Community Forums

Hayman · 08-05-2016, 06:48 PM

We traded an 09 Allegro Bus 40 QSP in November for a 2016 Anthem 44A and there is NO COMPARISON between the two coach's insulation. We do not frequent temps much above 90-95 but have no problem maintaining mid 70's with AC's cycling and we've been in freezing temps and our Anthem is much warmer and holds the heat better.

The biggest difference we notice in insulation is during rain and as a very light sleeper I wake in the AM only to discover it rained overnight and slept right through it when in our Bus I would wake up and resort to earplugs.

If you make the move to Entegra I believe you'll be very pleased with the construction, quality and insulation !

wmpbauer · 08-05-2016, 09:01 PM

75° and we have the biggest windshield in the industry.

Pat Bauer, President
Entegra Coach Owners Association
www.entegraowners.com
2017 Anthem DEQ/Ford Edge

kmghmg · 08-05-2016, 09:34 PM

Well, I've had second thoughts about stuffing traditional fiberglass insulation in that area (after buying a roll of insulation, of course!). I'm sure at some point I'll have to be back inside there replacing one or another of those electronic components, running wires, etc. Or the next owner will. Any suggestions about what a good alternative would be? I've thought about the qasi-styrophoam sheets, but it would be hard to get them placed well enough given all the wiring. Something similar to the batt-type insulation but that isn't fiberglass might be an option. I think a spray insulation would make a horrific mess. Any thoughts?

Thanks again for all the very helpful feedback!

Oh, and I've spoken with three Entegra owners in the RV park this afternoon…and all three raved about their coaches. Two Anthems and one Aspire.

Rmallardjr · 08-05-2016, 10:12 PM

There is insulation available that is encased in plastic . You can order it from one of the Big Box stores . I just put my insulation in garbage bags , layer it in the front cap , and it has worked very good. Also used a foil type of insulation , Reflectix , I think. We put that on the back wall of all side cabinets, and that has helped too . But I too look forward to the quiet of an entegra .......

Cruzer · 08-06-2016, 03:26 PM

We've been to Moab in the summer, facing west, with three different coaches - a 40' Allegro Bus with two A/Cs, a 42' Allegro Bus with three A/Cs, and our 45' Cornerstone with three A/Cs. All I can say is that there is no comparison. It's like night and day.

The 40' Bus with two A/Cs I won't even bother going into.

Our 42' Bus with three A/Cs had to work hard to try to keep it's cool. It never really did get "cool" but it did get "less hot". There isn't much insulation in the coach. The front cap, as you found out by removing the TV, has none. If you feel back behind into the roof area you'll find that this void goes back another three feet. I did add additional insulation and even added some reflective Flexfoil (I got the idea after seeing how Entegras were built back in 2010) but it still wasn't enough, even with the excellent MCD shades.

It was quite a contrast to our recent Moab trip, again facing west with the sun coming in that huge windshield, this last July. Our Entegra was cool all the time, just as it was in the hot sun in the Texas Hill Country on 100+ degree days last summer. The air conditioners don't run nearly as often and Leann kept remarking how amazed she was at how cool the coach was compared to past trips with the Busses.

But it's not just the windshield and front cap area that makes the difference. Entegra really sweats the details when it comes to insulation. When at an FMCA show a few summers back we did some checking of the various coaches that were parked outside in the hot sun. We opened up a number of cabinets, both in slideouts and in the main coach area to see how much heat was in them. Every single one was fairly hot but not the Entegra. However, the one I really was hoping to compare was Newmar but they were inside a building so obviously they were cool and I couldn't do a good comparison test so I can't comment on them but I expect them to be pretty close to Entegra due to their similar methods of construction.

You can try to improve the insulation in your Allegro Bus if you want to but it will be a lot of work and I wouldn't expect much improvement. I sure didn't see much. It is what it is.

kmghmg · 08-06-2016, 03:41 PM

Thanks, Cruzer. We just finished stuffing all the two-inch Dow foam panel pieces we can in the front cap as a test. Took about an hour and $40.00. It'll be an interesting experiment. And the two-inch thick panel fits well between the ceiling and the roof - back about a foot is all I could go. With any luck, we will see a noticeable improvement. The two-inch panel only has an R-value of 10 though. But in places we doubled it up.

dave&ginny · 08-06-2016, 08:08 PM

I haven't had the opportunity to visit a desert yet with the Entegra but I can say that we like to sleep in the mid to upper 60 degree temps and so far we've never had an issue keeping it there.

The real testament to us on the insulation values is the reduced noise levels. It's very quiet in the coach. On the down side........we find the noise from the rain on the roof kind of romantic and with the Entegra we've lost that sound due to the insulation.

kmghmg · 08-06-2016, 10:48 PM

Does anyone happen to know with certainty about the insulation in the Newmar coaches? I'm curious as to how they'd compare, and I'd love to hear from someone with such knowledge.

Thank you again for the very, very informative responses to my initial question!

royals1212 · 08-07-2016, 07:23 AM

I was just in Hot Springs AR for the 4th of July. Beautiful campsite, unfortunately the windshield faced south into the sun almost all day. The front ac struggled. I see a magna shade in my future. If I had been facing any other direction there would not have been a issue.

Gary.Jones · 08-07-2016, 07:35 AM

Currently have friends who have their own plane visiting us in Louisiana. Yesterday's temperature was 102 with a heat index of 112. They wanted to see the coach so I went out 3 or 4 hours before we anticipated giving them a tour, and kicked all three AC units on my Anthem down to 77 degrees (normally set in the 90s). The tour was at noon (outside temp was close to 102. By the time we did the tour, the bus was as cool as a cucumber.... very nice. All 3 ACs were running but turning on and off. The bus was facing south and the sun was directly above and moving toward the west. We talked about 90 minutes to 2 hours sitting in the coach to mid-afternoon and the coach was cool and cozy the whole time.

Now, I have a complete set of MagnaShades on the front, from toll window around to the small passenger window. Cost about $1,000 and the money was WELL SPENT.

I am sure that the MagnaShades were a big part of the comfort. I also had both night and day shades down inside on the big front window. I was impressed with how cool it was !! (And so were my friends who are from California and were quite literally "wilting" from the ambient heat outside here in NW LA)

Gary

Nowabeachbum · 08-07-2016, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmghmg

Does anyone happen to know with certainty about the insulation in the Newmar coaches? I'm curious as to how they'd compare, and I'd love to hear from someone with such knowledge.

Thank you again for the very, very informative responses to my initial question!

As Cruzer said, the construction is much the same so you should expect similar positive results from any Newmar. If you are wanting first person input, you might want to post the question on the Newmar site.

AspireDoug · 08-08-2016, 07:13 AM

My last coach was a 40' Beaver (2 a/c's). At Texas World Speedway in August a few years ago facing West with temps 106 the front of the coach would never get below 80-82. I was going to install a third A/C but I talked to several people that convinced me to try a windshield cover. I did not think that would do much good since the DW had made very thick curtains for the front of the coach. I bought a cover for the front and toll windows plus the door and right side window. The next year sitting in the same spot at 105 degrees the coach would cool down to 76 in the front and low 70's in the rear. In the 2014 Aspire without a front windshield cover just the shades down we can keep the front at 78 or so on a 100 degree day. I'm sure with a windshield cover the Aspire would cool down to the mid 70's. I see more difference in the winter. The Beaver was hard to keep warm and the heater ran forever and turned off for short periods of time then back on again. In the upper 20's our Aspire is very easy to keep toasty warm.

Doug

Gary.Jones · 08-08-2016, 07:50 AM

Doug

Remember, the big difference between any inside shade and an outside shade is that with an outside shade, you are keeping most of the heat outside of the coach, before it gets through the windows and into the coach. Huge difference with outside shades versus inside shades.... the inside help and if it is really hot, I keep both my day and night shades down, but what makes the big difference is when I installed the outside MagneShades to the coach.... Big difference.

Gary

MRUSA14 · 08-08-2016, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Now, I have a complete set of MagnaShades on the front, from toll window around to the small passenger window. Cost about $1,000 and the money was WELL SPENT.

I am sure that the MagnaShades were a big part of the comfort.

If the $1000 cost of MagnaShades is an issue, you can get the exact same cooling effect with these for about $400 complete. The fabric looks the same as MagnaShade, but the method of attachment is different. They install with no fasteners and no ladder in about 5 minutes. The one drawback vs Magneshades is that these have a tendency to wrinkle a little and not lie completely flat against the windshield. But aside from that slight hit to the appearance, you get the same benefits at lower costs.