Freightliner vs Spartan

[Joediver22]

Originally Posted by tom chelbana

With scamer information you can see why Newmar decided to go all Spartan with their high line coaches. The brackets breaking off on the FL fan drive assembly and then having fan go through the radiator and CAC has from 2015 on been the most troublesome. Some have had it happen more then once. Your Newmar should have a Spartan chassis if you want the most our of your coach.
Newmar Man

Don't kid yourself. The went with Spartan because they could make a bigger profit. Their goal is to make the Board of directors and stock holders happy.

[Ann n Gene]

Yep, Spartan has had their share of problems as well and they have not always stood behind them. Take the radiator fiasco for example. They replaced many under warranty but did not do a recall. Then if the same radiator failed out of warranty they have denied many and only partially paid for the rest. And they absolutely knew and understood they were inferior. Also the famous proposing problems with inadequate shocks comes to mind. Both have had problems and both have had varying track records on assuming responsibility. JMHO

[mrfix]

In March of this year I traded my American coach with a Freightliner chassis for a coach with a Spartan. At first I was concerned about leaving Freightliner but the last seven months have really made me appreciate the Spartan chassis, the ride is a lot better, handling it much better and more refined and service is a lot easier. It is a heavier and more robust chassis. After owning both, Spartan wins hands down.

[tom chelbana]

One thing we can agree on is that both Spartan and FL have had some issues. As I stated earlier Newmar high line coaches with FL chassis like MA, LA and Essex had the major problem of the fan drive assembly welds braking which allow the fan go into the radiator and CAC. This happened more then a hundred times and it was a 16K fix that sometimes went on for weeks and the coach had to be towed away. Many owners blamed Newmar for choosing FL for their chassis in the 15 and 16 model year when almost no coaches in the high line had Spartan chassis except for KA which has always had a Spartan chassis.
Not as major a issue was the tag axle on almost al FL with a tag. There is no reason for Newmar to make more money having a Spartan chassis over FL. Just opposite would be the case because FL chassis as less money then Spartan chassis.
Remember Newmar's King Aire from day 1 was on a Spartan chassis because they wanted the very best chassis for their KA.
Newmar Man

[Hawkeye]

Oh boy, haven't been on here for awhile, and somethings never change

Freightliner Man

[Rd1]

Originally Posted by tom chelbana

Not as major a issue was the tag axle on almost al FL with a tag.

Newmar Man

Spartan chassis also had the tag axle issue perhaps 'similar' to the FL tag axle issue. However, there was a recall for the spartan.


It is disappointing to see these issues/defects/problems from one manufacturer or another are repeatedly viewed as a tribal issue. At the end of the day, it is ONE of you guys, the owners, who would end up buying a new RV, which may be infected with a serious defect. This appears to happen from time to time from THIS or THAT rv manufacturer. At the end of the day, it is ONE of US who would suffer from it.



One would think, It would far more productive for this community, to examine any issues/defect/etc from ANY manufacturer and find ways to address the resolution of such issues, which in the long run, would not only benefit the community, ALL OF US, but also the manufacturers, who sometimes make very short sighted decisions.

[USMCRET]

Originally Posted by tom chelbana

Remember Newmar's King Aire from day 1 was on a Spartan chassis because they wanted the very best chassis for their KA.
Newmar Man

Tom, with all due respect, what is the basis for this assertion? I do not recall ever seeing, hearing, or reading that statement from a Newmar official.

[tom chelbana]

Newmar's King Aire is their top model and only common sense would tell you that you are only going to put the best of all products in that model. We were at the Newmar factory within the last two years and both Matt Miller's Dutch Star were on Spartan chassis just like his father Malon had on his Essex. I am sure this choice was made with a lot of experience and information.
Newmar Man

[tomgrigsby]

Bluebook resale prices are higher for a Spartan chassis. I didn't know the difference when I bought mine. It had the floor plan that I liked. It was a friend of mine who had done extensive research on this period of Dutch Stars that told me my 2000 DSDP 3851 with Spartan was even better than Freightliner. He bought a Freightliner, and I would have too but the two Freighliners I looked at had non-chassis related problems. There's not a huge difference between the two but there are differences.