High end gasser or entry level DP
As we continue to shop for our new rig to start full time next year I keep teetering on gas vs diesel. (sort of full time - 6 mons at a time, break for a month, 6 months out...) My only real life expe...
Forum Discussion
Wanderlost wrote:
Our personal experience:
We had a 32' Itasca Sunrise for 14 years, which came loaded with everything Winnebago could put on a gasser. Lived in it for a while after retirement. Loved that MH with a passion. It was somewhat noisy, but after we did a little extra insulation in the roof cap, it was fine. Ride was very smooth after we installed Bilstein shocks. The overall quality of that MH was truly amazing to us.
We traded her in, very reluctantly, for a 2018 Winnebago Forza 34T, and our shakedown cruise was to Alaska and back. The ride is smooth, yes, but a good wind or a passing semi on a two-lane road will knock her around even worse than the Sunrise. We're having to install some kind of stabilizer to stop that. As for noise, it's just as loud as the Itasca was. Why? Because Winnebago Does. Not. Install. Insulation. in the front cap. Zip. Nada. We will have to do it ourselves again. The storage is not near as good as it was in the Itasca, and the overall layout is not near as comfortable. I really do like the fireplace, though. Finally, the 34T can't pull anything heavier than could the Sunrise (both limited to 5000 lbs), so why did we even bother?
The cons of this MH over our beloved Sunrise are too many to mention. Frankly, if I could, I'd get my old Sunrise back and lose the diesel MH. I'm honestly not seeing the overall value.
If I were in your shoes, I'd go for a used high end gasser, one that can pull a toad heavier than 5000 lbs if you need it. Good luck in whatever you choose.
Great feedback, Thanks! That's really the overarching question. Does an entry level DP handle and ride quieter and more comfortably than a high end gasser? Otherwise, why spend the money. Once things loosen up I am really looking forward to driving lots of both back to back for a true comparison. I can tell you our ACEs were miserable to drive. Loud and rough is an under statement. It felt like we were in a bombing raid. But they were as entry level as you could get.
BTW - love your Gandhi quote - my wife has that on a T-shirt.
