Community Forums

Gordon Dewald · 06-18-2015, 06:13 PM

I agree with the premise that Entegra is going through its growing pains. Most new manufacturers are noted for producing good to better product during their growth period.

Entegra has just recently produced its 1800 coach, Newmar produces 40 a week, Winnebago produces 240 a week.

IMO they are busy trying to find the best combination of product vs price point. What a difficult job that must be! It is difficult to get two people to agree let alone 1800 who will have different opinions of what they want and what they expect. Add in all of the different body types and sizes and what do you do?

Mass production which keeps the price reasonable will also eliminate the special requests and custom settings. Why even baseball hats are normally one size fits all. Not that a baseball hat costs 300,000 +.

However if you are looking for the customization of all of the different features in a coach you will be looking at 900,000 +.

I expect there are many upholstery places that would be able to take a seat and give you the bum palace you desire. Likely for under 1,000.00.

CampDaven · 06-18-2015, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

I agree with the premise that Entegra is going through its growing pains. Most new manufacturers are noted for producing good to better product during their growth period.

Entegra has just recently produced its 1800 coach, Newmar produces 40 a week, Winnebago produces 240 a week.

IMO they are busy trying to find the best combination of product vs price point. What a difficult job that must be! It is difficult to get two people to agree let alone 1800 who will have different opinions of what they want and what they expect. Add in all of the different body types and sizes and what do you do?

Mass production which keeps the price reasonable will also eliminate the special requests and custom settings. Why even baseball hats are normally one size fits all. Not that a baseball hat costs 300,000 +.

However if you are looking for the customization of all of the different features in a coach you will be looking at 900,000 +.

I expect there are many upholstery places that would be able to take a seat and give you the bum palace you desire. Likely for under 1,000.00.

Yep. I have hope that they may have a layout that appeals to more of us, as time goes on.
I have a rig that was custom ordered in 2008, that we bought in 2014, and fits us where other makers wish they could. The joy in shopping is finding the right one. Rigs that are all the same just don't work for us picky folks.
Customization is important to having something unique!
Best wishes and Happy Trails, everyone!

Cruzer · 06-19-2015, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

I agree with the premise that Entegra is going through its growing pains. Most new manufacturers are noted for producing good to better product during their growth period.

Entegra has just recently produced its 1800 coach, Newmar produces 40 a week, Winnebago produces 240 a week.

IMO they are busy trying to find the best combination of product vs price point. What a difficult job that must be! It is difficult to get two people to agree let alone 1800 who will have different opinions of what they want and what they expect. Add in all of the different body types and sizes and what do you do?

Mass production which keeps the price reasonable will also eliminate the special requests and custom settings. Why even baseball hats are normally one size fits all. Not that a baseball hat costs 300,000 +.

However if you are looking for the customization of all of the different features in a coach you will be looking at 900,000 +.

I expect there are many upholstery places that would be able to take a seat and give you the bum palace you desire. Likely for under 1,000.00.

Customization can hurt a manufacturer in many ways. It adds additional cost to the unit, can be a bit confusing to workers who aren't used to doing something a different way, opens up more avenues for errors due to confusion, and slows down the production process. However, if you find any coach that is built the way you like it, has the quality you are looking for, backs you with excellent support, and has a floor plan that works for you - it's a good choice. Swapping out minor components, such as seats, or adding additional things you would like to have (you should see the stuff in my basement waiting for the new coach

), really isn't that big of a deal. You might think that anyone spending at least $300,000 should be able to get it exactly as they want but that's just not reality for all of the above reasons. However, you can spend a few thousand adding and modifying those items and you will still be spending less than if you had a manufacturer customize it for you. Places like Bradd and Hall or Precision Paint can do some pretty nice custom work that won't blow your budget.

Gary.Jones · 06-19-2015, 07:01 AM

Gordon

Thanks for that opinion. If we don't like the fit of our seat, then when we can, either get it changed or modified.

I bought a late model 2015 Anthem, and maybe it is a different seat (it's a Villa) than others have, but I am 5' 8 1/2" tall and 235 (losing weight!!!) and my seat fits me like a glove. I have to lean forward a few inches to see all the gauges completely (the least visible is the transmission display), but that seems like a small inconvenience for everything else I got in this coach!

I wish this had been designed exactly for me, but just look at the different people driving these rigs (from a 4'8" woman to a 6'7" guy) and try to figure out how to make everyone happy.

Gary

CampDaven · 06-19-2015, 07:45 AM

IMHO, an 8-way seat and a tilt/telescoping wheel should fit nearly everyone. And if the seat is off-level or tilted, or easily bends out of shape with a nudge, something is not right.
Just my view from the saddle, and from the owner posts on this thread. I'll leave it at that.

DSL417 · 06-19-2015, 09:01 AM

Several thoughts...

First agree with Cruzer and would add, in this thread, some have commented that they love the Villa seats in the Anthem and Aspire and hate the Flexsteel...others have commented vice versa...obviously our bums and backs have preferences for a different feel. And by the way, the Villa seats in the 15 Cornerstone are great and have some lumbar support (but not a lot), IMHO...suggesting a different grade of seats from model to model.

As to "tilt", our 13 Anthem felt like I was sliding off the front right of the seat. Some of this was that the seat and the steering wheel were "offset" by about 1.5" (which was adjustable). But by that time, the seat had been worn by my somewhat oversized bum to "tilt". A few others similarly challenged, found similar in their Villa seats in the 2013 models, and the Villa versus Flex Steel discussion has been going on since then. Application of a shim solved the tilt problem.

That said, there are a number of choices in seats in the trucking industry...if it doesn't fit, check them out. I saw models that ran from $600 to 1500 in a Cummins store...my thought, if the price of comfort is less than 0.5% of the coach, then that is a price I personally would be willing to spend...regardless of the manufacturer of the coach. JMHO

Ultratravler · 06-19-2015, 08:08 PM

The biggest problem we have with our 15 Aspire is it has different seats and a different sofa than the 15 Aspire we had looked at before we ordered our new one. Then there is the different rear camera, I don't know of anyone that thinks that change was for the better. The change to Samsung appliances, again not for the better, in my opinion. It's not that change is bad, you just don't expect changes from what you think you are ordering to the end product you receive. Just our experience.

Dave