Help deciding between 2 motorhomes

Plumber101010 wrote:
Both. But want the king bed desperately. But not at the sake of buying an inferior home? Dealer says both units will outlast me. Still....just how MUCH better is a Newmar vs Fleetwood. Cant really find anything bad, comments or otherwise on Newmar. Fleetwood a whole diff story. Fluctuates. Bottom line, if I KNEW both would give me 5 years of service and 100k more miles I wold want the excursion, but if its going to be trouble and Newmar isn't....

Plumber,we have had 6 motorhomes.....2 of the last 3 were Newmars..a 99 DSDP and a 2004 MADP...on these two we had them for 12 yrs and put appox 160,000 miles on them....then we bought an American....Fleetwood.....on this one we had more problems in 6 months and 6,000 miles than with the 2 Newmars and the beat goes on...we are going back to Newmar...the QUALITY is far above the other....in MHO...Chuck

As I mentioned before, the Fleetwood has bays attached to the slide-out. Since you will be full-timing, you will have better under bay heat capability if you don't have the bays attached to the slide. When the Fleetwood slide is open, you can see under the whole coach and the weight of whatever you put in the Fleetwood holding bays is going to ride out with the slide. In my opinion, you will need pass-through storage.

I also think you will begin to love those extra cabinets in the bedroom as a full-timer. I'm not sure why you are concerned about the 'tightness' in the bedroom, you will be living in the front part of the coach.

MM.

A king bed is nice for sure (we have one in our coach) but it is a pain to make up since they are usually squeezed in pretty tight between nightstands or cabinets. Just something to think about.

If I had convinced myself that I had to choose between those two, it would certainly be the Dutch Star. As already noted, the side radiator on a Spartan chassis and the absence of that ugly rubber roof that Fleetwood uses would do it for me. I suspect they both have the 330 CAT since that was a popular engine used in DP's of that era. It is probably the 3126E and if it has been maintained properly, it will outlast you.

All this said, I still think you should explore other coaches especially since you say you will full time in it. Check Tom Johnson's inventory in Concord, NC. That is not far from you and they usually have a good number of used DP's.

Whatever you decide, best to you and safe travels.

There are something's that people here seem to love and yet i don't. Cabinets in bedroom. Yep. TONS. But too many and it makes it feel Cramped and not roomy. Plus with as little room left because of the beautiful Cabinets at the foot of the bed, I KNOW that when that slide closes there will be NO ROOM to walk around it will be a climb over the bed while driving. Didn't need to close it. I did the math. 2 foot slide. 2 foot opening. The fleetwood had NOTHING there. To me, that spells open and spacious and room to dance around even with slide closed.

I am going to be a full timer move out of our house in two weeks. Guess I should have mentioned that.... Could be important info. Also towing my chevy, 2013 crew cab 4x4 2500 heavy duty behind it. Guess I should have mentioned that TOO!!!

So I am DOWNSIZING. I don't want cabinets full of junk I don't need. I want simplicity.
So yes, lots cabinets nice but the Newmar has SO MANY OF THEM,
I feel it takes away from the open feeling. Being new to this, maybe I am being naive and don't know any better. But that bedroom has so many cabinets, even OVER the mattress, I feel like I'm being swallowed up and can't even sit up in bed without hitting my head on a cabinet.

So Let me ask this way to drive the point home. Please bare with me, I know I'm being a pain in the butt. But if NOT comparing it to the Newmar and I just said "what do you all think of the excursion" how many of you all would have said go for it, u should be safe, vs NO. Not a good buy?

Thanks again for all your answers. First time buyer. Full timer. Of course I am a little scared and just like the lay out of the excursion. Wider Width because of deeper slide out that is VERY noticeable when u first walk in, king size bed and less cabinets which mean more open look. Not to mention $9000 cheaper and as one of the first replies said "that's a LOT of gas and repairs"

Under storage??? Yeah, Newmar hands down. Towing my truck? 330 Vs 350 matter much? So just based on the fleetwood standing on its own, good buy or bad one? Thanks again...I'm sure ur sick of me asking sooo many questions already :)

I am SURE I will go with the Newmar. But not cause I want too, that's for sure, but because it's the MUCH BETTER COACH FOR THE BUY.

Leak from? Roof? Wall, window seal? Slide? What was fixed, how? Corrosion/rust? Mold? Plumbing?

I can't tell from a distance. Maybe you can get an independent inspection service. You can afford to be patient. It's winter in SC. Not a lot of rv business to be done...

They were actually honest and service manager said the carpet had some water stains. Didn't mean much to me when he said it, as I assumed it was from an AC unit or something :) I wouldn't know what I am checking for to be honest!

Couple things:
1. Side radiator easy to service, change a belt, hose, you will understand. Also radiator doesn't get gunked up by rear tires mess and slobber .
2. Flooring changes are frequently done because of water damage. Check around carefully, especially near slides. Could be water damage. Something to check maybe, maybe not.
3.Drive em both then decide. You may find more rattles, squeaks in one,
4. Run a car fax report b4 buying.
5. Always remember the dealer no mattention how nice now, bought the coach substantially below LOW nada.
6. You may be able to get a better loan ykurself, credit union, etc.2,3 points better.
Happy hunting
-Chuck

I've walked it fifty times in the last 48 hours. It's real. Nada was $57 low retail to 70 high retail. Getting $65. But concerned he said a 350 cat and nada ONLY shows 330. Could it just be an upgrade that came with unit?

Did anyone notice that the pics for both state that the photos make be stock photos which means, not necessarily photos of the particular unit for sale. I think once you are actually looking at them, one of them will grab you. Myself, I like the Newmar if it is what is pictured.

Thou I have to wonder why he spent $1800 on cameras and THEN traded it in....maybe they told him something was wrong??. There goes my mind again overthinking...