We (read Brian) have done an amazing amount of research on which RV manufacturers to consider. In my opinion, master researcher, Brian, created the spreadsheet of all spreadsheets! In October, we visited four manufacturers that we had narrowed it down to – Newmar, Entegra, Tiffin, & Fleetwood (in order of our visits) – based on our budget and quality reviews. During this week of touring factories, there was a lot of discussion of what was important, what things we could live without and what were deal breakers. After visiting all of them, we ranked these manufacturers:
- Entegra (“the quietest coach around”) — despite our tour guide being 30 minutes late in starting the tour, it was worth the wait. The detail of construction and especially of insulation is clearly unmatched!
- Newmar – while not convinced that the tour guide really wanted to be there, we were impressed with the hung-wall system and overall quality.
- Fleetwood – while it seemed that this might be the least amount of insulation, the interior build seemed to be of high quality and represent amazing quality-price ratio.
- Tiffin – a very dirty factory compared to the others that we had visited and obvious interior building issues on “finished” coaches at the end of the line (i.e. cabinet doors miss-hung or scratched) moved them from the top to the bottom of our list.
Through the research and our discussion of what was important to us personally, we also narrowed our search to used, Class A diesel pusher with a king-sized bed, and bath & a half floor plan. At home, we spent hours looking at RV trader and Michigan-based dealers reviewing floor plans and coaches that were available close to home.
On our way to one of many Christmas celebrations this past Saturday, Brian mentioned going to test drive RVs that are in our consideration to get a feel for how they handle and overall road noise. With the agreement that we want to purchase an RV sometime before the end of March, I agreed that there’s no time like the week after Christmas. The weather forecast was good (aka no snow in the forecast). And we both were taking a couple of vacation days after Christmas.
I phoned Midway RV Center, a dealership in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to set up a time to drive the Newmar Ventana 4369 that we had been eyeing. “Sorry, the sale is pending. They’re coming to pick it up later today.” When asked, we also discovered that the Entegra we were interested in was listed as sale-pending. We reviewed the remaining current used-inventory. I found a Newmar Ventana 38 with a bath and a half and threw the idea out to Brian. While we have been generally looking in the 40-44 foot range, we recognized that there are benefits with finding a smaller coach (parking spaces, entrance to national parks, etc.). Brian has noticed that many of the YouTube vloggers he follows have down-sized to smaller coaches. And hopefully, much of our time spent living in the RV will be spent outside enjoying the great outdoors.
We decided to stick to our plan and drove out to Grand Rapids to see the Newmar Ventana 38. On the drive there, we reviewed our “must-haves” and discussed the costs of converting an older RV to our dream model. We arrived, and the salesperson, Ryan, had the coach warm and ready for us to look at it. It was a very nice coach and seemed to be in great condition. Ryan prepared us both for test driving and drove us to a parking lot where we could get a feel for the RV. We both drove it around the parking lot to get a feel for it. And Brian drove us back to the dealership.
Back at the dealership, we laid out our general prerequisites and asked if there were any other RVs that we should look at while we were there. Ryan suggested a 2014 American Coach (Fleetwood’s upper end) that he thought might work for us. Off he went to get the keys and to open it up for us. Meanwhile, Brian and I felt pretty good about the Ventana 38. I asked, “Do you want to buy it?” Brian responded, “Kind of.” There were a few things that weren’t right for us, but we agreed that there wasn’t going to be a “perfect” coach.
Not long after, Ryan returned ready to show the American Coach 42G to us. We stepped in and immediately felt like this was a great option for us. The side with the dining table and fireplace had an area that looked to be a relatively simple conversion for an office space for Brian with storage close by. All we would need is a new countertop. The coach offered solutions for many of the things that we didn’t like about the Ventana 38: all-electric options for stove and water heater which we preferred to propane; a side radiator making access to the engine much easier; a dining table v. dinette. And there was so much more space—for storage, for showers, half-baths, and kitchen counters.
At that point, the Ventana was out and the American Coach was it. We took time to go get lunch, discuss options, and generally regroup. We agreed it was a great coach. We discussed an offer and options within that offer. And we decided to return so we could take it for a test drive before extending an offer.
In between lunch and our return trip to the dealership, Brian wanted to stop at Motorhomes 2 Go, another dealership he had found with several used Entegras for sale on their website. “Call for pricing” was listed on all of them so we had no idea what we would find there. We went in, were asked to wait for the salesperson, and were directed to a set of whiteboards with current inventory, showing mileage & pricing. With their used Entegra inventory listed well above our budget and well above the American Coach, I was out. We agreed, however, to look at a 2015 Entegra Aspire 44B.
It was freezing inside of it and it was dark. The sales rep took us out and we looked around. The layout was a lot like the layout of the American Coach with the fireplace set up. If the American Coach had more storage, this coach had even more. But not $20K more… I didn’t want to look too hard because I didn’t want to like it more or even as much as the American Coach. We thanked him for his time and he promised to email Brian with MSRP and what he thought they’d sell the coach for.
We returned to Midway to test drive the American Coach. Brian said the difference between driving the Ventana and the American Coach with the dual axle was unbelievable. He felt like it was more stable and drove great. This was it! As they were technically closed for the night and we needed to get back to pick Skipper up at daycare, we headed out to drive back and have time to discuss.
In the car, we re-reviewed our thoughts and confirmed with each other that we felt it was a great coach for us. Our one concern with this and all coaches manufactured by Fleetwood was road-noise. “What’s a little more road noise?” we thought. I drove a little further down the road. “The 2015 Entegra is $11K less than listed,” Brian said as he looked up from reading an email on his phone. “That puts it in our price range. Want to go back and get a hotel and stay the night? I’d like to at least test drive it.” With nothing on us and Skipper to pick up from daycare, we drove home and made plans to go back first thing in the morning to test drive the Entegra Aspire. At home together, we looked at photos of both models online to compare features. As I headed off to bed, Brian looked for reviews and Googled for comparisons hoping to find a definitive answer for one being better than the other.
In the morning, I asked, “Did you find anything out in your research?”
“No. Just that they are both great coaches,” Brian responded.
I reminded myself that Entegra was far and above our preferred brand after touring all the factories. We arrived at the dealership. Me with a much more open mind regarding this coach—both because of the new price and because of established quality. The salesperson prepared the RV for us to go test-drive it by walking us through all the switches and their functions. He pointed out and reminded us of many features that set Entegra apart from other manufacturers. Brian positioned the driver’s seat for him looking confident and prepared to pull out on the road. In just a short drive, it was clear that there was less road noise in this coach. “The quietest coach out there” seemed to be more fact than sales ploy. Brian drove out and I drove back to the dealership. It felt good and it didn’t seem to be too much for either of us to handle.
Once back in the parking lot, we were left to have some time together alone to discuss and figure things out. We stood in the shower, laid in the bed, looked at all the storage, and discussed what we would offer. This is it!!! We signed a purchase agreement on what will hopefully soon be our 2015 Entegra Aspire 44B. All we need now is a solid third-party inspection and a loan. The dream of being On the Road of Adventure is becoming reality…
