Dutch Star recommendations

[Halliday]

I have just joined this forum as I have found it very helpful in the past when searching for answers to issues that have come up over the years. We have a 2003 Newmar Dutch Star that we absolutely love - it has been garage kept and has given us very minimal issues in all these years we have owned it. We now are finally thinking of replacing it with a newer Dutch Star. We are old school and concerned about all the new fancy technologies that are now standard on new high end units that inevitably could lead to more issues. So we would love to hear any opinions on which years/models (we are looking at years 2019-2024 and either 40' or 43' models) are the best or which to avoid, especially given the Covid years when production may have been interrupted, etc. Any feedback is welcome....Thank you!

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

All those electronic scare me to death. Good luck in your search. We have a 2017 Ventana 4369 and love the floor plan.

 

[sacrcflyer]

Keep what you have and modernize it. The new coaches come with a whole new host of problems from a winnebago to a prevost. After trading our 07 Heritage for a new Cornerstone we wish we could go back in time, 62 issues from new all worked our now but it's taken 18 months of our lives. My .02

 

[AbdRahim]

Have one built without all of the electronic junk.

But I am with sacrcflyer, somewhat. A new paint job and new appliances may be a lot cheaper. Pay to have all of the plumbing, roof, seals, and electrical checked out.

And you have no DEF issues to concern yourself with.

 

[Halliday]

Thank you for your replies! A bit depressing ... we love our old coach but at over 20 years old it is starting to have a few issues that I know are normal given it's age but also concerning as we don't want to get stranded on a trip (we have had some close calls lately). At our age we know we want to continue our camping adventures at least 10 more years (health permitting) and so our next unit should be the last one. Can any of you Dutch Star owners weigh in on your experiences with 2019-2024 models?

 

[osuallen]

I think everyone who replied may have been overly negative. We have a 2022 that we ordered new and have relatively few issues. While the new technology, like anything, adds potential for failures, most people have very few issues. There are some who have had more than their share of problems.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I work in technology but we love our 2014 unit (not Newmar) and we also in the same camp as others here. Like NOT having technology at the center of EVERYTHING in the coach.
Inclined to keep the older unit and just keep updating things until the updating gets too expensive.

 

[tgdiebolt]

We have a 2021 Dutch Star 4081 and have never had it back to the dealer. We have had some minor problems but just fixed them myself. If you are the slightest bit handy you take care of most problems yourself. We are very happy with our 2021 Newmar DSDP.

 

[newmarokie]

We have a 2019 Dutch Star 4018. I have to agree with the last few posters. We bought it used just about one year ago. I have replaced two tires, the belts and a water pump. Those are things that age out regardless of the technology. Any issues we have had has been operator error. Learning the operational flow tree of the Magnum system may have been the biggest challenge. I really do love my coach. If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have looked for the 4369 floorplan.

 

[team bradfield]

2023 4018 Dutch Star, absolutely love it, I'm a fan of the electronic safety features, the computer telling you what's happening, etc. No problems other than a recall for possible toilet hose leak