Undecided between Newmar or Entegra

[Skyskipper]

My wife and I are going to get an rv this year which will be our second rv. We have research a lot and we think we will like the Comfort ride on the Newmar if it is a much better steering experience than Entegra. Conversely we are impressed with the insulation, thick floor, Spartan chassis of the Entegra. Can someone comment on the Spartan. Is it a much better ride than Freightliner and is the K3 on the Cornerstone much better than the Anthum. Simply is the Anthum a great ride and is the Dutch Star a better ride or not. What makes the Spartan chassis so well spoken of? I called Entegra today and they said they will not put the Comfort Ride on the 2016 being even though Newmar's exclusive right expires 2015.

Thanks in advance all
Mark

[Mr_D]

On a Newmar it's Comfort Drive. I've never driven a rig with it. A lot of Newmar employees worked for TS and now Entegra. Quality appears to be about the same but Entegra won't customize to the extent that Newmar will. I'm not sure Entegra has any better insulation than Newmar either even though their ads say so.
I looked at Entegra's at a rally and got to talking to a salesman who proceeded to tell me Entegra was the only one using hung wall construction and a few other things I knew were untrue, but his lips were moving!! After a few tries at varnishing over stuff he walked away!
The Entegra is a good rig at a good price point though but if you want much, if any, custom work then you need to look at Newmar.

[Scarab0088]

I am moving this thread to a RV Forum. The Forum 101 Area is for discussions about the website.

Best luck with the search.

[Medico]

When I was looking at new coaches 3 years ago, Newmar was high on my list, Entegra not so much. I did not feel as though the fit and finish were comparable.

Please do not compare a Cornerstone with a Dutchstar. The Cornerstone is a much higher price point. Instead compare the Cornerstone with say a LondonAire or perhaps Essex from Newmar.

There was a marked difference when driving a coach with Newmar's Comfort Steer in a Dutchstar in a heavy wind storm from a comparably priced Entegra product. The Cornerstone with ride better simply because it's a heavier coach.

[GaryKD]

Hi Skyskipper,
As to the Spartan vs. Freightliner, there is no difference to me. I've driven them both and could care less which chassis manufacturer Newmar uses to build the coach. One will spend much more time living in the coach than driving it. Get the coach that has the floor plan and customized features you want.

CD is an outstanding feature. For the times you are driving, CD makes the experience much more enjoyable.

Consider going to the Newmar web site and read about the coach that interests you. Watch the CD video. Learn about how Newmar builds the coach. All that is behind the scenes and one does not see once the coach is completed.

[smlranger]

IMO, you can't go wrong with either brand. Entegra seems to have as loyal a following as Newmar. I agree with GaryKD in that I would not let chassis brand affect my choice.... some folks claim Spartan builds a heavier chassis (perhaps due to their use by many fire truck manufacturers) but in reality, both FL and Spartan use some of the same or similar heavy truck components on the chassis.

Both Newmar and Entegra have stellar customer service reputations. As noted, Newmar does offer more extensive customization but at a price.

All of the manufacturers seem to have QA/QC issues at times, IMO, so if I was going to buy a new coach, being able to do factory delivery would be a big deal to me. Newmar offers factory delivery and I don't believe Entegra is doing that. Factory delivery gives you the advantage of having the real experts work through and correct any issues you find at delivery before you leave the factory.

[Statgeek]

Mark--you do realize that Newmar owners are going to suggest you buy Newmar, and Entegra owners will recommend Entegra, right? I mean... they invested a lot of their hearts and wallets into the coach that they bought. Since both are very high quality RVs, it's unlikely that you will find too many Newmar or Entegra owners who are unhappy with their purchase.

I do not own either, so my words are not from personal experience. I have close friends who own a 2014 Newmar DSDP and another who has a similarly equipped 2013 Entegra. We travel a lot together so I have spent time in both. Both would be serious upgrades for me! They are different floor plans entirely (one is a bunkhouse, the other not) so trying hard to ignore that... I like the Newmar better.

If you are buying new, at that price point, in my opinion you should be able to customize, and nobody does custom better than Newmar.

Newmar's quality is superb all around, and I give them the edge over Entegra. The wood work is craftsman quality everywhere you look, but that's just one example. It seems to me that they thought of pretty much everything that an RV'er would need, and most things that they'd want, and they built it.

I will potentially give Entegra the nod for their warranty though. My buddy tells me that they offer a 3 year warranty over the customary 1 year honeymoon period. I'm not sure if that's right, but if it is, that's pretty darn nice!

Newmar offers more floorplans & models, partly because Entegra is relatively young. If you like one of Entegras floor plans though, that's a non-issue. If you are unhappy with one of Newmar's floor plans, there's a reasonable chance you could have them alter it for you! They have moved or eliminated walls for people, etc..

One last thing I would suggest that you look into--for either brand--is picking it up from the factory instead of your local dealership. This is very popular for Newmar owners. Your local dealer still sells you the coach and makes their profit (so they will service your RV without putting you at the bottom of their list) but you get yourself out to the factory for a superb orientation to your RV. They have a free camp that you can live in for a week and get all of the assistance you need. If something doesn't work, they fix it. (And regardless of brand, SOMETHING on these super complex systems will need to be tweaked!) I suspect Entegra must do the same thing, but I'm not 100% sure. With Newmar, there is an added cost to doing it this way, but it's a drop in the bucket relative to the purchase price.

Good luck with your decision! I envy your position. You have already narrowed your decision down two super brands of RV. Either way you will come out of this a happy camper, literally!!

[wnytaxman]

We are in a similar situation as you. We are looking to upgrade and our short list contains only Entegra and Newmar. Newmar changed a lot of their 2015's to go more head to head with Entegra. Accordingly, Entegra, from what I have heard, is looking to expand their model lineup to be more competitive with Newmar.

We still haven't decided which way to go. We much prefer the floor plans of the Dutch Star and the variations that the model offers. On the other hand, if Entegra came out with a floor plan that was what we were looking for then we may swing that way. On the chassis issue, the Spartan owners will tell you that Spartan is a superior chassis and the Freightliner owners will tell you that they prefer the extensive service facilities of Freightliner. I'm a bean counter, not an engineer, so I have no expertise in that field and can only rely on those that do for their opinions. For me, either brand seems to work.

If I compare the Dutch Star to the Anthem, the DS is slightly less costly but only has a one year warranty while the Anthem has a two year. Newmar allows factory pick up while Entegra does not. Entegra offers mobil service where Newmar does not.

As others have said, I don't think either one of us will go wrong with our final decision. Both brands are excellent and from all my research these two brands are the only ones to consider.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Statgeek

Mark--you do realize that Newmar owners are going to suggest you buy Newmar, and Entegra owners will recommend Entegra, right? I mean... they invested a lot of their hearts and wallets into the coach that they bought. Since both are very high quality RVs, it's unlikely that you will find too many Newmar or Entegra owners who are unhappy with their purchase.

I do not own either, so my words are not from personal experience. I have close friends who own a 2014 Newmar DSDP and another who has a similarly equipped 2013 Entegra. We travel a lot together so I have spent time in both. Both would be serious upgrades for me! They are different floor plans entirely (one is a bunkhouse, the other not) so trying hard to ignore that... I like the Newmar better.

If you are buying new, at that price point, in my opinion you should be able to customize, and nobody does custom better than Newmar.

Newmar's quality is superb all around, and I give them the edge over Entegra. The wood work is craftsman quality everywhere you look, but that's just one example. It seems to me that they thought of pretty much everything that an RV'er would need, and most things that they'd want, and they built it.

I will potentially give Entegra the nod for their warranty though. My buddy tells me that they offer a 3 year warranty over the customary 1 year honeymoon period. I'm not sure if that's right, but if it is, that's pretty darn nice!

Newmar offers more floorplans & models, partly because Entegra is relatively young. If you like one of Entegras floor plans though, that's a non-issue. If you are unhappy with one of Newmar's floor plans, there's a reasonable chance you could have them alter it for you! They have moved or eliminated walls for people, etc..

One last thing I would suggest that you look into--for either brand--is picking it up from the factory instead of your local dealership. This is very popular for Newmar owners. Your local dealer still sells you the coach and makes their profit (so they will service your RV without putting you at the bottom of their list) but you get yourself out to the factory for a superb orientation to your RV. They have a free camp that you can live in for a week and get all of the assistance you need. If something doesn't work, they fix it. (And regardless of brand, SOMETHING on these super complex systems will need to be tweaked!) I suspect Entegra must do the same thing, but I'm not 100% sure. With Newmar, there is an added cost to doing it this way, but it's a drop in the bucket relative to the purchase price.

Good luck with your decision! I envy your position. You have already narrowed your decision down two super brands of RV. Either way you will come out of this a happy camper, literally!!

Well reasoned and well thought out post. I'm an SOB driver also and share the prospective as well as some of the views of Statgeek.

These two brands share a family tree and their design and build processes have evolved from a common point.

A serious buyer should do some analysis of their particular wants and needs then plug that into the coaches built by these two manufacturers. Be very careful about the weight you give to the subjective claims of owners when evaluating chassis. The Spartan/ Freightliner argument has been raging for some time and is unlikely to be a realistic buying point when looked at objectively. At this point in time, both chassis builders offer a range of chassis which are further customized for the coach builder and very few owners are in the position of having much experience with comparable chassis from both builders.

Comfort drive and the two year warrantee are issues that will point you to one builder or the other. Just make sure you decide based on an objective analysis and not marketing hype. Drive both coaches as extensively as possible to evaluate the CD. On the warrantee issue, my experience is that a manufacturing defect will almost certainly be apparent in the first 12 month.

As this previous post points out, listen to current coach owners but make your own independent evaluations. Most folks who have made this decision will tend to defend that decision.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[msturtz]

I would stay far away from Entegra. I owned a Jayco MH and to put it bluntly they were very unethical in how they dealt with me. Celina Tyler at Jayco / Entegra does not own and RV and does not RV either. She is the Consumer Relations director who reports to the Jayco / Entegra VP. I was stunned that they hid faults that they knew about and cut corners that are dangerous. E.g. they used undersized wiring for the inverter knowing that most customers would not know to check. They installed wiring unsecured or poorly secured where customers would not think to look. I found 12V wiring bundled with 120V wiring that could be cut into by metal sharp edges because none of it was correctly secured. To keep track of the failures on my unit I had to resort to a spreadsheet! I had to crawl under my unit to find poor workmanship and take pictures. The roof had nearly a dozen holes in the caulking right after delivery. Bottom line, stay away from Jayco / Entegra!

[oakcreekeric]

Originally Posted by msturtz

I would stay far away from Entegra. I owned a Jayco MH and to put it bluntly they were very unethical in how they dealt with me. Celina Tyler at Jayco / Entegra does not own and RV and does not RV either. She is the Consumer Relations director who reports to the Jayco / Entegra VP. I was stunned that they hid faults that they knew about and cut corners that are dangerous. E.g. they used undersized wiring for the inverter knowing that most customers would not know to check. They installed wiring unsecured or poorly secured where customers would not think to look. I found 12V wiring bundled with 120V wiring that could be cut into by metal sharp edges because none of it was correctly secured. To keep track of the failures on my unit I had to resort to a spreadsheet! I had to crawl under my unit to find poor workmanship and take pictures. The roof had nearly a dozen holes in the caulking right after delivery. Bottom line, stay away from Jayco / Entegra!

I wouldn't put much stock into this "review"... To compare a $100k gas unit to a $300k+ diesel unit is not wise... Two totally different creatures..

Besides... I'm pretty sure Entegra is a stand alone entity of Jayco... They're made in a separate building and have nothing to do with Jayco, except for corporate paperwork shuffling..

[MRUSA14]

msturtz, I am sorry to hear that you felt mistreated by Jayco. As an Entegra owner I can only say that I have never been treated better by anybody that I have ever dealt with. To me, Entegra's service is way beyond excellent, bordering on unbelievable.

I am not knocking Newmar, which is an excellent choice. In fact when I began shopping three years ago, I was looking for a Newmar. I happened to stumble across Entegra, and liked what I saw. I vacillated between the two for several months until I finally settled on Entegra for the reasons stated below.

As I see it, both have excellent build and excellent service, so the choice comes down to features and price. I drove both coaches before I bought. Newmar has Comfort drive which is a definite plus, but I must say that my Anthem drives great and rides like a magic carpet. I have never driven a Cornerstone but I am sure it drives even better. As for Spartan vs Freightliner, forget about it. IMHO both are excellent, so chassis make is not a reason to choose. You can ask a million people which rides or drives better, but the only way to know is for you yourself is to test drive each coach.

Entegra coaches come with many items standard that are options on Newmar, so when you look at price be sure that you are comparing apple to apples. Also, if you bargain hard, I think Entegra coaches can be bought at a greater discount from MSRP. I have heard from people who bought Entegra for 32% below list.

Lastly (this should have been first) floorplan. Which do you like best? Newmar will tweak the floorplan and Entegra will not. However, I had several changes and upgrades made to my coach on an aftermarket basis and still saved money over a comparable Newmar.

In the final analysis I purchased the Entegra due to better warranty, better storage space, and lower price. I am very happy with my purchase but I am sure I would have been happy with a Newmar as well. Each RV is a compromise with plusses or minusses. Only the buyer can determine which set of compromises is the best fit for him. As for your questions on ride and handling, drive them and decide for yourself. You cannot measure these intangibles based on advertising or hearsay.

Good luck on your search. You have chosen two great products to choose from. The question to ask should be "Which one do I like best"

[Skyskipper]

Thanks for your sight into my concerns. I do have other questions such as is 450 hp enough not to get bogged down during climbing or is the Cornerstone 600hp desirable even though it burns more diesel? If there are any Cornerstone owning out there do you find that the rig is hard to control with or without crosswind being that it is heavier and has the Tag?

[DeeGee]

I agree exactly with what MRUSA says. I too started looking at Newmars, and eventually chose an Entegra. I'm looking lower on the pay scale, so I was comparing the Ventana, Aspire and Dutch Star. The Aspire is far closer to a Dutch Star than to a Ventana. When I optioned the two Newmars as closely as possible to the Aspire, the Aspire was a good deal cheaper. Once DW got the floor plan she liked, we were done anyway...

Still waiting - sometime next month.