Possible upgrade

[buck58]

So, the 2021 Anthem & Cornerstone have come out with R floor plan that has bunkbeds. I’m in a 2018 Aspire now cuz Bunkbeds are a must for me about the time I see on my floor plan to have bunkbeds. So, Working out there and how trying to compare justify the price difference between the Anthem & The Cornerstone, Any help would be much appreciated. Safety is my number one concern, but I’d like to know what I’m getting into from the big step up from aspire to either one of these coaches. And yes I’ll be buying from NIRVC if I decide to do this and I’ll make the sales person do their job but I would just like to pick the brain of the people on this form as well... my wife is very happy with our Aspire so I will have to justify the most to her as well [emoji15].... ✝️[emoji120]

[buck58]

Sorry guys I speak into this thing and it writes and sometimes I don’t Proofread as well as I should but I think you guys get what I’m trying to say, I’ll proofread better in the future

[buck58]

Basically I’m trying to justify the price difference between the Anthem & the Cornerstone. Why pay more for Cornerstone?

[brobox]

I have owned both. The Anthem is really getting close to the Cornerstone for creature comforts. JMO but I would do the list method to answer your question on how you will use the coach. Take the list of features for each model and check off the "must haves". If the CS does not exceed the Anthem, the Anthem is the choice.

I don't know about the Anthem on the 21's, but the CS has finally got comfortable AC and heated drivers seat. The salon couch is nothing to write home about, probably the same as in the Anthem. 605 HP is great. I was able to upgrade and put crown molding in, that really set the coach wood trim off. Glad to answer any comparable questions that I can.

[Nowabeachbum]

I agree with Chuck, the 2 are really close together in terms of features. The big difference is the engine. I too have owned both and unless you spend most of your time in the mountains, I probably wouldn’t spend the extra money for the Cornerstone. There just isn’t enough of a difference between the 2 to justify the money.

[Hayman]

Engine, brakes & chassis are the big differences in my opinion and with the Anthem having the 20,000 lb 365 tires up front the decision to spend $120 K or so extra becomes tougher then back in 2016 when I struggled between the Cornerstone & Anthem. We've been 50,000 miles to include 2 trips out West, Canada, The Yukon, Alaska etc and got there and back with only 450 hp 😁 !

When parked , which most of us are more then driving there's very little difference between models and the cost difference pays for a lot of diesel, sites , meals out not to mention cost difference in oil changes.

Again just my opinion ! Now that doesn't mean I wouldn't LIKE the BIG LITRE ENGINE just don't want to pay for it !

[Gary.Jones]

Brian is right....

I have owned both, and the differences between the Anthem and the Cornerstone are all things that you cant see.... the money is going into the K3 Chassis, the suspension, the big tires all around, much bigger Allison Tranny for the big Cummins, The steerable tag (not worth the investment), the disc brakes all around, the big 605 horse engine (nice but certainly not necessary) etc. etc. The differences inside have been minor in the past. Have not walked into a 21 yet so cant compare unit to unit yet, but in previous years, that has described the big differences to me....

I enjoy the upgrades in driving the Cornerstone.... was it worth all the additional money, I'm not sure, but you only live once, so I figured, what the hell....

Gary

[brobox]

A couple of things in the CS that are, in my opinion not worth the cost, is the EZ steer and the steerable tag axle. Others may not be able to get the checkbook out fast enough, but for me it would not be in the "must have" column and those items are expensive.

[MRUSA14]

EZ-Steer comes on Anthem as well, so not a reason to upgrade from Anthem to Cornerstone.

[777 Driver]

When I was making a decision between the Anthem and Cornerstone, I found the Anthem to be very comparable in "house" amenities to be quite similar. Although the Cornerstone did have some nicer "house" amenities, we found the Anthem to be completely adequate in all respects.

The big difference, in my mind, is the chassis. There are significant differences between the Spartan K3 605 and the K2 450. The first, and most obvious, is the 605hp ISX vs. the 450hp ISL. Beyond that, there are disc brakes all around, passive steerable tag axle, three stage engine brake on the K3 that are not on the K2.

You might look at these sources: https://www.spartanrvchassis.com/cha...m-42-and-44-2/ and https://www.spartanrvchassis.com/cha...nerstone-45-2/

Take care,
Stu

[buddy110]

While I have no experience with the CS (yet) it does have ACC and CMS which the Anthem does not. For me the decision was based on the chassis, disc brakes and 605. We spend a lot of time driving in the mountains.

[Ann n Gene]

I have downsized but for me the difference is the K3 over the Anthems K2. I have had both. Just came over Monarch pass(11200+) and it brutally reminded my of why you want the K3, 605 in the mountains. It is NOT to get up the mountain, it is the 605 horses ALL applying the retard on the DOWNgrades. Nothing else in the industry comes close to providing the braking power of the 605 Cummins working against itself coming down the mountain. Everything else only applies retardation at about 50% of rated horsepower, the X15 uses all cylinders to force the entire engine to retard. With my Cornerstones I rarely touched the brakes coming down, with my 450 hp coaches, including my present one I had to get on the brakes pretty hard a few times down Monarch to keep engine speed up, retard at the highest and ground speed under complete control. So for me, if I were going to have another big coach it would have to be a Cornerstone. We travel the west a lot, if you stay east of the Rockies it’s not as big a deal and the decision becomes harder for me. All JMHO