Since you're in Indiana anyway, I have to agree with Tyrone and Gladys. Take a day or two and visit Nexus and tour their facility. You can see the actual units being built.
I bought a new Nexus last May, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. You can design any changes/upgrades you like. You can work directly with their engineers to build what you want.
The worst that can happen is that you get to see the inner workings of an RV Manufacturer.
flexdog wrote: 1. new E450 Chassis vs. 2007/08 Jayco 5500 Kodiak Chassis - maintenance, wear and tear, etc.
2. Towing out west (mountains) with E450 chassis and 4,000 toad?
3. maintenance costs on diesel vs. the E450 chassis?
4. Recommendations on brands? I was not a fan of the quality of our Rockwood, also made by Forest River (as is the Sunseeker). Can someone rank the following in quality on regular Class C units (not super Cs) - Jayco, Forest River, Thor, Coachman, Fleetwood.
5. Any experience with the RVDirect (or other direct) purchasing methods vs. from dealers at shows?
6. We would like to have auto-levelers on the C. Any one put on aftermarket kits? any brand preference?
I can answer some based on my experience
2. towing a 4000 lb toad with an E450 is no problem, we towed a Ford Edge and now a Flex and mp problem. We've put 60K miles on the MH with most towing and have never had any issues at all - at least no issues after we ditched the tow dolly and went 4 down
4. most will say the brand they purchased is the best. What I can add is that we looked at 3 in your list when we bought (fleetwood, FR sunseeker, jayco) but we also looked closely at winnie. We narrowed it down to jayco and winnie and I think we would have been happy with either but the jayco cost less and had a better warranty.
6. I would try before you buy levelers. I really wanted them too at the beginning but realized pretty quickly I didn't need them - we just don't have to level very often and when we do I carry some boards
My last bit of advice is to consider the dealer experience when you buy as you will eventually need help from someone. Our local dealer didn't carry jayco but I worked with them to import ours, they have been great although we haven't exactly needed them much.
I got the levelers on my Nexus. Big Foot Brand. I couldn't be happier with them and wouldn't purchase a class C without them. If nothing else they keep my tires off the concrete in the garage.
And with Nexus you don't have to worry about your "dealer experience". Nexus only sells direct at this time. They do have a nationwide network of authorized service centers.
We love our Forest River Sunseeker. It comes in Ford or Chevy. We got the Chevy 4500.
We priced a dealer and RvDirect. Saved $8000 over dealer's "sale " price and had a great experience with RvDirect.
Did not get levelers but they are available as an option. Kind of wish we had just for convenience sake. It is not hard to level with Lynx blocks, just getting lazy in my old age. Considering taking it to Bigfoot factory and having them put some on.
Thank you to all who have replied. This is very valuable information. I am leaning toward a used 2007-09 Super C (Seneca, Endura, Chateau) for the leveling, ride, towing capacity, and space. I am an engineer and like things over-engineered for our use so I don't have to worry as much about it.
I also like the idea of someone else taking the depreciation hit for me.
Does anyone know if there are firms that would refurbish a unit and change a couple things on an older one like this? For instance, if I found one that had the cab-over entertainment center and wanted to take that out and turn it into a double bed? I could do the demolition, but would want it to look nice when it was complete.
Takeaways so far:
- Bigfoot levelers are nice but not required
- 4 down on the Toad
- can't go wrong with E450 or SuperC Diesel, just cost and preference
- Nexus is a contender and worth the look
- RVDirect is worth considering
- don't let them rush you at the shows!
For a Class C type unit this large I would not recommend the E450 chassis. The E450 chassis just plain does not offer "enough truck" for that much weight load and wind-catching outer wall surface areas - not to mention towing something in addition. An E450 chassis with a unit that large would have very little design margins left in how it deals with those issues.
Many folks with E450 RV units in the 32+ ft size will say "no problem" with handling or towing, but what it comes down to is this: "Does one really want to get by pushing a truck chassis that hard while still expecting it to be easy to drive, safe, and reliable year after year?"
Thanks all,
from our shopping today, we liked the Forester and Leprechaun units the best. Ruled out Redhawk, Sunseeker, Freelander. Like some of the features of the Greyhawk, but the floor plans and upgrades on the Forester are looking the best to us. Really like how many windows there are in the Leprechaun.
More shopping to come.
On the older Seneca or Super Cs, we are thinking if we find a used one, we could have a couple modifications done to change it to be exactly like what we want (convert overhead entertainment center to bunks, etc.) Has anyone had any experience with these types of major modifications?
flexdog 1 - I am currently looking at a Jayco Redhawk. What did you not like about this unit? Too plain, floorplan, etc. I am not having any luck finding out about the Redhawk from Jayco or others here on this site, but it APPEARS to be the type Class C I would want. Am I missing something?
2013 Winnebago Vista 35F
2004 Jeep Wrangler
2011 Harley Davidson Road King Police
Gorgeous Wife, 4 kids (2 out of the nest), 18 Foster kids, Retired State Trooper/Former US Marine.
Given your location, I would strongly urge you to take a tour of the Nexus RV factory and consider their units. Their construction techniques (one piece fiberglass front cap, steel construction, Azdel in the walls/roof, and one piece fiberglass roof, etc.), ability to customize, and the opportunity to deal directly with the manufacturer are all real benefits. Also, I believe they are coming out with a new Super C this month, if you are interested.
flexdog1 wrote: Thank you to all who have replied. This is very valuable information. I am leaning toward a used 2007-09 Super C (Seneca, Endura, Chateau) for the leveling, ride, towing capacity, and space. I am an engineer and like things over-engineered for our use so I don't have to worry as much about it.
I also like the idea of someone else taking the depreciation hit for me.
Does anyone know if there are firms that would refurbish a unit and change a couple things on an older one like this? For instance, if I found one that had the cab-over entertainment center and wanted to take that out and turn it into a double bed? I could do the demolition, but would want it to look nice when it was complete.
Takeaways so far:
- Bigfoot levelers are nice but not required
- 4 down on the Toad
- can't go wrong with E450 or SuperC Diesel, just cost and preference
- Nexus is a contender and worth the look
- RVDirect is worth considering
- don't let them rush you at the shows!
Thanks all. Keep 'em coming.
-scott
it is true that levelers are not required-BUT-unless you are always on level rv sites leveling with blocks gets OLD quickly.
chevy 4500 chassis ford 14,500 chevy 14,200 much better passenger leg room chevy.
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