Community Forums

Larry201 · 10-04-2018, 09:23 PM

Hello All,

I currently own a class C Winnebago/Navion IQ. I've been looking at class A's for sometime now and decided that the Tiffin is what we will be trading up too.

We saw a 2016 31SA with low mileage that looked to be very comfortable.
I've never owned or even driven a class A so I was wondering what other owners of the 31 or 32 SA have to say.

How do they handle on roads with a 5 to 7 degree grade, Are after market steering aids needed? Are there any issues that I should be aware of?
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks,
Larry Ross

allegro1x · 10-05-2018, 05:04 AM

we bought a 2012 32CA back in 2014 with 6,400 miles on it. I do think some after market suspension things have helped with this unit, but if it drives fine for you see how it does before you start spending on it. One thing we seem to keep replacing are step motors. We had a class c and it seems that I can drive the class A better than the c. Dave

bblack · 10-05-2018, 05:08 AM

I have a 2017 31sa, have very few promples if any. Only thing I have change was went with bilstine schocks worth every penny paid for them.

Betr2Trvl · 10-05-2018, 05:33 AM

Our 31SA is our first RV, ordered in Dec. ‘14 with delivery in Mar. ‘15. We now have 31,000 on it, and have traveled most of the US east of CA, NV, WA, and OR (all those next year) and 5 eastern Canadian provinces. We’ve been through UT and CO twice, so to answer your question about grades it does just fine pulling our 4500# Cherokee Trailhawk - this summer included UT12 from Bryce to Torrey, southbound CO149 and Slumguolin pass, and southbound Wolf Creek Pass.

As for handling, one biggest thing the 31SA has going for it is the longest wheelbase to length ratio on a gasser that I’ve seen at 57% (32SA is 55%). Less overhang means less rear “sail area” behind the rear wheels which greatly minimizes push / pull (it’s negligible) and much better weight distribution (a lot of weight way behind the rear axle creates a tail wagging the dog / pendulum effect).

I did add a Safe T Plus steering stabilizer after the first 5,000 miles and decided to change out the shocks this spring at 25,000 miles to the aftermarket Bilsteins with the thinking if nothing else, the factory Bilstieins (not the same as the aftermarket) were 1/2 way through thier life anyway; the new shocks are certainly an improvement, but marginal, not some magical potion. We did order the coach with Sumo springs, so I can’t say anything about before / after improvement. At this point, there is nothing else needed as far as I am concerned.

Has it been perfect, no, but any problems we’ve had have been reasonably easy to fix / resolve, and at no point have we ever 2nd guessed our decision to get our 31SA.

Just 2 other points to consider.
Most 31SAs are on the 22/26k F53 chassis, while some (as our is) were ordered with the “off the menu option” of the 24/30k chassis. 32SAs are a mixed bag of 22/26k and 24/30k chassis. Check the weight stickers of any one you are looking at, don’t believe what anyone tells you otherwise. Given the UVW of the 24k chassis is 500#s more than the 22k, it nets you 1,500#s more carry capacity but you can also pull up to the 5k hitch limit without eating into your GVW if your toad is over 4k#s.

Fully loaded for extended travel (including full fresh water) I weigh 22,600# (which seems high given what I’ve read other people weigh) with very good f/r and l/r weight distribution. I’d be ~22k on the 22k chassis, but I’d have to offload about ~500#s to pull my 4500# toad to stay under the 26k GCWR.

The only known issue I’d be concerned with is ensuring the posts that support the house are welded on both sides where they connect to the Ford main frame rails (Tiffin has been covering the costs for this fix / repairs of broken welds if necessary). The only other thing is there have been 2 hitch recalls by Tiffin that need to be done.

Regards

RodneyLadd · 10-05-2018, 07:00 AM

Our 1st RV was a 2016 Forest River Solera 24'...We traded it in towards a 2016 Tiffin 32 SA. The SA had alost every option including the Sumo springs. It handled well especially on the curvey roads of the 101 in Oregon. We pulled a 2000 Jeep liberty and it towed well up the grade of i5 through the Siskyou's . The only thing we didn't care for was the L shaped couch.

rockriver · 10-06-2018, 02:54 PM

we traded a coachmen prism for a 32sa this year... the prism was only 1 year old, but too small.
but it drove very well...
noisy, but the sprinter chassis was nice...
the 32sa is a different machine...
transmission downloads got my attention! but i'm quickly learning how to avoid these loud events of high rpms that occur going uphill and down..

the 32sa is full rv heighth... my antennae hit tree limbs in rural areas... i'm learning to dodge the limbs. but the roominess inside is awesome... i'm towing a 3600 pound ford cmax... the tiffin handles it well.

make the trade! our saleslady took us for a ride and made some wonderful suggestions on driving. she made my wife feel very comfortable behind the wheel... she was polite with my goofs... !
we had the sumos factory installed. and the steering stab. added by the dealer...

enjoy the process... dealer did a great PDI and walkthrough (sherman) this really helped... we are starting a list to go to redbay for correction, but having trouble. finding anything wrong! we went for the build. our basement doors were perfect... we left before the paint. they are slightly out of kilter. (i suspect they were taken off and reinstalled during paint...)
that is our biggest concern.

and that aint' much to worry about!
rr

Larry201 · 10-06-2018, 08:01 PM

Thanks for all the GREAT input. Very helpful!!

Chuck&Pam · 10-08-2018, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Betr2Trvl

The only known issue I’d be concerned with is ensuring the posts that support the house are welded on both sides where they connect to the Ford main frame rails (Tiffin has been covering the costs for this fix / repairs of broken welds if necessary). The only other thing is there have been 2 hitch recalls by Tiffin that need to be done.

Regards

Where do you look on the coach to see the welds?

Betr2Trvl · 10-09-2018, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck&Pam

Where do you look on the coach to see the welds?

Depending on the coach, there are probably 5 to 8, 1 1/2” square vertical posts on each side that support the main house structure and are welded to the outside / flat side of the main Ford chassis frame rails. You just have to crawl under and look, and are pretty obvious once you get under there other than the one that is buried in the rear suspension brackets behind the rear axle; that one can’t be welded on both sides after the fact simply because you can’t get to the one side, but the weld can be built up on the side that there is access to.

The issue seems to be related to some 2014-early 2017 model year Tiffin gassers, and Tiffin has been covering fixes / repairs as appropriate.

Chuck&Pam · 10-09-2018, 08:32 PM

Thanks for the info. We picked up our new to us '16 32SA today. I tried to see the weld spots but just couldn't quite see them, so I bought it anyway. Drove home then had several other questions that I should have asked but I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Sure drives nice!

CharleyL · 10-10-2018, 05:35 PM

Chuck..I have a 31sa 2013. Some of my welds were bad.Easy to see look above the rear wheels you can see the chassis to frame welds. Also my 31sa was 1.5 in. low on the passenger side.so could not align the front end til this was corrected. Congratulations on your new rig the 31sa and 32sa are nice Motorhomes.. Happy Trails ..

Chuck&Pam · 10-10-2018, 06:17 PM

Thanks Charley.. I'll take a look when it dries up a little here. We have a little rain storm going on this week... so much so that it's running through the gravel that is my RV barn floor!

Yes, I'm finding the Allegro is a very nice coach. It has many of the same features that my HR Endeavor diesel had. And I can't believe the great ride (no Sumos either). I don't think I'll do anything to the suspension.

Looking forward to getting the toad hooked up and getting going again.

AbdRahim · 10-10-2018, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck&Pam

Thanks for the info. We picked up our new to us '16 32SA today. I tried to see the weld spots but just couldn't quite see them, so I bought it anyway. Drove home then had several other questions that I should have asked but I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Sure drives nice!

Congratulations! That is the one I want as well. Hopefully in 5 years or so.

Larry201 · 10-11-2018, 09:01 AM

I've been looking on rvtrader doing nationwide search for 2014-2016 31sa and price ranges from $93.000 to $115,000 with mileage varying from 13k to 50k.
What in your opinion would be a fair price for 2015 31sa with less than 20,000 miles