Berkshire compared to Dutchstar

[wnytaxman]

Note by site team: These posts have been moved to their own thread so as to not hijack another thread.

I guess the next question is "how willing are we going to be to pay for the extras?" Most of what we are posting is available on the Dutch Star.....for about $100,000 more. Of course if they added these as extra cost options it might make life real interesting because we would not be paying for stuff we don't necessarily want.

Ed

[cecilt]

Based on msrp of the berk tag axle and a dutchstar 4018 tag it is about 75k more not $100k more. Quality alone makes the dutchstar a better buy.



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[Phil57]

Originally Posted by cecilt

Based on msrp of the berk tag axle and a dutchstar 4018 tag it is about 75k more not $100k more. Quality alone makes the dutchstar a better buy.



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So have you owned a Berkshire or a Dutch Star? Every opinion is welcome just wondering what you base yours on?

[Campin Cajun]

Originally Posted by cecilt

Based on msrp of the berk tag axle and a dutchstar 4018 tag it is about 75k more not $100k more. Quality alone makes the dutchstar a better buy.



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How is this part of a wish list?

Berk XLT is 43', the DS 4018 is a 40'. If you are comparing, at least compare the same length coach. Also, the quality you speak of is what? Parts used or just QC at the Newmar plant?

75K is a lot of money.


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[cecilt]

Dutchstar 4018 is 40' 9" and XLT is 42' 10". Convenient to round down the Newmar and up the XLT. Compare the specs. Newmar is fully electric, multiple floor plans, smart wheel, comfort drive, girard awnings, def on driver side, exit door, power reels, etc. anyone who does research and keeps an open mind and isn't so brand loyal would agree that a Newmar is of higher quality than anything produced by FR. I would also add Tiffin and Entegra to that statement. I love what the XLT offers. When FR adds some more of the wish list items and raises quality they might make my list.


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[Phil57]

Originally Posted by cecilt

Dutchstar 4018 is 40' 9" and XLT is 42' 10". Convenient to round down the Newmar and up the XLT. Compare the specs. Newmar is fully electric, multiple floor plans, smart wheel, comfort drive, girard awnings, def on driver side, exit door, power reels, etc. anyone who does research and keeps an open mind and isn't so brand loyal would agree that a Newmar is of higher quality than anything produced by FR. I would also add Tiffin and Entegra to that statement. I love what the XLT offers. When FR adds some more of the wish list items and raises quality they might make my list.


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Two feet in the RV world is a lot like boats. It does matter and rounding is not wise. I get it your bad. No big deal. Be mad but you really don't have a reason or so far as you have shown any expertise or helpful input in the conversation about Berkshire. Heck not many have even seen or gone through the new tag Berkshire. So troll on another page. It's not really helpful.

[cecilt]

Some folks can't see past their nose and won't accept anything outside their own views.


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[Phil57]

Originally Posted by cecilt

Some folks can't see past their nose and won't accept anything outside their own views.


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I was thinking the same thing.

[wnytaxman]

We have also been considering the Dutch Star, but the idea of a steerable tag axle Berkshire with more amenities is very appealing and certainly makes us think twice about staying with the Berkshire. We have had very few issues with our unit in the five years we've owned it and any issues that we have had have been dealt with by either the dealer or the factory. No complaints at all from our end.

There are pluses and minuses with all brands. I like the XLT but would like to see more floor plans and the emergency exit door in the rear bath Dutch Star is a big deal for me. I would fully expect to see it on many brands when the 2017's come out.

Entegra offers a two year warranty which is a big deal but has very limited floor plans. Newmar will customize the dickens out of a coach, but will charge accordingly. Tiffin likes to brag about their service but when you read about someone spending over 100 days waiting for service in Red Bay, AL, it is difficult to translate that into great service and their quality issues do not seem to be going away.

One last factor that needs to go into the mix is how much will the dealer discount off MSRP. Discounts in the upper 30% range are available on Entegras but going much over 25% on a Newmar is rare. I don't know how much things may have changed at Forest River since we bought our rig, but I'm going to guess that the discounts are comparable to those of Entegra. Bottom line is that Berkshire has moved into a different zone and one that does make it at least semi comparable to models from both Entegra and Newmar.

[Campin Cajun]

Originally Posted by cecilt

Dutchstar 4018 is 40' 9" and XLT is 42' 10". Convenient to round down the Newmar and up the XLT. Compare the specs. Newmar is fully electric, multiple floor plans, smart wheel, comfort drive, girard awnings, def on driver side, exit door, power reels, etc. anyone who does research and keeps an open mind and isn't so brand loyal would agree that a Newmar is of higher quality than anything produced by FR. I would also add Tiffin and Entegra to that statement. I love what the XLT offers. When FR adds some more of the wish list items and raises quality they might make my list.


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If you would have done better research you would know that the Berk would be more comparable to the Newmar Ventana and not the Dutch Star.

I own a Berk, I am shopping Newmars. I know the differences.

Why are you hear if you want a Newmar? Why you have to try an ruin a perfectly fun thread about things we would like to see in our Berks?


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[txredfish]

I would not compare a Forest River product to anything made by Newmar.
I owned a Newmar Scottsdale MH for 10 years. It was way ahead of anything that I currently saw from FR. Very good quality and QC. But that was made 10 years ago.
They just don't make them like they used to.

[CSMRetired]

Going to throw my .02 cents in if you don't mind.
I could compare ours to a Prevost if I wanted to, but we don't care for high gloss cabinets. What difference does it make, if you're happy with it, go with it.

[lgray]

If the slides on the competition work, they are probably worth the extra money…LOL

[BigJohnD]

I'm not brand loyal to any of them. I think all of them have somewhat took a dump over the last several years. I have owned a Tiffin and FR motorhome. I agree with the Tiffin remark. Good company, but they need to quit putting band aids on problems. FR is good for the price point, but I've never been impressed with any of their facilities and some of their construction techniques. Entegra was top notch, kind of still is, but they were way better the first few years. Even they have slipped a little as they ramped up production. Don't think they'll ever really be what Travel Supreme was. Newmar, well, I've always been partial to them, but never owned one. Loved their fifth wheels, wanted one, but they got out of the towable market before I could buy one. One thing I like better about them is their slide out designs. They've been doing it a lot longer than most.


So, take your pick. Buy what you like. Everybody's got opinions, but everybody also has a different price point to work with. I respect what everybody has. I can't even afford the motorhomes I used to have anymore since I refuse to finance.