Winnebago vs. Phoenix cruiser

Dear Smiledr:

I am sure you will get as many opinions as there are stars in the sky surrounding brands and chassis selection. I guess it will just come down to your personal preference and dollars! I have owned 8 coaches over the years from 24 feet to 38 feet, Fleetwood products and Monaco products and most recently two Phoenix Cruiser products. I do a fair amount of the maintenance on the coaches myself. Without a single doubt I can honestly say the two Phoenix Cruisers have been a delight to own. My current 3100 is now 3 years old and I have had zero issues with the coach itself or the Ford chassis. Anytime I have a question I call the owner of PC and he walks me thru anything and everything. I just said to my wife the other the other day that I loved the PC because everything always works the way it is suppose to, trust me, that is not the way it is with other brands. I have never owned a Winnebago product so really can not pass judgment. I did have a Monaco based Sprinter coach (24') called the Covina, great looking little coach but just to small for us and I did not like how the Sprinter drove at all and I could not tow my Jeep with it. Many people say you can use the Sprinter as your daily driver but trust me breaking down camp to go to the store gets old very fast. People love the Sprinters and I am sure if you were going to put 80,000 per year the MB diesel would be OK but I did not find it pleasant to drive at all, swayed a lot, just seemed over weight all the time. The E-450 is just a brute, it hauls my Jeep easily and just handles very well at least under the PC chassis. I would have some concern in regards to getting into a very long coach (like 31') with three slides, etc. and having the chassis being over weight. The PC may be more money but trust me the construction is very different compared to any Monaco or Fleetwood product. For example PC uses marine grade plywood for flooring, check out what others use. Best of luck with your search and what ever your ultimate decision is be happy and use the coach. Thanks, Ron G.

pauldub wrote:
You probably don't want the Mercedes if you want to tow a vehicle behind.

I tow a Subaru Cross Trek behind mine with not problems at all. Still accelerates nicely and can tow at the speed I like to travel at 60 to 65. I have had it higher with no difference in feel of the handling.

I really wish people that haven't towed with them would forget about not being able to tow with the MB. On the Navion web site there are many people towing with them.

A poster on here (April White)that has a big diesel pusher plus a View. They took their View to Alaska a couple of years back and towed a Mini behind. They were in a caravan and there were people in it with the big pushers and their little view stayed right up with the bigger rigs. In fact April was telling when they were in the lead a lot of times they left the other rigs behind and they couldn't keep up.

pauldub wrote:
You probably don't want the Mercedes if you want to tow a vehicle behind.

We tow a small 4x4 behind ours without issues.

midnightsadie wrote:
can,t remember his name ,but theres a guy on here who has the ph cruiser and loves it.

His name is Ron Dittmer (ron.dittmer on RVNet), and you can send him a PM for more information.

MB Sprinter from Winnebago has a tow hitch that is rated at 5,000lbs. We do not tow because and use the Via in place of a toad.

We don't have a tow vehicle.

You probably don't want the Mercedes if you want to tow a vehicle behind.

I like the sprinter over the ford. The MBS is zippy.

can,t remember his name ,but theres a guy on here who has the ph cruiser and loves it, I have a leisure travel van ,its like a winn view and its good to.

The PC 2350 they have on line is listed for $104,000 and you can get a new View for about $87,000 from Lewis Rv in Ohio. You can have more input on design on the Phoenix but a custom order from Lewis gives you a lot of input. I don't know about service on the coach part from Phoenix, but Winnebago does have a large dealer network. Both will use MB for engine service. As far as the MB part, we love our Via, it is a dream to drive and setup for camping. We get off the highway as soon as possible and drive the backroads and small towns. Love it. We do not use a toad, but use the Via to sightsee and shop.