Class A Opinions - Testimonials

Freightliner can be serviced at a lot more places then spartan

Mike, all the manufactures you mentioned produce great rigs. Most are on a Freightliner chassis a few on Spartan while Tiffin has an in house frame under the Allegro Bus model line. You might find a Cat engine if you go back in time a few years and maybe a rare Volvo but for the most part Cummins has the market locked up. Same with Allison regarding transmissions. All will get you down the road at maximum comfort and minimum efficiency.

Side radiators can be found but not as common as the rear radiator. Some Freightliner chassis will have one while common on the Spartan and Tiffin chassis. Side radiators have the advantage of easier access to the engine when maintenance is needed.

Don't worry so much about what is under the floor and first focus on what is above the chassis. You'll spend a whole lot more time in the bed than the driver's seat. You want a layout that suits you intended life style while on the road. I do like your long term plan. Moderate trip for now then hit the road. Gives you time to know a rigs individualities.

Check the pre-owned inventory at Motorhomes of Texas and consider opening your year range a bit. Even at 9 years of age a Foretravel Nimbus will last long enough be included in your will.

Good luck with you search.

Oh man, I've been running around the block on this - flown into two different states - awaiting a third just to get an idea on floorplans. The wife keeps turning to the Tour/Winnebago as he likes the dishwasher and floor plan with the front corner TV and L shape couch with the built in ottomans. As silly as it sounds, they paint the sides of the slides to match and they do the 450D aqua hot that lets the engine heat do the work while rolling, and for some reason those keep sticking in my like list.

I've found some gorgeous Revolutions - but she does not like the kitchens - all seem to require standing on the slide carpet to cook and prepare. Allegro Bus is high on our list, just need to find the right one, Newmar Dutch Star as well. Entegra Anthem is also in there at a stretch of the budget, but the Aspire is just missing too much critical equipment like the diesel aqua-hot.

Looked at the Newmar Ventana, nice and maybe we could go new with that one, but its on a Freightliner.

Is the biggest advantage of Spartan being the side radiator?

For what it's worth, we absolutely loved our Newmar Dutch Star - excellent workmanship and cabinetry. Our 370 got us up those Colorado mountains easily, including Red Mtn. Hwy. :) Ours was a Spartan/Cummins.

When we were switching from a 5th wheel we talked to every Newmar owner that we saw along our travels. Nothing negative was ever said and that sold us.

tropical36 wrote:

I like the Revolution and especially an 06 when it was still called a Fleetwood, but still built on the American platform.
We've looked at a few 1 1/2 bath models of this vintage with low mileage and what seems to bring the best bang for the buck. As for being dated, one could remodel to their hearts content with all the money saved. Thing is, many like ourselves would be perfectly satisfied with the layout and especially with all the leather upholstery throughout.
Entegro's are nice too. I would probably pass on the Winnie/Itasca by comparison.

Interesting on the Winnebago. For some reason I was under the impression they were pretty high on the list given their practice of serial numbering everything so you can easily get parts. Glad I asked.

I noticed the Revolutions have felt lined interior cabinets - everwhere. Kind of a nice look and probably quiet.

I'm learning a bit about the side radiator, vs rear and repair costs. Makes sense.

sprintmod1 wrote:
After having just purchased an American Coach Revolution a few months ago, my list would be the American Coach, throw in the Newmar Essex, Entegra and then the Winnebago. My first consideration was that I definitely wanted to stay on a Spartan chassis.

Floor plan was the next consideration. Beyond that, they are all using pretty much the same parts and pieces.

Good luck with the search, it can be fun and frustrating at the same time!

Thank you for the info on the Spartan! I do notice the Spartan on the Revolution. The winnie had Freightliner.

wolfe10 wrote:
Mile High,

Don't think anyone is trying to pry into your personal decision-making or finances.

But, the more you tell us about what you like/dislike, "must haves", desires in a coach the better we can advice. The range of quality and price in motorhomes is far greater than in other RV's. Prices for the high end are roughly 10X that of entry level coaches. Most of us have to place ourselves on the sliding scale of age/quality, with many of us going older/high-quality vs newer.

There is no single ideal motorhome any more than there is a single ideal 5th wheel.

So, feel free to "help us help you".

I appreciate what your saying, but would have to disagree. I didn't want this to turn into discussions on why I would like a mid kitchen better than a front kitchen or how many baths - My wife and I can do that as we have done it before with several 5th wheels. Besides, when looking at used we are learning we will have to compromise because we don't get to pick options to build the perfect coach.

What I don't know anything about is chassis, engines, or the manufacturers and their different market targets (low, mid, high end). That was why I threw out the three we were liking, because I have no basis to compare. From the sound of it, I better put the Ellegro back in the list :)

Our plan is to vacation with one for a few years, maybe use it for business some, and when I retire we may go on trips for several months at a time. We won't ever full time. We have had several 5ers over the years, and this last one pushed us into a Dually pickup, which to me is a detachable engine that does not have many other uses on vacation. Sounds weird, but I hate going into a major town with a dually not knowing if we are going to be able to park anywhere close to the feature we are trying to visit, or going into the mountains knowing we probably won't be getting off the pavement. For our vacation style, I think we would be much happier towing my little Jeep behind a coach.

Mile High wrote:
We are having fun seeing if the Class A pusher works for us, and we seem to bounce back and forth between these three in a 2011-2013, all with 450 Cummins and all with tag axles:

• Winnebago Tour / Itasca Ellipse
• American Coach Revolution
• Entegra Coach Aspire

Not knowing too much about them, we may not be comparing apples to apples, but these seem to fit in a price bracket anyway. Looked at a Tiffen Ellegro Bus, but a bit out of reach for us. There were others that are way out of reach.

Any recommendations - or did I leave a good one out?

I like the Revolution and especially an 06 when it was still called a Fleetwood, but still built on the American platform.
We've looked at a few 1 1/2 bath models of this vintage with low mileage and what seems to bring the best bang for the buck. As for being dated, one could remodel to their hearts content with all the money saved. Thing is, many like ourselves would be perfectly satisfied with the layout and especially with all the leather upholstery throughout.
Entegro's are nice too. I would probably pass on the Winnie/Itasca by comparison.

Mile High,

Don't think anyone is trying to pry into your personal decision-making or finances.

But, the more you tell us about what you like/dislike, "must haves", desires in a coach the better we can advice. The range of quality and price in motorhomes is far greater than in other RV's. Prices for the high end are roughly 10X that of entry level coaches. Most of us have to place ourselves on the sliding scale of age/quality, with many of us going older/high-quality vs newer.

There is no single ideal motorhome any more than there is a single ideal 5th wheel.

So, feel free to "help us help you".

After having just purchased an American Coach Revolution a few months ago, my list would be the American Coach, throw in the Newmar Essex, Entegra and then the Winnebago. My first consideration was that I definitely wanted to stay on a Spartan chassis.

Floor plan was the next consideration. Beyond that, they are all using pretty much the same parts and pieces.

Good luck with the search, it can be fun and frustrating at the same time!