Newbie looking for input

[mcfly123]

Hello,

First time poster here but I’ve been reading the site for a number of months trying to learn. I’ve travelled a lot in my career but didn’t have or never took the time to really see North America. I’ll be retiring soon and my wife and I have decided to fix that by taking the plunge and getting an RV. We have never owned one before and would be looking to part time. This site has been a wonderful source of advice including opinions on dealers / sales people / likes and dislikes in coach’s, specials, etc. Our filter to narrow down our search was under 40 ft (preferably around 35) for site access and maneuverability reasons (big rigs are pretty intimidating for newbies ), king side bed, diesel, and touch of creature comforts inside. Where we are at in the process is we’ve identified the New Aire as the choice, have an acceptable quote from one of the highly spoken of dealers / sales person and are about to arrange a trip to Nappanee to finalize colors / specials etc before placing the order.

The other coach we were thinking about was the Mountain Aire new 38 foot floor plan. Still think we are on the New Aire page but wanted to test our thinking one more time. In our mind the relative PROS of the New Aire are relative price (~25% delta), size (length and outside height) and basement storage space. The relative Pros for the Mountain Aire are Tag Axle (more stable ride), overall carry capacity, bath and a half model without sacrificing king bed, upgraded cabinets, fuel capacity and higher ceiling (interior - we are both tall and suspect exterior height difference may allow for more insulation and better AC duct design).

Would love to hear if there are any other Pros either way we should be considering.
Thanks to the group for all the great learnings so far.

Cheers

 

[Webz]

Looks like a tough choice. Most importantly, to me, would be the usability of the floor plan. Have you been inside of both with the floorplan you like? Sit inside and think of what your daily routine consists of and see if it works. Hope this helps.
For me, having a tag axle is the way I would go. But, that is me.

 

[turbopilot]

Given your wants and needs I think you are on the right track. I got my first Class A in 2017 with the same general goals. I wanted high end features in the smallest package possible. I bought one of the first 2018 New Aire 3343 coaches. It was a compact package that I was able to squeeze into campsites that rarely saw a Class A diesel pusher. That was the good news. The not so good news is that a Class A that small by definition needed a small engine with less than optimum water and diesel capacity. It was a tough trade and would have been worth it if my goal was only to squeeze into those places where no other DP could fit. But those small campsites became the exception not the rule for us.

The New Aire 3543 hit the balance I was looking for. Only 2 feet longer but it had has engine with much more torque, carries 40 more gallons of water (if you need it) and 15 more gallons diesel. 15 gallons more of diesel does not sound like much but out West another 120 miles of range can really come in handy.

I am just spinning up on other differences found in the New Aire 3543 compared to the old New Aire 3343. Suffice it to say most of the major systems that gave me fits in the 2018 3343 have been up dated in the 2024 3543, most notably led by a completely new lithium based electrical system with twin inverters.

So while I can't help you on the choice between the New Aire and the new 38' Mountain Aire, if you want a luxury diesel pusher in the smallest package possible you are on the right track.

I placed my order last week for a 2024 FreightLiner New Aire 3543 with a December delivery. So we can compare notes as you proceed with your choices.

 

[mcfly123]

Looks like a tough choice. Most importantly, to me, would be the usability of the floor plan. Have you been inside of both with the floorplan you like? Sit inside and think of what your daily routine consists of and see if it works. Hope this helps.
For me, having a tag axle is the way I would go. But, that is me.

Thanks Webz. Appreciate the thoughts.

 

[mcfly123]

Given your wants and needs I think you are on the right track. I got my first Class A in 2017 with the same general goals. I wanted high end features in the smallest package possible. I bought one of the first 2018 New Aire 3343 coaches. It was a compact package that I was able to squeeze into campsites that rarely saw a Class A diesel pusher. That was the good news. The not so good news is that a Class A that small by definition needed a small engine with less than optimum water and diesel capacity. It was a tough trade and would have been worth it if my goal was only to squeeze into those places where no other DP could fit. But those small campsites became the exception not the rule for us.

The New Aire 3543 hit the balance I was looking for. Only 2 feet longer but it had has engine with much more torque, carries 40 more gallons of water (if you need it) and 15 more gallons diesel. 15 gallons more of diesel does not sound like much but out West another 120 miles of range can really come in handy.

I am just spinning up on other differences found in the New Aire 3543 compared to the old New Aire 3343. Suffice it to say most of the major systems that gave me fits in the 2018 3343 have been up dated in the 2024 3543, most notably led by a completely new lithium based electrical system with twin inverters.

So while I can't help you on the choice between the New Aire and the new 38' Mountain Aire, if you want a luxury diesel pusher in the smallest package possible you are on the right track.

I placed my order last week for a 2024 FreightLiner New Aire 3543 with a December delivery. So we can compare notes as you proceed with your choices.

Thanks Turbopilot. We are also looking at the 2024 3543 with the FreightLiner Chasis if we end up going the New Aire route. So will definitely keep you posted.

 

[turbopilot]

We are also looking at the 2024 3543 with the FreightLiner Chasis if we end up going the New Aire route.

The 3343 and 3543 have been the most popular floor plan for the New Aires because the both make the best use of the relatively small square feet available. In the 3343 we really missed not having the king bed, that problem was solved in the 3543. They added a foot to the bedroom and a foot mid ship to the bathroom/kitchen moving from the 3343 to 3543.

 

[scottramer]

Hand down I would go with the new 38' Mountain Aire. Ride, handling and power wise will be superior to the New Aire. Not that there is anything wrong with the New Aire. The Mountain Aire is just the next level coach up. You have the K2 chassis on the NA compared to the K3 on a MA which is much beefier. I beleave the basement storage height is taller in the MA also. But all in all it's relative because there is almost a $200k differences in base price between the two. But if money is not a factor the Mountain Aire would be my choice.

 

[Rd1]

Just a couple of ramblings.. The MADP is just a different class, even the 38. The NA is in a class of its own. NA is about 1 ft 3 in or so shorter height. I think this was to provide better stability for the very short wheel base (the orig 34')of a very (top)heavy unit. As one of their people explained long ago, they had a good of bit of engineering to accomplish that.

To build the NA, they add lower rails to the original bare chassis. Then the original beams are cut/removed. This is to help lower the body within the frame. Hence, the shorter overall height. I do not know if the process has changed. When you go to the factory, is the best time to observe all the processes up close.

I think the new 38 MADP has a market for itself too. With all the slides, there is enough room inside and the shorter length offers benefits of its own. However, I see one potential short coming, very limited compartment space underneath. The double door compartment is nice. It won't take much to fill that. Do not know how that compares to the NA. But wonder, once they sell enough of the 38 MA's, if that may gain more notice.

I think they probably have a fix for that potential short coming. Some years back at the factory, I saw a KADP with a narrow compartment right behind the basement freezer rcompartment. This narrow compartment had a sliding tray all the way across containing 16 AGM batts! The tray could slide out from either side. Looking at the 38 MA's, I see a good bit of open space in front of the oasis compartment on the driver side. Taking a bit of space from the double door compartment on the pass side, it seems there maybe just enough room for a narrow compartment with a sliding tray. One side could store the LI Batts and the other can store the inverters. The existing Batt/Inverter compartment can then be modified for additional storage.

One item that 'may' be of interest is, what items you 'need' to have in the coach and where/how to store them. Items that you need to have in the living area and others that you may need to stored down below.

I had other RVs before and had a good idea of what items and where/how to store them. The floorplan I had with the last unit (45 LADP) didn't have any medicine cabinet. There were drawers, but that wasn't practical, so I had them build a med cabinet with mirrors above the wash sink. Planning for the items you need to have, may also help better choose the more practical unit, or even mod the floorplan, where practical.

 

[turbopilot]

To build the NA, they add lower rails to the original bare chassis. Then the original beams are cut/removed. This is to help lower the body within the frame. Hence, the shorter overall height. I do not know if the process has changed. When you go to the factory, is the best time to observe all the processes up close.

This has not been talked about much but yes both the 33' and the new 35' NA are only 12' 3" tall. Several times I found that to be a real advantage. Getting into some of the campgrounds where you rarely see a diesel pusher there were some with over head obstructions (old bridges, low trees) where a normal sized Newmar DP could not make it.

I store my RV's in an aircraft hangar. In my area most of the doors will only open to 12' 6" to 12' 10".

And then there was a time I got down the wrong road with no way to turn around with the toad in back to discover an overpass that was 12' 5". I made it through.

And finally there is the whole issue of smaller flat plate surface area pushing on the air and the impact on fuel economy.

For comparison the Mountain Aire is 13' 2" tall and the King Aire is 13' 4" tall.

So small and compact is not all bad.

 

[turbopilot]

NA 3343 just sneaking in by the cub, note hangar light right at 12' 3" hanging over front door. A little more clearance as the bags deflated.