Considering moving from a Newmar 40' to a Fleetwood 38'

[ChewyRV]

Hi fellow class A RVers. I wanted to start an open discussion to get some honest feedback from some class A RV owners that have had experience moving from an older big block 40 class A to a smaller block 38-footer.

I have been a proud owner of a year 2000 Newmar Mountain Aire 40 on a Spartan chassis with the 8.3 ISC Cummins. I have had this coach for 16 years and proudly managed and maintained every detail of its maintenance since I bought it. Over this time I have replaced suspension air bags, two radiators, fuel injection pump, radiator hydraulic pump, and much more. It runs perfect and I trust it as I know it better than anything else I own.
The time has come to update the RV since my three boys are going to be leaving the house within the next five years and I wanted to have some great RV memories with them with a updated class A. The floor plan which will work great for us is the 2016 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 38B. This Fleetwood comes with a Freightliner chassis and the smaller block Cummins which has more horsepower but less torque.

I drive in the Southeast and drive interstate 40 to and from Asheville as well as the interstates going to and from Nashville and other steeper grades in the southeast afn national parks.

I wanted to get some opinions of anybody that has had an older larger class A that has moved to a more updated one with the Freightliner/Cummins 6.7 ISB chassis engine package to see if that what the main differences would be. As we all know, this is a large investment and a long time purchase for me and want to make sure I'm not going to regret it. I figured the newer package and engine will be more efficient and may not be a big difference but I wanted to get some feedback.

[Bruce_Brown]

^^^ Same.

[PastorCharlie]

My 2008 Newmar has the high ceiling.

[Bruce_Brown]

For the budget you're working with I sure wouldn't settle for something that may or may not work for you. There are a lot of nice options in the Newmar line that fit your needs and budget, with a brand you know.

Comfort drive was on the higher line diesels in '07, it was on all diesels starting in '08. It's a game changer for the long drives.

RV Trader is your friend.

[ChewyRV]

Thanks everyone for your insight and thoughts! It is super helpful. My wife and I have been discussing all of your comments and agree with the facts. If it wasn't for Budget, we would no doubt jump into a used big block Cummins/3000 Ali bunk house.
Today we went and drove the 2016 like new Fleetwood 38 bunk and it was very interesting. After doing a quarter million miles in the Spartan Mountain Aire, I can quickly pick up on the differences. I agree that my concerns will probably not lie on the engine and chassis as the updated model steered considerably easier and in a much tighter radius and felt good through the RPM range. In regards to the front steering, I also may believe in what my alignment specialist pros and some truck mechanics told me in regards to the ball joint replacement issues of my model associated with the Granning independent front suspension I have compared to the traditional, easier maintenance (for many, good enough) ride that a straight air bag axle offers. Yes I understand that an independent front suspension, properly designed, would offer some advantages but in my current price range I may not miss my Granning and upkeep costs with higher road miles)
I know I can tell the torque difference which may be a slight concern going up some of the 6-7% grades towing my Explorer, but as mentioned the additional RPM range may lessen that concern. To this point, I rarely if ever have to "floor" my very deep pedal on the Mountain Aire, whereas with the 6.7L, I found myself at 100% throttle or at least close to that more than I'm used to. Not a deal-breaker.
To respond to somebody's reply above, It makes it tough to keep my current Newmar because of it only having one slide (no surviving that in the bedroom) and some other issues like ceiling height. I was blown away how different the modern RVs feel with the volume they offer internally partially due to the ceiling height. My current 76.5" felt like it was a 1940's home as compared to the modern higher ceilings. I never thought about that until I stepped in and spent a little time in the Fleetwood and pinned down why it felt so much different.

The Fleetwood looked like a very expensive RV on the inside although as we all know the corners are cut a bit to give you a higher value with appearance and less of a value in the quality of the materials and construction. To what degree this becomes a concern is the question. I'm not against having more room, space, and modern amenities if it doesn't "fall apart". ??It's a balancing act I understand between quality and value at a budget.

One thing we are seriously considering is looking at a 2011 to 2013 Tiffin Allegro Red 38QBA bunk to see how it compares. Going to go drive one tomorrow.

A third option is if I found the right older Mountain Aire with multiple slides. It would have to be the right garage kept unit as I'm really not looking forward to redoing all of the things I've already done! I won't rule out gutting it and renovating it for what we want myself. This may sound crazy to some, but something that is in my scope of ability. ...but then we're right back to that low ceiling height as that can't change, even with a renovation.

Anyone have insight when Newmar made the style update in raising ceiling height? I may need to look for the oldest model with the more modern ceiling height?

Family of 5 (3 kids)
Budget $100-$120k

-Like New 2016 Fleetwood LXE 38B
-2011-2012 Allegro Red 38QBA (ceiling height?, Modern amenities?)
-Find an older Mountain Aire garage kept that I can sink a full renovation into? Ceiling height?

Thanks for your time reading through as we value everybody's experience and thoughts.

[John_Wayne]

Why not just spend the money to up grade newer things into your present MH.

[larry_cad]

One other thought, and as mentioned above, the new ISB has a lot of pollution control and requires DEF which is a pain. That is to me, a BIG disadvantage over your Newmar. You have extra cost for the DEF, and you will need to carry a spare container with a few gallons in case you run out.

[PastorCharlie]

I would recommend looking for a newer model Newmar that has the features you need. The difference between old and new is often fashion/bling and not reliability and service. There are thousands of good used Newmars on the market.

[Ivylog]

HP numbers are misleading as the 6.7 HP is more than your ISC...arrived at by turning the 6.7 2800 rpms instead of 2200 for the ISC. The good news is the torque is only 200 ftlbs less than your ISC. Also, the pollution systems problems have gotten fixed (2010-2014) and DEF is readily available.

When upgrading 2 years ago I was not impressed with the quality of new rigs, but I was not looking at the smaller rigs. Ended up going with a 10 year old rig which has worked out well.

*Now that I see the above post by Larry...he sums up my thoughts about the rig you know and what’s often referred to as “the new MH blues”. Hopefully the smaller new rigs have not gone to advanced electronics to control everything.

[larry_cad]

That is a tough choice. You have nailed down a lot of the weaknesses with the Spartan chassis and you are familiar with the rest of your Newmar. That is a well built coach that rides nice and has a lot of comfort. However, it is now (as of today) 20 years old and there is an infinite number of things that can go wrong.

The ISB is a proven workhorse and very reliable. That will be the least of Problem is with the new coach, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, meaning problems that were installed at the factory. Any one who frequent this forum know the manufacturers of RVs don't spend a lot of time making them perfect. So, you will have a long learning curve with the new one, figuring out how to fix factory problems before you are comfortable with it.

Do you prefer the devil you know or the devil you don't know?

Also, don't forget the new one comes with a feature the old one doesn't have, a monthly payment.

Good luck with your choice.