08 Alfa SeeYa Apology

[gatorcq]

First Morisheh, I do want to apologize for my bad manners and comment, however I do have issues when statements are made with no data to support the statement.

Your statement "A quick Google on the AC problem brings up lots of posts". Ok, I have used a Google Search window for the following statements:
"rv basement air conditioning problems", "rv basement air conditioner problems", and "motorhome basement air conditioner".
I believed that if I search at least 10 web links, I would find Alfa Motor homes in at least 1 of them stating problems or concerns. I found listing for Tradewinds, Winnebago, and Holiday Ramblers, unfortunately for the 10 links I looked at no mention of Alfa with AC problems.

One of the reason, some owners installed an additional unit and which in later models, Alfa offered a desert package, was due to people like to stay in areas where temperatures exceeded 105 degrees or higher. Now it is common for air conditioners whether basement or roof mounted to be unable to keep up with the demand in cooling. Especially above 105 degrees. RV units are mainly only able to compensate 20 to 30 degrees between outside and inside room. This is especially true for both units. A basement AC has (2) compressors, which equals about 30,000 BTU, a single roof unit is about 15,000. So 2 roof tops are needed to replace a basement unit.

Now tack on the 2 biggest design differences, 13 Ft ceiling and large windows. In extreme heat, yes it would require an additional 3rd unit. However for temperatures below 105, you would be comfortable. The inside temperature would be in the range of 75 to 80 degrees. At night with sun down, the rig would be much cooler and by the next day, more comfortable. In addition, since Susan and I live in Arizona we can live comfortably in our 03 SeeYa even in 105 temps. We do take extra steps, but have yet needed to add the 3rd unit.

Also, from our road trips, most new 40 to 45 Ft rigs now have 3 roof top units. I suspect it is due to the same reason. Extreme temperature and the limitation of the Freon used in the air conditioners.

So, can a person be comfortable in an Alfa, yes. Are there reasons to be concern, no except for the problem with the Crane Composite material. On some rigs (other brands included) blisters started to form. This one one of the main reason Alfa went out of business. They were performing warranty replacement of the Crane Composite material. To date, some rigs have had blisters and other have not.

Lastly, we are hosting a Alfa rally in April in Casa Grande, where over 120 rigs will be attending. You are more then welcome to visit and discuss with anyone, issues, problems or any subject concerning the Alfa motor-homes.

Sincerely Dale Prichard

[Archie_Kravitz]

I had a 74 Vega panel wagon I bought used off of St Louis University maintenance program. Ran good after I dropped a Nitrous powered 350 with a powwerglide trans.


I wish we could do that nowadays.

[OhhWell]

nevadanick wrote:
And i had a 6.0 that was one of the most reliable vehicles i have ever owned but they are junk right ?

Most of the time in "stock form", Yes.

[Mr_Mark1]

Mike,

I'm not a gear head. I bought the car when I first went into Real Estate to have an efficient vehicle. That engine drank enough oil to feed a family of dinosaurs.... a quart every 500 miles (as it aged).

At three years and 48,000 miles, the car was virtually dead. Had to have it towed to the dealership twice in the city I lived in then it broke down on a trip near St. Louis. All the injectors needed to be replaced (if I remember correctly). Couldn't rid of that car fast enough.

Funny about the Vega, my sister and her husband (young couple at the time) bought two new '75's... one was loaded with air and automatic, the other was the base version, manual, no air. The basic ran very well, the loaded was died an early death.

To stay on topic, now-a-days, I read as much as I can about a product before I purchase. I read on forums like this to get a feel for a product. Before I ordered the new coach, I started reading since last summer.

The contenders were Newell and the three Prevost converters. I like the Liberty product best after months of reading and conversing with owner's of all the converter brands.

MM.

[Mike_Hohnstein]

Mr.Mark wrote:

nevadanick wrote:
And i had a 6.0 that was one of the most reliable vehicles i have ever owned but they are junk right ?

If only the Internet was invented back in '81 when I bought a brand new Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham Diesel. You don't have to own something to know if it's a lemon. Sure, there are a few that are good and the other 90% can be junk.

Mine was pure junk but I had not read much about the converted gas engine to diesel. This engine had been out since '78 and there was not a lot of news out about it. I learned my lesson and a person does not need to own something to know that it's junk.

I never bought another GM product again. My one person crusade put Oldsmobile out of business! LOL!

The information that we have available to us at our fingertips today is amazing.

Safe travels,
MM.

Interesting view on the 5.7 diesel. DW's commuter was a 81 GM diesel, had it for 10 years, lost an intake valve @ 50k miles, required one head to be serviced. 73 Pontiac we owned before required same type of service @ 42k miles. Too many people have no concept of mechanical operation and their ham handed demands on a device frequently result in problems that the device is blamed for. On a side note, I have a collection of 80's GM diesels and I find them to be a comfortable road worthy automobile that compares very well to current vehicles. Of course I'm a gear head geek and I'm sure that alone will attract distain from some.
Regarding the 6.0, they generally work well if left alone and not 'tuned up' as too many diesel owners are wont to do.

[nevadanick]

So for everyone that has had a bad vehicle there is one that had a reliable one, The Vega being a case in point. You always hear more about the bad on the internet rather than the good and i just believe that most have a preconcieved notion that something like the Alfa isnt any good even though they have no personal experiance with it.

[Bumpyroad]

OhhWell wrote:


I have no idea why people think that you have to own something to know that it wasn't very good. My family owned a Vega when I was young. Lots of people said that the Vega was not a reliable car. Whether they owned one or not, they were right.

actually I owned a Vega and it was a reliable vehicle, at least up until the end. I traded it in just before the big recall/motor rebuild etc. hit the news. wish I would have kept it, gotten a free new motor, etc.
bumpy

[Mr_Mark1]

nevadanick wrote:
And i had a 6.0 that was one of the most reliable vehicles i have ever owned but they are junk right ?

If only the Internet was invented back in '81 when I bought a brand new Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham Diesel. You don't have to own something to know if it's a lemon. Sure, there are a few that are good and the other 90% can be junk.

Mine was pure junk but I had not read much about the converted gas engine to diesel. This engine had been out since '78 and there was not a lot of news out about it. I learned my lesson and a person does not need to own something to know that it's junk.

I never bought another GM product again. My one person crusade put Oldsmobile out of business! LOL!

The information that we have available to us at our fingertips today is amazing.

Safe travels,
MM.

[nevadanick]

And i had a 6.0 that was one of the most reliable vehicles i have ever owned but they are junk right ?

[OhhWell]

nevadanick wrote:
I am only pointing out that there are problems with all rv's and bashing on a brand you have never owned just boggles my mind. Kinda like the 6.0 Ford bashers.

By that are you trying to say that the 6.0 was a good engine when it was released or did it maybe have serious issues that gave it its bad reputation.

I have no idea why people think that you have to own something to know that it wasn't very good. My family owned a Vega when I was young. Lots of people said that the Vega was not a reliable car. Whether they owned one or not, they were right.

[topflite51]

nevadanick wrote:
I am only pointing out that there are problems with all rv's and bashing on a brand you have never owned just boggles my mind. Kinda like the 6.0 Ford bashers.

Puts a new meaning to the Found On The Road Dead crowd doesn't it? I read a story about a study about people who do product/service reviews on places like Yelp and Amazon and a few others that concluded that approximately 40% of those reviews were written by people who never owned or used that particular product or service. The study concluded that the majority of the 40% were paid in one way or another by the competition. Sure wish I had saved a copy.

[nevadanick]

I am only pointing out that there are problems with all rv's and bashing on a brand you have never owned just boggles my mind. Kinda like the 6.0 Ford bashers.

[dougrainer]

I did not see the original post. IF someone wanted to know about Alfa motorhome AC problems, then this is the true story. We sold them for 6 m,onths and after we could NOT keep them below 85 degrees in 95 to 100 degree Texas heat we dropped them.
The problem with the basement model Alfa motorhomes and cooling is simple (In higher than 90 degree days)
1. The unit AND return is in the rear bedroom area. Due to the floorplans and forward slide rooms, there is no way to get any hot air from the front back to the rear AC unit. We ran a 12 inch duct along the floor from rear to front and temp connected to the return plenum. THAT caused the AC to cool in the 75 degree range in the front on higher than 90 degree days. Because there was no simple way to install that duct thru the basement area, and Alfa did not come up with a design to do it, we dropped the line and Alfa purchsed them back from us.
2. The REASON we did these AC tests was because Alfa's were very popular back then and we had 2 potential customers that had read about the cooling problems on the Internet and stated if we could get the unit below 75 degrees on a 95-100 day they would purchase. We could not and they did not.
3. They were OK units but just not the type to use in 90 plus temps if you like it cold inside. Doug

[OhhWell]

nevadanick wrote:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/newmar-kountry-star-slide-problems-50687.html or how aboutthe recalls ? Should i avoid these tomatoes ?

The only thing I saw from that link was one person complaining that their slide issue didn't get repaired properly. They seemed to think it was an isolated problem with their particular coach. I don't see how that makes it a brand or model to stay way from.

[nevadanick]

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/newmar-kountry-star-slide-problems-50687.html or how aboutthe recalls ? Should i avoid these tomatoes ?