First timer, Fleetwood Bounder and or Winnebago

OpenRangePullen_Ford wrote:
You are looking at two very strong brands, But what exactly are you looking for as far as size and amenities. If your willing to stretch out for a good deal I found a well maintained 1999 Safari Trek 26RB diesel Clicky Thier unique in many ways and have all of the luxuries of a bigger coach. Safari is a division of Monaco coach which is also known for quality in their diesel pushers. And for only $19k its one of the better values.

That Trek has a 6.5L GMC diesel, stay away from it. Some of the Treks have a Isuzu 3.9L inline 4 diesel engine, and are only 90" wide (not the normal 102" wide body motorhome). The better Safari will have a large 8.3L inline 6 cylinder Cummings or larger engines in them.

I have a gas engine motorhome, and it works fine. You can find many used Bounder or it's slightly more expensive brother Pace Arrow, and even more amenities the Southwind brand. Stormy or Southwind Storm is the entry level, and what I picked out, before the wife saw the advantages of the pass through storage and lighted storage in the $7,000 more expensive Bounder.

Fred.

Anything Winnebago builds would be my choice.

It would be interesting to know the story behind this one. If it's legit it's a buy;

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2002-Newmar-Dutch-Star-4025-112631042

The First Rule of RV.Net - ignore Bumpy - he is a one trick pony.

One the others;

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1997-Fleetwood-Bounder-34VS-112420394;

I'd skip this one based on chassis along. This has the old Ford chassis with an aftermarket tag axle. That was a band-aid to help an overloaded chassis.

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1999-Fleetwood-Bounder-34V-111290642

Same...OOPS - check the license plate - they're the same unit. This one screams scam.

http://www.rvusa.com/rvs/1998/fleetwood-bounder-36-s-class-a-used-hatfield-pennsylvania-1181671

At least it's a different coach this time, but it has the same aftermarket tag chassis. IMO, keep looking.

http://www.motorhomesusa.com/ufleetwood00-32southwind-1957-P900.html

This one looks pretty decent. Looks pretty straight, no signs of leakage, no noticable delamination. One thing in the ad that is wrong is it does NOT have an Allison transmission.

Call me biased, but I'm a big fan of Newmar. We've owned (1) Winnie and (1) Fleetwood product, we've owned (3) Newmars, so take that for what it's worth.

For your budget I'd take a look at something like this;

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1998-Newmar-Dutch-Star-3865-110837661

Newmar quality, strong company, hung wall construction (can't delaminate), and a diesel pusher. Look around, they're are a fair amount of them available. The Dutchstar is a VERY highly respected coach by all accounts and is still being made today.

Good luck with the search - thats 1/2 the fun. :B

We won't make the trip until Jan 1 st. Will make 2short trips and a 500 miler to Maine coast and back in Oct. We looked for 5 years for just the right floor plan and found it in a fleetwood Flair. I let my wife pick the floor plan andI will do what it takes to make it ours.

RLS7201 wrote:

Bumpy,

Lighten up, those old Bounders of the 90 were the best selling class A gassers on the road. Makes ya wonder why?
The roof on my 20 year old Bounder only lasted 15 years and I had to spend $350.00 for EPDM coating materials. That's almost 2 tanks of fuel. I may not be able to drive to the poor house because of roofing costs. GRIN.... I doubt that $350.00 will ever cover a fiberglass roof repair.
Shall we discuss the various merits of those ol chassis designs? :E :S

Richard
95 Bounder
F53 Ford chassis
131,000 miles

I believe I did address chassis design in my post but everybody grabbed and ran with my caution against rubber roofs.
" in your price range are these on the "new" Ford or improved workhorse chassis or on the old P-30/32?"


my 1995? bounder was on a chevy P-30/32 chassis however.
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:

imgoin4it wrote:
The case is not closed if the fiberglass roof on the Winnebago starts peeling off in the wind. I saw several on the highway as it was happening. Need to inspect every 6 months and make sure edge is sealed down. If it peels off it is not covered by the 10 warranty. Nothing wrong with a TPO roof. Take care of both of them and they will last a long time.

I guess that is why Fortravel, prevost, etc. use TPO roofs.
I owned a Bounder, when I wanted to upgrade I bought a Winnebago.
bumpy

Bumpy,

Lighten up, those old Bounders of the 90 were the best selling class A gassers on the road. Makes ya wonder why?
The roof on my 20 year old Bounder only lasted 15 years and I had to spend $350.00 for EPDM coating materials. That's almost 2 tanks of fuel. I may not be able to drive to the poor house because of roofing costs. GRIN.... I doubt that $350.00 will ever cover a fiberglass roof repair.
Shall we discuss the various merits of those ol chassis designs? :E :S

Richard
95 Bounder
F53 Ford chassis
131,000 miles

Effy wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

imgoin4it wrote:
The case is not closed if the fiberglass roof on the Winnebago starts peeling off in the wind. I saw several on the highway as it was happening. Need to inspect every 6 months and make sure edge is sealed down. If it peels off it is not covered by the 10 warranty. Nothing wrong with a TPO roof. Take care of both of them and they will last a long time.

I guess that is why Fortravel, prevost, etc. use TPO roofs.
I owned a Bounder, when I wanted to upgrade I bought a Winnebago.
bumpy

Sigh, if you think the quality of the fiberglass and the quality of the install and the lap are the same on a Winnie as higher end MH's you are wrong. All roofs have holes, all have seams and whether they are installed correctly can make a big different as well as the material used. But TPO is a fantastic roof material. It's used in a lot of commercial applications. I wouldn't trust advice from someone who told me I needed to whittle my choices down to a roof material especially when TPO performs as well as it does. You really thin the herd when you start chasing down stuff like that. TPO is a well tested and reliable material. Take a poll on here who has TPO and you'll see - pretty large crowd. Take the same poll of who has issues with it - pretty small. If you have any issues, it's going to be where there is a seam or something attached. And fiberglass or not, they all have seams and holes. And in the very small chance you had an issue with a hole in the TPO itself, it can be repaired very easily and cheaply, usually in your driveway. Try repairing a fiberglass roof and let me know how long that takes and how much it cost.

lots of posts of roof damage lately for membrane roofs.
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:

imgoin4it wrote:
The case is not closed if the fiberglass roof on the Winnebago starts peeling off in the wind. I saw several on the highway as it was happening. Need to inspect every 6 months and make sure edge is sealed down. If it peels off it is not covered by the 10 warranty. Nothing wrong with a TPO roof. Take care of both of them and they will last a long time.

I guess that is why Fortravel, prevost, etc. use TPO roofs.
I owned a Bounder, when I wanted to upgrade I bought a Winnebago.
bumpy

Sigh, if you think the quality of the fiberglass and the quality of the install and the lap are the same on a Winnie as higher end MH's you are wrong. All roofs have holes, all have seams and whether they are installed correctly can make a big different as well as the material used. But TPO is a fantastic roof material. It's used in a lot of commercial applications. I wouldn't trust advice from someone who told me I needed to whittle my choices down to a roof material especially when TPO performs as well as it does. You really thin the herd when you start chasing down stuff like that. TPO is a well tested and reliable material. Take a poll on here who has TPO and you'll see - pretty large crowd. Take the same poll of who has issues with it - pretty small. If you have any issues, it's going to be where there is a seam or something attached. And fiberglass or not, they all have seams and holes. And in the very small chance you had an issue with a hole in the TPO itself, it can be repaired very easily and cheaply, usually in your driveway. Try repairing a fiberglass roof and let me know how long that takes and how much it cost.

imgoin4it wrote:
The case is not closed if the fiberglass roof on the Winnebago starts peeling off in the wind. I saw several on the highway as it was happening. Need to inspect every 6 months and make sure edge is sealed down. If it peels off it is not covered by the 10 warranty. Nothing wrong with a TPO roof. Take care of both of them and they will last a long time.

I guess that is why Fortravel, prevost, etc. use TPO roofs.
I owned a Bounder, when I wanted to upgrade I bought a Winnebago.
bumpy