looking at 2016 415 AMP

[duallyd]

On the hunt for a full time toy hauler, and want feedback on 415 AMP. We only have 2 dealers within 4 hrs of us, and the closest only has the 420, which we didn't care for. Love to hear from owners, and anyone who has the 415. Thanks!

[Homebrew]

Jeff Couch RV Nation has one in order - https://www.couchsrvnation.com/fores...rbolt/415amp25




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[SYE]

The 415 is the one I am wanting as well. National RV in Detroit has a 2015 for $59,900, we have looked at it twice, my only problem is the dealers that I have spoke with will only give me 22-25 on a trailer I still owe 43 on.

[dwhit]

Wife and I spend seven months/year in a MH. This year we're in a 415 and loving it. No problems, no issues...fine tuning as we go. Ten beds, four TV's, no waiting.

If we HAD to find a concern it would be...need more vent fans. We have two...gonna add two more.

We traveled four states to look at prospective units. Bought 415 130 miles away in adjoining state. Bought F350 200 miles into ANOTHER state. Took 90 days to determine what we wanted, another 60 days to find them in the market.

Gotta be patient to find the deal.

[SYE]

Originally Posted by dwhit

Wife and I spend seven months/year in a MH. This year we're in a 415 and loving it. No problems, no issues...fine tuning as we go. Ten beds, four TV's, no waiting.

If we HAD to find a concern it would be...need more vent fans. We have two...gonna add two more.

We traveled four states to look at prospective units. Bought 415 130 miles away in adjoining state. Bought F350 200 miles into ANOTHER state. Took 90 days to determine what we wanted, another 60 days to find them in the market.

Gotta be patient to find the deal.

Yep, I found the deal, just no good on the trade in!!

[duallyd]

Have located one with all the colors we want, about 10 hrs away. Had the salesman send the build sheet, and take a video for us. Had a short detour, and started liking a new 2015 Raptor 405 ts, but for some reason they all had ugly decor, and some of the wood looked different tone. The XLR's have very good looking interiors.

How does their 4 season package compare? Have u encountered any cold weather?

[DSQR]

Originally Posted by duallyd

How does their 4 season package compare? Have u encountered any cold weather?

Have been living full time in ours for 14months. Loving it. Coldest temp we've seen was 14 degrees. No problems 'cept water lines to fresh water tank. Dump valve handle for rear lav gray tank comes out through about a 3" hole in frame rail. Fresh water line between tank and pump runs immediately behind this hole. On one very cold night, this line froze (no leaks or ruptures, but pump not able to draw water from tank due to frozen plug in line). I've learned that when extremely cold weather is forecast, to stuff a small rag into this hole - no problems since.
Garage has no heating vents and with the three seasons door, found it can get pretty cool back there (we use the room for computer workstations when parked). The doors do allow drafts at top/bottoms and door overlaps. We put up a drapery rod on the inside of the three seasons door and hung thermal drapes . With this addition, room stays warm with a small electric heater 'till temps in mid 20's. We had our bedroom AC moved to garage (It's prewired back there). Plan to upgrade garage AC to a heat pump - we wont need the electric heater then. If we expect temps lower than about 25-30 we just close the ramp.

We absolutely love the 415AMP - have not found ANYTHING we would trade it for.

[mark.g]

The family and I have been FTing in ours since October. As stated previously, no issues with temps dropping into the 20's. We saw a few single digit days which caused water lines to freeze at the low-point drains which caused no water to the kitchen or rear bath.

Ours is an early 2016 model which does have a heater vent in the garage, but it is reduced to a 2" duct and really does not do much to heat the garage. The garage is not horribly insulated due to the fuel tanks underneath the floor requiring to be open to the air and the rear door does draft quite a bit. We solved this by adding some of those foam anti-fatigue mats on the floor. As far as heating, we use a space heater which works pretty well.

If you go with the residential fridge, it won't come plumbed for the ice maker. Not the end of the world, but the dealer probably won't tell you.

We have had a few issues with ours to include a leaking front cap, water leaking underneath the shower door, loose connections under kitchen and front bath sinks on the cold water side, and a large leak at the front black tank flush (we do not have a rear black tank flush, but I heard they were planning on adding it so you may get it with the current 2016s). Not saying these issues are to be expected as others have had no problems, but you may run into them during your shake down.

Overall we have been happy with our 415AMP, most of our complaints/frustrations have been with the dealer we got ours through. As long as it meets your needs on a functional manner, most everything can be worked through and/or customized to taste.

[mark.g]

Oh, and if none of the dealers have one in stock, you can always have them order one for you. Downside, it may take 6-8 weeks or so before you get it. Upside, you can order it with all the features you want.

[duallyd]

Great info! The NW is heavy on Raptors and Fuzions, and while they're nice rigs, we just couldn't find one that suited our needs. We plan on living it for a yr or so, up here, before moving to SoCal. We don't have to many bad winters, and tend to stay right around freezing during the coldest times. I'm sure we'll be more concerned with the A/C part, in the warmer climate.

What tilted your choice to the 415, over the other floor plans? We've only saw the 420, in person, we didn't care for the party deck, and what it takes away from the living space. We've looked at plenty of Keystone products, and Dutchman. A few other makes and models as well. None really caught our eye, like the XLR amp series. For the price, they seem to offer a great product.

[dwhit]

DSQR:
"We had our bedroom AC moved to garage (It's prewired back there)."

Perfect...good info to have before beginning work.

[duallyd]

Camping world is recommending this hitch, any thoughts one way or another? Reese Select Series 22K 5th Wheel Hitch with 7-Way Wiring Harness 30033

[Play Harder]

Duallyd send me pm w email and I can send you pics from other Thunderbolt from ellensburg poster the 380amp on Nguys thread but now see your also looking at 415 too

[MightyMike]

Just sent a message to BullettBob. You'd think they would have some type of national search for these things. Trying to locate using FR search has a real restriction on mileage. Wife wants a new floorplan, and no way I'm buying another one until she spends time in it and is sure it's what she wants. All of our closest dealers seem to have moved to the Vengeance line so no Thunderbolts to look at. We have considered a 415,420, 425. Just can't get the general away from all of the counter space in a 380. I'm in same boat as SYE posted- willing to trade but not going to take $30,000 for a 3 year old $58,000 rig. Since you said you were looking at other mfgs.- one I've considered is the Seismics from Jayco. Their rear baths have tubs/showers in them making it a full 2 bath instead of 1-1/2. Not sure we'd ever use it, but maybe for kids. They seem pretty close pricewise but they are pretty heavy. Interiors seem to be about equal to XLR's. Owned 1 Keystone rig- a Raptor, long story, but NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER again!

[duallyd]

Jayco, and Raptor have both gone to light colored flooring, and my wife detests it. Kinda feel the same, looks to "supermarket" like now. I think we've decided on an XLR, and now deciding between the 375, 415 or the 425. 415 and 375 have good counter space, but the 425 has its benefits too.

I've found good luck using rv trader online. Easy to search state by state.

[MightyMike]

I here ya about keeping wife happy. Not only does mine want the counter top room, she likes the extra seating in the 380s too. They had a 415 and a 420 at the last show we went to and she said she "could live with the 415" if she had too. weight was too much for me so I stopped looking at them. Now I found a 425 2 hours from home and the guy tells me factory weight is less than 15,000. Hope to go look at it Saturday. I check RV Trader too, but a lot of smaller dealers don't bother going on there. Had some down time at work last night so I went to the FR site and put in a bunch of different zip codes for major cities all up and down east coast. Found a lot more rigs doing it that way, some dealers only had 1 Thunderbolt in stock.

[toledoupsguy]

Originally Posted by SYE

The 415 is the one I am wanting as well. National RV in Detroit has a 2015 for $59,900, we have looked at it twice, my only problem is the dealers that I have spoke with will only give me 22-25 on a trailer I still owe 43 on.

Hello, 1st post here. That was my favorite one at national rv too but we got nowhere near that price. Do you have that in writing anywhere? I'd love to go back with that piece of information. Thanks

[SYE]

They still have it, it is a 2015 they are trying to move

[SYE]

Here is what Norm wrote in the email. Hello the unit we have in sock is 59990 plus tax *and the demo unit sold.* We are not at this time ordering any units until we clear out current inventory. We can order a 2017 special if you prefer let me know if you have any other questions Thanks Norm*


On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 12:59 PM, Scott Yencer<syencer1@msn.com>*wrote:*

Norman,

*

I wanted to know what our price was on your stock # 159507, also is this a Demo unit like the other one you quoted me back on in October. I see this is a 2015, not a 2016, it has everything I want except for the convection oven and the 3 ac system with the energy management. I may be interested in this one. Let me know what your price is on it. Also, are you expecting any more 415's in stock soon, I know that they are changing over to the 2017's

[toledoupsguy]

Thanks, we got the we're losing money BS at 62,990.