Just starting the journey to owning a Tiffin... Pros/Cons/Dealers?

[Moseh]

Greetings all. I just left the Tampa RV show, and I'm pretty excited (I think) to be moving toward a Tiffin Coach from my Jayco Pinnacle 5th wheel.

I love the floorplan on the Allegro Bus 35CP (same floorplan, but new this year is the Phaeton 35CH). If you experienced Tiffin owners could help me answer some questions, I would really appreciate it.

1. I understand that the Tiffin RV Co sold to Thor in the last couple of years. How has that effected quality, support, or anything else that is customer facing?

2. Is the difference between the Allegro Bus and Phaeton worth the money, for the same floorplan?

3. I saw a post that recommended 3 dealers in the US that were the "go to" Tiffin dealers. Ingram RV in Alabama, Davis RV in Tennessee, and Sherman RV in Mississippi. It appears that at least 2 of those have been sold to Great American RV Superstores. So who are the recommended Tiffin Dealers in 2023?

4. We also looked at and liked Fleetwood Discovery. Any thoughts on Fleetwood vs. Tiffin?

Thanks for any advice!

[Jerryss2]

Originally Posted by Moseh

Greetings all. I just left the Tampa RV show, and I'm pretty excited (I think) to be moving toward a Tiffin Coach from my Jayco Pinnacle 5th wheel.

I love the floorplan on the Allegro Bus 35CP (same floorplan, but new this year is the Phaeton 35CH). If you experienced Tiffin owners could help me answer some questions, I would really appreciate it.

1. I understand that the Tiffin RV Co sold to Thor in the last couple of years. How has that effected quality, support, or anything else that is customer facing?

2. Is the difference between the Allegro Bus and Phaeton worth the money, for the same floorplan?

3. I saw a post that recommended 3 dealers in the US that were the "go to" Tiffin dealers. Ingram RV in Alabama, Davis RV in Tennessee, and Sherman RV in Mississippi. It appears that at least 2 of those have been sold to Great American RV Superstores. So who are the recommended Tiffin Dealers in 2023?

4. We also looked at and liked Fleetwood Discovery. Any thoughts on Fleetwood vs. Tiffin?

Thanks for any advice!

1. Yes, there have been changes. IMHO. more of a focus on saving money, like most businesses these days.

2. No opinion. Buy as much as you can afford.

3. We bought from Sherman 2 1/2 years ago. They were great. We only go to red bay for repairs.

4. IMHO, the Tiffin quality is MUCH better. There will be quality issues with your coach, but go to red bay, and they will be resolved.

[zombiewoof]

I had a 2020 Phaeton 40IH. I now have a 2021 Allegro Bus 37AP.

1. Same answer as above.

2a. Don't know about the chassis for the 2024 Phaeton but the Bus is built on a Powerglide chassis. The 2023 Phaeton 40IH and 440H have this as an option. Powerglide is nice but it limits who will service it. Freightliner are much more ubiquitous.
2b. The Phaeton has a 2000W inverter, the Bus a 2800W inverter. I find this a benefit on the Bus.
2c. The Bus has power window shades all around (except the bedroom). I find this very useful.
2d. The quality of fixtures and interior in general is a step up.
2e. The Phaeton has 295 tires, the Bus 315. You can use lower pressure in the tires on the Bus for the same load. Makes for a nicer ride since the sidewalls can flex more.
2f. The Bus can only be had in all electric (which in my opinion has some significant drawbacks). The Phaeton gives the option of propane.
2g. The Bus can be had with power outside window awnings. The Phaeton are manual. Personally I would not get power awnings.
2f. The Bus can be had with a power bed where the head raises up. The Phaeton cannot. Personally I would not get a power bed.
2g. The Phaeton comes standard with a 380HP, 1150 lb-ft torque ISL9 engine. The Bus has the same engine rated for 450HP and 1250 lb-ft of torque. For 2023 you could option the Phaeton 40IH and 440H with this engine. You could not get this power rating on the shorter Phaetons.

3. Buy from a dealer that has an excellent service record. You will be visiting service often in the first year or two. A dealer that has a competent service organization is worth its weight in gold. Other than that you will be waiting months to change a light bulb and lucky if they put the right one in and it actually works.

4. Tiffin quality is all over the place in the past. My 2020 was going to spend its life in a service bay. My 2021 is far better. Given the significant reduction in the number of units per day Tiffin is pushing out there is a chance their quality will improve for the 2024 MY.


Opinions:
1. I would not own another motorhome without heated floors.
2. I would not own another motorhome that does not have a king size bed.
3. I would not own another motorhome without Lithium house batteries.

[Moseh]

Excellent information! Thank you.

[campcarlton1]

The others have done a great job answering questions 1-3. Our family has owned 5 Fleetwoods over the years. We owned a 2011 Fleetwood Discovery 40G. We put 50k miles on it and loved it. Paint finish was very good and so was the interior. It wasn’t Tiffin quality but for $160k in 2013 it was a solid coach that gave us very little issues over 9 years of use. We traded that in on a new 2022 Discovery 44B. It was plagued with issues from the start and the dealer (General RV) was terrible - except for Scott in finance. I ended up buying a used 2022 Allegro Bus 45OPP and am thrilled. I will say it had some issues of its own but the previous owner had it spend 8 weeks at Tiffin and most all were resolved. The quality of all aspects with the exception of the cabinetry is no comparison. The remote entry touch pad, remote locking bay doors, all the touch pads vs push buttons, PG chassis, power storage bay trays, quality of the entry and bay doors, tile craftsmanship, shower water pressure, access to the engine filters, plumbed AC condensate drains, dash quality, paint finish….the list goes on and on.

I will say the Aquahot in both 2022 units have given us trouble but hopefully that’s behind me. Also, both Allison trannys in the 2022’s have shuddered at times. The one in the Fleetwood had gotten very noticeable, the one in the bus not as much but will still shudder when shifting from 4th to 5th occasionally. I haven’t found any other threads on that issue and will take it to Allison if it continues.

Good luck with your search.

[36PFT]

I agree with almost all of what zombiewolf stated. We have a 2021 35CP. We like not having propane, just went thru a tunnel today that does not allow propane. Very happy with the coach. Stan

[zombiewoof]

One other difference I should add. The Phaeton has a 100 gallon fuel tank, the Bus is 150. I didn’t think much of this until I got the Bus. The larger fuel tank allows me to better plan fuel stops and get a better price on fuel. For instance, on my last trip to California I only had to fuel once while in CA. At over $1+ more per gallon for fuel in the people’s republic, it saved me over $100 having the larger fuel tank.

The major drawback for me with the Bus is that it does not have a gas cooktop, the AquaHot heating system is noisier and smellier than propane, the AquaHot heating BTU is 15% lower than the Phaeton and you cannot having heating and hot water running at the same time. The AquaHot defaults to hot water as the priority. Try that on a cold morning when you step out of the shower!

[dsrtrider300]

If you can swing the extra dollars on the Bus get it. Side radiator coach is much better engine access for service and better engine cooling plus i reaslly like the Valid Air system on the suspension.

[DeWat]

You may want to check the Phaeton chaasis opions. I think the Freightliner chassis is a straight front axle while the Powerglide is IFS.

[campcarlton1]

Originally Posted by zombiewoof

One other difference I should add. The Phaeton has a 100 gallon fuel tank, the Bus is 150. I didn’t think much of this until I got the Bus. The larger fuel tank allows me to better plan fuel stops and get a better price on fuel. For instance, on my last trip to California I only had to fuel once while in CA. At over $1+ more per gallon for fuel in the people’s republic, it saved me over $100 having the larger fuel tank.

The major drawback for me with the Bus is that it does not have a gas cooktop, the AquaHot heating system is noisier and smellier than propane, the AquaHot heating BTU is 15% lower than the Phaeton and you cannot having heating and hot water running at the same time. The AquaHot defaults to hot water as the priority. Try that on a cold morning when you step out of the shower!

The 150 gallon tank in the bus is a game changer for sure.

[garykk]

Originally Posted by zombiewoof

One other difference I should add. The Phaeton has a 100 gallon fuel tank, the Bus is 150. I didn’t think much of this until I got the Bus. The larger fuel tank allows me to better plan fuel stops and get a better price on fuel. For instance, on my last trip to California I only had to fuel once while in CA. At over $1+ more per gallon for fuel in the people’s republic, it saved me over $100 having the larger fuel tank.

The major drawback for me with the Bus is that it does not have a gas cooktop, the AquaHot heating system is noisier and smellier than propane, the AquaHot heating BTU is 15% lower than the Phaeton and you cannot having heating and hot water running at the same time. The AquaHot defaults to hot water as the priority. Try that on a cold morning when you step out of the shower!

That’s what heated floors are for

[zombiewoof]

Originally Posted by garykk

That’s what heated floors are for

I camp without hookups a fair amount of time so heated floors are not available unless I run the generator a lot. Because I boondock/dry camp a fair amount I have to turn down the heat at night because the AquaHot is so loud. Getting up to a cold motorhome is OK but it takes a long time for the AquaHot heat to bring the interior up to temperature. I live with the unpleasantness of AquaHot. It is OK. It's manageable. Wish I had propane furnaces though.

[Moseh]

You guys have suck great information! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[RVShrink]

My lone addition to this conversation is that we were very glad to have an Aquahot in our 2015 37AP bus when we were stuck in Texas campground during the Deep Freeze in 2021. We were warm and toasty while our neighbors were scrambling for propane (campground rationed what it had)
You can run your boiler on fuel for days and days with no worries. Just something to consider. Also taught us a good lesson about keeping up our fuel level at all times cuz you never know! Who would have thought we'd be snowed in in Austin? Enjoy whatever coach you choose. We will be selling ours soon and I have mixed feelings because it was a real home for us! Good luck 👍