Thor palazzo33.3 vs Forest River Legacy 340BH ???

[Kevin_O_]

I am a NEWBIE when it comes to motorhomes. I had my heart set on a new Thor Palazzo until I came across the Forest River Legacy 340BH which has the same exact floor plan. I'm just looking for some opinions on why you would choose one over the other.


Thanks, Kevin

[psw757]

For those that we're asking about the handling characteristics of the legacy, we have owned it since January and it is a one handed driving dream at 60-65 mph and have been getting 10.5 mpg(hand calculated) towing a 4700 lb jeep wrangler. I think the legacy is a couple thousand heavier than the palazzo if I recall.

I really think the key is proper loading of coach, having it weighed and running the appropriate psi on each axle.

[Effy]

Groover wrote:

Effy wrote:
I'd be curious as to how the Legacy handles. The comparable length palazzo has a 242" wheelbase as opposed to the 208" on the legacy. There seem to be plusses on both. I would agree the FR seems to have a little better fit and finish, the fiberglass roof is a nice touch as well as on demand water heater (if you can get good flow), but the wheelbase bothers me. Wonder why FR didn't stretch it. The Palazzo 33.3 is actually a 34' coach on a 208" wheelbase. The FR 340 is actually a 36' coach but still on a 208" wheelbase. Now the Palazzo 36.1 which is Thor's 36 footer is on a 242". So it's not really apples to apples. The FR is longer by 2 feet but on the same wheelbase. I thought it looked kind of odd with the wheels close together like that. But it may ride fine.

That would be my concern. My Palazzo gets blown around more than I like by trucks. Adding two feet in length in a couple of inches in height surely won't help. I would also worry about dragging the front and rear more. I drag the chin on my Palazzo fairly often and that almost has to be where the extra length is. I am wondering if there is a mis-print in the literature and the FR is really on a longer wheelbase. I would hope so if I were buying one.

I don't think it's a mis print . I can tell by looking at it that the wheelbase is shorter . I was surprised to see that you get pushed around. Palazzo is a light coach though. For a dp

[Groover]

Effy wrote:
I'd be curious as to how the Legacy handles. The comparable length palazzo has a 242" wheelbase as opposed to the 208" on the legacy. There seem to be plusses on both. I would agree the FR seems to have a little better fit and finish, the fiberglass roof is a nice touch as well as on demand water heater (if you can get good flow), but the wheelbase bothers me. Wonder why FR didn't stretch it. The Palazzo 33.3 is actually a 34' coach on a 208" wheelbase. The FR 340 is actually a 36' coach but still on a 208" wheelbase. Now the Palazzo 36.1 which is Thor's 36 footer is on a 242". So it's not really apples to apples. The FR is longer by 2 feet but on the same wheelbase. I thought it looked kind of odd with the wheels close together like that. But it may ride fine.

That would be my concern. My Palazzo gets blown around more than I like by trucks. Adding two feet in length in a couple of inches in height surely won't help. I would also worry about dragging the front and rear more. I drag the chin on my Palazzo fairly often and that almost has to be where the extra length is. I am wondering if there is a mis-print in the literature and the FR is really on a longer wheelbase. I would hope so if I were buying one.

[Effy]

I'd be curious as to how the Legacy handles. The comparable length palazzo has a 242" wheelbase as opposed to the 208" on the legacy. There seem to be plusses on both. I would agree the FR seems to have a little better fit and finish, the fiberglass roof is a nice touch as well as on demand water heater (if you can get good flow), but the wheelbase bothers me. Wonder why FR didn't stretch it. The Palazzo 33.3 is actually a 34' coach on a 208" wheelbase. The FR 340 is actually a 36' coach but still on a 208" wheelbase. Now the Palazzo 36.1 which is Thor's 36 footer is on a 242". So it's not really apples to apples. The FR is longer by 2 feet but on the same wheelbase. I thought it looked kind of odd with the wheels close together like that. But it may ride fine.

[psw757]

Kevin O. wrote:
Thanks for the feeback!! Does anyone know if Legacy uses the same Schwintek slide as the Palazzo??

We bought a Legacy back in January and are very happy with it so far. We looked at the palazzo 33.3 and the sportscoach 361bh and at the time fleetwood didn't offer a bunk floor plan so that was out. The forza was nice bought don't like the rear bath setup on their bunk floor plan.

The legacy has a few items that are std that the palazzo doesn't offer such as

Fiberglass roof
Individually laid floor tile
Air horns
More exterior storage
Allison 2500mh tranny
Bunk over cab utilizes a real mattress integrated into it vs the air mattress on palazzo
Jack knife sofa doesn't require air mattress like palazzo either
Some nice hid BMW style halo projector headlights, very bright!
Few other items as well

The legacy is at least 2ft longer(bigger in kitchen/living area) and has a gvw of 28k gcwr 33k and the ccc weight is over 6k

As for the utilities bay being under a slide, that is what happens when you have a full wall slide on any coach. I don't mind it and will gladly take all that extra interior space for the 2 minutes I have to actually be under the slide.

Either way you can't go wrong but we are very happy with our choice

[Kevin_O_]

Thanks for the feeback!! Does anyone know if Legacy uses the same Schwintek slide as the Palazzo??

[BobandShaz]

VinCee wrote:
Just looked at a listing for the Forest River and it does list the Allison 2500 as the transmission along with a 10K hitch set up. Quite a nice rig for the list of 159K. I would take FR quality over Thor any day.

From the FR web for the Legacy

Legacy SR 300 Features

Automotive & Cockpit

•Freightliner XCS Chassis
•Cummins® ISB 300 HP Diesel Engine
•Allison 2500MH Transmission
•22.5" Stainless Steel Wheel Inserts
•Trailer Hitch, 10,000 lb
•Trailer Hitch Capacity, 5,000 lb

[DebbieMH]

We looked at both of these. What I didn't like about the FR legacy was that the utilities are located under the slide. Really???? So, when we want to empty the tanks or use the outside shower, we would have to put in the slide or crawl underneath.

We purchased a Fleetwood Excursion (about the same price point) We are very happy with it. We have the 35B model - but understand that 2015's have a bunk model 35e. So, might want to check those out.

[93mastercraft]

93mastercraft wrote:

mike brez wrote:
This might help make up your mind.

Mike, thanks, I was going to say the same thing. Oh, by the way, the third Palazzo has a water leak. Thor has supposedly fixed it. However, we found mold in the wall.

Skip,

I toured the Thor Gas Factory after the fact. I was not at all impressed. Did you ever get a chance to tour the factory before you purchased the ACE? I would highly recommend every one who is thinking about buying a Thor to tour the factory before they do so.

[93mastercraft]

mike brez wrote:
This might help make up your mind.

Mike, thanks, I was going to say the same thing. Oh, by the way, the third Palazzo has a water leak. Thor has supposedly fixed it. However, we found mold in the wall.

Kevin, just don't do what I did - Read a few negative posts and shrug it off and think it will be alright.

[Kaz]

Kevin O. wrote:
I am a NEWBIE when it comes to motorhomes. I had my heart set on a new Thor Palazzo until I came across the Forest River Legacy 340BH which has the same exact floor plan. I'm just looking for some opinions on why you would choose one over the other.


Thanks, Kevin

We have a Thor now (different model), it's fine, and I'd certainly consider another one. We looked at the Palazzo at the recent FMCA rally and it was very nice. In addition, Thor has modified the slide mechanism in new Palazzo units and (supposedly) the difficulty in slide alignment has been addressed. However, we previously owned a Forest River trailer and liked it a lot too. I would certainly consider any Forest River product.

Apart from major design screw-ups, which affect all units but tend to get fixed in the next model year,* the more important consideration is the build quality of the particular unit you're looking at. For example, the absolute worst horror story I've ever heard of occurred in a Winnebago luxury model (!), which otherwise has an excellent reputation. So, whatever you decide, do a really thorough PDI and as noted above, don't accept delivery of the unit until the major components are working correctly.

Skip

* Recall the adage from computer science: never buy version 1.0 of anything. 🙂

[Groover]

From looking at the Freightliner information it appears that they use the 2500 transmission in all of the chassis now.

http://freightlinerchassis.com/documents/XC%20Brochure%203-22-11-20110322121859000000.pdf

[VinCee]

Just looked at a listing for the Forest River and it does list the Allison 2500 as the transmission along with a 10K hitch set up. Quite a nice rig for the list of 159K. I would take FR quality over Thor any day.

[Groover]

As the owner of 33.3 my biggest concern is the Shwintek slide system. Mine has failed after less than a year. Thor is working very well with me to get it replaced but my biggest question is whether the problem can be made to go away or if it will be with me as long as I own the coach. I will post again when I have more info. While some cases have been highly publicized I don't get the impression that every Palazzo has this problem, or at least I hope they don't and mine will be cured when properly repaired.

A related issue is that mine seems to be drafty at interstate speeds and it is very difficult to control internal temperature. I am hoping that fixing the slide will tighten up the seals.

I looked at some pictures of the Forest River and the similarities are amazing but the are some details I like better about each one. I encourage you to look under the skin at build quality if you can before making any decisions. One dealer stated that the Forest River has the Allison 2500 hundred transmission. I doubt that becuase I don't think it is offered on that chassis but if they do that is big because it greatly increases your trailer tow capacity. The last I heard the 208" wheelbase under the Palazzo gets the 2100 transmission but the 220" and up get the 2500. I have not seen what the wheelbase is on the Forest River. The biggest thing I don't like on the Forest River is the cabinet handles. They look like accidents waiting to happen. I would replace them with rounded handles that won't catch clothing but that at least is a very simple and inexpensive change. I really do like the computer shelf in front of the passenger on the Palazzo. It is very handy for all sorts of things.