Which to buy???

[G Man]

Hello all,
We are thinking of upgrading from our 2014 Thor Hurricane 32A model with 25k miles on it to a 2016/2017 Thor Aria 3901 DP or a 2016/2017 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36U DP.
I am concerned about the build quality of the Thor, since owning one, but after inspecting the Thor Aria, it seems to have an overall better build quality than my Hurricane. Thoughts anyone?
I am not familiar with Fleetwood products.
Both have the same chassis, engine, etc.
Both have very similiar floorpans that we like and are close to our Hurricane. I would greatly appreciate any and all opinions out there.
Thank you all.

G Man

[ChassisGuy]

I vote for the Fleetwood

[RobbieH]

If you want build quality, buy used for the same money. Traded our 2014 Thor in for what we have now and we could not be happier.

[Dano52]

I too, would go Fleetwood

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

If you want build quality, buy used for the same money. Traded our 2014 Thor in for what we have now and we could not be happier.

What would you suggest as far as used?

[G Man]

My question is not a poll.
Any pertinent facts, reasons, thoughts, experience, etc. about your answer is what I am looking for.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by G Man

My question is not a poll.
Any pertinent facts, reasons, thoughts, experience, etc. about your answer is what I am looking for.

If you'd like taking a short cut to seeing quality, first look for a side radiator and most all else will fall into place.
For the best bang for the buck and discounting the super high end models,
Going with newer, I'd be looking at Entegra.
With older and while they were still being built on the Spartan chassis, then American.
Note that the Revolution was and is built on the American platform, no matter what the name and stems from when Fleetwood owned American.
Don't like full wall slides and a deal breaker for me.
Going back to your original question, I'd take the Pace Arrow.
Just my 2 cents worth.

[RobbieH]

There's a good discussion going on here:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/whic...lp-328081.html

I love our RV, and if doing it over I would be looking for something very similar to what we have.

Must-haves in no particular order:
1. Side Radiator
2. AquaHot
3. No full-wall slide (our last one had one)
4. Air leveling (ours has HWH Active Air, but that's a luxury)
5. It must have started life as a high-end coach. Monaco family, Foretravel, Newmar, Entegra. As long as you aren't scraping the bottom of the barrel, it pretty much guarantees a quality chassis. He mentioned Spartan and American above, Monacos are built on Roadmaster chassis which are also excellent platforms. In Monaco (or family) you want the RR8S or if you don't mind rear radiator the RR8R.
6. Full paint
7. Check to make sure the one you choose doesn't have a problematic engine
8. No DEF or DPF
9. Good maintenance records

Residential fridge or not is a preference thing. I prefer residential, but there are plenty that take out residentials and put in RV fridges. Changing from one to the other isn't a huge deal.

Our last coach was a 2014 Thor with 12,100 miles. Traded it on this one and believe me we wouldn't trade back.

[G Man]

Why don't you like full wall slides?

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

There's a good discussion going on here:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/whic...lp-328081.html

I love our RV, and if doing it over I would be looking for something very similar to what we have.

Must-haves in no particular order:
1. Side Radiator
2. AquaHot
3. No full-wall slide (our last one had one)
4. Air leveling (ours has HWH Active Air, but that's a luxury)
5. It must have started life as a high-end coach. Monaco family, Foretravel, Newmar, Entegra. As long as you aren't scraping the bottom of the barrel, it pretty much guarantees a quality chassis. He mentioned Spartan and American above, Monacos are built on Roadmaster chassis which are also excellent platforms. In Monaco (or family) you want the RR8S or if you don't mind rear radiator the RR8R.
6. Full paint
7. Check to make sure the one you choose doesn't have a problematic engine
8. No DEF or DPF
9. Good maintenance records

Residential fridge or not is a preference thing. I prefer residential, but there are plenty that take out residentials and put in RV fridges. Changing from one to the other isn't a huge deal.

Our last coach was a 2014 Thor with 12,100 miles. Traded it on this one and believe me we wouldn't trade back.

RobbieH,
What kind of Thor did you have and how much did you get for the trade in?
Do all the coaches you suggest come with side radiators?
I do understand the benefit of one verses a rear one.
Do you have any knowledge of Motor homes of Texas?
They seem to sell high end used coaches.
Thanks.
G Man

[RobbieH]

Originally Posted by G Man

Why don't you like full wall slides?

When your brand new coach spends 172 days in the shop during the first 11 months of ownership because the full wall slide keeps breaking, you will come to hate them too.

Originally Posted by G Man

RobbieH,
What kind of Thor did you have and how much did you get for the trade in?
Do all the coaches you suggest come with side radiators?
I do understand the benefit of one verses a rear one.
Do you have any knowledge of Motor homes of Texas?
They seem to sell high end used coaches.
Thanks.
G Man

2014 Thor Four Winds 33SW Super C, with a purchase price of $115,000 plus TT&L, about $123,000 out the door. I swapped titles (even trade) for the coach I have now and could not be more happy. The dealership had it undervalued. I did some shopping yesterday and found 2005 Safari Gazelles for sale ranging from $99,000 to $125,000, and none of those had AquaHot ($11,200 option) or HWH Active Air ($9,300 option).

Not all coaches come with side radiator. Monaco made a huge number of different models, some with side and some with rear. I can tell you all Safari Gazelle models have side radiators, but that limits it to just one particular coach.

Motor Homes of Texas is in Nacogdoches, the same city where the Foretravel factory is. That's the extent of what I know about them. I got my new 33SW from MHSRV (horrible service) and traded it at a nearby used dealership after three years of ownership.

[Sandy Swede]

Originally Posted by G Man

My question is not a poll.
Any pertinent facts, reasons, thoughts, experience, etc. about your answer is what I am looking for.

Source of confusion? "Both have very similiar floorpans that we like and are close to our Hurricane. I would greatly appreciate any and all opinions out there."

[gtsum2]

I like the aria for the overhead bunk (kids). Too bad newmar or other don't make something similar.

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

When your brand new coach spends 172 days in the shop during the first 11 months of ownership because the full wall slide keeps breaking, you will come to hate them too.

Totally understand! Our Hurricane had the large slide out break while being full times. Thank god it was covered under warranty!!



2014 Thor Four Winds 33SW Super C, with a purchase price of $115,000 plus TT&L, about $123,000 out the door. I swapped titles (even trade) for the coach I have now and could not be more happy. The dealership had it undervalued. I did some shopping yesterday and found 2005 Safari Gazelles for sale ranging from $99,000 to $125,000, and none of those had AquaHot ($11,200 option) or HWH Active Air ($9,300 option).

Not all coaches come with side radiator. Monaco made a huge number of different models, some with side and some with rear. I can tell you all Safari Gazelle models have side radiators, but that limits it to just one particular coach.

Motor Homes of Texas is in Nacogdoches, the same city where the Foretravel factory is. That's the extent of what I know about them. I got my new 33SW from MHSRV (horrible service) and traded it at a nearby used dealership after three years of ownership.

You have opened uo my mind about what to look for and get. Thank you. Can you send a pic of your Safari?