Any happy/unhappy Fleetwood Class A owners here?

[jymbee]

We've been looking at new & used Class As and to this point are focusing on models such as Jayco's Precept and possibly Alante. Recently saw what looked to be some good deals on used Fleetwoods of comparable length but have not had the chance to actually see a Fleetwood in person and there's no dealers anywhere near us.

Would appreciate any comments re. Jayco vs. Fleetwood in general and perhaps input from some Fleetwood owners?

 

[Tom]

What age range?

 

[garyb1st]

Don't overlook an older top of the line gasser.  We have a 2005 Fleetwood Pace Arrow.  Purchased it a year ago.  It is hands down, nicer than anything else we looked at including some new entry level gas motorhomes.  Don't know anything about the entry level Fleetwood gassers. 

 

[Larry N.]

We had a 2010 Bounder 33U (34 ft) gasser, and it was quite nice, for gasoline.

 

[darsben]

happy with mine

 

[malexander-KEY]

Completely satisfied with mine. Check out my signature line. When I bought mine, it was raining, pouring actually, It was on PPL's lot with a bunch of others. I know it "entry -level" but, it was the only one that the roof WASN'T leaking somewhere. High dollar ones included, you needed an umbrella inside some of them.

 

[jymbee]

What age range?

We've been all over the place with what is an "acceptable" age. Obviously that is one of the main factors but as you know, two units of the same age can be quite a different with respect to desirability when you factor in mileage, maintenance, etc. etc. We're trying to do what I suppose most all buyers do when looking at used and that's balancing out all the factors in combination.

I started out looking for >2016 then >2008 but also see some earlier than that which have some appeal.

Still haven't ruled out buying new despite being fully aware of the many warnings from some who think that's foolish for a first time buyer. 

Hopefully something will come along soon as we're spending WAY too much time looking & researching. I think if calculated the time spent in that regard so far at $10/hr we could have bought two RVs by now!

 

[jymbee]

... it was quite nice, for gasoline.

Is there something to be read between the lines there?  ???

 

[Oscar Mike]

I also had a 2010 Fleetwood Bounder 33U, it was a really well designed coach. It had many features conveniently located compared to that of my current coach. I enjoyed the Bounder.

 

[8Muddypaws]

We're happy with ours.  Would we trade it for a newer top end coach?  Maybe not!  It's well suited for a family with two very fuzzy Golden Retrievers.

 

[Larry N.]

Is there something to be read between the lines there?  ???

Only that I prefer the DP, which is why I changed rigs.

 

[Tom]

Still haven't ruled out buying new despite being fully aware of the many warnings from some who think that's foolish for a first time buyer.

I don't subscribe to the "rent first" or "buy cheap first" and "buy what you want/need next time" philosophies. FWIW we bought both of our coaches new, although we shopped hard in both cases. The first coach was a 1985 Pace Arrow (Fleetwood) with no slides that we kept for 15 years. We were extremely happy with this coach. Our current coach is a 2004 Monaco diesel pusher with 3 slides. We love the additional space that the 3 slides provide.

FWIW we've bought most of our cars new and kept them 'forever'. I can't imagine renting or buying a used car to see if I want something different. Do your homework, kick tires, and don't be afraid to walk away.

I can't speak for Jayco products, but have no complaints with Fleetwood.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Fleetwood is the largest home builder (including RV homes) in the country.>>>Dan

 

[jymbee]

Only that I prefer the DP, which is why I changed rigs.

Ah-- got'cha.

 

[jymbee]

I don't subscribe to the "rent first" or "buy cheap first" and "buy what you want/need next time" philosophies. FWIW we bought both of our coaches new, although we shopped hard in both cases. The first coach was a 1985 Pace Arrow (Fleetwood) with no slides that we kept for 15 years. We were extremely happy with this coach. Our current coach is a 2004 Monaco diesel pusher with 3 slides. We love the additional space that the 3 slides provide.

FWIW we've bought most of our cars new and kept them 'forever'. I can't imagine renting or buying a used car to see if I want something different. Do your homework, kick tires, and don't be afraid to walk away.

Hi Tom,

I'd say that for the most part I concur with your line of thinking re. new vs used. In fact initially we only looked at new models. However where I do think that the  rent/buy cheap approach has some merit is if you've never done any RVing at all. There's no way to know for certain if one's "romantic" view of how life would be with a new motorhome actually matches up to the reality of owning one. Numerous variables of course but in our case I'm pretty sure we have pretty realistic expectations. Hell it wasn't that long ago when I thought the pinnacle of camping bliss was owning a tent that didn't leak and a comfortable sleeping bag! 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The title of this topic gave me a chuckle.  My immediate mental response to the question was "YES". There are both happy and unhappy Fleetwood owners here. And elsewhere. 

Some of the unhappiness is probably unrealistic expectations, but a lot of it is simply erratic quality in both design and production. Model-to-model and year-to-year differences are also common. Even when the year and model are identical, one owner may have a great experience while another has a "lemon". That is by no means unique to Fleetwood; it's a general observation on RVs from all manufacturers.

The Fleetwood brands have undergone substantial changes since the economic crash of 2008 hit the RV industry, so it's really hard to make comparisons. Many of the model names have completely changed their product positioning and type, and the current owner (Rev Group) has totally revamped designs and production for all of them.  For example, in 2008 a Pace was a top-line gas chassis unit, whereas now it is an entry diesel pusher. The "New Bounder" is upscale gas whereas it used to be entry level.  Other models have completely gone away, and new models have joined.  Essentially identical coach models with Holiday Rambler, Monaco or American Coach brand names further confuse things. A comment that accurately reflects a 2016 Bounder may be totally irrelevant for a 2010.

I don't have any sage advice about this topic except to be very cautious in making comparisons and drawing conclusions.