Just curious?

gbopp wrote:

Oasisbob wrote:
Overall the RV industry should be ashamed of the lack of pride in the product.

This is probably the most fitting comment I've ever seen on the forum.

As with every other American industry

The MSRP on our Excel did not quite top a 100 grand but if was being made today I'm sure it would. We've put about 65K miles on it and so far very few house issues. Nothing major such as a water pump, CO2 dectector, propane leak detector and a leak in a water line, easily fixed. It came with a fully boxed frame, hydraulic operated slides and hydraulic auto leveling. It also came with Dexter Nev-R-Lube axles, disc brakes and 17.5 wheels. A couple of years ago we went to Elkhart and had MorRyde independent suspension installed along with a new disc brakes. Helped the ride even more. I also have had an air ride hitch most of the time we have owned it which I think helps it ride even smoother and hopefully reducing the affects of some of our bad roads.

Check out New Horizon's in Junction City, KS.

While we don't own a coach Dutch asked about, can give my 2 cents also. 1st 5er was a '06 Cedar Creek Silverback which listed in the mid 40's (bought in early '05 new). Few years later at Hershy show, kicking tires and such in the CC booth, ran into the CCrep and asked him why the CC's are now in mid 80's. His reply was due to "technology, design, and couple other things upgrades". I wasn't buying it and told him so. To this day he doesn't like me very well. Around the same time, talking to a tech at dealer where we bought our CC (still had it as well), he said that the new CC's were not as good quality wise as our '06 was. To be honest, we had very few problems with the '06 all the while we owned it. Hence that was 1 reason why we were considering still another CC product when we decided to upgrade as our '06 had outgrown it's usefulness for us being a bunkhouse and kids grown and not with us much anymore.

Again, at Hershy show in '16, still considering another CC, it became apparent that all coaches were in the 85-100K range and nothing really triggered our fingers plus CC made changes we didn't like and agin asked the CC rep as to why and got a BS answer. Wondering around, we decided to take a look at some other lines just for kicks. One thing the DW was asking about was a 1/2 bath at the time. CC's was a sardine 1/2 bath. Big Horn was a helluva lot larger 1/2 bath. Made no decision then on new coach. Few weeks later went to a dealer while camping as it was raining to browse around. Went into the Bic Country and DW said "This is it!". Sat on it over the winter.

Come early '17 and now decided on the BC and dealer whome we saw it at. Somehow, I plugged into the net and another dealer came up and figured "what the heck, can't hurt to inquire with them on same thing". Ends up the 2nd dealer is like 9 grand less than 1st and was staying firm. Mind you the BC spec'd out in low 90's. OTD was upper 50's when all was said and done and had to drive 500 miles to get it. Still worth the savings.

Now, is the BC worth the 90K price tag? Yes and no. Looks great, plenty of dazzle and glitz, nice features and all, heavy (which I read can translate into a better ride/coach ???). But it has had a couple issues which HL took care of and yes it has same components as every other mfr out there. Wires just laying all over behind basement wall looks awful. Overall tho, she for now at least, seems pretty well built and designed nicely. Still worth 90K? Hard to say, but it is a house on wheels and we don't have all the options for them as we do stick built homes. But like everything else all have seemed to double in price in just 10 years or so.

IMO, I feel that yes there is a difference in quality of 20-40K coaches up to the mid 100K ones. And yes, we will still continue to buy them despite all our concerns and complaints.

Hi everyone, I recently liked the Big Truck-Big RV model, does anyone have it? how do you like it? are you satisfied? how much did it cost? has anything broken down? How did you solve the problem? When in my car, for example, the engine broke down, the manufacturers sent me a new one! it was their flaw. By the way, I had to use the zip code finder. here worldpostalcode.com you can find, in general, I will be glad to read your replies

We don’t have a Beacon, but it’s less expensive brother Vilano. About $25k less MSRP which meant no full-body paint, no rear cap, no 8k LIppert suspension, and a little less bling; but same bones etc.

Is it worth it?

We previously had a HitchHiker which we loved and would have bought another if they were still in business. Instead chose a 2019 320GK Vilano which we love. Of course I’ve done many mods including MORryde IS suspension among other things.

We’ve traveled about 9months and 15,000 miles in the 16 months we’ve owned it, no major issues. But unfortunately in the RV industry, quality isn’t as high as it should be, we’ve had several little things go wrong. VanLeigh responsiveness has been what you’d expect from a Tiffin product, and the Tishomingo service center is wonderful.

You won’t find nicer woodwork in the VL price range. It’s got good bones, needs a better suspension but MORryde fixes that. Take a good look at a VL, the good stuff goes deeper than the bling. Not cheap, but the best 35ft 5er we could find.

laknox wrote:


Just one MORE reason that the RV industry should start changing over to an automotive-type model. Want a new GMC/Chevy truck? Go into any dealer and you get the =same= MSRP truck for truck, and deal from there. Other nice thing is that if you want to deal with your home-town dealer and find a truck half-way across the country, they can do dealer-to-dealer "sales". Customer gets what he wants, locally, and both dealers make some money. Customer ALSO gets to service his truck at ANY dealer, ANY time and NOT get put at the back of the line.

FWIW, my dad recently told me a story about when he bought his first 2-row cotton picker in the early 60's. Bought it from an IH dealer in TX and had it shipped here to AZ. IH dealer here in town, owners were family friends, tried the "you didn't buy it here b.s." when Dad needed some service on it, and Dad simply responded with, "I have the IH corporate phone number in my rolodex at home. I'm happy to spend $20 on a LD call to tell them my situation." He got it serviced for the next 15 years he owned it. :B

Lyle

do you still have her number? I found a guy at DRV like that. I was seriously considering a DRV about 3 years ago, got in touch with a factory guy after about 2 weeks of asking a series of questions. the guy was awesome. he didn't care if I bought a DRV or not and gave me a ton of good information to look out for. he even told me which models NOT to buy and why. good guy

Me Again wrote:
There are two Beacons in our park and they stand out looking like something special.

One I believe replaced a Bighorn 3575el like mine, and I have been wanting to talk to the owner about the Beacon. I will try to do that this upcoming week and report back.

Now: I have a friend from BC Canada that has a VanLeigh lesser model and was leaving last spring, to take as he called it, the P-O-S back to the factory to have them fix the many problems. From Arizona the BC, that is a long trip home!

I stopped talked to one of the Beacon owners, and I was correct that he had a Bighorn 3575el like ours last year. He is very happy with the Beacon and the customer support. They supplied wiring diagrams on his request. Chris

ford truck guy wrote:


When I was looking at buying my KZ Montego Bay back in 2008, I was seeing the exact SAME trailer with the same exact options with $6,000 - $8,000 different MSRP..

Thankfully I met Christina Remble who was the sales rep at the time.. She was awesome, and was the ONLY reason I purchased that unit ! She cut through all the dealer Bull for me

Just one MORE reason that the RV industry should start changing over to an automotive-type model. Want a new GMC/Chevy truck? Go into any dealer and you get the =same= MSRP truck for truck, and deal from there. Other nice thing is that if you want to deal with your home-town dealer and find a truck half-way across the country, they can do dealer-to-dealer "sales". Customer gets what he wants, locally, and both dealers make some money. Customer ALSO gets to service his truck at ANY dealer, ANY time and NOT get put at the back of the line.

FWIW, my dad recently told me a story about when he bought his first 2-row cotton picker in the early 60's. Bought it from an IH dealer in TX and had it shipped here to AZ. IH dealer here in town, owners were family friends, tried the "you didn't buy it here b.s." when Dad needed some service on it, and Dad simply responded with, "I have the IH corporate phone number in my rolodex at home. I'm happy to spend $20 on a LD call to tell them my situation." He got it serviced for the next 15 years he owned it. :B

Lyle

laknox wrote:

Super_Dave wrote:
I think the first mistake is believing the MSRP. My trailer listed for close to $90K but I paid nowhere near that nor would I have, ever. Molding falls off driving down the road, wall cracks appear, so, I don't think price reflects overall quality. Higher prices are in general, for visually better looking trailer.

One of the things that I =really= like about Jayco is their build 'n price web site. No more dealers pulling an MSRP from their nether regions with a Jayco. You spec out what you want, or what the dealer's offering, and you have the MSRP. Everything else is dealer add-on or dealer BS. Yeah, right, shipping is $5,000; KMA. Used to see identical rigs at dealers literally cross-town from each other, with one claiming thousands more in "shipping costs" and not dealing. I sure wish all mfrs would have the "build and price" on their web sites.

Lyle

When I was looking at buying my KZ Montego Bay back in 2008, I was seeing the exact SAME trailer with the same exact options with $6,000 - $8,000 different MSRP..

Thankfully I met Christina Remble who was the sales rep at the time.. She was awesome, and was the ONLY reason I purchased that unit ! She cut through all the dealer Bull for me