Looking for opinions about quality

[meleavingsoon]

Hi all,

I plan to start looking for a class A diesel pusher in the near future and would like some suggestions of manufacturers to consider.

We owned a 1999 American Coach product (model was a Heritage) for about 5 years but then sold it several years ago to try a 5th wheel trailer. We were very satisfied with the coach so I have already made up my mind to consider one of their coaches again (maybe an Eagle or Tradition also).

I would appreciate any suggestions from those of you who have had experience with models that would be comparable to American Coach. I know a little about the Country Coach product and like them also.

I am interested in the years approx. 1995-2002. I would like to stay in the price range of $20-50k. The front room slide out is nice. The Heritage we owned was 45'...but I know we can not probably do that again with my budget.

Thanks for any tips,
Phil

[2gypsies1]

We used our 2004 Newmar Dutch Star for 8 years of our full-timing with no issues whatsoever. We traveled constantly and loved driving it in the mountains. Took it to Alaska for a summer, also.

[jrclark]

I have a 2003 Damon Ultrasport. I bought it when it was two years old. At that time I started to read the postings on RV.NET and it was depressing to read all the negative reviews about Damon quality. But, I still have the coach and have put approximately 50,000 plus miles on it and have had no problems with it. What I found was Damon put top of the line products in it and the build has stood the test of time. The only thing I wish Damon had done was to put the Onan 7500 diesel generator on a slide. And, by the way if you are buying a used coach you want all the maintenance records. If there are no or minimal maintenance records then past up buying the coach.

[jplante4]

You should put Safari on your list. Those years would have been the pre-Monaco Safaris built in Oregon. Lots of cross-pollination from Beaver, same chassis. We're very happy with our 96 Sahara.

[ncrowley]

Newmar, Country Coach, Tiffin would be my recommendations.

[Cloud_Dancer]

My opinion on motorhome "quality" is that I would have to spend at least $700,000 in order to have a chance of finding it.
I special ordered my 2003 Dutch Star, and this helped me form my opinion.
Whatever you end up buying, please let us know how you feel about it, after you use it for a couple of years. Thanks

[Silverado6x6]

I'm about to retire at 60, been a diesel mechanic my whole life, and it seems to me the Newmar has the best build for the money while Prevost can cost you as much as you are willing to spend. So i search for an older Prevost, to the point i may even consider a 1976 that is coming up soon at a Ritchie Brothers auction in Washington state. But only if its in good shape and cheap, like less than $5,000.

Otherwise i might go with a budget of $150k for a very large Newmar not more than 10 years old. With 4 slides. I have never been successful when i buy a new vehicle, but ones that are 2 years old were my best. Don't plan on a lot of traveling but after 24 years in Alaska i want to winter where its warmer.

[rvbmw94]

You will have to find older coaches with high quality.
American Coach Eagle, Monaco Executive around the 2000-02 range is possible in the $50k or less. Country Coach Magna 96-2002 are a "hella of" a coach. Maybe older Foretravel.

A buddy of mine just bought a 2001 Monaco Executive 45' w/tag and 500hp for $50k. Tons of coach for the money.

Monaco, Country Coach, and American's in the 98-2000 age ranges are my favorites.

Good luck

[Bruce_Brown]

Phil Hendrix wrote:
Some of the features I really liked about the Heritage we owned and would like to find in our next unit are....
---102" wide body
---fiberglass roof
---dual pane insulated windows
---aluminum frame wall construction
---real wood cabinets and interior construction
---real wood drawer boxes and full ext. guides

The only real negative comment I would have with our previous motorhome was the problem with delamination. We had water get into the wall from a couple of holes in the roof that caused the delamination. I found the problem but the damage had already been done. During the install of the sat. dish at the factory there were some extra holes drilled that were not used under the mounting brackets but not filled in either. It took me removing the dish to find the holes.

Do all the motorhomes of the late 90's thru early 2000's have the potential concern of delamination?

Thanks,
Phil

Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entegra are not laminated, so (obviously) they cannot delaminate. They use a hung wall construction method. For my money I wouldn't own a laminated coach, for just the reason you noted.

And of the 3 listed above only Newmar offers Comfort Drive, so that makes it an easy choice for me.

The other thing, if it matters to you, only Newmar still has the same owner today as they have since day 1.

Holiday Rambler/Monaco is now owned by the same people who own Fleetwood.

Travel Supreme is now Entegra, which was just purchased by the same owners as Thor.

[meleavingsoon]

Some of the features I really liked about the Heritage we owned and would like to find in our next unit are....
---102" wide body
---fiberglass roof
---dual pane insulated windows
---aluminum frame wall construction
---real wood cabinets and interior construction
---real wood drawer boxes and full ext. guides

The only real negative comment I would have with our previous motorhome was the problem with delamination. We had water get into the wall from a couple of holes in the roof that caused the delamination. I found the problem but the damage had already been done. During the install of the sat. dish at the factory there were some extra holes drilled that were not used under the mounting brackets but not filled in either. It took me removing the dish to find the holes.

Do all the motorhomes of the late 90's thru early 2000's have the potential concern of delamination?

Thanks,
Phil

[BUB1988]

We have a 03 Gulf Stream Yellowstone 39' that we bought used about 3 years ago. The coach is very well made and solid. 6 weeks after we purchased the coach I was able to get a excellent look under the coach as it was at Ring Power getting aa new engine due to lack of maintenance from the previous owner. The coach seemed to be insulated from top to bottom and has been a good coach. When we do see a Gulfstream we speak to the owners and none have had anything bad to say about them.

[Roadpilot]

We had an '04 Monaco and it was a great motorhome. But I would guess it's how the motorhome was maintained over that number of years that makes the most difference in future reliability.

[meleavingsoon]

Thank you guys!....this is exactly the kind of help I am looking for. Since my experience with class A's have been limited to a single manufacturer (admittedly a good one to me) I simply want to learn about equal options before I try to buy another one.

I had forgotten about the Beaver line...I do remember hearing good things about them.

Thanks again...please keep the suggestions coming...this helps expand my search.

[smlranger]

Having had a Heritage, it sounds like you are looking for another high line coach. County Coach, Travel Supreme, American Coach, Foretravel, Monaco (Dynasty, Executive), ad the upper level Newmars like Mountain Aires or Essex would be my targets. Also Beavers in that era. I've seen some great looking Beaver coaches.

Even a high end coach can look crappy if it was not cared for properly. We've all seen those in our travels.

[Bruce_Brown]

One thing I failed to mention was take a walk around your local campground and see which ones have stood the test of time. They ALL look good when they're new, some not-so-much as they get some age on them. Notice how many are delaminating, coming apart, held together with duct tape and/or just look bad. As with everything there will always be exceptions but you may (probably will, depending on how big the campground is) see a trend of those that look better than others. Look at where the roof meets the sidewalls - does it still look like it did when it left the factory. Notice around the windshields, any extra sealer trying to keep things dry? Just give them the once over even from a distance. It's not rocket science, some obviously age better than others.

I do this often when we camp, and I keep coming back to the same thing. I'll stick with Newmar. :B We recently camped with friends with a 2002 Dutch Star. It looks every bit as good as our 2008, and ours is garaged kept.