Need some advice from the brother board members.

My wife and I are looking to move from a WW Toy Hauler to a Class A Diesel. We really like the Fleetwood line and are looking at used Discovery's, Providence's and Revolutions but would like to hear from anyone out there with good or bad results, or suggestions on other coaches in the $100 - $150K range.

Also very important is the motor package. I would ultimately like a 38ft coach with a 400hp setup but it's hard to find Discovery and Providence lines with that package. We have found a 2007 Discovery 39v with a 330hp but, living in San Diego I take Interstate 8 over the hill and will be pulling a 24-26 foot box with a Funco and Razor.

Does anyone have the 330hp Cat package and can you give some feedback on the power? I know the 360 & 400hp packages have a lot more torque but also are higher priced. We are also looking at a coach with the 350 Cat package. Any feedback there would also help.

Thank you in advance. It's times like these that we're glad to be in the GD family.

Steve

I have an 04 Discovery, 35M with the dual slides. It has the Cat C7 and Allison 6 speed. I beleive it's 330HP, but not more than 350HP. I desperatley searched specifically for this coach, being 35' maybe 36' overall, but wanted something that had only 2 slides and in that length range for a few reasons....a lot of state parks have strict rules on length for one, another being the whole overlength issue pulling trailers, and another I wanted to be as light as possible to take advantage of the C7's HP, longer coach=heavier coach. For our purpose, we needed a specific coach and couldn't be happier. I take care of my RV very well and monitor EVERY little thing and am trying always to fix nik nak stuff before they break and turn into a problem.

I have no problems pulling to Glamis and back. I live in Whittier, so there really isn't any major hills to G and back. We travel with it as well and we pull the Grapevine and Cajon pass without any problems, passing cars in most cases. I am sure with the trailer loaded, we wouldn't be able to pass cars though...LOL...

If you have any specific questions, you are welcome to PM or call me.

Frank

Something to look for is the hitch capacity usally tied to trans ability to take the extra load of a trailer. If your going to pull a trailer (you mentioned switch from toybox) run the number of your toys weight and the trailer weight you will pull them in/on. Also on pusher moho's I hear the side radiator ones run hotter you might check into that.

We have a 2005 revolution Le with a 400hp c9. The radiator is a side mount and we have no overheating whatsoever. I do some of the maintenance myself, and having the radiator on the side makes it easier for me to work on. The extra torque from the 400hp is nice to have, especially when pulling a loaded trailer.

I have a 08 Fleetwood Discovery 40x. It has the Cummings 6.7 350hp motor. I usually tow a 24 foot enclosed with a long travel car, 55 gal of gas and all my tools or I will put my Jeep XJ in it. Crusing on the freeways it tows really smooth and the power is good. Going up hills it will slow down to 35-45 mph depending on the grade. As far as the Fleetwood product goes we have been very happy with the quality. No major issues just some small stuff that was taken care of when we first got the coach. We put about 6k miles on it a season and I have to say after having the motorhome I dont think I would be able to go back to a toy hauler. We got ours from Giant RV so I would PM Headinjury aka Shawn and see what they have in stock. He will take good care of you. Feel free to PM me any questions you have or even if you want to come and check it out. -Justin

How about a 2005 Monaco Dynasty 42' Diamond II ?

Cummins 400HP

Allison 3000 6 spd

58000 miles

10K Onan quiet diesel gen

$175,500

I was typing as you were posting. Thanks Justin!

I have 2005 alfa with 350hp C7 pulls stacker no prob and we have lots of grades to pull.The temp will go up when going up a grade only to the middle of the guage is for sale

Thanks for the feedback and info Frank. We spent the day test driving and looking at several coaches, and learned a heck of a lot. Now looking at specific chassis i.e., Sparten, versus Freightliner versus Monaco, etc. Wifey needs to like the floor plan first and foremost but I also learned we could beef up the power with good ol' Gale Banks equipment.

The search goes on but I appreciate your advise!!

Steve

Agreed and also confirmed. We have a Funco and a Razor, sold all the quads. Total weight is only 3000 lbs in toys and yes, the side radiators do apparently run warmer.

Thank you!

Steve

That's good to hear with the side radiator. I would love to get a 38 foot with a C9. I've heard nothing but good things about that motor!

Thanks again,

Steve

Justin and Shawn, thanks for the info. Shawn, i will call you but 42 ft is longer than I want due to national parks, etc. Also, not wanting to go with a stacker I'll need at least a 24ft box for the Funco and Razor so ultimately a 38ft, combined with a 24ft box puts me right about at the limit. I'll check your web site though and look through the inventory. BTW, we're looking to stay in the $100-$140 range. I know they're out there, just have to search.

Found a 2005 Revolution 38x with 14k miles and the 400hp package for $115k but it's in Oregon and they don't do any financing.

Thanks again,

Steve

Are you going to St. Anthony with us in 2 weeks? Going with John from Outfront?

Thanks for the info bud,

Steve

I have a Fleetwood Expedition 34H with the c-7 and a 25' Sport Trailer, also loaded (exactly 65'), the coach has the tall ceilings, cherrywood interior, leather and is fully loaded minus washer and dryer, 19K miles and an extended warranty. The 34h is a great floorplan (looked at them all) with triple slides. Thinking of selling the package for around the very bottom of your price range, if interested I can send pics.

edit to add, may be interested in a trade plus $ for a toy trailer.

PM Sent

I'd look into something like this!
http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index....howtopic=212435
Not towing a trailer is priceless!!!!

Cool rig but it only has a 16ft garage and I need 24ft. Plus, if it was just me and the boys we could roll with this kind of rig but mama likes a little more plush. Add to that we have four daughters, plus friends so we need max sleep and living capacity.

Cheers

05 discovery, c7, 30kmiles, make sure you clean the radiator and intercooler out and re route the crank case breather hose... and good to go... we pull to idaho with 9500lbs with car and rzr and 90gals fuel... good power and good product

[quote name='Punisher550' date='Jul 18 2010, 10:19 AM' post='3761095']
05 discovery, c7, 30kmiles, make sure you clean the radiator and intercooler out and re route the crank case breather hose... and good to go... we pull to idaho with 9500lbs with car and rzr and 90gals fuel... good power and good product
[/quote


Good to hear, thank you!

Four Daughters,
You may want to look into those newer busses with two bathrooms, then maybe put a shower/crapper in the trailer in case you actually want to use it HaHa!!!
Your going to need the 7500 genset just for the blowdryers, curling irons, and straighteners

On a serious note you may want to look at the mid engine diesels (probably schoolbus chassis) some I have seen two bedroom floor plans (can't remeber the name of that one) but I do know newmar makes one I think?

The girls, now 22, 23, 24 & 25 are thankfully all moved out, hence poppa get's a coach! On a serious note, yes Newmar is the one with a mid-engine and second bedroom.

Also looking at 2006 Tradewinds by National RV. Has a 400hp 8.3L Cummins. Wondering if anyone has experienced this line. Also looking at American Coach with the Spartan Chassis and big Cat.

The search goes on.

Thanks for the feedback.

I just bought this one on Sunday. 2006 Fleetwood Excursion 39s with a cat c7. I havent towed with it yet so cant give you any advice. I will take it up to Flagstaff this weekend and I will be towing a trailer so I will let you know how it does on those big hills next week. Should be better than that damn gasser I had. That thing couldnt get out of its own way.
Click to view attachment

nice!! what did you pay for that rig these days?

114k

That is a bad ars coach.....................

Yes it is... wanna test drive?

Very nice! We've looked at this coach a few times. Let us know how your journey goes.

Alright I am back from my trip and all I have to say is WOW!!! Quite, smooth, comfortable, and no more white knuckle, 5000 rpm 20 miles per hour 1st gear I hope we make it up this hill moments. I never dropped below 55 miles per hour on the way up the hill to Flagstaff. Even on the way home there is a monster of a hill coming out of Camp Verde and we got stuck behind a rig going 15 miles a hour and when we had a break in the traffic this new moho had the balls to pass and accelerate all the way to 60 miles per hour up that big hill. My gasser would have been stuck behind that rig the whole way up. I hope this helps in your decision process.

While I worked on RV's, one of the best bang for the buck coaches that I had to work on was an American Eagle. The last one I worked on was about 2002, and it was a 2001. All the Eagles are very user friendly, simple to service, and very usable spaces/storage. That's just my .02 worth. I will buy one when I retire again!

After looking for about a year I ended up with a National Tropical 35 with the 350 Cat.
I'm in Vista so I take the same route as you.I would of liked more power but I wanted to keep
to a 35' limit and a floor plan that was good for the family. The combined weight of the motorhome
and trailer is aprox 34k lbs and it pulls the hills on I8 just fine, better than my previous gas motorhome.

FINALLY, after a long search and a ton of help from friends and family we pulled the trigger today on a 2005 American Eagle! The coach was a repo, has 7k miles and other that the previous owner taking the TV's out it's in great shape. 40' long, 400hp Cummins & Spartan Chassis.

Now I need to find a good diesel mechanic in North County SD to keep her serviced.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice!

See you in Glamis

Steve

Click to view attachment

VERY nice Steve, Congrats

Thanks bud! Hope you guys are enjoying the WW!

I agree the Eagle is a great coach, I had a 2001 and this 2006, been great, this one might be available in the near future, 42' c-13 cat 525hp 1650 ft lbs torque, 15k lb hitch

Click to view attachment

Appreciate your advice and agree wholeheartedly!

Beautiful coach! We couldn't go longer than 40ft but I think we made a great choice with the Eagle. Could have gotten a much newer coach for the same money but decided to go upper end and older for quality and durability!

Cheers!

Beaut of a rig

I was interested in how you got hooked up with a repo....you can pm if you would like.
Thanks

Be glad he took the tv's. Now you have an excuse to buy all new LED tv's.

Got that right! Best Buy loves me! New LED's and Blue Ray's.

PM Sent but, search crankyape.com. They have several repo's. We also just asked folks, searched all sites for months, etc.

Cheers