driving the coach much easier in a variety of conditions, after putting in several 600+ mile days this Summer, we can assure you that you will arrive at that campsite a lot less fatigued. if you are unfamiliar with it go to the Newmar website. Newmar co-developed the system with TRW and had an exclusivity agreement on it for 5 years, that agreement has expired and so far only Newell ($1.8 million) has picked it up and they call it Easy Steer. If anyone knows why the other manufacturers have not started using the system, we would like to hear about it.

So that's our more than 2 cents worth!!

Alam · 08-21-2013, 11:35 AM

My wife's best argument for DP is "people who bought gassers soon traded up to DP, we should just save $$ from the start, skip a step and just buy a DP."

We have never owned a RV, we have always rented C Class. We both love the road, getting off the grid and doing our best to travel the less traveled road. Road trips are our specialty. The chances of us not liking Rving - slim to none at this time. We want to buy a coach that we can be comfortable in and not too big. We plan on being on the road 6 months out of the year and probably a month at a time or so.

We don't expect a new MH to be problem free. It will be like buying a brand new house. You have problems with outlets, roof and other small things which need minor adjustments.

I guess it's time for us to test drive gasser and a DP. Don't worry Newmar owners, we will also test drive a Newmar, if we can find one that we like.

James Macfet · 09-06-2013, 09:59 AM

We have been rasslin' with the Tiffin vs Newmar vs Entegra decision for about 6 months. Because of two kids we had ALMOST decided to go with the Tiffin bunkhouse, so yesterday we took the trip to see one. It was locked "because it has been prepped for the Dallas show next week". Finally got to examine the coach. Small, easily fixable stuff has probably dimmed the Tiffin luster for us. Bad engine door latch kept us from opening same... Door might have been hung caddywhomppus...Shower door hung so that it could not be fully closed and secured.
As an old (operative word) aircraft tech inspector, alarms aboout build QC have been triggered. I'll be interested to see if the flaws still exist when we visit the RV show.