Overwhelmed with choices of motorhomes

[cducote]

This is our first purchase of a motorhome. We have narrowed it down to these 3: Fleetwood, Thor, or Georgetown. Can anyone give me pros or cons of each? Our budget is <$100,000 and we like the bunk bed floor plans. We haven't found any used ones in our area so it looks like we'll have to buy new.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[RayChez]

mike brez wrote:

timmac wrote:

RayChez wrote:


Have you ever seen on television the program called ICE TRUCKERS? Now you know that those truckers do not use gasoline engines on those big rigs hauling equipment way up into the coldest parts of Alaska. They are all diesel my friend. So if you like a gasoline motorhome, that is fine with me. But lets keep the posting believable. Diesel engines have always operated in the coldest parts of the world. Sometimes you have to add additives to the diesel fuel, but that is having knowledge as to what to do in those cold places.

That's funny you mention that show and about diesels in cold weather, they had a episode where a truck was not left running and it would not start because the driver forgot and shut it off..

Diesels are good for heavy loads and have lots of torque but don't shut them off in very cold weather or you will be walking.

Your talking about temps in the -50* that would be some nice camping.

In real cold country where the temperatures drop to -50 degrees, years ago we used to use ether on the big locomotive engines to start them. But you got to be careful with ether and know exactly how much to use because it really is not good for diesel engines. In weather like that you do not have a choice but it will start them.

Do not use it if a diesel engine has a glow plug or other system.

[mike_brez]

timmac wrote:

RayChez wrote:


Have you ever seen on television the program called ICE TRUCKERS? Now you know that those truckers do not use gasoline engines on those big rigs hauling equipment way up into the coldest parts of Alaska. They are all diesel my friend. So if you like a gasoline motorhome, that is fine with me. But lets keep the posting believable. Diesel engines have always operated in the coldest parts of the world. Sometimes you have to add additives to the diesel fuel, but that is having knowledge as to what to do in those cold places.

That's funny you mention that show and about diesels in cold weather, they had a episode where a truck was not left running and it would not start because the driver forgot and shut it off..

Diesels are good for heavy loads and have lots of torque but don't shut them off in very cold weather or you will be walking.

Your talking about temps in the -50* that would be some nice camping.

[timmac]

RayChez wrote:


Have you ever seen on television the program called ICE TRUCKERS? Now you know that those truckers do not use gasoline engines on those big rigs hauling equipment way up into the coldest parts of Alaska. They are all diesel my friend. So if you like a gasoline motorhome, that is fine with me. But lets keep the posting believable. Diesel engines have always operated in the coldest parts of the world. Sometimes you have to add additives to the diesel fuel, but that is having knowledge as to what to do in those cold places.

That's funny you mention that show and about diesels in cold weather, they had a episode where a truck was not left running and it would not start because the driver forgot and shut it off..

Diesels are good for heavy loads and have lots of torque but don't shut them off in very cold weather or you will be walking.

[msmith1199]

bsinmich wrote:
Some people are hung up fiberglass roofs. They forget that a couple years ago Tiffin and Winnebago had problems with the edges of their roofs coming loose. My roof warranty just expired on my Newmar and the roof still looks like new. The Brite-tek roof had a 13 year warranty.

Did that warranty cover damage from tree branches?

[RayChez]

My first gasoline coach had a rubber roof. I liked it because when it rains or hail falls it is real quiet. But while driving in Florida going to Penny Thompson RV park there were some trees that had not been trimmed by the city and it put a tear about four inches on the rubber roof.

Now I have a solid fiber glass roof on this other coach, but you can hear the rain or hail when we have it. But the roof must be braced pretty solid because when I walk up there it does not flex at all. But again it did require me to get up there and do some caulking once a year UNTIL I got fed up with the caulking thing, so I Eternabonded all the seams. I never get up there anymore like I used to.

So in conclusion the rubber roof was not bad, but you do have to be careful with trees.

The fiberglass a much better roof, but if you do not seal the joints well, you could have problems.

Most of your entry level coaches are going to have rubber or Brite tex on them anyways. Very few will have the fiberglass roof. Most of the middle or upper class will have the fiberglass roof.

[kalynzoo]

Rather than narrowing down the brand of major well known manufacturers how about narrowing down your anticipated use and the floor plans. We just purchased our Next motorhome and some of our requirements were: Must have passenger windows on both sides, we often travel with grandkids and when we say look at the buffalo they should be able to find a set and look. We insisted on a booth dinette, as again with grandchildren they need to be in a firm seat and maybe seatbelted while traveling and coloring or reading. Just these two requirements greatly narrowed the field of available rigs. Play the game and see what you come up with. I final choice ended up being an Allegro by Tiffin. This even though we loved and still enjoy our Winnebago Adventurer. Would I purchase another Winnebago product, Absolutely. But the floor plans this year didn't meet my demands. I owned a Southwind, no complaints. We kept our Holiday Rambler for 12 years, great RV (now a different company). Think less about the brand than your needs.
JMHO

[Bumpyroad]

bsinmich wrote:
Some people are hung up fiberglass roofs.

yep, include me in that group of some people. but I am in favor of TPO over rubber. I see no good reason to get a rubber roof now days.
years back you had to get a very expensive RV to not get rubber. I see you have a TPO roof, not a rubber one.
bumpy

[bsinmich]

Some people are hung up fiberglass roofs. They forget that a couple years ago Tiffin and Winnebago had problems with the edges of their roofs coming loose. My roof warranty just expired on my Newmar and the roof still looks like new. The Brite-tek roof had a 13 year warranty.

[cpoo]

If it has the Floorplan you like best then you are on the right track. Now find one in the ballpark price wise and test it. If that goes well then fine tune the deal and start to enjoy.

[msmith1199]

dahkota wrote:

cducote wrote:
Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions! The Fleetwood seems to be the best choice. We love the floor plan and it sounds like it is well made. I'm sure we'll be browsing this forum often!

We recently bought a Fleetwood Bounder and are very happy with our decision. The price was great, the fit and finish is good, and it handles very well.

Contrary to others in the forum, we like and have no problems with our non-fiberglass roof.

We found the Bounder to be a great value as many options on other lines are standard on the Bounder. There are things we would change but they are minor and do not impact our enjoyment of our coach (dometic fridge door "lock," winegard satellite system).

There are many, many happy Bounder owners. They must be doing something right.

I don't think anybody is claiming you aren't going to like a rubber roof or have problems with it. At least not at first. But you can bet you'll be replacing that rubber roof long before anybody is replacing a fiberglass roof. You may go through several before that fiberglass roof fails, if it ever does fail. Other than lasting way longer, what I like about the fiberglass roof is I don't have to worry as much about those low hanging tree braches. I still do my best to avoid them, but sometimes that doesn't always work out. I hit one and destroyed the plastic cover on my bathroom vent, but didn't do a thing to the fiberglass roof. $20 damage versus hundreds of dollars damage if I had ripped open a rubber roof. You can like a rubber roof all day long, but you can't argue that a one piece fiberglass roof is not better.

[cducote]

I think the Fleetwood Bounder is exactly what we're looking for! Now we're off to find the best price we can find in Louisiana! Thanks again for everyone's help!

[Mr_Mark1]

dahkota wrote:

cducote wrote:
Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions! The Fleetwood seems to be the best choice. We love the floor plan and it sounds like it is well made. I'm sure we'll be browsing this forum often!

We recently bought a Fleetwood Bounder and are very happy with our decision. The price was great, the fit and finish is good, and it handles very well.

Contrary to others in the forum, we like and have no problems with our non-fiberglass roof.

We found the Bounder to be a great value as many options on other lines are standard on the Bounder. There are things we would change but they are minor and do not impact our enjoyment of our coach (dometic fridge door "lock," winegard satellite system).

There are many, many happy Bounder owners. They must be doing something right.

The only problem with rubber roofs is they WILL need to be replaced someday and they are not cheap. A fiberglass roof will not, just needs caulking at the seams. If the Bounder had a fiberglass roof it would be perfect.

You can take care of your rubber roof and it will last many, many years, but some people seem to fall behind on that as getting on the roof is not fun.

I'm not trying to criticize your roof, it's just that a fiberglass roof is virtually maintenance free except for checking the caulk every couple of years.

Safe travels,
MM.

[dahkota]

cducote wrote:
Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions! The Fleetwood seems to be the best choice. We love the floor plan and it sounds like it is well made. I'm sure we'll be browsing this forum often!

We recently bought a Fleetwood Bounder and are very happy with our decision. The price was great, the fit and finish is good, and it handles very well.

Contrary to others in the forum, we like and have no problems with our non-fiberglass roof.

We found the Bounder to be a great value as many options on other lines are standard on the Bounder. There are things we would change but they are minor and do not impact our enjoyment of our coach (dometic fridge door "lock," winegard satellite system).

There are many, many happy Bounder owners. They must be doing something right.

[RayChez]

Mr.Mark wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:

JimM68 wrote:
at 100k, you can get a damned nice not too old 4 slide used diesel pusher.

So tell me why I would need a diesel? I sat on a rural highway at -60f wind chill when my diesel PU diesel gelled. My gas engine starts under all conditions. Don't tell me I need a diesel. I'm a rancher in WY. I know what diesels do in the winter. Diesels are great in warm weather when you drive them every day. I let my gasser PU sit for week
s in -25f weather and it starts every tine. Try that with a diesel.

Wow, I sure wouldn't want a diesel in that weather, nor would I want take any motorhome in that weather! That's just too darn cold.

We have never winterized our motorhome in 7.5 yrs. (2008 Monaco Dynasty) and don't plan on winterizing the new one either. We stay south in the cold months.

MM.

I used to have a friend from North Dakota. He was stationed here at the marine base in Barstow, Ca. I noticed his car had an electric cord hanging in the front by the radiator. I asked him what the electric cord was for. He said where he comes from the chill factor has gotten to -60 degrees and that gasoline cars would not start unless they had a block heater. So I guess it affected his car and it was gasoline.