Community Forums

brandss · 08-01-2018, 07:28 PM

Just got confirmation that the house sold tonight. The wife and I will be purchasing a small condo as a home base but it won't be ready until May of 19. In the mean time we will be purchasing a coach to live in until the condo is ready and plan to ultimately live in it full time. I am 52 and my job has always been traveling north America for a week here a few weeks there. I control my travel and I have the opportunity to do most of it from a coach. We want a Newmar DP and have a budget of 200k and looking at 2014 (roughly) Ventana's. My questions for now are the following. Let me apologize up front, there will be more. I google as much as possible but some things I'm not finding answers to easily.

I have watched videos of the oasis heating system available on many coaches. This to me, because we will spend a few months in weather that averages 20 degrees, seems like a must have.

Bath and a half. It will be the wife and I 95% of the time, is this a must from your veterans?

Tag axle. Since we haven't had an RV before this but spoke to several who have that swear by it, should this be high on the list?

Our plans our to spend our time at campgrounds that have 50 amp hookups but interested to know if we should also look at a coach that is wired, or has, solar panels.

I've asked questions in the past and got flamed for not including enough information. The old saying, which I abhor, is you don't know what you don't know. Feel free to ask for information, I will provide all I can. Our goal is to be one of you, and we humbly ask for any advice.

Again, I know there are a lot of threads like this, and I'm sorry for bringing the subject up again. Here is one of the coaches that appeal to us. We are such newbies we don't even know what an acceptable offer on this coach would be. Again, any thoughts or words of wisdom would be appreciated.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/201...ALF-5002945805

saddlesore · 08-01-2018, 07:39 PM

Your 1st coach is a learning tool..
BUY USED! & buy one with everything you "think" you want and will need..
As You will make mistakes and have booboo's We all have.....(sometimes more than twice..)
Within a year or two you will discover..about the RV

What you love about the RV...
What you can kinda-sorta tolerate with the RV..
And what you absolutely hate about that !@#$%^%$#@! RV.
Then you can go get what you should have gotten in the first place..

One thing that I cannot stress enough.......
BEFORE you even get serious about any RV that has slides..

Tour the coach with ALL the slides retracted FIRST!!!
IF you have full access to all things needed to live in the coach with it "closed up"
(think truckstop parking/WallyWorld/ roadside rest areas/ any area where there is no room for slides extended...)
If it Passes the closed up tour & usage

Then go ahead and investigate that coach further..

Jerrilynn · 08-01-2018, 07:47 PM

Beautiful coach! It certainly meets my checklist. One thing we looked for was the TV placement so we could look straight at the TV (not need to turn head). Just a (picky) thought.
We thought we would need the bath and 1/2, but found a deal with 1 bath, and found it has worked for DH and myself just fine.
Love your idea of a small condo for a home base. Perfect combination.

saddlesore · 08-01-2018, 08:04 PM

That coach is indeed pretty with a lot of "bling'... However it has "opposing slides" in the living room and in the bedroom.....Is it Fully USABLE (ie: toilet/galley/fridge/bed) with those retracted????
be careful my friend...

Arch Hoagland · 08-01-2018, 08:07 PM

We have the bath and a 1/2. Do you need it?

Depends on who is waiting outside the door.

We'd never have another RV without it. One of our toilets sprung a leak while on a trip so I turned off the water to it and used the other toilet until I got the PEX parts to fix it. A second toilet comes in handy.

tnedator · 08-01-2018, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

That coach is indeed pretty with a lot of "bling'... However it has "opposing slides" in the living room and in the bedroom.....Is it Fully USABLE (ie: toilet/galley/fridge/bed) with those retracted????
be careful my friend...

You don't need a coach to be "Fully USABLE" with the slides closed, you need it to be usable enough in a pinch. Unless they plan to spend considerable time at truck stops and Wal-marts, which isn't what they said, that that should not be the primary configuration.

The Newmar's, like most coaches, let you get to key things with the slide closed, such as the fridge and in the bath and a half models, the half bath. It's kind of silly to get a coach based on how functional it is in a stowed configuration that you will only rarely have to deal with.

RMD3819 · 08-01-2018, 08:20 PM

I have a 16 Ventana 4369 which is longer/bigger rear bath area. Other than that it is very similar to the one you are looking at.

Oasis-Essential. This past winter we were in Nappanee at Newmar when it was 8* and snow. We have the Polar Pak insulation like the one in your link has. Newmar's are well insulated. Lesson: Park with a full tank of fuel. In extreme sustained cold the Oasis will keep you warm but it chugs down the fuel.

Bath and 1/2. Wife would not even think about a coach without one. Wife claims I spend too much time in the bathroom. I refute this but have no evidence....

Tag axle- "I wish I did not have a tag axle", said no tag axle owner, ever.

Solar-Don't have it so can't help you with that. Newmar has a "solar prep" option that I did not see in your link.

JWWW · 08-01-2018, 08:22 PM

We have a 2013 Ventana 4018.
Our opinions:
Bath and 1/2 is very good for us.
Tag axle, much improved ride and handling
We are very happy and hope that you will be too.
Good luck!

tnedator · 08-01-2018, 08:24 PM

We have a '19 Ventana 4369 on order that will be delivered in a couple weeks. Essentially the same as the 4037, but for significantly larger rear bath. Otherwise, very similar. Ironically, it's configured similarly to how we ordered our 4369, as in the corner TV/fireplace and recliner, vs. opposing couches. We went with the roll top table, where I think that's a regular extendable table.

We were torn on queen vs. king, but the queen option gives you actual usable night tables, so if you are good with a queen, it's a great option.

Not knowing anything about the mechanical issues on that coach, but in terms of the options on the coach, it seems to be a really nice setup.

Sky_Boss · 08-01-2018, 08:39 PM

You have that right...you don't know what you don't know. Unfortunately we don't know about you what we don't know. LOL

Still...

Everyone has opinions and for the most part they are based on their personal experiences. But...I will wade in and opine on it all. I will begin by saying we just upgraded from an 06 DSDP 4320 to a 15 DSDP 4369. We made that upgrade because after 5 years of FT we had things we wanted.

1.5 bath? Maybe. They take up a lot of space and because at least 1 of them has to have a macerator toilet they will use more water and require black tank dumping more often. Some of the 1.5 baths still have a drop toilet in the 1/2 bath and that can be a plus. Wish ours did. A more traditional toilet room and shower configuration will give you more usable space topside. They also tend to be drop toilets. BTW...previous coach we would go 10-14 days before needing to dump the black tank. Our new coach wit 2 macerators is more like 5-6 days. With a drop toilet you can hear when it starts to fill up but with macerators you get a red light and it might come on at 11 PM during a heavy rain.

40' & tag axle. A 40' Newmar with a tag axle will have the basement space of about a 37-38' single axle. We really rely on our basement space but at 43' long we have the basement space of a 40' single axle. Another of my personal sayings...you can't have what you don't have. You may find a 40' coach gives you all your storage needs but it might not. Unfortunately you will not really know until you load the coach. However, since you will have a condo for home base you may not need as much in storage needs for the coach as we do since we sold everything and don't even use storage. You will find that with the tag axle and Comfort Drive your driving miles will be with smiles.

Overall Length. We don't boondock except in occasional Walmarts and such. We also don't stay in older national parks. For that reason we don't often run into situations where we can't get a site that fits us. We use our toad to explore parks and such. My point is that it isn't that hard to find good places to park a 43' coach. A 43' coach gives you significant storage and room to breath a bit more. However, from experience I would look for one with 3 air conditioners. Even if you could be comfortable with 2 ACs on a hot, sunny day you have not redundancy if you loose one. Also, if you get behind the "cool curve" you won't get caught up on those days until well after dark if you only have 2. in 2014 the 40' VTDP has the same 400 hp as the 43' versions so you might get a tad bit better fuel mileage and maybe feel a little bit more pep.

We really haven't had a chance to see the benefits of Oasis in cold weather. However, for general needs of hot water it has work very well. Being all electric was a priority and we don't miss propane at all. We hope to find out that the Oasis heating is much quieter than our previous forced air furnace. We hope we only find that out on a few nights a year. LOL

Solar or not. IMO, Unless you want to spend a significant amount of time in places without electricity I wouldn't make solar a high priority. Keep in mind that solar doesn't do you much of a favor if you are in 50 amp country the vast majority of time. While setting up solar systems is getting less expensive you won't easily recover the costs though solar usage. I won't say it is silly but I would rather use the money for a good solar system to upgrade to a Dutchstar or newer Ventana.

In the end there are those that have comfortably full timed in Class A MHs that are 40' and less. OTOH, there are those like us that just don't want to and don't think we would like it. That doesn't even address those that FT in Class Cs, 5th wheels and travel trailers. None of those are our style.

Other thoughts. You will really want to study cabinet space in any MH. They can be odd shapes that don't lend themselves to easy use. Some cabinets are short and not very deep. Even the bigger kitchen cabinets can challenge logical ways to put pots, pans, dishes and such. It also sounds like you will need some work space so placing some emphasis on where you will put your working needs will be important. As an example, we chose a floor plan with a desk-dinnete for paperwork, printer and stuff.

So...good luck.

Sky_Boss · 08-01-2018, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

That coach is indeed pretty with a lot of "bling'... However it has "opposing slides" in the living room and in the bedroom.....Is it Fully USABLE (ie: toilet/galley/fridge/bed) with those retracted????
be careful my friend...

That floor plan like all FWS configuration that Newmar has is fully usable from the cab back to the 1/2 bath. Yes...it is tight walk but workable. Pays big dividends when fully deployed.

TJ · 08-01-2018, 09:32 PM

Personally, I think you are off to a good start looking at the Ventana 4037. And, as a 40' coach owner, I could easily full-time in it. Others might not be able to. You need to find the size that you are comfortable with.

The best advice that you have received thus far...IMHO...is that "Your first coach is a learning tool." Do your homework; walk through a lot of coaches, talk to a lot of coach owners, make lists of things you think you'd like to have and pick a coach that meets as many of your criteria as possible. Then, start making lists of what you like and what you don't like about your first coach. Give it a year or two and then you should be ready to make a more informed decision about your next coach.

We find the bath-and-a-half pretty much indispensable. It is accessible with the slides in and, when parked, the half-bath goes a long way toward domestic tranquility. Nuff said there.

Oasis? We've only had it for a month in the new coach, but we like it. It's flexible and efficient.

Tag axle? Again, we've only had it for a month. Our previous coach didn't have it. The ride in the new coach is head-and-shoulders above the old one and we attribute a lot of that to the tag axle.

Solar? Nice, I guess, if you boondock. We don't and only have a small solar panel to charge the chassis battery. Can't help you much in that department.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

TJ

Boomer · 08-01-2018, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnedator

You don't need a coach to be "Fully USABLE" with the slides closed, you need it to be usable enough in a pinch. Unless they plan to spend considerable time at truck stops and Wal-marts, which isn't what they said, that that should not be the primary configuration.

The Newmar's, like most coaches, let you get to key things with the slide closed, such as the fridge and in the bath and a half models, the half bath. It's kind of silly to get a coach based on how functional it is in a stowed configuration that you will only rarely have to deal with.

Interesting Wal-mart comment, when we stop at one we always deploy our slides, haven't stopped at any this year, did something change about Wal-mart etiquette? Maybe better for another thread

Boomer · 08-01-2018, 10:18 PM

BTW: Bath and a half DW and I feel a must have.
I can give you a better opinion on the 4037 when mine gets here end of Sept.
The other items oasis, tag opinions also has to wait.

I can tell you this, we just got into camping (moving your house to new locations is more like it) July 2015 and bought new CS3953. Now we are going for the Ventana because we realized how much we loved RV'ing. If I were to do it all over again I would probably have purchased a used RV to start with, however, I think you need to find one that is close to what you think you want or you might be soured to the whole thing. By getting a loaded (even dishwasher) RV was a good thing for us, I believe if we started out with something less (not in years, but function) we might not have loved it so much.

IMO: If I were you, I would get the used motorhome that provides you with what you think you want, knowing later you could get What You Really want.

Good luck,