Fleetwood Terra LX

[iquilt888]

I notice on here there are a bunch of Bounder Owners as well as other Fleetwood models. However, there are few, if any, Terra folks.

Is the Terra a fluk? Is it the "bastard" child? Or is there some other reason it is conspicuously missing?

[iquilt888]

Devoredude,

Congrats on a great weekend. It is so wonderful for all folks involved to have had a great outdoor camping experience.

Even though you have minor things to be fixed that's all part of the experience.

Go TERRAs!!!

[Devoredude]

Thanks for the confirmation that we do indeed own a true Class A. Figured we did.

Promised an update on how the rig handled. Excellent, towed great, rode great, very comfortable. Just returned from 4 days, three nights of dry camping with our 14 ft trailer, Yamaha Rhino, Honda CRF450R, Yamaha TTR125, 5 wheelbarrows of firewood, 20 gal of fuel, tools, etc. Trailer was very heavy but not overloaded. My concerns about getting out of the back yard are over. The 31M and trailer made it around the trees, fence, gate, house and onto the street with a foot clearance. Nice! Pulled up Cajon Pass at 50 mph, very happy, made it down a pretty sandy, rutted dirt road for 4 miles no problem, and everything worked excellent, furnace, water heater, generator, leveling jacks, slides, etc etc.. , including the sat tv (can't miss Gold Rush Alaska). Comning home I got to test the trailer brakes I installed a few weeks ago. Worked very nice, though with the size of the rig, kind of hard to set it. Practice I suppose.

We used to carry 25 gal of extra water in our class C, not this time. We came home with probably 1/3 still in the fresh tank and all three of us showered twice a day. This rig I think has a smaller Black water tank (30 gal) than our old C so it was 1/2 full after the weekend which on the old one never happened. I don't think the shower goes into the black so am assuming my son and all his friends forgot we were in the middle of the desert and used the toilet all the time (duh).

Now the fixes I need to make.

Water drips (very slow) from the blue handled valve at the water heater bypass valve area. Noticed the red handle on the other side of the motorhome in the basement area (low point drain) is broken off. One of the pocket lights came off above the sofa, Sofa side came loose cause we put the armrest in the wrong place and my kid pushed against it with his feet while sleeping and it pryed the side off, and the drivers side screen is coming out of the frame.

The water lines are what, Pex? So I guess I'll have more tools since it looks like you need special PEX expansion tools for these types of connections.. or not?

Hope all had a great weekend!

[wildmanbaker]

Devoredude, Yours is indeed a true Class A MH. It has 2" side walls, full basement with heated tanks. The construction in on par with any Fleetwood MH made, material and constructions wise. Some even came with full body paint. You do not to be ashamed of any MH, or RV that you, or anyone has. Remember, most anything beats a tent.

[Devoredude]

iquilt888 wrote:
Devoredude,
FINALLY someone who does not look down their nose at the Terra.

I find mine quite comfortable; we've put nearly 5k miles on it since we bought it in August. It has done an amazing job and does not appear like or feel like a travel trailer. The basement storage compartments are more than adequate and the underneath is completely enclosed.

I agree whole completely not everyone can afford a $100,000+ motor home. Nor does everyone need a rig of that caliber.

Again Thanks Devoredue and have a wonderful trip with all your toys. Would like to hear how your coach handled.

Thanks, will update upon return. I don't forsee any problems, the trailer has always towed straight and brakes worked well behind my truck, never hooked up trailer brakes on my old class C, not too smart but took it easy and changed pads / shoes a little too often on that rig. I have an inexpensive Hayes Sychronizer I put in my Terra that doesn't have much but a wheel, lever, and led light. It locks on the dirt in my back yard but on the road will be interesting setting it. Happy Thanksgiving, off we go.

[Devoredude]

Ours is an '07, new it cost over 100K, we picked it up for 50k with 7K miles on it. It has full body paint, the flexsteel furniture, power platform plus basement with pass throught storage, awnings on the slides, auto leveling jacks, movin view sattelite, two ac units, marquis gold generator, electric roof/vent fans, rear view camera, heated electric mirrors, solar panel, electronic climate control, (yeah, I wrote this down when I bought it, my memory is not that good, lol). etc. The storage area is huge, and the tubs are lightweight, not 3/4 inch marine plywood.

I guess I could take the Terra sticker off the side, buff it out, and call it a top of the line unit?? I had someone at an RV park in the Sierras comment that it was a nice looking rig, he was in a beautiful huge diesel pusher, nice guy. Had others comment on not a bad rig for an entry level Class A. Whatever.

I changed my engine oil and the Allison trans (both filters) in 20 minutes. Try that with a Diesel pusher.

We moved up from a '95 tioga class C so this is a huge upgrade for us. We dry camp and a few weeks ago my friends expensive Monaco jacks broke, the other guys Tiffin developed a miss (Cummins Diesel) and ran like crap, and I sat inside with the heater on watching Gold Rush Alaska on the Discover Channel.

[iquilt888]

Devoredude,
FINALLY someone who does not look down their nose at the Terra.

I find mine quite comfortable; we've put nearly 5k miles on it since we bought it in August. It has done an amazing job and does not appear like or feel like a travel trailer. The basement storage compartments are more than adequate and the underneath is completely enclosed.

I agree whole completely not everyone can afford a $100,000+ motor home. Nor does everyone need a rig of that caliber.

Again Thanks Devoredue and have a wonderful trip with all your toys. Would like to hear how your coach handled.

[Devoredude]

We bought a Terra 31M in July. We've been out 3 times and absolutely am happy with the big GM engine and 6 speed allison trans., Went from So Cal up to the sierras, dry camped a few nights, hit an RV park for a few nights, and had no issues at all. Love the popouts, roaming sattelite, marquis gold generator, side hall jack and jill floorplan, etc. Leaving tomorrow morning first time with my 14 ft enclosed trailer behind it. Loaded with fuel, Rhino, Yamaha 125, Honda CRF 450R, firewood, etc etc. We'll see how it goes up Cajon pass. In my old 95 class C, it was 40 mph screaming. I'll be happy with 45 and NOT screaming.

Enjoy what you have. Of course I'd like a top of the line diesel pusher with all the bells and whistles, but that is not an option.

[tatest]

More like the poor cousin. For most of time the Terra and Fiesta brand twins were in the Fleetwood lineup, they were non-basement entry models competing with contempory non-slideout models in the Coachmen Mirada and Fourwinds Hurricane brands, lowest cost A gasser on the lightest GVWR chassis that would carry it. I don't think the dealers tried very hard to sell Terra and Fiesta.

Entry level basement model Southwind Storm, and notch above Bounder and Flair were more popular, more comparable to lowest cost Winnebago, Tiffen, and Damon models.

Of course, brand alignments change, models get upgraded when the market improves, new brands show up at the bottom when the market gets slow and price conscious, or old names get recycled.

[wildmanbaker]

The Terra started out as an entry level MH, with one step up into the interior. The basement storage, as it is, is like those on a TT, or 5th wheel. The walls were 1.5" thick, I don't think they had enclosed holding tanks, but could be wrong on that. They were only 8 foot wide on the outside. In 06, or 07, they replaced the Flair, which was really a Bounder, with less standard appointments. They have since reverted back to near the original Terra construction. If I'm incorrect, maybe current Terra owners can chime in. We looked at the Terra in 04, but when to a true Class A instead, as you got much more than the difference in price showed. It reminded us of our TT with a drive train.

[gbopp]

I just saw one driving around town yesterday. I've never seen it before. Apparently there's at least one Terra in Pennsylvania.

[SooperDaddy]

That 'ol Terra is not a "Fluke" or a "bastard child", it's more like your Uncle Bernard...no one talks about him or accepts his collect phone calls anymore!

However..the "Legend Continues"..here's the 2014 Fleetwood Terra.

[Sloop_Smitten]

I thnk the Terra was one of the last models made before Fleetwood went bankrupt. That may explain the low numbers. A friend of mine has one and I would say it is as well made as any other Fleetwood I have seen. Pre-bankruptcy or after.