Still shopping; Newmar, Entegra, American Eagle H.

[Top_Speed1]

Debbie and I toured the Entegra lineup this past Saturday (11/26/16) at Buffalo RV (RVOne store).

Chad was our salesman, very knowledgeable (fun) guy and he was very easy to talk with, didn't have the "planned out" speech's etc that are kinda robotic and a big turn-off for me/us. So we related quite well with him, a good first step.

This dealer is about 2 hrs away from us. About the closest we have other than Albany (NY) which is 3 hrs away. That being said, I told Chad that a local dealer is important to us, and as long as they stay close or on par (enough) with the giant discount RV sellers like MH Specialists, I would prefer to stay local. If there is a big gap?, then I will and have done (as on prior big ticket purchases)... do a fly n drive. But, hopefully not!

So, It was rainy and cold, Debbie had to retreat to the showroom during our shopping, but Chad and I continued and we looked "in" and around at all 3 independent suspension Entegra's (Aspire, Anthem, Cornerstone)

On a revisit, I will want to test drive first the Anthem then the Cornerstone. I have a CDL and have driven big trucks all my life, I'm sure we will take along a salesperson anyways (hopefully Chad!)

Also on their lot, they have a leftover 2016 London Aire that we ventured through. It has the level-up tile floor (no carpet-over slide out flooring). Nice!, but not my color (interior or exterior). There were several hints that this model was going to have a super deal attached to it, but not being interested, I really never pursued it. Call them (Buffalo RV) if you are maybe? cuz it's deal time by the sounds of it!.

SO still shopping, and I (we) don't really need it right now anyways as we are not "snow birds" yet. We have time to get it right one might say!

[vito.a]

The closest we found anyone could get to MHSRV on an Entegra was $55k unless it was a leftover from the previous year.
Best of luck!

[Smitty77]

I've responded a few times to this thread already. But, was thinking more about the current low interest rates, and of course help on Schedule A.

Have you considered the Foretravel Realm at all? Yep, more money. But yep, much more coach. The chassis, not to be confused with the Spartan K3 chassis, is up the food chain. Check out the slides, and how they seal. Etc.

Figure since we're all helping you spend your money, I'd suggest going upstream a bit higher. You know, in for a penny, so go in for several hundred thousand more pennies?

Of course, that is IF you like the styling, floorplans, and paint scheme options.

One heck of a rig. And compare the tank size for Grey/Black to the others.... That is always a nice thing to have, plenty of capacity!

Again, ongoing best wishes on your decision,
Smitty

(Note: We usually look for used higher end items, at good values as far as purchase point. For example, if we were to upgrade from our current 04 Allure. We'd probably go with a Prevost XL 40' based 2 slide Marathon. In the $275-350K range. But, if buying new, the Foretravel Realm would be my first 'Go take a serious look.' choice.)

[DSL417]

Top Speed,

You had a question on lots of blacken the exterior...I guess my view is, when it is dirty, it is dirty, no matter the color. I thought I might like the CS that has the white base at the rear (forget the color)...it had been across a wet parking lot at Middlebury, and looked worse than a dark color. FWIW, my view is, long trip and road grime shows up less on the black than I would have expected. Dust tends to not show up as bad (JMHO, being in the Vegas desert half the year). But then, when you know it is dirty, you want it washed. When I see some of the Super Cs that are solid white, and even the older See Ya's, to me they always look a little dingy after being on the road. So bottom line, the dark color wouldn't be an issue for me...JMHO.

[Top_Speed1]

Originally Posted by vito.a

The closest we found anyone could get to MHSRV on an Entegra was $55k unless it was a leftover from the previous year.
Best of luck!

RVOne seems pretty aggressive (at least w me anyways). You might wanna give Robin McCrakken a call, he's been on plenty of Entegra Coach walk through video's as well, plus a kind of guy you could crack open a beer with and that always helps!

My experience; as good or better than Motor Home Specialists pricing and under 500K for a totally loaded and brand new ordered-in Cornerstone.

Originally Posted by Smitty77

.........Have you considered the Foretravel Realm at all? Yep, more money. But yep, much more coach. The chassis, not to be confused with the Spartan K3 chassis, is up the food chain. Check out the slides, and how they seal. Etc..............

My budget is 500K and I'd like to stay close to it as I also will be also building a 3 bay pole barn (I have a 30ft boat and some other toys to stowaway).

The Realm really looks awesome w plush interiors etc, and I like everything on them except the front cap (major ugly and old retro looking).

Originally Posted by DSL417

Top Speed,

You had a question on lots of blacken the exterior...I guess my view is, when it is dirty, it is dirty, no matter the color. I thought I might like the CS that has the white base at the rear (forget the color)...it had been across a wet parking lot at Middlebury, and looked worse than a dark color. FWIW, my view is, long trip and road grime shows up less on the black than I would have expected. Dust tends to not show up as bad (JMHO, being in the Vegas desert half the year). But then, when you know it is dirty, you want it washed. When I see some of the Super Cs that are solid white, and even the older See Ya's, to me they always look a little dingy after being on the road. So bottom line, the dark color wouldn't be an issue for me...JMHO.

Thank you for this input. And with my de-ionizer for rinses (no touch clean finishes), I kind of thought I could deal with the darker Coach

[Top_Speed1]

*Curveball*

Being that we have a 34' 5er currently, our salesman did a walk through on a Super-5th wheel....

We looked at Siesmec 42-44'ers (I believe made by Jayco who owns Entegra). OKay I guess, not a fan of teh almost black cabinetry however (this rules these out before even Debbie see's them!)

And then,,,
I toured a 45' Forest River XLR 422AMP. WOW! I was super (get it) impressed!. The 415 model was okay also, but the 422 got my main focus.

Here's what I'd miss most from the Coach side:
-Access when driving down the road; I've always wanted my wife to make me a sandwich while underway lol.
-The overall automations like the "all up" or "all down" lighting (plus mood) and shade operations. The 5er has some but not as extravagant.
-Aquahot diesel heater & HW
-Additional basement space and storage
-Diesel generator (but I have now found out I can option up for this on the 5er)

Here's what I found as amazing and what I don't get with the Coach
-Living quarters, headroom and SPACE!. I was blind to this I guess until I toured the Super-5ers.
-Me being 6'-4", I almost hit my head on the Entegra's mirrored main ceiling lighting cluster (clear by an inch at best). Kinda a cramped feeling TBH.
-I can see out the windows without sitting down!
-The above^ is huge, literally. It gives such an open feeling, even better than the Prevost; which is what I liked best about them come to realize (now).
-The less cramped (in) feeling makes it feel more outdoor-ish interactive, less office cubical boxed in.

*IF* I go this route what it means (to me)
-My Chevy 2500HD pickup will need to be traded in for a 3500HD dually(lots of leftover money for this however!). An engine brake is now on the new Duramax models for 2017, including 20% more torque
-Not too much more than what I'm use to now, except I will have the auto-leveling, auto awnings with wind sensor (not the awesome Gerard system however!)

So another monkey wrench to think about (hmmm). I have certainly found an awesome unit that meets my or our needs. With even adding/buying the new dually truck (GMC Denali or Chevy Silverado High Country) and totally loaded, the Super-5er totally loaded as well (electric Coach model) and with the upgraded Diesel generator.... I will be WAY under budget, which means maybe even a bigger pole barn with possible rental slots to other RVers. I guess this is food for thought for sure.

Here's an image of the 422AMP (not my color choice however)



Not correct model (a tad shorter), but I like the Blue and Black theme

[gtsum2]

I have a fuzion toy hauler and the amp is built about the same. The quality level between any toy hauler and the dp's you were looking at is quite different, as I am sure you know. That is a beautiful rig though

[DSL417]

Since you are already a 5'ver, you probably already have considered this, but, as you say, you can get pretty wide-eyed as you look at these options. For me, we considered high end 5'vers, but in the end, what turned me off was an even larger pickup than I have negotiating parking lots and tourist sites when uncoupled. To me, that was a real turnoff, and with that "pull" I am assuming you'll need a 4500 level dually to play.

[MRUSA14]

5ers are really nice when parked, but when driving, a DP is oh so much nicer. If I got a fifth wheel I would have to get a new wife too.

[Top_Speed1]

Originally Posted by gtsum2

I have a fuzion toy hauler and the amp is built about the same. The quality level between any toy hauler and the dp's you were looking at is quite different, as I am sure you know. That is a beautiful rig though

Same dealer who has the Siesmec's has the Fuzion's (lots, like 15 of them!). I toured a couple of the biggest Fuzions, the one feature I liked (on the new '17s) were... a 1 push button lock for the rear drop down door. No more swing handles on each side. Also the new flip down steps were very steady/sturdy. I can see using the rear steps (entry) however if along side a curb or in a parking lot, no biggie tho.

The Fuzions are less money than either the Siesmecs and XLR AMPS. Pretty good bang for the buck I'd say, salesman however did not class these as a Super (High-end) 5er, and kind of showed me these last, but I liked them!

Originally Posted by DSL417

Since you are already a 5'ver, you probably already have considered this, but, as you say, you can get pretty wide-eyed as you look at these options. For me, we considered high end 5'vers, but in the end, what turned me off was an even larger pickup than I have negotiating parking lots and tourist sites when uncoupled. To me, that was a real turnoff, and with that "pull" I am assuming you'll need a 4500 level dually to play.

Yeah, I already have had issues stowing away my 2500HD Crew Cab with a full 8ft box in a couple of small site campgrounds. And this is with only (lol) a 34' 5er, so this could be an issue especially on some State Park campgrounds like Assateague Island.

I usually have no issues when site seeing with it on it's own, but as you say, I'm use to the Crew Cab, full box diesel

A 3500HD dually will handle the bed weight and overall pull weight. Of course this is the legal posted weights by GM, and I'm within, but not much room for expansion.... and with a 45'er, how much bigger can I go?

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

5ers are really nice when parked, but when driving, a DP is oh so much nicer. If I got a fifth wheel I would have to get a new wife too.

Agree. This would be a huge point for the DPer.

[Cat320]

We pulled into a nice park one evening pulling our very nice 38' fifth wheel, later than we usually drive...had to get home. Anyway, it was just getting dark, drizzling rain, a bit foggy, around 40 degrees...nasty. As we sat in our very nice loaded dually diesel pickup, waiting for the weather to slacken so we could set up our very nice 5th wheel, the D/W says, "we are not doing this again!" Thus ending our experience in very nice 5th wheels.

[Top_Speed1]

Originally Posted by Cat320

We pulled into a nice park one evening pulling our very nice 38' fifth wheel, later than we usually drive...had to get home. Anyway, it was just getting dark, drizzling rain, a bit foggy, around 40 degrees...nasty. As we sat in our very nice loaded dually diesel pickup, waiting for the weather to slacken so we could set up our very nice 5th wheel, the D/W says, "we are not doing this again!" Thus ending our experience in very nice 5th wheels.

When I'm older and into my retirement years?, this^ will probably play more into it than now. I've done it, not saying I like it by any means BUT having auto-level on the 5er is 90% of the outside game. I really don't see much more of an advantage to this (over a one unit rig) especially when you have the luxuries now that these 5ers have. So you still have to hook up shore power and water to both, pretty much everything else like awnings (if you choose) is push button.

So with a "real" luxury 5er (not like my current one), not much difference setting up to the DP other than getting out of the truck and into the RV.

On one occasion w my current, I've actually kept the truck hooked up until a heavy rain cell went through. No biggie, the beer was ice cold in the fridge and now with a push button gen prime/start and a trav'ler auto sat setup, I can also turn on ESPN and catch Sports Center (my current 5er has a Winegard crank-up Satellite dish). :(

For me, the DP gets very minimal points for "Bad weather setup", but it is in (my) DP advantage checklist.

[wnytaxman]

Top Speed, glad you made it up here to Buffalo. We have found that Buffalo RV beats the price from MHS by thousands on our current rig and on pricing for a replacement. They seem to have gotten their service department in order so they do offer a much more complete package now.

We were all set on the Aspire 44B depending on a particular business transaction that, sadly, did not happen, so we are still tire kicking. I do have a major concern now about Entegra and their sale to Thor and the subsequent shake up at the top of their management chain. Right now I have more of a wait and see attitude toward them.

We have also looked at the London Aire at Buffalo RV. Great rig and I do know they want to move it. Like you, the colors are not of the wow factor and it would be a great buy but would the cost savings offset the color annoyance? Keep looking and maybe check out the Tampa show. North Trail usually has a big selection of Newmars there and RVOne will normally beat North Trail's price by a ton so it may be worthwhile to stop at Newmar and Entegra at Tampa and then mosey on over to the Jayco display and talk to RVOne.

[marknpeg]

If you're looking at fifth wheels, take a look at Grand Design too. Their interior finishes are a cut above. We came very close to buying a Solitude but in the end we decided the outside setup, using the supertruck as a runaround, etc. made the decision for us.

And for something a little different, check out the Keystone Montana with the front kitchen. We toured one and I think that layout is just fantastic.

Of course Foretravel has a 2015 Realm available right now, asking $589.