Alfa see ya?

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by sadrand

I looked at several Alphas when I was shopping for my motorhome. I liked the floorplans and especially the large windows that let in a lot of views and sunlight. However I was not impressed with the quality and condition of the ones I looked at, so I passed.

I got to tell you I just looked at a 2005 recently and DW and myself thought it was beautiful inside and the cabinetry appeared to be all oak at least the important parts as the frames and doors. It seamed very well built on the inside and spent more time inside than any other coaches we have been in. Floor plan was nice!

[oatmeal]

I've been fulltiming in an Alfa motorhome for 11 years now. I love the big windows and huge amount of storage. I have never been impressed with the build quality.

Alfa had a relatively small facility and as far as I know, never really developed any processes. I've joked that the workers would be given the window lambrequins and 1,000 screws and told to come back empty handed.

There's very little consistency from unit to unit. In fact, Alfa made running changes on the production line, so model years are a guide but aren't determinative. It's good that issues were addressed immediately (some of them because owners told Alfa, "Wouldn't it be nice if..."), but it can make it hard for owners to know exactly what they've got.

Fortunately, there's a Yahoo group of owners who know these things inside and out, and pretty much any question can be answered.

I don't know much about carpentry so I'm probably using the wrong terms, but the cabinet doors are oak, but some are pieced together and not one piece. Some of mine have split due to differences in humidity. Almost all of them were mounted crooked.

The frame parts of the cabinets are different--I'm not sure what they're made of, but they're covered in wood-looking adhesive tape stuff. It matches pretty well, but if you look closely you can see that they're not the same.

If a 1/2" screw was good, Alfa believed that a 2" self drilling screw was better. If X foot pounds of torque on a screw was good, 4X foot pounds was better. If there was a way to put a screw in the middle of a piece of wood or right on the edge where it's probably going to fall out, Alfa went for the edge. Those things drive me crazy.

So I'd say the build quality wasn't good. But as far as I can tell, it's not dangerously bad or anything like that. And it's possible to re-mount cabinet doors and I've moved my share of screws.

But what's not possible is to make bigger windows or make bigger storage or modify the floor plan on an existing RV. I greatly value those features, so I put up with (or improve) the rest.

[jdoran1973]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

I've been fulltiming in an Alfa motorhome for 11 years now. I love the big windows and huge amount of storage. I have never been impressed with the build quality.

Alfa had a relatively small facility and as far as I know, never really developed any processes. I've joked that the workers would be given the window lambrequins and 1,000 screws and told to come back empty handed.

There's very little consistency from unit to unit. In fact, Alfa made running changes on the production line, so model years are a guide but aren't determinative. It's good that issues were addressed immediately (some of them because owners told Alfa, "Wouldn't it be nice if..."), but it can make it hard for owners to know exactly what they've got.

Fortunately, there's a Yahoo group of owners who know these things inside and out, and pretty much any question can be answered.

I don't know much about carpentry so I'm probably using the wrong terms, but the cabinet doors are oak, but some are pieced together and not one piece. Some of mine have split due to differences in humidity. Almost all of them were mounted crooked.

The frame parts of the cabinets are different--I'm not sure what they're made of, but they're covered in wood-looking adhesive tape stuff. It matches pretty well, but if you look closely you can see that they're not the same.

If a 1/2" screw was good, Alfa believed that a 2" self drilling screw was better. If X foot pounds of torque on a screw was good, 4X foot pounds was better. If there was a way to put a screw in the middle of a piece of wood or right on the edge where it's probably going to fall out, Alfa went for the edge. Those things drive me crazy.

So I'd say the build quality wasn't good. But as far as I can tell, it's not dangerously bad or anything like that. And it's possible to re-mount cabinet doors and I've moved my share of screws.

But what's not possible is to make bigger windows or make bigger storage or modify the floor plan on an existing RV. I greatly value those features, so I put up with (or improve) the rest.

Always grateful when someone with extensive use and knowledge of a product chimes in. Valuable info, thank you.

[Dutch Star Don]

Often posts about macerators, dishwashers and even washer/dryer units come up where people that have never owned them or had them in their coach make a statement about how useless they are. To me, that makes them look like an idiot for commenting on something they know nothing about and their opinion is worthless. In those instances, the discussion is about a product and it's usefulness to the RV community.

In this discussion, many come along and say you can't have an opinion because you don't own one. It isn't the same thing! We're not talking about the usefulness of a product for the RV industry, but the quality of a product that people can touch, see and experience. We did exactly that....I went through every cabinet, sliding door, seat cushion, storage bays, wiring and fiberglass construction. Behind the innovative ideas were shoddy workmanship, cheap components and structural issues. One of the things that is still locked into my memory was the flimsy wheel wells. You could pull on the fenders around the front tires and they flapped in the wind.

So for those who say you can't offer an opinion because you don't own one, makes no sense. I didn't/don't own one piece it was a piece of junk. When we looked closely at these coaches, it was in a price range that was very tempting and would allow us to step up to a diesel pusher, but common sense won out and I knew the price was low for a reason.

I applaud those who come on here and do their research, they are head and shoulders above any other buyer. Unfortunately, it sounds like a couple of the posters are not listening to what's being said....so don't say we didn't warn you.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by jdoran1973

Always grateful when someone with extensive use and knowledge of a product chimes in. Valuable info, thank you.

You're welcome. I'm usually hesitant to post seeing as I have only eleven years of living in the thing and worry that I should defer to those with superior knowledge.

Mainly, I don't care whether anybody buys one or not. But one thing to think about is that even the newest Alfa out there is probably seven years old, which should help reveal whether the workmanship did indeed cause problems down the road.

[Dfreiberger]

I am trying to find someone who can talk heater systems in Alfas. I am currently in New Mexico with average temps in 30s. For some reason I cannot get enough heat to warm the coach and am currently on 3 space heaters to warm the place. The furnace fires up but just does not seem to heat. This is the first year this has happened. Any recommendations on what I should look for?

[oatmeal]

I'm a little confused about why you're asking about an Alfa since your profile says you have a Winnebago, but I'll bite.

Assuming it's not a Gold, you have both a basement electric heat pump and a gas furnace.

The heat pump will work in temperatures down to the 30s, depending on humidity. It blows air at about the same speed as the air conditioner, but the air seems not particularly warm. But it does warm the coach. It has two compressors, and if it's pretty cold, if only one compressor is operating, then it won't make enough heat to warm the coach.

When you turn the heat pump on, it will start one compressor and after a delay, the second compressor will start. You can hear it happen.

Also, make sure the 30/50 amp switch in the electric compartment (I think that's where it is) is on 50. That means both compressors will have power to them (and has nothing to do with whether you're on 30 or 50 amp service).

The gas furnace, on the other hand, blows very hot air but with very little air speed. You can barely feel the flow, but it's definitely hot. You can set the thermostat for the gas furnace, or it will automatically switch to the furnace from the heat pump if the heat pump can't keep up.

Personally, if it's too cold for the heat pump, I prefer space heaters because it's a more even heat than the furnace.