Community Forums

mike_tee · 01-19-2011, 12:12 AM

Hi all,

I am new here, so hello! I am strongly considering purchasing a 2011 expedition 38b. This will be my first RV purchase. My wife and I really like the floorplan, and the 2 kiddos LOVE the bunk beds. I know this might not be the best coach out there, but it sure does hit all of our checkboxes.

I have read here that there are problems with the full wall slide on the discovery and I am wondering if anyone knows if the expedition has similar problems. I don't think it would be that much shorter on the expedition. I also read that fleetwood acknowledged this and is working on it, but I don't know if that means the 2011s are safe/fixed. Speaking of safety, my top, top priority is ride. I will be driving 90 percent of the time and I've had really bad experiences with class c's and wind or trucks passing me. My last 3,000 mile trip gave me a really good forearm workout constantly gripping the wheel. I am a member of rv consumer group and I know that there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue with them, but anyway, they rated the 38b an 81. That isn't bad, but it still falls in their "tends to wander" category. Can anyone speak to this from personal experience? I'd hate to spend 200k on a coach and not enjoy driving it!

I will definitely be test driving the coach in the next week, but I live in southern california and the weather here is quite good. I don't think I will be able to test it in any type wind, but I might be able to experience traffic a bit. I really have to rely on some of you with experince to hopefully help me on this.

We have also looked at the discovery 40g which has an almost identical floorplan. We could afford to get a 2010 40g, but again, my concern is that full wall slide issue.

Lastly, and I know this is a long post, but I LOVE rv-ing and really want to do my best to get this purchase right. The bunk beds aren't a must. I would love to have a bunk bed option for the kids. I love the idea of them having their own space, but if this coach is going to wander, I would trade a non-bunk safer model.

I am open to buying a used coach, but my wife will absolutely NEVER let me live it down if any strange smells appear such as pet odor, smoke, old, etc. She is neat to a fault.

Thank you in advance for your help!

pcurt23 · 01-19-2011, 09:27 AM

I left a post under Considering Purchase of New Discovery . The only problem we have had with our wall slide we have caused ourselves. When you have a power failure in the coach keep looking until you find the breaker or fuse. You should make sure that your dealer has the programming unit for the wall slide in case you need it. The slide only comes in under power. There are manual instructions but don't believe them. If you lose the program, as I did, then Fleetwood can tell you how to retract the slide. The slide topper sometimes makes a lot of noise in the wind. The water connections and the dirty water tank valves are under the slide when open. I have put electric valve and clean dump controls on the bay door so I do not have to crawl under the slide to empty the tanks. I also have a grey water valve and clean dump switch inside the coach so I do not have to go outside to empty the tank.

Once you have lived with the wall slide it will be very difficult to go to another coach without it. It is like having a two room apartment.

pcurt

mike_tee · 01-19-2011, 10:24 PM

thanks for that! I am leaning more towards the discovery (40x now). That slide really does open things up. The really surprising thing is that it still feels roomy with the slides in. From what I've seen so far, this is one of the few that still feels open. Some of the nicest coaches that I've been in with the slides out, feel like a moving van full of furniture with the slides in. haha

If anyone would like to comment on ride quality of either, I would love to hear. I know I probably won't get blown around, but I just am hoping for validation.

pcurt23 · 01-20-2011, 05:44 AM

In 2007 the weights and measures for Bounder and Expedition were the same. 2010 Expedition is 1400 lbs heaver but the chassis is different since you have pass thru storage. It takes a huge cross wind to make any difference in my ride. Of course a motor home does not steer like a car. And it takes a really terrible road to make the ride annoying. The 38 length also gets you into most state parks without too much trouble.

mike_tee · 01-21-2011, 11:00 AM

that is what I thought. Very glad to hear. Thank you!

RVNeophytes2 · 01-21-2011, 11:22 AM

I'm a newbie with a picky wife, she refused the first ten I took her through. Generally, moisture that got into the coach was the trigger. She was beginning to pressure me to limit our search to newer models for that reason; but, I didn't want to commit that much money to our first-ever RV purchase. We ended up with friends' 2005 Excursion 39S, and love it. They've kept it dry, used it regularly, done all the required maintenance. The wall slides have functioned perfectly; I just wiped, dressed, lubed and found no visible signs of wear.

I've probed every recess looking for sources of noise, signs of leakage, chaffing wires and hoses, etc. Everything that is not tied down gets wrapped in high-density foam and secured. The process has been educational, and it's also revealed the quality of workmanship in the Fleetwood product. So far, I'm impressed. It appears care was taken each step of the way, assembling this RV. That sentiment has been echoed here; but, on other sites owners have been giving mixed reviews.