Community Forums

Profleetone · 04-03-2014, 07:53 PM

Do yourself a favor and go and check out a new Winnebago Forza diesel pusher at the nearest Winnebago dealer. This is a brand new product. I think you will be impressed by the fit and finish, the beautiful interiors and many amenities. Also, go and take the Winnebago factory tour in Forest City, Iowa. They have been building Motorhomes there for 58 years and they know what they are doing. I think you owe it to yourself before you commit to a serious purchase like a motor home.

bobandshaz · 04-03-2014, 09:50 PM

For sure do All your homework. There are just so many things to think about. Gas vs DP... Floorplan, storage space, kitchen, furniture, Washer/Dryer, size. Look into everything. Remember your going to be living in this thing FT with children and animals.

I have my must haves and DH has his and as we narrow down the top choices one of us might have to compromise on something and with luck neither will have to but we are finding what we are right now willing to take off the list if needed.

Case in point we really don't think we need a washer/dryer but if it's already there fine if not that's fine too. We know for sure we don't want an outside TV but every unit we have see has them except the 35B : happy dance: the floorplan is wide and roomy :big smiles: the kitchen OMG I'm a happy Chef :grins big: if it were up to me we would own a 35B right now.

Shaz

stressed spelled backwards is desserts

So take the opinions of others preference to brand with a grain of salt and ask lots of questions and do your home work.

Dusterella · 04-04-2014, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandshaz

For sure do All your homework. There are just so many things to think about. Gas vs DP... Floorplan, storage space, kitchen, furniture, Washer/Dryer, size. Look into everything. Remember your going to be living in this thing FT with children and animals.

I have my must haves and DH has his and as we narrow down the top choices one of us might have to compromise on something and with luck neither will have to but we are finding what we are right now willing to take off the list if needed.

Case in point we really don't think we need a washer/dryer but if it's already there fine if not that's fine too. We know for sure we don't want an outside TV but every unit we have see has them except the 35B : happy dance: the floorplan is wide and roomy :big smiles: the kitchen OMG I'm a happy Chef :grins big: if it were up to me we would own a 35B right now.

Shaz

stressed spelled backwards is desserts

So take the opinions of others preference to brand with a grain of salt and ask lots of questions and do your home work.

yes, I feel the same way about the 35B! It's pretty much perfect for all of our needs...but...the towing question :( And unfortunately that's something we probably wouldn't find out until actually doing it. Our year plans do not include much mountain driving - only one portion of it would be mountainous - mostly flatlands through the midwest and some hills in the Kentucky area.

bobandshaz · 04-04-2014, 02:10 PM

Have you posted to the towing and toad forum? You might and see if anyone there can assist with the weight dilemma. Also see if you can contact the DOT Department of Transportation and see if they can help with figuring out all the numbers on how to determine if the 35B can tow what you need.

sipNgas · 04-05-2014, 10:30 AM

Hi All, great conversation on the towing capacity! I recently purchased an Excursion 35B (love it BTW!) and had many of the same questions prior to pulling the trigger. Here’s the way I came to my conclusion about tow weight.

GVWR = Max weight of the MH (not the actual weight of the MH) is 26,000 lbs

Factory weight (using figure from Bobandshaz posted sticker for this example) is 22,555 lbs

OCCC = Occupant and Cargo Capacity is 3,445 lbs (GVWR – factory weight)

So if you used only the factory weight to calculate your towing capacity (which I did NOT), the best case tow capacity is only 7,445 lbs (30,000 – 22,555). Shame on all the salesman, including mine, for pushing the ability to tow 10k lbs!

For my purchase, I calculated my cargo weight at no more than 2,400 lbs (that’s a lot of crap). This brought my actual (closely estimated) tow capacity to approx. 5,000 lbs (30,000 GCVW - 22,555 factory weight - 2,400 estimated cargo). I figure I won’t get near that anyway so not an issue for me. I was actually more concerned with the ease of handling the hills and such without a toad.

Although I love the 35B and I’m glad I made the decision I did, the towing capacity was one of the critical factors when I was deciding between a Winnebago Forza and a Fleetwood Excursion (our top contenders after much searching). The Winnebago folks were upfront with the 5000 lbs towing (albeit because it only has a 5k hitch). That swayed me more towards the Excursion (perceived additional capacity overall). There were other factors I considered that ultimately confirmed that I made the right decision (for me), but the fact still remains that the sales folks are either not knowledgeable enough to know about what they are selling or are purposely being misleading. As always, buyers beware….confirm everything!!

Good luck on your decision Horizon! I think they’ll do better than $169 on the Excursion. Happy trails…

Dusterella · 04-05-2014, 12:50 PM

Thanks for the reply. It's really making me mad - the salesmen are STILL playing coy with all this. Like you said, it's either that they really don't know (which makes me not want to trust them on ANYTHING) or they do know and they are pretending that they don't. Either way, not an ideal situation :( It's very unfortunate.

We did call Fleetwood and the tech there said yeah, all of this is true - so we are interpreting the information correctly.

Will head over to the towing forum - thanks again everyone

Clayobx · 04-05-2014, 01:05 PM

FWIW. DW and I are presently on our second FW product. The first a FW excursion with a CAT C 9. Pulled a 4700 lb. toad for two years thru the Great Smoky Mountains with NO difficulty at all, towing hitch rated at 5 K. Our present Providence is rated at 10 K, again pulling the same toad. Obviously no issues. My point, FW treated us extremely well with our used product as well in fact as our new Providence. Their CS is above any in the market. The fit and finish for the Excursion price point is top quality. If you decide to eliminate the salesperson and listen to satisfied consumers you'll not be sorry! JMHO but well thought out!

DebbieMH · 04-05-2014, 02:51 PM

We've had ours now since January. We are on our 4th official trip - we've taken it as far east as St. Augustine, FL and as far west as Austin, Texas. We've spent almost a month (total nights) in it so far ..... absolutely love it ....

SarahW · 04-05-2014, 04:42 PM

We don't own an Excursion, but we are "Fleetwood Believers." If we ever trade our Bounder, we will look at Fleetwood models first. Quality and customer service!

dondar · 04-14-2014, 03:18 PM

Regarding your question on what's a good price for a 2014 35B.

They can be had brand new for around a 140K without even negotiating. You may do better if you offer lower and hold your ground. Toward the end of last year La Mesa was dumping 2013 35C's and 35B's for 129K. You can see a listing of 2014 units for sale with the asking price on la mesa rv's website (most of the 2014 35B's are around 143K).

Please don't ever consider paying 169K for one of these coaches when they can be had 25-30K cheaper brand new.

Horizonchase · 04-14-2014, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dondar

Regarding your question on what's a good price for a 2014 35B.

They can be had brand new for around a 140K without even negotiating. You may do better if you offer lower and hold your ground. Toward the end of last year La Mesa was dumping 2013 35C's and 35B's for 129K. You can see a listing of 2014 units for sale with the asking price on la mesa rv's website (most of the 2014 35B's are around 143K).

Please don't ever consider paying 169K for one of these coaches when they can be had 25-30K cheaper brand new.

Now that's some useful information there dondar!!

minsider · 04-15-2014, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dezolen

Hope you are not a tall person. Fleetwood beds are only 75" long rather than the normal queen length of 80". Fun finding shorter sheets.

Fun, but not impossible! There are a few options for RV sheets out there if you Google. :-)

dondar · 04-15-2014, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dezolen

The model OP asked about only has 75" long queen bed. Not familiar with all Fleetwoods.
That is what turned us off looking at models we were shopping for

I'm 6' 2" and found the bed to be a bit short. I added a 6x8x60 piece of memory foam at the head to extend the bed. Works perfect and we can still walk around the bed without issue.

Regular Queen sheets work perfect now :-)