MH Brands, Quality, Etc.

[Canefin]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

Interesting comment. I had thought the Pace Arrow was a good rig, generally equivalent to a Tiffin.
jt

Not even close to Tiffin. Tiffin makes their own chassis and all ways they build are so much better in quality. Not saying my Fleetwood was bad but little things like doors and motors in bed and seats went bad after 6 months I had and I got brand new. Tiffin has a everything pretty much done correctly and service is outstanding. Fleetwood cooperate took care of me but service centers were terrible..for ex: had a windshield wipers blade flying off in transport and took Me Mesa in port st Lucie Fl 5 times to try and fix and finally got approval to go to another service center who fixed right away. Tiffin is way to go and I think you get what you pay for .

[Smitty77]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

Interesting comment. I had thought the Pace Arrow was a good rig, generally equivalent to a Tiffin.
jt

IMO, you will find the Devil of the Detail specific's - can make a difference in a models quality of build. The specific year a model is built, and era of financial health and company culture - can very between different years.

So just because some years of a manufactures models may have lower quality build/materials/components - does not mean 'all' years do.

And also realize that some famous and well thought of manufactures were bought and assimilated into a larger company. Names like Holiday Rambler, Beaver, etc. - are all now owned by companies in some cases 2 or 3 'assimilation's' later. (And note. Not say these models are bad. But I suspect the era of one of the names, will have different approaches to build quality, cabinetry, materials. TO BE CLEAR, just using those two brands as example of what I'm getting across.)

So when shopping for used RV',s drill own to the specifics of the maker/model/year that you are considering, when looking for reputation of quality. And, trust your eyes, and inspect carefully too!

Best to all,
Smitty

[DaBruuzer]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

IMO, you will find the Devil of the Detail specific's - can make a difference in a models quality of build. The specific year a model is built, and era of financial health and company culture - can very between different years.

So just because some years of a manufactures models may have lower quality build/materials/components - does not mean 'all' years do.

And also realize that some famous and well thought of manufactures were bought and assimilated into a larger company. Names like Holiday Rambler, Beaver, etc. - are all now owned by companies in some cases 2 or 3 'assimilation's' later. (And note. Not say these models are bad. But I suspect the era of one of the names, will have different approaches to build quality, cabinetry, materials. TO BE CLEAR, just using those two brands as example of what I'm getting across.)

So when shopping for used RV',s drill own to the specifics of the maker/model/year that you are considering, when looking for reputation of quality. And, trust your eyes, and inspect carefully too!

Best to all,
Smitty

All excellent points - thanks!

[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by DaBruuzer

All excellent points - thanks!

Yes they are.
jt

[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by Canefin

Not even close to Tiffin. Tiffin makes their own chassis and all ways they build are so much better in quality. Not saying my Fleetwood was bad but little things like doors and motors in bed and seats went bad after 6 months I had and I got brand new. Tiffin has a everything pretty much done correctly and service is outstanding. Fleetwood cooperate took care of me but service centers were terrible..for ex: had a windshield wipers blade flying off in transport and took Me Mesa in port st Lucie Fl 5 times to try and fix and finally got approval to go to another service center who fixed right away. Tiffin is way to go and I think you get what you pay for .

Actually, for the most part no. Tiffin uses Freightliner diesel or Ford gas chassis. Not sure if they use any Spartan chassis. They do manufacture their own Powerglide proprietary chassis on Allegro Bus, Breeze and a few Phaeton models. Other than that its off the shelf chassis.

My comments were actually directed at the gas models of the Pace Arrow and Tiffin from a few years back.
jt

[Canefin]

They do yes. .and they produce the powerglide which I have being made for my Motorhome. All good stuff

[cvbdsl]

Notice you are in Ontario as am I. I've bought 4 MH's here and after buying our "ideal" MH a year and a half ago , due to potential medical issues I've now been looking to downsize to under 26000lbs. Just started looking.

There are a lot of nice gas MH's in your price range
Don't forget that for your $100K CAD budget you would need to figure 32-33% exchange and maybe a percent or two extra by the bank. If you bring it into Canada you will need to pay 13% of the CAD value (even if you have a trade). So your 75$ USD would be just under your $100K CAD budget, but HST would make it close to $113K CAD plus some minor fees/inspections.

Also consider looking to Quebec, there are several large RV dealers close to and around Montreal that have decent prices. I'm staying away from Thor and Forest River after looking at several of them - you'll find many many near new ones for sale and probably for a reason though as stated there are happy owners.

That being said I am planning to look to the US as well, much more choice and overall still better prices and am looking to sell my MH there as well.
I'm really looking at Winnebago/Itasca and maybe Tiffen. Newmar and some others seem to be out of my price range this time (I've owned 2 Newmars before).

Chris

[PeterFTH]

In the used world, as a life long boater I spent a good year looking over motorhomes to see what made them tick, and what features I wanted. I am speaking of Class A here - not very knowledgable about smaller units. After searching and compliling lists, I found that (now defunct) Travel Supreme had all the major things I wanted. Firstly - a side radiator for the diesel. Rear radiators are common, but hamper your ability to observe and service your engine by a huge factor. You or your mechanic has to tear your bedroom apart to even get at the thing - if there is some engineering reason for rear radiators I would love to know what it is. Next is a raised rail chassis so the basement compartments can hold some pretty big items. My 2002 has two slides on the driver's side - some have slides on both sides but beware that on some models you cannot access some areas when the slides are in - say you spend the night in a truck stop and can't get into your refrigerator? Just observe before you buy - the extra space is fine, but there is also additional maintenance and more things that can go wrong. Don't get an under powered rig - mine is a Cummins 8.8 liter @ 400hp. Some Class A's have as little as 300HP and you will pay in mpg and frustration on hills. Ask questions, make up a survey form so you can keep track of what you look at and easily refer to what each unit had in the plus and minus columns. You will never regret doing the research before you buy. Peter

[Journey39n]

In my opinion, I would not cut out a DP from your list. Since you are looking for used, in the under $100k range, there are many in the 12-15 year old range that are pretty nice.

Not considering the 'Cadillac' and 'Lincoln' class, I believe, that Winnebago builds the better engineered RV. They usually come out with the new features that everyone else seems to copy a year or two later. And you can get manuals and parts for every model going way back, from the factory, and many other sources.

If I were looking for a good used RV that could be worked on, and used for many more years, I might look for the diesel models, Itasca Horizon, Ellipse, Winnebago Vectra and Tour from the mid-2000 range. The top of the gas class the Winnebago Adventurer, is also a good choice. They like all, had minor quality control issues straight out of the factory, but after the original owners got through all those annoyances, they are very solid units.

For any brand out there, there are thousands of very happy owners compared to the few vocal complainers, who, justifiably, might have a lemon. Just figure out what you really want. A more utilitarian go-anywhere RV, or a fancy pants party and show-off rig. They are all out there.

[MajorOz]

Originally Posted by DaBruuzer

Originally posted the following in my New Member Intro thread (HERE if anyone cares to read it), but didn't really get any responses. I realize everyone seems to have a fav manufacturer (kinda like the old Ford People vs Chevy People thing), but was hoping for some guidance:

Is there some kind of "hierarchy" in the perceived/real-world quality of motorhome manufacturers? As mentioned, I come from an automotive background, so using GM as an analogy (I know not all divisions are around any longer), you started off with a Chevy, maybe moved up to a Pontiac, then an Olds, a Buick and finally a Caddy. I know they are all the same manufacturer, but I hope you are getting my meaning.

Who is the "Cadillac" or "Rolls Royce" of motorhomes, and who is the "Chevy"? Nothing wrong with a Chevy, but people looking for a Rolls wouldn't be looking at a Chevy. Who is the "Olds" of motorhomes? Or if you come from a Ford background, what about the Ford, versus the Mercury, versus the Lincoln? Etc.

To add a little more, we're thinking of the entry end of things, like a Thor ACE or Vegas/Axis, or perhaps a Jayco Leprechaun (30ft+ range) or Pursuit, etc. Under or just slightly over $100k range, pre-owned.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Forest River is the PERFECT example.


Rather than cast aspersions here, talk to a dealer you trust, and he will 'splain it to you.


Hint: look at how FR trains its employees.....moving from one group to the next.

[augerdogger]

i Had a '98 38' Dutchstar and then moved to a 40' Prevost conversion, no comparison in quality. I then moved to a 45' DS Prevost. Everything was the BEST and the associated cost was higher. Based on my experience, RV parks and road side parking traveling through CA and AK, I downsized to a 40'. We are planning extensive travel to east coast of CA and eatern US. I am now in a 40' Allegro Bus looking for a 40' Prevost. IMHO a Prevost is the only way to travel. My 2cents

[scbwr]

Most of us appreciate quality....but most of us have budget constraints....hence, we are happy with the best quality we can afford! Now....if anyone wants to donate a Prevost to me......just send me a PM!!

However, this forum along with other resources has been a great help when we were making the move to a motorhome. And, for the inexperienced buyer, it's a little tough to find unbiased ratings of motorhomes.

[harleyjt]

Right or wrong, here's my perception of the overall quality level of different motorhomes:

Rolls Royce - Prevost and other bus conversions
Cadillac - Fortravel and Newell, Wanderlodge
Buick - Newmar, Entegra/Travel Supreme, Winnebago/Itasca, Monaco (pre-09), Tiffin
Oldsmobile - Fleetwood, Holiday Rambler, Pace Arrow
Pontiac - Alfa
Chevy - Thor, Coachmen

And I know there are others, now gone, for which I really know nothing about such as Alpine and Safari and others.
jt

[scbwr]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

Right or wrong, here's my perception of the overall quality level of different motorhomes:

Rolls Royce - Prevost and other bus conversions
Cadillac - Fortravel and Newell, Wanderlodge
Buick - Newmar, Entegra/Travel Supreme, Winnebago/Itasca, Monaco (pre-09), Tiffin
Oldsmobile - Fleetwood, Holiday Rambler, Pace Arrow
Pontiac - Alfa
Chevy - Thor, Coachmen

And I know there are others, now gone, for which I really know nothing about such as Alpine and Safari and others.
jt

Your classification seems consistent with what I've seen aside from the fact
that I haven't even ventured to look at the Rolls Royce and Cadillac divisions!
But, I'd suggest that the Chevy class be renamed Dodge as I think GM has improved the Chevy line over the past few years. But, I think one can say that Dodge autos have really suffered in recent years and are a grade lower than Chevy! Just my opinion....As in my signature, my tow car is a Chevy and it's better quality than some of the Thor products I've looked. And....let's be clear....I know that there are some Thor products out there that folks are very happy to own!!