Buying a new or used RV is almost as fun as having your eye poked
Our first motorhome was a 1993 Alegro Bay Diesel Pusher at 35 feet long and no slide. We had it for 4 months before I sold it and bought our Newmar. I knew that we were probably going to buy the wrong motorhome first because we didn’t know anything of what we were doing. So I decided that I would go cheap and buy an older unit in decent shape with no major issues specifically no major issues with the roof or water damage. I knew I wanted a Tiffin because I had done enough research to know they made a good motorhome.
I also figured if I went cheap that if the family didn’t like the motorhome I wouldn’t be upside down in it and out of my life’s savings. What we realized quickly is that we loved it and wanted bigger. So I fixed all that I could find broken with the Allegro Bay and started looking for the new motorhome. I decided to buy the new one before I sold the Allegro Bay so we wouldn’t be without a motorhome. I found a good deal on a 1999 Newmar Dutch Star 38 foot (Super slide) on a Spartan Chassis with an ISC (8.3) cummins 24 valve motor. Which was exactly what I targeted. It turned out to be alot more work than I realized but didn’t mind because it was everything we wanted. I figured we would have it for 10 years. I was wrong we are at 3 years and were ready to go bigger again.
We have been evaluating multiple motorhomes and our problem is that we own a Newmar and for us to upgrade to a newer motorhome means we have to buy a different brand. The newer affordable brands don’t have near the fit and finish of our 1999. I like Newmar as a company. I would really like to stay a Newmar owner but we really want a motorhome with bunks, multiple slides, 40+ feet, and a diesel motor. We have narrowed our search down to two motorhomes.
- Fleetwood Discovery 40G
- Pros – 41 feet long, full wall slide, bunks, king bed, multiple TV, Incredible storage inside and outside, two inverters and a residential fridge
- Cons – 6.7 Cummins ISB, Cabinets use veneer over composite board, walls around bathroom as flimsy, speakers are just bookshelf speaker set in wall not built into the wall, Holding Tank area looks cheap, rust around various basement doors
- Newmar All Star
- Pros – 41 feet long, two slides, incredible cabinets, queen bed, a couple TV’s, ISL Cummins Motor, one inverter and a Garage area
- Cons – Absolutely no outside storage and limited inside storage, not a lot of interior living space and a smaller mid bathroom
We like both of these motorhomes. They both have very different strengths. One satisfies our desire for a nice fit and finish and the other gives us home like interior living space. The residential fridge option in the 40G is awesome. We put a residential fridge in our 1999 and its great. So my worry on the Discovery is on how the cabinets and the ISB motor will hold up to our family of four for a few years while we tour the US
I also really like the garage floor plan of the AllStar because our thought was to move us into the Garage with a murphy bed to allow us to have an office during the day, separate door at day/night and a bed at night. The thought of being able to extend our bedroom outside with opening the garage door is very appealing in theory but not sure how it will work in practice. As another con the AllStar is 1300 miles away from us so we have to view via Pictures and videos. Its hard to imagine with a picture and a video.
Anyways it took us 3 months to narrow down to these two Motorhomes and were at the end of the journey, horrific journey at times, and we are having trouble deciding. I don’t know which way we are going to go but the Discovery 40G gives us all that we want so its the realistic choice but I can’t rule out the possibilities with the AllStar.
I’ll add more as we continue to evaluate our options. I will post an update with which one we purchased.
We did finally purchase a new Motorhome. We went with the 2010 Fleetwood Discovery 40G. We did it because the layout was perfect. The 6.7 Cummins diesel is very underpowered from 40 MPH to 60 MPH. But since you aren’t driving all of the time it wasn’t that big of a deal. We drive slower but it works great. The full wall slide, kids bunks and king size sleep number bed make it all worth it as you spend weeks at a time in it.