Question Spartan vs Freightliner chassis

[BiVo]

what would you recommend for a new Essex … Spartan or Freightliner … and why

 

[redbaron]

Freightliner---coming from an owner of many freightliners on a dutchstar, and now on a 2022 London Aire on spartan.

I would also highly recommend that you look at a london aire before buying an essex. Maybe you have a reason for essex, but most of those reasons can be added to the london aire.

I have king aire cabinets, floors, and leather. Not much value in essex over london aire.

 

[BiVo]

Freightliner---coming from an owner of many freightliners on a dutchstar, and now on a 2022 London Aire on spartan.

I would also highly recommend that you look at a london aire before buying an essex. Maybe you have a reason for essex, but most of those reasons can be added to the london aire.

I have king aire cabinets, floors, and leather. Not much value in essex over london aire.

What are the reasons for freightliner over spartan

 

[scottramer]

In simple terms it is Chevy vs Ford. I had a Dutch Star on a Spartan and now a London Aire on a Freightliner. Both are good chassis but Spartan has had a lot of front end problems with porpoising and DEF head failure.

I know Spartan changed front suspension manufactures a couple times over the last 4 or 5 years and I think both issues resolved but Spartans handling of the issues was terrible.

If I were to do it again, I would stay with Freightliner for the simple fact of servicing. Freightliner has a vast network of repair dealers and Spartan is lousy at best.

Plus on a personal note, I drove both chassis's before I bought my London Aire and I liked the way the Freightliner drove. The Spartan had what I call a Boulevard ride which was a little soft and mushy and the Freightliner has a more firm positive feel but not rough.

And another thing to consider, Spartan, the fire truck manufacturer spun off the RV chassis business 2020 and sold it to the the Shyft Group. The Shyft Group has now merged with the Aebi Schmidt Group in 2025. With that said, for some reason Newmar went back to offering Freightliner on the Lux coaches in the last couple and Foretravel is using Freightliner on their new coach they came out with.

 

[Neemer]

At one time, Spartan had a warranty advantage over Freightliner. 5 yr vs 3 yr. In ‘22 I think it was, FL matched Spartan’s 5 yr warranty. If there is still an upcharge for a Spartan chassis, it’s not worth it.

 

[Underboss]

Freightliner. The only reason Spartan costs more is less production, less buying power. Plus the service at Freightliner Gaffney for the win.
Besides, if Spartan cannot put a $2 vin tag on their chassis, where else did they cut corners.

 

[osuallen]

At one time, Spartan had a warranty advantage over Freightliner. 5 yr vs 3 yr. In ‘22 I think it was, FL matched Spartan’s 5 yr warranty. If there is still an upcharge for a Spartan chassis, it’s not worth it.

It was 2023. and it is an $8,400 upcharge on a DS now.

 

[Underboss]

It was 2023. and it is an $8,400 upcharge on a DS now.

in 2026 it was 13k

 

[Neemer]

in 2026 it was 13k

Obscene

 

[redbaron]

What are the reasons for freightliner over spartan

Freightliner engineering is real engineering. Spartan is 20+ year old plans.

Spartan does not having the buying power Freightliner does, and so they use inferior electronics. Trying to get an ECM for a 10 year old spartan is very difficult. Freightliner, broad product support with long term spare parts.

Ride quality is better on freightliner due to engineering on the tag axle and choice of the IFS. My spartan required a lot of aftermarket work to get it comparable to what my freightliner had.


If you want warranty work, both are the same. If you are paying for work, both have the same access. Its really about parts availability. The core engines, transmission are the same, but the other electronics and components are vastly different.

One thing Spartan does better--the service center for filters is far superior on Spartan.

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

Yes, if you are capable and like to turn your own wrench, a Spartan is so much easier to service. They actually place the consumables in dedicated locations that are quite easily accessed vs spreading them around and even hiding them (putting some between frame rails?). That said, how many owners service their own rigs? And if the shop rate to change a filter is $X, do they drop their rate for a Spartan chassis that they can do in much less time? Probably not.

As an aside: We had a group attend Newmar Academy the week before our last rally here in Oregon. For a day the Freightliner and Spartan chassis owners were split up for chassis-specific training. The feedback? Our attendees were pretty brutal in their feedback: The Freightliner sessions were supposedly lead by somebody in marketing and didn't get into details while the Spartan ones were taught by an actual service tech who dove deep into details. The knowledge shared and gained appeared to be night and day compared to each other. The Spartan attendees were very happy with that day of content whereas the Freightliner attendees were not.

Disclaimer: Yes, I have a Spartan rig, but it was because that was what was available on the dealer's lot at the time. I do like it though. My only complaint thus far is with the limitations when setting the PSI and Temp triggers on the Valor-equipped TMPS sensors.

Best,
-Mark

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

Besides, if Spartan cannot put a $2 vin tag on their chassis, where else did they cut corners.

By law, Newmar (not Spartan) is the responsible party for the final VIN mounting. They are supposedly now complying with the law in 2027 models, but claim it's only due to customer demand vs. compliance. Ah, the old adage of "never confuse marketing/positioning with facts." Newmar still has a less than adequate response for existing Spartan chassis owners for sure...