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Old 03-25-2023, 09:31 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saddlesore View Post
Newmar vs Tiffin vs , vs.. After both being bought out, the question should be Thor vs Winnebago
Can you elaborate any / all changes that Thor has implemented on Tiffins or Wbgo has implemented on Newmars?
Or are you just generalizing & insinuating to disparage them?
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Old 03-25-2023, 12:59 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winemaker2 View Post
Can you elaborate any / all changes that Thor has implemented on Tiffins or Wbgo has implemented on Newmars?
Or are you just generalizing & insinuating to disparage the build qualitiesthem?
Neither.. The Umbrella Companies [Thor/Winnebago in this case] Control the purse strings therefore will influence The methods/designs/components/and profit margins demanded from their investments..
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Old 03-25-2023, 09:18 PM   #17
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We recently bought a mid 2000s DP and I can tell you the process we went through. We were coming from a 37 ft 05 Newmar gasser, so we already had a good feel for Newmar from that era. Our Newmar gasser had 3 slides, living, kitchen and bedroom. Having the kitchen slide really opened up the kitchen/living area and the kitchen countertop area really spoiled us, so we knew we would not settle for a non-kitchen slide coach.

Things we were looking for in a mid 2000s DP were, $90-100K, 40-45 ft, 350-450 HP, 3-4 slides, big kitchen, 2 couches, 2 bathroom sinks with a separate room for the toilet, side radiator and preferably a tag axle, but a lack of a tag was not a deal breaker.

In looking at the Tiffins, the Phaetons of that era did not have side radiators, so that limited us to searching for an Alegro Bus. A friend of ours had previously owned the 2005 Newmar gasser that we bought from him. He went on to buy an 07 Tiffin FRED. He loved the added torque, but in comparing the Newmar that he owned to the Tiffin, he said the Newmar was a more solid and well-built rig, even though it was a gasser. He also said Newmar support for their older rigs was very good. He went on to tell me that he was very dissatisfied with Tiffin support. He said, “if your rig is older than 10 years, you are dead to Tiffin.” YMMV, but this was his experience.

We also briefly considered other manufacturers, as I had heard good things about Beaver, Foretravel, Country Coach, etc, but I could not find a coach that clicked all of our boxes that was within our budget that had the floorplan that we wanted.

I would assume other manufacturers offer this as well, but you can do a google search on any year of Newmar and see all of the features and floor plans.

So, after a lot of research, we zeroed in on an 06-07 Newmar Dutchstar 4023, 4320. 4307 or an 05-06 Newmar Mountain Aire 4032, 4304 or 4307. We really liked the idea of a bath and a half but couldn’t find a model in our price range. We really liked the 07-08 Mountain Aires, but they were $150k or more and we just didn’t feel comfortable go up to that price point.

We test drove an 05 Mountain Aire 4032 and it clicked all of our must haves, even though the kitchen was a little smaller than our 37 ft Newmar gasser, but it was obvious that it had not been well maintained and spent a lot of it’s life outside in the elements.

We then test drove an 05 Newmar 4304, which is the bigger brother of the 4032. The extra 2.5 feet yielded a tag axle, bigger kitchen with the washer/dryer in the kitchen (freeing up space in the bedroom), bigger bathroom, etc. It had been very well maintained, was in very good condition, and we had a good feeling about the seller. We bought it and are loving it.

Another bonus of buying a Mountain Aire of this era is that the YouTubers, The RV Geeks, have an 05 Mountain Aire 4304 and they have dozens and dozens, if not hundreds or videos showing how they maintain/fix things or even make upgrades. It has been very beneficial in the short time of our ownership.

https://library.rvusa.com/brochure/2005madpbrochure.pdf
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Old 03-25-2023, 09:18 PM   #18
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How far out do you typically look, and how do you find an inspector in each area?


I can see traveling out for the right coach, but it seems more like a process of sorting through a bunch of good enough coaches.
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Old 03-25-2023, 10:48 PM   #19
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Also any experience with the following dealers?


PPL Houston
Best Preowned RV Houston?
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Old 03-25-2023, 11:08 PM   #20
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I have visited the lot at PPL in Houston a couple of times, but have never bought an RV from them (I have bought a few things at their equipment store, new toilet, etc.). Having said that overall I have been fairly disappointed in the quality of the RV's on their lot, many that are described as being in good or even excellent condition, I would tend to rate as at best fair condition, due to torn fabric, broken entry steps, excessive visible wear and so forth. Maybe my standards are too high, but when I walk in a coach that has a broken entry step, broken side view mirror, sagging torn seating surfaces, stained refrigerator interior, worn out carpet, mildew under the clear protective diamond shield, spiderweb cracking fiberglass, etc. Excellent condition is not the term that comes to mind.
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Old 03-26-2023, 09:58 PM   #21
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Thanks for the insight. They had a Monaco Dynasty Palace III but I agree, it may not be in the best shape. I did like that floor plan though.

It seems like most floor plans are pretty similar to one another but that one had a nice bedroom layout that I liked.


Any suggestions for RV inspectors or reputable dealers in Nashville TN? I have friends near there.
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Old 03-30-2023, 02:48 PM   #22
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Newmar 2007

We have the 3007 Newmar Mountainaire 4122. Great choice for us. Very happy
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Old 03-30-2023, 03:00 PM   #23
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Dutch Star

I can only speak from owning a Dutch Star and an older one at that. Mine is a 1998 with a little over 100k miles. We lived in it 10 months while remodeling our house in Tennessee with an hot summer the A/C cycled and didn’t run as much as my house and was easy to heat even below zero. Very well pleased with it. Also even with its age all the cabnets and doors open and shut great nothing is falling apart and believe me when I say she has been over some rough roads. And so far the up keep hasn’t been bad at all. Sure we have had to spend some money on it but that I expected. 5000miles last year and a little over 1k this year. We love ours.
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Old 03-30-2023, 04:16 PM   #24
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Love our DutchStar’s Comfort Drive

The Comfort Drive on 2008 and later Newmar DPs is a real deal changer.
The difference at the end of a long day’s drive is out-a-site! We’re selling our 2014 4360 and trying to find an ‘08 or ‘09 3625 which will have CD. We love the floor plan of our 4360 DutchStar with Comfort Drive… just want to be able to get in and out of smaller places. ��
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Old 03-30-2023, 04:37 PM   #25
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An inspector is the only way to go.

“Spring1898 How far out do you typically look, and how do you find an inspector in each area?”

Go to https://nrvia.org/ to locate an inspector in your area.
We live in Florida and purchased our 2006 Ventana in Charleston, SC. We did a lot of research and arranged to see the coach with an NRVIA inspector. He got there 2-hours before we did and stayed for a full day. He walked me through some issues and gave us the thumbs up, we bought the coach. Later we received a 30+ page report with every detail and condition. Not everything on the coach was perfect but we had no surprises. I would use an inspector regardless of age and/or condition.
Buying a new to you RV is a lot of fun. I’m glad we had an expert in our corner.
Cheers!
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Old 03-30-2023, 06:04 PM   #26
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After owning a Dutch Star 20 yrs then buying a 2018 Tiffin bus I vote for Newmar
Ever Tiffin owner I know is always sitting in Red Bay for service. WHY.
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Old 03-30-2023, 06:09 PM   #27
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Tiffin vs Newmar = Thor vs Winnebago.
I'd pick Winnebago for sure.
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Old 03-30-2023, 07:15 PM   #28
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We love our 2010 Newmar Ventana 4386, 40,000 miles, purchased 2.5 years ago for $115,000 then invested in new tires and other minor improvements. Flat tow 2020 F150. We’ve added over 20,000 miles so far. Trying to purchase last RV first so went big and couldn’t be happier. Don’t mind the use and miles because kinks have been worked out and it had quality care. We didn’t think we wanted that big but once drove and used we loved. Like washer&dryer. Don’t forget warranty to limit risk. Worked for us.
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