what is better Freightliner or Spartan

brucethervcat wrote:
i'm looking into buying a Newmar Essex and you can get a Freightliner or a Spartan chassis and i don't know which one is better.

In days gone by, there were differences in reliability, Today, I don't believe that you can go wrong with either.

Our Coach is on a Spartan It's basically a fire truck chassis. made from off the shelf major components.

I can buy most every part from NAPA.

Freightliner I have no idea.

update i looked at newmars site and the spartan standard and frightliner optional. so would that made freightliner better

brucethervcat wrote:
update i looked at newmars site and the spartan standard and frightliner optional. so would that made freightliner better

Maybe just more expensive.

I have a Freightline chassis and like the network of motorhome centers they have nationwide and their 24/7 helpline.

I had an Essex on a Spartan Chassis. I would guess the Freightliner is better.

It is easier to find Freightliner dealers

I have no experience with Spartan. Freightliner still gives me excellent support via their free help desk even though my unit is 15 years old.

I think both chassis makers build to suit the customer so you can't just compare one freightliner to another without knowing what the motorhome builder ordered.

Fred

What type of problem would you have that would require a specialist to work on a chassis?

cmarq wrote:
It is easier to find Freightliner dealers

But any truck shop can work on a Spartan. There is no magic involved or secrets kept by the freight liner folk.

fcooper wrote:
I have no experience with Spartan. Freightliner still gives me excellent support via their free help desk even though my unit is 15 years old

Fred

Our's is also, and Spartan has a phone too.

http://www.spartanchassis.com/schome.asp

Try to drive both and see what you like better. Avoid getting caught up in marketing catch lines. Drive them in town, over speed bumps in a parking lot, up and down hills, in a wind if you can, make quick simulated corrections etc. both will have different behaviours in these conditions. Pick what YOU like better, not what somebody says is better. I get to drive lots of different chassis and have found some chassis are nicer to drive than others but maybe have some undesirable quirks in some situations. For example, many like IFS (independant front suspension). I prefer solid beam but sometimes prefer IFS in city situations. My neighbour is just the opposite. Point is, get what you like.