Test Drove 2019 Ventana Le 3426 vs Bay Star 3626

[Finance]

We would not have a coach that did not allow the basics with all the slides in. By that I mean the bathroom, kitchen, and the bed. Not because of level -most parking areas are level enough to deploy a slide- but because an extended slide in an overnight parking area is a hazard. You wouldn't want to be sleeping in your bedroom slide and have some rookie driver scrape it off the side of your coach.

[Scottybdivin]

Originally Posted by Finance

We would not have a coach that did not allow the basics with all the slides in. By that I mean the bathroom, kitchen, and the bed. Not because of level -most parking areas are level enough to deploy a slide- but because an extended slide in an overnight parking area is a hazard. You wouldn't want to be sleeping in your bedroom slide and have some rookie driver scrape it off the side of your coach.

I agree. I learned my lesson the hard way in my 1st RV (5th wheel). We could not access the fridge with the kitchen slide in. It was a pain to stop for lunch.

It's always a shock to see them with the slides in for the 1st time, especially with opposing slides. More room with them open means less room with them closed.

[Hampphillips]

We have a 2015 Newmar Ventana 34 foot and a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. We bought them both new and installed the invisibreak my self. I find that the 360HP diesel does a fine job on the hills around the northwest.
I would never consider a Ford engine for the reasons mentioned above, mostly noise. I have had a 2003 35 foot V10 front engine, a 2012 34 foot V10 front engine, a 34 foot rear engine and since 2015 a 34 foot rear 360 engine. I would never go back to a V10 engine.
The only other thing I can suggest is when installing an Invisibreak, break into the center rear tail light at the trunk tail gate and run the tail light input to the system, it is WAY easier than playing plastic man under the dash.
I am considering a residential ref. to replace my 1200 Norcold. Can any one help me find the best make and model to buy and how complicated is it to do. 2016 has a residential, the 2015 has a Norcold

[joelminer]

KJR

We owned a 2018 29' Baystar Sport and loved it. We drove it to Alaska on one trip and all around the great lakes on another...all told, 25K miles in about 19 months. The Baystar Sport had the same drive train as all the other class A gassers, but at 29' was considerably lighter than what you are considering. Newmar makes an excellent coach. We had very few issues with our Baystar.

The ultimate test of the gasser for us was going over Vail pass in Colorado. We were towing a 4K toad and slowed down to 35 MPH for about 15 miles after we got above 9,000 feet in altitude, the whole time the engine was at 4500RPM and screaming. Then we went down the other side and it was almost as bad because the engine break kicked in and the engine again revved to 4500 rpm. We let the engine break do as much as it could because we did not want to test the brakes any more than necessary. After we got down the hill past Denver, we were treated to what might be the roughest major highway in the U.S., hghwy 76. By the time we pulled into the campground, we were exhausted.

Since the Baystar was smaller and on the F53 chassis, we got blown around quite a bit on windy days, and the expansion joints and potholes almost caused our fillings to fall out. I spent over $6K on the suspension trying to make it handle better and be more comfortable...got the handling better but it still rode rough. That being said, due to its size, it felt like a sports car next to a diesel pusher. Both the handling and acceleration were much crisper than the Ventana LE we had test driven.

We began looking at diesels shortly after our Vail pass crossing on our way to the Great Lakes. On our way home, we stopped at the Newmar international rally in Gillette and got hooked on the idea of stepping up to a diesel pusher. They had one model of each of their 2019 product lineup and we sat in them all for hours.

Shortly after we got home, I put the Baystar up for sale and we purchased a 2018 Ventana 3436. I was tempted to save some money and get the Ventana LE until I figured out that there was only a 1600 pound difference between the GVWR and the GCWR on the LE version. That meant that if I wanted to tow my 4,000 lb toad, I had to reduce my rated payload by 2,400 pounds. This was a deal killer for me. The Ventana LE is a fine motorhome, but if you want to tow anything over 3,000 pounds, do the math on what your payload will end up being.

Shortly after we got the Ventana, we again headed west over Vail pass just a few months after we crossed the same pass in our Baystar. The Ventana did not get up and over the hill much faster, but if you closed your eyes you could not tell that you were going up and down hills. The axle brakes and exhaust brake gave us much more confidence than in the Baystar. The Ventana's ride is also noticeably better than our little Baystar.

If you asked me if the Diesel pusher is worth the extra money I would tell you that it depends on how you plan on using your motorhome and what your budget is like. We are planning on several more cross country/continent trips. We can now travel 500 miles a day and not be exhausted when we pull into camp. The DP adds about a 100-150 miles a day over the gasser. When you get to camp, there really isn't a difference between a gasser and a DP. If you don't plan on driving long days or going over big mountain passes on a regular basis, I would suggest the gasser is just as good, especially if you do not want to pay for all the other bells and whistles that most DP's come with.

[KJR]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, gas vs diesel is a tough choice when your finances are in the gray area of affordability between a Canyon Star vs Ventana Le. The MSRP of the Ventana 34xx is definitely out of our affordability range unless we purchase used.

I can see the engine and chassis limitations of the Ventana Le 34xx models. The GVWR is close to GCWR. I’d prefer the Cummins 360/Allison 3000 which means going to a longer floorplan and higher price point.

I wonder if some of the handling issues of the Bay Star Sport 28 is due to the shorter wheelbase and smaller tire diameter of the 20500 chassis. The 24000k chassis is about 34” longer on 22” tires.

We have started looking at Tiffin Open Road gas models for comparison. The 34PA is on a 26k F53 has a 252” wheelbase. The Newmar Canyon Star 3513 is on a 26k F53, 234” wheelbase.

The I70 corridor from Vail to Denver is the ultimate test. If towed our Airstream over that pass to Denver with a 5.7L gas Toyota Tunda. I was able to maintain 55 mph up and coming down was more eventful as the Tundra brakes weren’t up to the task despite shifting down. We now tow the same trailer with a Ram Cummins. From looking at reports of Cummins/Freightliner maintenance costs online they may not be that much higher than my Ram’s Cummins maintenance costs.

The search and research continues.

Thanks

KJR

[joelminer]

KJR

Good luck with your decision process. I am not sure why you stated that going to the 360HP cummins would require you to increase the length. The floorplan options are almost identical between the regular Ventana and the Ventana LE. I would have chosen the exact same floorplan in the LE and saved $40K if would have been able to tow $4K pounds with a remaining payload of at least 3,00 pounds, but the payload dropped to about 2,500 pounds.

I think you are definitely correct on the shorter wheelbase and smaller wheels on my Baystar contributing to the handling and ride issues I had. However, if you get on the Ford F53 forum section, you will find many complaints and suggested ways to make the F53 better from owners with larger coaches. We checked them all out and did many of the upgrades with varying degrees of success.

If you do opt to go gas, you may want to check out the "Liquid Springs" upgrade to the suspension before spending money on other suspension upgrades. I know a guy who owns a recent model Tiffin Open Road 32SA who had it installed and was absolutely convinced it was a great decision and worth the $12K. I got to ride in his coach before and after the upgrade. It gets the ride and handling a lot closer to an air suspension chassis. You still end up with the engine noise, but since your ride and handling are much better, you really only miss the diesel when you are going through the mountains.