DRV Mobile Suite vs Augusta Luxe

[Cummins12V98]

Originally Posted by PPG

I should have said frame, not suspension. MorRyde IS is standards on the Luxe, something we had to do after market on our other brand.

It's the frame that stands out. Yes it's a Lippert. But it's a Lippert that's built to Luxe's specifications, which are significantly enhanced over our present brand. We were told that Lippert considers the frame overbuilt and told Luxe they could save many $$$. Ryan Miller, Luxe's sales manager, told us they told Lippert to build it the way they (Luxe) wanted.

Incidentally, Ryan was at DRV for more than a decade before Thor took over. In our opinion, Luxe has one of the most dedicated build staff we have ever seen. When we toured, everyone in the plant was obviously taking their time to do it right the first time. We were very impressed, and no, I don't work for them.

I will say that we are very close to doing some custom touches and ordering our own.

Are you 100% sure the suspension is MORryde IS? I took the tour and don't remember.

[donnandon]

Originally Posted by Cummins12V98

Are you 100% sure the suspension is MORryde IS? I took the tour and don't remember.

The Luxe use the IS, the Ambition uses the SRE 4000 system.

[donnandon]

Originally Posted by NC Hauler

Im looking at the MS36RSSB3 at Tom Johnsons Camping World in Marion NC. It's a 2016..Also "teetering" with the Luxe Augusta LF 40 RE, which can be seen on the Luxe Augusta site..It's the 15'...a beautiful unit, but I thought at 99,755, it was over priced for 2 yrs old..though brand new and loaded (MSRP approx 156K).

Make sure you hitch up your truck to the rig and check to see if the trailer is relatively level or not. In the past, the MS 5th wheels needed the suspension raised 2" to ride level using a RAM 3500 truck. This was with leaf springs. The air ride system in your truck may be able to adjust for this.

[NC Hauler]

Originally Posted by donnandon

Make sure you hitch up your truck to the rig and check to see if the trailer is relatively level or not. In the past, the MS 5th wheels needed the suspension raised 2" to ride level using a RAM 3500 truck. This was with leaf springs. The air ride system in your truck may be able to adjust for this.

With rear air assist, the bed of the truck drops 1"-1.5"...Guess I could ask about the 2" risers...Better to get everything done this week instead of worrying about it later...I'll talk to service Dept about it.

The Luxe had the MORryde IS, same as the MS, unless I'm mistaken.


Hey Ron, GVW on my MS is 19K, and unit is a little over 37'...reckon I'll have an issue with bed rail height?

Jim

[paulstravels]

Jim,

We were in Marion yesterday looking at the Mobile Suites. Looked at your unit and it is sweet! Congratulations on the purchase and enjoy your travels. What impressed me most about the MS's was the ambient temperature was 93 degrees, but it was cooler inside the units even though they were closed up! Says a lot about their insulation qualities.

[NC Hauler]

Originally Posted by paulstravels

Jim,

We were in Marion yesterday looking at the Mobile Suites. Looked at your unit and it is sweet! Congratulations on the purchase and enjoy your travels. What impressed me most about the MS's was the ambient temperature was 93 degrees, but it was cooler inside the units even though they were closed up! Says a lot about their insulation qualities.

Thanks Paul.. Maybe we'll run into you at a campground in the near future

Jim

[Cummins12V98]

Originally Posted by NC Hauler

With rear air assist, the bed of the truck drops 1"-1.5"...Guess I could ask about the 2" risers...Better to get everything done this week instead of worrying about it later...I'll talk to service Dept about it.

The Luxe had the MORryde IS, same as the MS, unless I'm mistaken.


Hey Ron, GVW on my MS is 19K, and unit is a little over 37'...reckon I'll have an issue with bed rail height?

Jim

No you will be fine. Your RV will ride nose high a bit if it does not have the 2" riser.

[GynormMellon]

Originally Posted by donnandon

Yes it keeps the interior cool. The highest temp we have been in thus far was 93F, with a heat index of 97F. The interior temp was 76F in the LR/Kitchen area and 70F in the bedroom. The two areas are zoned separately.

Where we are there is no tree cover so this would be the worst case. Besides some good insulation that we saw during the factory tour, and dual pane windows, the side of the trailer that faces the sun most of the day has only one window. The windows tend to be the biggest factor in heating/cooling a trailer due to their limited R-Value.

How are you liking your Ambition? Any issues? It is on my short list but still looking at the Cedar Creek and DRV. I'm about a year and a half out from ordering. Thanks

[donnandon]

Still doing good! We are back up north and actually using the heat pumps alot. PM us if you want!

[dblr]

Originally Posted by GynormMellon

How are you liking your Ambition? Any issues? It is on my short list but still looking at the Cedar Creek and DRV. I'm about a year and a half out from ordering. Thanks

With Cedar Creek and DRV on your list I would check out the River Stone and also their Legacy line, both from Forest River.

[nwenger]

Originally Posted by Radio Flyer

We too had been searching for an upscale 5th wheel suitable for full-time living for well over a year now. After considerable online research, several RV shows, and trips to dealerships (often hundreds of miles away) we narrowed our choices to a very short list, with DRV at the top of the list… until we saw the LUXE. We were thoroughly impressed, so much so that I flew from Florida to Indiana to tour the factory.

Buying an RV, especially one you intend to live in full time, is a personal choice. I’m not trying to convince anyone to choose one over the other, but I will say we liked the LUXE so much we bought one. Actually, none of the ones on any dealer’s lot had the options we wanted so we ordered a custom build. It’ll be ready for delivery in August. And if the house sells soon thereafter, we’ll be on the road by Christmas.

Full body paint, Mor/Ryde suspension, disc brakes, 17.5” H-rated tires (made in USA), 6-point auto-level… all standard equipment. We particularly liked the soft-touch vinyl interior walls and virtually soundproof cabin, quality cabinetry, and crown molding. Very classy, inside and out.

Again, it’s a personal choice. Some folks like chocolate, some like vanilla. If you’re in the market, i’d suggest you at least make it a point to see the LUXE up close and personal before you commit to another model.

Just read your post from July 2015 which was shortly before you got your new Luxe. Now that you have had for a while how do you like it. The good and not so good.

[Radio Flyer]

Originally Posted by nwenger

Just read your post from July 2015 which was shortly before you got your new Luxe. Now that you have had for a while how do you like it. The good and not so good.

I’ll cut right to the chase… after living in our rig full-time for nearly 2 years, if we had to do it all over again, there’s a good chance we’d buy another LUXE.

That’s not to say we haven’t had issues… we have. Or that we’d buy the same model… we probably wouldn’t. Overall, though, there are many more good things than bad things about this unit.

Since we’ve been living the full-time lifestyle, we’ve had the opportunity to see many other RVs up close and personal, and speak with the folks who own them. We’ve seen a few floorpans and features we like more than ours, and others we like a whole lot less. We rarely find anyone who claims to have the perfect, fault-free RV.

That being said, although the basic construction of the LUXE (the frame, suspension, insulation, tires and wheels, etc.) is rock solid, many of the issues we’ve had in the past were due to improper installation, lack of attention to detail, shoddy workmanship, and poor (if any) quality assurance follow-up procedures during the initial build. The key words here are “in the past.” Augusta RV has since been acquired by The RV Factory, headed by Claude Donati (of Nexus RV), a long-time RV business insider. He runs a tight ship, from the ground up. I know. I’ve been there. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

The newer LUXE models have a lot going for them. They’ve made numerous improvements over our 2016 model, both in appearance and functionality. Too many to mention. Check out their website for details.

I’ve said in an earlier post that one of the main reasons we went with the LUXE was what I saw at the Augusta RV factory. Ryan Miller, who had previously worked under Kyle Miller (no relation) at DRV for about 10 years gave me the guided tour. Ryan was able to point out specific similarities and differences in the LUXE from those in the Mobile and Elite Suites he sold at DRV. That was particularly important to me since at the time, DRV was at the top of our short list.

The subtle differences I learned about then, plus the willingness of Augusta to build to our custom specs (including, for example, modifying the floorplan to transform the second bathroom into a laundry room, replacing the standard Atwood water heater with a Truma AquaGo, upgrading the inverter and battery bank, etc.), is what sold us on the LUXE. I had no way of knowing at the time that our unit would be built by individual workers who would install light fixtures backwards, cross wires in the main electrical load center, mount the positioning sensor for the auto-level system upside down, fail to secure loose wires in the underbelly that would eventually get tangled up in the slide-out motor, and several other unfortunate screw-ups. I really think they took shortcuts near the end of the build because they were in a hurry to get it out the door so they could go to the 2015 Hershey RV Show that September. To their credit, they either walked me through repairs I could do myself or fixed what was broken when we returned to the Augusta factory for warranty work in July 2016.

I’ll say again, that was then, this is now. Unlike Augusta, The RV Factory actually has designated Quality Control personnel whose job it is to see that these type of things don’t slip through the cracks. We were there recently (June 2017) to remedy a few issues that were beyond my own repair capabilities. As full-timers, we are always quite concerned about having to give up our house to any service facility, for obvious reasons. The RV Factory laid those fears to rest. They had the parts and personnel resources on hand to get us in and out the same day. No pet-friendly hotel required!

What I said in the post that you quoted (in the second from the last paragraph) is still what we like most about the LUXE. In my view, the perfect RV would retain those features but put them in a slightly smaller (shorter) package with a more cozy atypical floorplan, lighter paint scheme, and a more intuitive, user-friendly water distribution and holding tank system. Perhaps The RV Factory is already working on that.

[mds1]

Thanks for the detailed perspective Radio Flyer! We were at the Augusta/RV Factory building as they were preparing their new facility in November of 2016.

We would be in the price point of the Ambition, well actually they are over our current budget. But as my wife and I have agreed, we want to buy our third trailer first to avoid trading it out later.

One thing I'm most worried about is if Augusta/RV Factory will be around years from now. I have no idea of their financial strength but think combining companies might help. I personally like their business model of selling factory direct and think they may have more control over the build process because they pay employees by the hour rather than by the piece. During our tour we talked about building quality into the build process rather than relying on inspecting the trailer in a dedicated facility. I was told Augusta keeps a list of who did what during which part of the build. Although there would still be a chance an improperly installed part would make it out the door, someone having ownership of the problem might cause them to do it right, especially if they are not pushed to just get it out the door.

Certainly, if Augusta/RV Factory had too many of their trailers coming back to the factory for major repairs, that would but a big dent in their finances. During our visit I noticed a building project that was to be bays where new owners stayed so that anything that needed repairs would be done before they pulled if off the lot.

I also like the idea that our factory sales representative had come from one of those other companies that paid by the piece. I've read a few articles lately comparing how folks are paid and universally those paid by the piece reported it's hard on their bodies. This makes me wonder if the experienced workers will eventually be drawn to hourly pay jobs.

[DKRITTER]

We are now looking at the New Horizons Summit. It is a wonderful alternative to the Thor MS and very competitive now to the Luxe.