Thinking about a Charleston

[mguilbau]

Hello Folks,

I am a retired man in my early 50s and I have really been considering a Charleston RV, late model, and I am interested in your opinions and experiences. After owning RVs for as long as you have would you do it again. I am talking about a 250K unit for my wife and I with our kids in a bunk situation. I think I want a TAG axel but I will listen. I am all ears and I would love to learn something the easy way. Please accept my thanks for your time in advance. Marc

[Phil57]

Marc first off I want a Charleston also. I think it's a great MH and you will love it. I think the tag axle is a huge benefit and it gives you a very capable MH that should do a anything you want it to.
Hopefully some of the Charleston And Berkshire owners will chime in.
You read a lot of negative comments but take it for what it's worth.

[CAT-RN]

Originally Posted by mguilbau

Hello Folks,



I am a retired man in my early 50s and I have really been considering a Charleston RV, late model, and I am interested in your opinions and experiences. After owning RVs for as long as you have would you do it again. I am talking about a 250K unit for my wife and I with our kids in a bunk situation. I think I want a TAG axel but I will listen. I am all ears and I would love to learn something the easy way. Please accept my thanks for your time in advance. Marc

Well Marc that Charleston is one nice ride. I have a Berkshire and love it. My dealer keeps trying to move me up to the Charleston. I have driven two different ones and looked at a few.

The Berkshire suites us real well. The tag axel on the Charleston will allow you to carry more weight in your storage.

I'm sure some Charleston owners will jump in here. I think you will be very happy with it. The quality on my Berkshire is great. The Charleston is even better.

Russell

[CAT-RN]

Originally Posted by mguilbau

Hello Folks,



I am a retired man in my early 50s and I have really been considering a Charleston RV, late model, and I am interested in your opinions and experiences. After owning RVs for as long as you have would you do it again. I am talking about a 250K unit for my wife and I with our kids in a bunk situation. I think I want a TAG axel but I will listen. I am all ears and I would love to learn something the easy way. Please accept my thanks for your time in advance. Marc

Marc: This post will get you much better response under the charleston heading. Maybe a Mod could move it for you Or put a post under Charleston

And welcome to the forum.

Russell

[Billr]

Bought a new Charleston in June 2015. Have had it out for about 30 days so far, on a 5 week trip now, had a few simple issues, just called them and they shipped me the parts and I repaired.
It is very nice!!
Had 38 foot gas and now this 43 foot is a little different, still learning where it will fit, have had to back it up a couple of times to make a sharp turn in campground, but not a big deal still lots to learn.
Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[boowho]

The only thing I've heard about tags, is that maintenance costs go up dramatically from a single axle. And not just the additional direct costs for the axle itself.

Why I have no idea; maybe it's an old RV'ers tale?

Boowho??

[tmmar]

Marc,
First of all, welcome to the FORUMS!! Before you jump into a Charleston (not saying anything bad about the Charleston) you should look at the new Berkshire. It is a tag axle coach with a 450hp engine. Good luck with what ever you buy!

[ckabrahamson]

I bought a new 2015 Charleston 430BH in June 2014. 13,000 miles logged now.

I must say, I have a broken back and crippling arthritis, but I can drive this rig all day with no pain. The front seats are amazingly comfortable, and the ride is smooth as glass. I sleep fantasic in the king-sized Select Comfort air bed. The standard amenities are wonderful. I use the chest freezer in the basement all the time. We go on long road trips in the summer. I pre-cook and vacuum seal dinners, then freeze them and carry them in the basement. Makes for much less time and mess than cooking from scratch on the road. The combination microwave/convection oven works great, but the controls are a bit annoying, and it does take a long time to heat when baking. The induction cooktop is wonderful. My oldest child is autistic, and tended to turn on the gas valves on our old camper all the time. This coach has no LP that can leak into the coach. The dishwasher drawer also works great. All the comforts of home.

The Tag axle handles wonderfully. Driving rains, high winds, nothing seems to make it blow around on the highway. the 450hp motor has no trouble getting up the mountains, even towing my Yukon XL.

I typically drive on the interstate at 70-ish, and I'm getting 6.9-7.1mpg typically...

I've had my share of startup issues. Nothing totally outrageous, but the first place I brought it to was horribly incompetent at fixing it. They took forever, and seemed to break more things than they fixed. When it got real bad, Mike from Forest River stepped in, and he transported my rig 1000 miles back to the factory, and fixed everything.

Only had one issue this summer. Hopefully next summer everything will work just fine.

Overall, I really like the way the coach is designed and laid out.

In the petty annoyances category:

The refrigerator is in a fairly tight space. The doors can only open 90-degrees which don't allow the ice maker to be removed for cleaning without removing the door.

The bunk beds really need a ladder - getting into the top bunk is a challenge. The bunks also have doors that close over them or privacy, but when they are closed there is no airflow in there and it gets pretty hot and sticky. I'm working on mods to address these problems.

The DEF tank is installed curbside - commercial DEF spouts are on the driver's side. I carry 5 gallon jugs to fill with DEF at the pump, and then fill my tank at the campground.

I wish the satellite antenna was an in-motion dish. Once you get the hang of it, the antenna works great, but the controls for it are a bit cryptic.

Having the black water flush connection works great, but I wish they put a remote tank level indicator in the water compartment. When you're flushing the tank, you have to keep checking the panel at the back of the rig to see how full the tank is...

Overall, we are extremely happy with the coach.

Carl

[Harley2152]

Marc,
We love our 2015 Charleston 430RB! My wife and I are also in our early 50's and retired. We have found the RB floor plan fits our lifestyle perfectly. To date we have about 5000 miles on the road with over 100 nights spent in the coach. I will agree with ckabrahamson .We have had some start-up issues that needed service, some minor and some more complicated, but nothing that has made us regret the purchase. When my dealer seemed to be over their head with the required repairs, Mike from Forest River support stepped in and ensured we were treated well. My wife cooks a lot and she says the set up in the RB works very well. She prefers I drive so she can nap, but she is very comfortable driving the Charleston even while towing our CRV. There are some minor complaints, my wife was not comfortable on the sleep number mattress, but a 3 inch memory foam topper solved that. She is unable to reach the 1/2 bath fan controls without using a step stool and the driver and passenger seats are both too big for her to be comfortable (she is 5'3"). We just came back from the RV show at Hershey and both agree, there was nothing to tempt us away from our Charleston!

BTW, This is our first coach and I need to say this forum has provided us with plenty of ideas and information to make our life on the road easier. Thanks to everyone who participates!

[outloud]

WOW, we looked at a Charleston but it wasn't our life style. We have 2 dogs black lab's and once they get wet from swimming! Well you can see……… But we do have a 2010 Berkshire 39.9 BH and love it very much. Also at that long 43 ft. it does limit some campgrounds, you have to look for Big Rig friendly or a resort. Happy traveling. Its a Great Rig and I think you will be happy with your choice.

[tmmar]

Harley,
Welcome to the Forums and congrats on your new Charleston!! Hope you have many fun, memorable and trouble free trips with it!! Glad to see that you are enjoying your new coach.

[frodmiller]

I bought a 435 RB in May of this year. Many more and big issue problems than I expected. It will go back to the factory in Nov. One fuel fill leaked like crazy when filling, the other fill is kinked and fills super slow. Coach is out of alinement and pulls to the Rt. Shower has developed cracks and will need replacement. Generator stopped and required new control board. Prior to that the transfer switch failed. Door awning failed. Kitchen backsplash separated. Big slide alignment problem, bottom of slide was missing the gasket. Bottom of slide dug in to side of coach and will need body work and paint. Two of the TV's have never worked with the satalite. Ceramic floor came with a lot of grout and glew on it. Broken tail light reflector. Mid bath fan does not work. Couch air mattress leaked.
Some of these issues may sound minor but it makes me wonder how it ever left the factory. Where is the quality control?
With all that said and assuming after the unit goes back to the factory everything gets fixed I will love this coach more than I do now. You do want ten tag axel, very stable in winds. We love the standard features.
Make sure you go over everything in detail witch is hard to do while buying but insist on it. Good luck!

[Harley2152]

Funny coincidence as we are currently on the road heading to the factory in our 2015 430RB. Our refrigerator needs to be replaced ( No fault of Forest river, dealer fault...long story...) The big slide needs some adjustments, scratching and cracking the floor tile. Generator slide misaligned. The couch air mattress also leaks. We have a list of items, some very minor and some much bigger. Mike at customer service has assured us everything will be repaired/replaced while at the factory. Yes, all of this is a bit frustrating. However, given the chance we would buy this unit again. It fits our needs and wants, its super comfortable and very easy to drive. I'm not sure there is a better value out there for the money. We just spent two days at the Hersey RV show and could not find anything in the 240-300K range that we liked better.
I will post an update after we leave the factory. Stay tuned!

[Phil57]

Harley I was at the factory this week having work done in my Berkshire. Warren and Chris along with another guy I'm sorry to say I forgot his name did a wonderful job getting us all fixed up and ready to head for Florida. I believe you will be impressed with the work. I couldn't be happier.

[SEAYALL]

We bought our 430RB. Past July , for the fellow looking, all motorhomes are custom made, every nut, bolt an screw were installed by hand.Having said that they are inherently a problem in progress, if you spend 100k or a mil. Problems are much the same.
Think what's important is the manufacturer is willing to make it right, scary part is who's going to fix it after one year warranty. Entegra has a two year warranty which would really have been nice .
So with ours, washer/ dryer did not have hold down brackets at feet, shower door leaks water at bottom even after dealer tried to adjust three times. Kitchen slide outside underneath , has a metal plate for rollers to roll on, why one an not four I don't know. Contacted FR an they sent me the plates, an brackets for W/D . Don't like King dome pretty much worhless as far as direct tv HD goes but I knew that. All Thor MH come with a winegard trav'l . Just saying. Then there's the girard tankless. Water heater. Lol. I can hear the owners shaking there heads from here. Extremely disappointed in that .. We have learned more, It does work different than what you would think an once you understand that you can dial it in pretty good, I read a post somewhere there's a Generation 3 out there but don't know that to be true . We went from a FR Georgetown to this tag. We like it, just wish MH had some quality control. No complaints with FR they have never let us down, but to this point we have had no major problems. It's all part of the adventure. So pack your tool box, throw in there a good sense of humor, an roll on.

[edgewant]

We purchased 2013 Berkshire 390RB from Lazydays in Feb of 2013. We have 15000 miles on it now and have camped plenty of nights. We had some start up issues and a big learning curve. It is our first and last MH. Last because we like it so much and really could never afford another. When at Lazydays we looked at all the makes: Tiffin, Fleetwood, Winnebago and others but just kept gravitating back to the Berkshire. The rear bath really suits us and the 40 ft length is perfect. I do all the routine maintenance and would shutter at the thought of trying to keep up with whatever has to be done on a tag axle.

I'm sure that they all have their share of issues that have to be worked out but it would be hard for me to believe anyone does better than Forest River at making things right. Ours has been back to the factory once at Elkhart and to Freightliner in Gaffney.

You'll enjoy whatever you decide on if its a Forest River MH and hope you have many safe and enjoyable experiences.

[Harley2152]

An update to our repair trip to the factory. The original plan consisted of us dropping off the coach first thing on Monday morning and picking it up on Friday. After Mike B. in customer service went through the list of issues, he felt this would take 2 weeks.....at least. This delay rippled through our travel plans, however we were pleased with Mike and the team for being honest with us as we had planned on waiting in the Elkhart area for 5 days....not 14+ days. To be fair our gripe list was fairly long, 44 items. Some small adjustments, but others involved replacing the refrigerator, water heater, numerous floor tiles and paint work to the end cap. We understand these things take time.
Mike B., the customer service rep we were dealing with, never made us feel rushed or that any of our issues weren't really important. He really took his time in documenting each gripe so the techs would understand what was wrong. After all was documented, Mike took time out of his day to give us a tour of the factory. Very interesting seeing an assembly line with no robots, just technicians hand building motor coaches.
We feel very confident the factory will clear the list of gripes. Very unfortunate our dealer couldn't handle this, but that is another MUCH longer post!

[Texas42]

We have loved our Charleston! I have owned two 40 ft monaco diplomats previously and this motorhome far supersedes the previous ones.

My kids have loved the bunkbeds with their own DVDs and the fact that they can lay in them during travel is an added bonus!

The cabinets are very nice and the floors are as well.

We had a couple of minor issues such as one of the sleep number air chambers with a slow leak that was repaired as well asOne of the leveling jacks foot pedestals fell off.....we didn't hit anything simple he got to a campground and noticed it was missing. We ordered a new one for $70 and it bolted right on

Other than that the satellite works fine.... We have dish network and get HD signal...... I absolutely love the 450hp! The tag axel has been a much smoother ride and easier to drive than my Monacos.

Overall very happy with it. I have three A/C units and would suggest that for summertime.

I am actually selling mine as we are building a home in Park City with my Dad so won't be using the Coach enough in the future.

2013 with 17k miles.

Anyway good luck in your search!