Newmar or Tiffin?

We have been narrowing down our search for a 37 to 40 foot coach, likely to buy new or at least very late model year. We like the Tiffin Allegro bus 40IP and the Newmar Dutch Star 4081 or 3736. All of these models have 1 1/2 baths and all the same bells and whistles. The real question or problem I am having is determining whether Newmar is significantly better than Tiffin and if so where and why? We can look and and buy a Tiffin and have it serviced a lot closer to our home than we can the Newmar. Closest Newmar dealer is 1 1/2 hour away verses 35 minutes to the Tiffin dealer. I am interested to hear from Newmar folks as to why they went Newmar over Tiffin or vice versa. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[scottramer]

If you are going with a 40'er it's Newmar hands down. Just drive the two and you will see why. The Newmar with the tag axle drives far superior to the single axle Tiffin. As far as quality I think they are pretty much on par.

 

[ARD]

I've never driven a Tiffin so I cannot speak as to the drive or specs. At the end of the day, you will want to be comfortable in your coach so picking a floor plan that is comfortable for you is important.

After doing all my homework, I went with Newmar instead of Tiffin because I could special order various options including tiles, backsplash, add a window, fireplace, delete things I didn't want, etc. Also, I really wanted a coach without carpet. And then icing on the cake was the emergency door in the bathroom.

Equally as important was the choice of doing a factory pickup. Yes, it is pricey but well worth the expense.

Good luck in whatever you choose and happy travels.

 

[Neal]

I know nothing of the Tiffin process mainly and namely SERVICE. I hear you have to show up and wait in line whereas Newmar is scheduled appointments and quite frankly the best part about Newmar is their service center and techs. They are about the only thing holding the company together right now.

 

[SherryB]

Me personally, I wouldn't buy a new Tiffen just because they are now owned by Thor. When I was researching my Newmar, I had joined the non-profit RV consumer site (sorry, forget the name of it now) where they rate quality, safety, future resale etc. Thor products never received very good ratings (Newmar did, also possibly Tiffin but I don't remember now). Also have just heard from too many owners about their issues with their Thor owned RV's. Hopefully Tiffin is able to maintain their quality despite base company ownership.

 

[Headhunter]

Well I will put a vote in for Tiffin. As Neal stated IF you go to Red Bay it is first come first serve. But not everybody drives to Red Bay Alabama for Tiffin service. Hopefully that is what your dealer is for.

I find you get much more standard options with Tiffin than you do Newmar. You can get them with Newmar but they are additional to the cost.

I looked at both Newmar & Tiffin. The closest Newmar dealer was two states away. So if I am taking my coach back for service it is a very long drive, never mind to the Newmar factory.

Both are very good, but Newmar is going to be more expensive, compare prices and the options that you will get. Is it worth it, only you can decide. Yes Thor purchased Tiffin, but they are independently built and produced in Red Bay. Winnebago purchased Newmar, same game.

My Tiffin dealer has taken care of all my service & warranty needs. And they are only two hours away from me.

The other thing to remember is that there are A LOT more Newmar owners on this site than Tiffin owners. That isn't a bad thing, but the opinions and answers may be a bit one sided.

HH

 

[Gizmo]

I would research Newmar's "Comfort Drive" and watch a couple of YouTube videos on the subject. Comfort Drive to me would the deciding factor.

 

[frogsme]

I was in the same boat as you, deciding between a 40IP and a 4081. One dealership had both on the lot and when you compare side by side, fit and finish on the Newmar far exceeds the tiffin. Newmar has much better cabinet work, no carpet on slides, and the emergency exit door with a ladder was a big factor. Drove both, the 4081 with the tag and comfort drive was much better than the 40IP. Ended up ordering a Newmar 4081 with options we wanted. Only had the coach for 3 months but so far love the choice we made.

 

[Rustymayes]

I was in the same boat as you, deciding between a 40IP and a 4081. One dealership had both on the lot and when you compare side by side, fit and finish on the Newmar far exceeds the tiffin. Newmar has much better cabinet work, no carpet on slides, and the emergency exit door with a ladder was a big factor. Drove both, the 4081 with the tag and comfort drive was much better than the 40IP. Ended up ordering a Newmar 4081 with options we wanted. Only had the coach for 3 months but so far love the choice we made.

We went to two dealerships today, Tiffin and Newmar. We initially loved the Allegro Bus 40IP and took an hour to poke aroundand really study the build quality. Then had lunch and drove an hour to the Newmar dealer. I found the fit and finish much better on the Newmar. They don't put as many goodies on board standard like dish washer and co-pilot navigation screen and solar panels but its the big things like a tag axel with steering and the hydraulic full wall slide that are not easy add ons for later. I am going to try to convince my wife to go Newmar, she really does not see the quality issues like I do. She really likes the paneled appliances for instance that Newmar does not offer. That's nice but its fluff IMHO. The 4018 we looked at only had two ACs and an 8KW genset. The 40IP has three ACs and a 10 KW genset. I guess one would be just very lucky to find a dealer stocked unit with just the option package one wants to avoid ordering a unit.

 

[NWIP]

We had the 40’ Dutch Star with 2 air conditioners and 8k generator, found it to be very adequate.
We spent a summer in Hilton Head and had no issues keeping the coach cool.

 

[Olbie]

We came from the world of Tiffin, owning first a 2018 37AP bus and then a 2021 40IP bus. We have a lot of good things to say about Tiffin, but ultimately we traded the 40IP for a 2022 Newmar Mountain Aire 4118. We liked the 40IP floor plan and many other features of the 40IP. We had also met Bob Tiffin several times and felt that he really was about doing the right thing for his customers...

Ultimately though after about 45k miles between the two busses what got us looking at the Newmar was how the 40IP drove in the wind and in corners. The 40IP leans heavy in the curves and is easily blown around in gusty winds or passing trucks. We also had had a number of issues with the Shwintec slides over time.

With the drive issues, people talk about the Comfort Drive, (which is great!), but we found that the heavier sprung chassis, with Tag axil also had a huge impact on the way it drove. Also, the 40IP only had about 2600lbs of available payload so we often only carried about 20-30% fresh water which at times got us in a bind. The lack of payload, (or light suspension) caused a lot of leaning in curves which made mountain driving uncomfortable at times. If a corner says 30 mph, trust me that is all the faster you can take it...

The Newmar was more expensive, but my wife and I decided that it being much easier to drive in less that than ideal conditions would allow us to continue with the journey much longer as we age...

 

[jagpot]

Newmar by far. As was stated the drive is far superior IMHO.

 

[Rustymayes]

We are pretty much sold on Newmar DutchStar 4018. Thinking of buying new but would not be opposed to a used unit under 5 years old. There is one at a local dealer, a 2017 unit with 35,000 miles. That seems high but with the quality of the build of the Newmar would I kick myself for not going new?

 

[NWIP]

I don’t think 35,000 is all that high, we had 30k on our 2017 DS when we got rid of it 12/2019. We have 35k on our 2020 DS now

 

[Swipular]

Not for a diesel. My 05 has 140k miles on it.

 

[Rustycoach]

We decided on a unit at our most local dealer. We want a 2022 4081 and they are getting sparse. The dealer came down 20%, I am thinking of pressing for at least another 5%. They don’t seem to be having a problem moving their coaches. We don’t like the fabric on the 23s or the 15% price diff. We won’t let 5% keep us from pulling the trigger but nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

[tarponbus]

We decided on a unit at our most local dealer. We want a 2022 4081 and they are getting sparse. The dealer came down 20%, I am thinking of pressing for at least another 5%. They don’t seem to be having a problem moving their coaches. We don’t like the fabric on the 23s or the 15% price diff. We won’t let 5% keep us from pulling the trigger but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Rustycoach, give Tim Kao at NIRVC Atlanta a call. Just took delivery of a 2023 London Aire last week, they hit it at 28% off right away without back and forth where my local FL dealer wouldn’t do more then 20% and that was after considerable back and forth. Great people and great experience.

 

[Jim]

Just took delivery of a 2023 London Aire last week . . .

Wow, congratulations!

 

[Rustycoach]

Rustycoach, give Tim Kao at NIRVC Atlanta a call. Just took delivery of a 2023 London Aire last week, they hit it at 28% off right away without back and forth where my local FL dealer wouldn’t do more then 20% and that was after considerable back and forth. Great people and great experience.

That’s awesome, congratulations! We ended up buying from Tom Lindstrom in LA. We bought his last 2022 and his first offer was so generous that we did not even counter. Great guy to do business with. We are really enjoying it and have zero buyer’s remorse having gone the Newmar route.

 

[Ventana]

Consider where you can get it repaired. When you buy an RV, you're also buying into a relationship with your dealer and the manufacturer. Can they repair what they sell and do it in a timely manner? The nicest coach is worthless if you can't get it repaired.

The Newmar Service Center in Nappanee is first rate and importantly, you can make appointments (albeit 6 or more months out).

Red Bay is first come, first serve if I remember correctly.