Recommended class A gasser

iawia wrote:
The Fleetwood Southwind 32VS is a 33 footer with two slides that has a nice layout. It comes with either a Ford V10 or Chevy 8.1 on a Workhorse chassis with Allison transmission. We were about to buy one when we encountered a Triple E Commander with the same layout on a W22 chassis which is in line with Newmars and Tiffany of same eras for quality.

You probably got one of the last ones made, so if you like the WH, the 8.1 and the Allison, then you may have to keep it forever.
The Ford, with the V10 is about the only choice out there, these days, in a gas unit.

We ended up with a 2015 Thor ACE 30.1, for us the price point and floor plan work well. Had a few problems but nothing that ever had to go back to the dealer since I am pretty handy. Whatever you get serious about make sure you check your floor plan with the slides IN. The only thing we cannot access with the slides in are the lower drawers in the bedroom cabinets. Jim.

The Fleetwood Southwind 32VS is a 33 footer with two slides that has a nice layout. It comes with either a Ford V10 or Chevy 8.1 on a Workhorse chassis with Allison transmission. We were about to buy one when we encountered a Triple E Commander with the same layout on a W22 chassis which is in line with Newmars and Tiffany of same eras for quality.

stargirl96 wrote:
We've been looking at class A's with gas engines, and don't have knowledge or experience in what we should look for. There are so many different brands and models so advice from experienced owners would be appreciated. Any comments on the following models and manufacturers?

Hurricane (can't remember if it's Thor or Fleetwood)
Georgetown
Jayco Precept
Southwind
Winnebago Vista and Sunstar
Fleetwood Bounder

We're looking at shorter ones - 30-34'

Thanks for your help.

With the responses you're getting, they like me, are assuming that you're talking new, not used? Either way, I'd go for a quality built unit and even if I had to drop back a year or more to fit my budget. Tiffen and Newmar has been mentioned and explained in detail, so do give those a lot of consideration.

My best advice when shopping this broadly is to visit a larger dealer and poke your head and fingers into where you can't see or it's hard to see. IE cabinet corners or around edges. You can tell a lot about a company that cares (or doesn't) about quality when you look at things most people don't. IE rough edges, shoddy or sloppy plumbing, loose wires instead of tied down and clamped into nice straight lines. Open and close cabinet doors, solid wood or flimsy pressboard? Do the doors clunk in or feel like you might break something when you shut it?

There is a lot of pretty sizzle in new coaches and if you can see past that, it's pretty easy to tell quality.

Itasca/Winnebago are the same just different colors and ours held up really well.
We were also impressed with Newmar Baystar lines for quality for the $$. Other brands felt cheap. There are other good brands out there but these were the two we narrowed in on when we were shopping. Tiffin at the time was having issues and the units we looked at did not impress me at all quality wise. But then there are a lot of very happy Tiffin owners so I must have seen a bad batch.

If you are looking used then maintenance and use are better indicators over original build quality. Although the better constructed the unit the better it will last.

jplante4 wrote:
You're pretty much limited to a single drive train - Ford F53 chassis with a V10 motor with an Allison 6 speed transmission.

I don't think that Ford has an arrangement with Allison for their transmissions. I believe with the Ford V10 you will get a Ford transmission.

My priority for a gas coach would be one that is of a high quality build with a comfortable, livable floor plan that would best suit my needs.

I would seriously consider a Newmar or Tiffin coach.

In a 34 footer the Tiffin 32SA has the longest wheelbase (228", thus a short rear overhang) and is the only one on Ford's 24,000 pound chassis. No coach it's size matches it's bones. They have well over 3000 pounds payload.

The 1' shorter 31SA also had the 228" wheelbase and is on the 22,000 pound chassis but the 24,000 pound chassis is an option. A 31SA on the 24,000 chassis is probably the toughest gasser out there.

IMO only Newmar matches the quality of the Tiffin in woodwork and finishing--most others look cheesey in comparison. But Newmar gassers, while of high quality, lack the long wheelbases and often the heavy chassis of the Tiffins. But Newmar makes smaller gassers than Tiffin does so if one wanted a rig smaller than the 32SA I say go Newmar.

You're pretty much limited to a single drive train - Ford F53 chassis with a V10 motor with an Allison 6 speed transmission. You need to define a couple of things to determine the best choice.

• New or used?
• How are you going to use the coach? Weekend/Multi-week week trips out and back or extended (multi-month) adventures.
• Will you be staying mostly at private RV parks with water/electric/sewer/cable TV or off-grid boondocking on public lands/national parks?
• How many people/pets?
  

The answers to these questions will determine the optimum floor plan which is the most important consideration. Long cross country trips or snowbirding will dictate a higher quality rig than occasional weekend trips. If you buy used, you can get higher quality for the same price and a lower quality new motor home.

It might be worth the 8 hour drive to PPL Motor Homes in Houston to have a look around their lot. They are a consignment dealer.

You left out two of the best builders: Newmar (Canyon Star & Bay Star) and Tiffin (Allegro Open Road). Don't forget that you get what you pay for.