Community Forums

Butte64 · 10-13-2017, 05:48 AM

Angie, unless you know for sure you are going to keep it for 10 years think about resale or trade value. A coach of this class will not go well with only two TVs. Inside TV can be added but not outside. I don’t plan on a lot of use for my outside TV but it is there if desired and will be there when the coach is sold. A reason Entegra has so many thing standard is because those are the most popular items and making so many things standard keeps production cost down.

MuddyPaws2 · 10-13-2017, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butte64

Angie, unless you know for sure you are going to keep it for 10 years think about resale or trade value. A coach of this class will not go well with only two TVs. Inside TV can be added but not outside. I don’t plan on a lot of use for my outside TV but it is there if desired and will be there when the coach is sold. A reason Entegra has so many thing standard is because those are the most popular items and making so many things standard keeps production cost down.

Hi, Jerry that's the sticky wicket, isn't it! Since we are so particular about what we want, we are trying to go into this as what will work for us, for the longest period of time. I know that a lot of people just get a coach to get going, then trade up, or settle for something other than what they wanted, then trade up, or buy what they can afford now, then trade up. I also don't look at this as what it will be worth later because no one knows what the market will do, or what will happen in the future. Our economy could tank again and we could have a repeat of the 'RV depression'. In that case, my options wouldn't matter all that much. I mean in the scope of things I can't believe that there isn't at least one other person in the whole RV world that wouldn't feel the same as I do about what options I chose.

Don't most dealers pick what they think is going to be most popular when they order for the dealership? Isn't there a large section of people that skip the ones on the lot to order custom what they want? It's an interesting conundrum!

You make a valid point though, the tv outside takes up no room, so that one might be a no harm option. I do know though that people constantly say they wish they had more storage, so I still think the one over the head and the one in the bedroom are better suited as storage

Now put them all on televators so I don't have to see them and I won't care if they are there or not.

Angie

MRUSA14 · 10-13-2017, 07:11 AM

You may not care about TV but there is a reason that Entegra supplies 4 TVs as standard equipment. People want them! (Okay, maybe not so much the front one). A coach with no bedroom TV will attract very few buyers.

As for the expense of traveling to see and test the various RV’s, I can think of no money better spent. Otherwise you risk spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on the wrong product. I suggest you plan to go to Tampa in January and spend several days at the big Super Show there. In one trip you will be able to see and compare in great detail every product made, including scheduled test drives. Then you will have all your questions answered and be in a position to make an informed decision.

wnytaxman · 10-13-2017, 07:16 AM

Angie, I think most dealers order what they like based on what I see on line all the time. That fact that you want very specific options puts you more into the Newmar area than the Entegra area. There is one other major difference between the two manufacturers. Even though your MSRP's will be close on the two rigs, there is a major difference in the discounts offered on the two rigs. The Newmar discounts usually run about 22-28% while the Entegra discounts usually run 30-35%. On a $350,000 coach that is a lot of moola!

The two year warranty is also a big item for us. Being in Western NY and being a CPA we have about six months that we can't use our rig so the longer warranty is very big item for us.

wnytaxman · 10-13-2017, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

You may not care about TV but there is a reason that Entegra supplies 4 TVs as standard equipment. People want them! (Okay, maybe not so much the front one). A coach with no bedroom TV will attract very few buyers.

As for the expense of traveling to see and test the various RV’s, I can think of no money better spent. Otherwise you risk spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on the wrong product. I suggest you plan to go to Tampa in January and spend several days at the big Super Show there. In one trip you will be able to see and compare in great detail every product made, including scheduled test drives. Then you will have all your questions answered and be in a position to make an informed decision.

Marc is giving you very good advice. Get out there. Tire kick and ask questions. Drive the units and see what you like and what you don't like. It's very unlikely you will find the perfect unit but you can get close to what you want with a lot of research.

MuddyPaws2 · 10-13-2017, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

Marc is giving you very good advice. Get out there. Tire kick and ask questions. Drive the units and see what you like and what you don't like. It's very unlikely you will find the perfect unit but you can get close to what you want with a lot of research.

Gentlemen, we've been there done that, just in September at the Hershey show. It is how we saw, touched and sat in both Newmar (which was one we went to look at) and Entegra which was a huge surprise to us. We just didn't test drive them that day.

Second travel is not that easy for us, hence the actual need for a coach in the first place. We are owned by two Great Danes, we do not board them for SO many reasons, where we go, they go. Our next issue is dh's work schedule does not allow for extended time off. He gets vacation days but we just used that up and he will not have extended time off again for a while.

This harkens back to my original point. The mid-Atlantic area (Maryland in particular) is woefully lacking in high-end coach dealers.

There is a dealer in Virginia that is supposed to have DS on the lot that we could test drive. That takes care of that. Finding the Entegra to test drive though, right now means a trip to NY or GA. Both are doable but will require, time off and money for travel.

I thank you kindly for your thoughts!
Angie

MRUSA14 · 10-13-2017, 11:06 AM

Angie, now I understand the issue with your dogs and why it makes travel difficult for you. Yes, a motorhome would enhance your ability to travel immensely.

Saltydog44 · 10-13-2017, 07:15 PM

Marc is indeed giving good advice.

I'll just add: Don't rush it. Take the time to get the right answer.

Act in haste and repent at leisure comes to mind. Also Floorplan rules.

Cruzer · 10-14-2017, 08:10 AM

Be sure to view the various floorplans when the slides are retracted. Some floorplans look great when opened up at a show or on a dealer's lot but once the slides are retracted for travel things can change drastically. With two large dogs you will need some room for them and for you to get past them to the bathroom when driving.

MRUSA14 · 10-14-2017, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruzer

Be sure to view the various floorplans when the slides are retracted. Some floorplans look great when opened up at a show or on a dealer's lot but once the slides are retracted for travel things can change drastically. With two large dogs you will need some room for them and for you to get past them to the bathroom when driving.

Excellent advice. A few of Entegra's floorplans, and many of Newmar's floorplans are very tight when closed up.

MuddyPaws2 · 10-14-2017, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

Excellent advice. A few of Entegra's floorplans, and many of Newmar's floorplans are very tight when closed up.

Okay so here's the deal. We've actually taken our guys with us on test drives of coaches which is how we got it narrowed down originally to the Tiffin Phaeton and the Newmar Dutch Star (Ventana had a floorplan that worked but after upgrades, it was a DS w/o side radiator and tag).

So from personal experience with them in a coach, we know that booth dinettes will NOT work. The height of them is such that the dog can't go under it and I don't really want them going over it!

A Coach with a counter that juts out at an odd angle will NOT work. The dogs just don't bend like that.

A coach where the slides come together so tight that I can't get into the bedroom will NOT work my dogs don't jump exactly straight

Hence, WHY we need to go and see with the dogs an Entegra Aspire.

Which brings me all the way back to the entire point of my original post. The mid-Atlantic area is a void when it comes to Entegra and I don't understand why.

The closest I've been able to find is at minimum, a full days ride away in either direction.

We need an RV One or a NIRVC in this area, MD, VA, DE

MRUSA14 · 10-14-2017, 01:30 PM

The wide aisle when traveling is one of the reasons why we love our floorplan. Sorry about the sideways photo, I don't know why IRV2 does this.

Saltydog44 · 10-14-2017, 01:42 PM

I believe NIRVC has a fly-in program if there was any way to swing the time - probably couldn't get the pups on the plane with you though!

The main reason I bring this up is time and NIRVC has both Newmar and Entegra in Atlanta

MuddyPaws2 · 10-14-2017, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

The wide aisle when traveling is one of the reasons why we love our floorplan. Sorry about the sideways photo, I don't know why IRV2 does this.

BEAUTIFUL!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltydog44

I believe NIRVC has a fly-in program if there was any way to swing the time - probably couldn't get the pups on the plane with you though!

The main reason I bring this up is time and NIRVC has both Newmar and Entegra in Atlanta

Yes, they do, though don't know if they have both on the lot right now.

We basically at this point have 3 choices.

Behind door number 1: We wait till September, continue saving money, start prepping the house with a concrete pad and electric hookup. In Septemeber, we go to Hershey 2.5 hour drive and do our test drives of both coaches. The downside, dogs can't go with us.

Behind door number 2: We trek to NIRVC, It will take us over 10 hours to drive there. So a full day, to say the least, sleep in the hotel, go there test drive, sleep in the hotel, then drive home. Long weekend.

Behind door number 3: We trek to RV One in Albany, NY. It's over a 5.5-hour drive there. Same deal, get there, crash at the hotel, go to the dealer, test drive, crash at the hotel, then drive home.

We were leaning towards NIRVC because of what was said here and we were actually contacted by them from a post I made on IRV2. We exchanged emails and I was handed off to a salesperson in Georgia. I got an email, replied with details on the Entegra we were interested in, asked a couple of questions and now a day short of two weeks, nothing.

When you start reading about RVOne it's a mixed bag, some say it's great for sales but to stay away from them for any service issue even a phone call. They are closer to us and their prices online are a good starting place.

So....