Tiffin VS. Winnebago
This ought to get some controversy, have looked at both the phaeton and the Winnebago. Like the cockpit better in the Phaeton, but haven't found a 40' with recling chairs. We don't like the two co...
Forum Discussion
RFCN2 wrote:
You should buy the one you like best. Does the floor plan work and which do you like to drive the best. Tiffin and Winny if you get them equally equipped should be about the same price. In my humble opinion Winnebago is less controversial. By that I mean Winnebago mostly good reviews on this site. Tiffin seems to have lots of haters and lovers. So I guess it is a more polarizing brand. The RVCG /RV Consumer Group rates pretty much every model of motorhome made in the USA. Go to their web site and see which they like the best. If nothing else the RVCG information is a quick way to see what the CCC is, towing capacity, and so on.
It does go well beyond just the floor plan of a unit. It is easy to fall for RV bling which may reside in a motorhome that has a ton of issues. What you see in a floor plan is not nearly as important as what you don't see about how the motorhome was constructed and will it hold up.
We had an Itasca Sunova which is a Winnebago product. It was a good unit but it was on a Workhorse chassis which was a bad chassis with bad brakes. Winnebago did help us out when we had issues so I have no complaint about them.
Tiffin does elicit a lot of comments but I think there are some good reasons for that. Tiffin has a very loyal following which is a tribute to the brand. But, at times that loyalty seems to be misplaced. When you read about people having to make repeated trips to Red Bay to have the same problems fixed, it really makes one question the engineering of the brand and the service associated with that brand.
Red Bay seems like a pilgrimage to Mecca for many Tiffin owners. Then to read that some folks literally spend weeks and even months waiting there for service creates the impression that this is a company with some issues. I admire the loyalty of Tiffin owners, but if I had to wait weeks for service at the factory and then have to go back because it wasn't fixed right, I would be hopping mad.
As I tell anyone who is considering a Tiffin or any other brand. Go to their brand specific forum and read as many posts as you can. Then make your determination. The Tiffin RV Forum in particular is a great source of information about the brand and many other general RVing issues and suggestions. The same can be said about the Berkshire Forum and I'd be willing to bet there is a Winnebago Forum also.
