Solera Motorhomes

[George]

Hello,
Are there any other Solera owners out there? I would love to share Solera experiences with you. So far the rig seems good, but then I'm coming from a 97 Rialta. I think I miss the squeeks and rattles most but really love all the room. You Georgetown owners go ahead and laugh. At 24.5 feet long I am amazed how much more storage and room I have now. The slide of course helps. This is the first time with a diesel engine so I would really appreciate any advice on that. Love the power on hills. I think once on a steep Pennsylvania hill in the Rialta I was passed by a lady pushing a baby carriage. OK, an exaggeration but not by much.
George

[FL Solera]

Hi George,

We have a 2010 Solera which we purchased early this year. We had a 2004 Rialta before. How are you doing in fuel mileage? I'm disappointed with ours. Our friends have a Winnie View, same chassis year, and they are getting an easy 18 mpg on the highway. I have a hard time getting 14-15 mpg keeping it at 55 on our flat FL roads. Terrytown RV ad to which I responded was, at that time, advertising up to 21 mpg. I knew that was pie in the sky hype but was hoping for at least close to 18 mpg. Salesman claims mileage will get better with more miles (have 3500 miles on it), but the Winnie View got 18 mpg from day one. The Solera is a little heavier (190lbs dry) and a lot higher than the View. View has a better aerodynamically designed front overhang, too.

Originally Posted by George

Hello,
Are there any other Solera owners out there? I would love to share Solera experiences with you. So far the rig seems good, but then I'm coming from a 97 Rialta. I think I miss the squeeks and rattles most but really love all the room. You Georgetown owners go ahead and laugh. At 24.5 feet long I am amazed how much more storage and room I have now. The slide of course helps. This is the first time with a diesel engine so I would really appreciate any advice on that. Love the power on hills. I think once on a steep Pennsylvania hill in the Rialta I was passed by a lady pushing a baby carriage. OK, an exaggeration but not by much.
George

[George]

I don't have many miles on my rig either (about 4K). The mileage started out at @12MPG and has improved to around 15MPG. I hope the dealer is right that it should be 17-19MPG. I don't travel with a full water tank and generally have empty or very low waste tanks. We don't carry a lot of "stuff" either. I'm typically driving 65MPH so I know if I could stand driving at 55MPH I would get better mileage. Of course I don't have the flat land like you do either. Do you use the cruise control? What do you have for tires? I have some fairly aggressive all season tires that don't look like they are great mileage tires.

I loved the mileage in my Rialta (@20-21MPG) but I had no power and highway tires that caused me to actually get stuck on a slope with wet grass once. Embarrassing! especially when a Kubota tractor hooked up and easily pulled me up the slope (not steep).

Hopefully the mileage will increase with use.

How was yours built? any issues?

[brania]

I am in the proces of a Solera Purchase. I am trying to decide between a diesel or propane generator. Anyone have any expertise or reasoning as to one should spend the extra $$$ for diesel?
thanks
Andrew

[brania]

Originally Posted by brania

I am in the proces of a Solera Purchase. I am trying to decide between a diesel or propane generator. Anyone have any expertise or reasoning as to one should spend the extra $$$ for diesel?
I will purchase within the next 48 hours.
thanks
Andrew

on the road is better than at the work

[George]

Brania,
I am no expert but I have had gas and propane generators. Using gas/diesel you have a very large tank to supply the fuel assuming of course you have fueled up. I don't think this is a huge advantage because I just don't run the generator that much to make a difference. I like the propane generator better because it doesn't seem to have the smelly fumes you get with gas/diesel. The propane burns cleaner and I hope will require less maintenance. If you have a Solara you have @8 gal propane tank for fuel. That's a fair amount of generator time.
Good luck,
George

[brania]

what is the best interior color scheme for solera? I chose tiki autumn with cherry cabinets but now I am having some doubts. Does anyone have this scheme? I had to purchase the rig sight unseen until final check. Help please!!!!!!!!

[brania]

I have noticed something very peculiar................ everyone in this Solera group has also owned a Rialta previously......... We just sold our 95 Rialta ( with heavy hearts). I guess it's the natural progression. As we accumulate more stuff and grand kids we need more space.
Andy New Gloucester, Maine

[George]

Andy,
That is an intereting observation. For my part I think we have a group that is looking to go camping without driving a very large rig. The only comparably sized products I found to replace our 97 Rialta were vehicles like the Roadtrek that were far more expensive than the Solera. It is nice to have a bit more space although we have quite a few empty cabinets that we just don't have anything we want to put in them. I loved the Rialta for its size and fuel economy. However the bathroom of your new Solera will make you forget the Rialta. It is nice to have an oven. We also love not having carpet in either the cab or the living area. Cleanup is easy.
Which model Rialta did you have? Ours had twin beds. Good with the fishing buddies but less than desireable with the bride. Did you have any transmission problems with the Rialta?
George

[brania]

Hi george.
I was just checking to see if you received the reply to your questons. I had a bit of an issue with my computer when I tried to sen the message.
Let me know if you got the 1st message.
Andy