Newmar and Tiffin

Both are great products. We are on our second Tiffin because of the way they stand behind their product. On my last coach they continued to repair things that I believed that I should have paid for without my asking. An example being that we had a window fog after eight years. When I replaced it they did not charge anything as they felt there were some problem windows that year. They truly stand behind their product long after the warranty expires. We feel that the quality of our coach is excellent and I have not seen a paint job that is any better. We have found that most people that talk badly about Tiffin coaches have never owned one. It is usually a story about what somebody else has said. We are very pleased with ours and will definitely buy another.

We're on our 3rd Newmar, my parents owned a Tiffin, good friends of ours owned a Tiffin.

If we were buying today Tiffin would NOT be on our list to even consider. IMO they are the most over rated MH on the market today. They do have a great reputation for factory service, and it seems most Tiffin owners know it.

The parents made the trip to Red Bay, the "fixes" didn't last as long as the trip home. Theirs spent a lot of time in my garage.

Our friends Allegro Bus made the trip 3 times. When it needed to go again they gave up on it and went back to a Winnebago.

I'm a big Newmar fan, for a reason. Ours have been excellent units with very few repairs. We've never needed to repair any "Newmar" part of the coach.

Add in Comfort Drive and its an easy decision.

time_to_go_now wrote:
I have owned my Tiffin since 2008. We bought new. We have had some issues. But, all were taken care of under warranty. I have broken three windshields. We are on our 4th one. When dealing with the insurance company, all they wanted to do was replace the glass at a cost of $3,500. I bumped into Bob Tiffin at the Pomona, CA RV show. He gave me his card and ask me to call him directly if we break any more windshields. Well, we broke one more! So I called him. I explained that something has to be wrong with my window opening. He agreed and had me take the coach to a dealer about 50 miles from my house. He paid them extra labor to actually get to the bottom of why I was breaking windshields. They had to reform the opening, which was too small and causing my windshield to get squeezed and pop. Tiffin picked up the tab. And I still have a standing order from Bob that if I ever break another windshield, he will have it taken care of.

I really like Newmar coaches. My friend just bought a King Aire. But, I will probably end up being a Loyal Tiffin owner for the rest of my RV days. You just can't beat the after sale support that Tiffin provides.

You could say, "yea, but it never should have been breaking windshields in the first place!". And I agree. But, the effort they went through to correct the issue. In this day and age, where customer service is lacking in so many industries, it has just been really refreshing to deal with Tiffin on issues.

Good luck. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

When we talk windshields every one should know the newer Newmars no longer use a rubber seal, they glue the windows in just like you car's windshield, to do this the whole structure that the glass is glued to is a huge roll cage around the drivers cab area. it takes about 15 minutes to change one.
Plus the area that collects the damage on the front of the coach, rolls out with the generator and can be changed very quickly, by ordering a new one already painted to match the coach.

I have owned my Tiffin since 2008. We bought new. We have had some issues. But, all were taken care of under warranty. I have broken three windshields. We are on our 4th one. When dealing with the insurance company, all they wanted to do was replace the glass at a cost of $3,500. I bumped into Bob Tiffin at the Pomona, CA RV show. He gave me his card and ask me to call him directly if we break any more windshields. Well, we broke one more! So I called him. I explained that something has to be wrong with my window opening. He agreed and had me take the coach to a dealer about 50 miles from my house. He paid them extra labor to actually get to the bottom of why I was breaking windshields. They had to reform the opening, which was too small and causing my windshield to get squeezed and pop. Tiffin picked up the tab. And I still have a standing order from Bob that if I ever break another windshield, he will have it taken care of.

I really like Newmar coaches. My friend just bought a King Aire. But, I will probably end up being a Loyal Tiffin owner for the rest of my RV days. You just can't beat the after sale support that Tiffin provides.

You could say, "yea, but it never should have been breaking windshields in the first place!". And I agree. But, the effort they went through to correct the issue. In this day and age, where customer service is lacking in so many industries, it has just been really refreshing to deal with Tiffin on issues.

Good luck. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

As you can see in my signature we are Tiffin owners. We did not consider Newmar only because they did not make a 36 foot DP in 2012. Would have completed the comparison with them otherwise. Did the factory tour and was impressed although their production was like 2 or 4 a day at that time.

Took the Tiffin factory tour when production was 8 to 10 a day. Considered W Journey, it was the only other 36' DP on the market at the time. Never got to look/kick tires/drive because salesman could not get it to the lot - broken promises.

Our Phaeton has 37K miles on and the only serious issues were known factory issues, slideout floor and roof rails. We stopped by Red Bay for some other work and they did a quick inspection and set up a schedule to do the repairs on their dime. If I had not had self inflicted damage I would have been out of there in under two weeks. Pulling the slideout and replacing the entire floor only took 1:45 (that's 1 hour 45 min). No other body or chassis issues of note. I can highly recommend the Phaeton or any other Tiffin product that meets your wants.

holstein13 wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:

RayChez wrote:
Chassis I do not see any difference.

Doesn't the Freight liner have a shorter turn radius ?

The Tiffin Allegro Bus and the Breeze use the Powerglide chassis (made by Tiffin). The Tiffin Zephr uses Spartan.

I think all other Tiffin products use Freightliner as does the Newmar Dutchstar.

Check it, the new freight liner has a shorter turn radius.

Tom/Barb wrote:

RayChez wrote:
Chassis I do not see any difference.

Doesn't the Freight liner have a shorter turn radius ?

The Tiffin Allegro Bus and the Breeze use the Powerglide chassis (made by Tiffin). The Tiffin Zephr uses Spartan.

I think all other Tiffin products use Freightliner as does the Newmar Dutchstar.

RayChez wrote:
Chassis I do not see any difference.

Doesn't the Freight liner have a shorter turn radius ?

PSUJIM85 wrote:
I am seeking advice from people who owned or do own a Newmar Dutchstar or Tiffin Diesel Pusher RV. I am looking at both and would like some pros and cons on each. Mainly build quality and service record etc from the manufacturer.

Any help is appreciated.

One point no one has mentioned, how to keep your seller honest.

Never make full payment until each and every system on the coach has been operated, and all discrepancies repaired to your satisfaction. or the price adjusted to your satisfaction.
Insure that is written in your sales contract. and yes read the fine print. If you do not understand what's written get YOUR lawyer to explain it to you.

A point to remember, these big coaches have many systems, none use in house manufactured appliances, and appliances are where most of the warrantee problems occur. These are easy to solve, but the build quality of the chassis and coach body are very difficult to repair, or exchange. Slide out mechanisms being one of the bigger offenders