Charleston purchase

Bill Dean · 06-23-2007, 05:55 PM

I have just joined this group. We had a Tiffin 30DA & looked very hard at both the Tiffin Phaeton and Monaco Diplomat. Well, we ended up purchasing a 2006Charleston 36 w 4k miles. I found that it was fastly superior to both other DP's in features/options, quality & pricing.
Any other Charleston owners? Would appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks!

aintgotnun · 06-23-2007, 06:29 PM

to FRF!!

Pull up a chair and hang out. This is a great bunch of folks here. Not sure on Charleston owners but as the site grows I'm sure we'll get some in.

Again welcome and we look forward to hearing about your experiences!!

greg

MRimmer · 06-23-2007, 08:16 PM

Welcome to the site and congrats on the new unit

Mike

Hokiehall · 06-23-2007, 08:38 PM

Welcome to the Forest River Forums Bill. We are happy to have you on board. Congratulations on the new rig.

busa · 08-23-2008, 12:37 AM

Good choice. I personaly think that Forest River installs superior stuff in their product. for example, to get all the extras we have in our 08 Charleston that retails for about 260, 000, we would have to spend about 350,000 on a Feetwood or close to 400,000 on a Monaco. you do get more for your money if you buy a Forest River. Monaco, Fleetwood and other manufactures use smaller engines in their 41 feet long Rv`s, and carpet and vinyl floors. and some don`t use vinyl ceilings wich is a must to preserve the clean smell inside the coach. Just a couple of samples.

fracknfrick · 06-24-2009, 10:25 PM

Just drove a 2008 Charleston 41 across country Virginia to California averaged 9.1 per gallon at 65 mph, we crossed the rockies from denver on I70 with cruise control and never fell below 45 mph. This coach is awesome.

Team Wilhelm · 10-22-2009, 08:35 PM

Agree Forest River is awesome. Happy trails

cfsoistman · 10-23-2009, 06:08 AM

Congrats on the Charleston and

to FRF. Glad you tuned in. Interested in hearing more about Charlestons for possible future upgrade.

logman · 06-13-2010, 09:54 PM

you guys are encouraging. Just bought a 08 left-over,have 2 leaks in the slides, techs think they found 1 but unsure about 2nd. After 3k getting around 8mpg, hope it improves as it gets"broken in"

cfsoistman · 06-14-2010, 07:11 AM

If the fuel mileage increases it won't be much. 8 MPG is about the average, some a little more and some a little less. Hope they find your other leak!

tmmar · 06-14-2010, 10:59 AM

logman,
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new Charleston. What size is the rig and what engine do you have? I have the 6.8L 340hp Cummins and I average around 10mpg. I also use Howe's Diesel Treat which claims to improve mileage. I don't know if it is helping because I have used it since I first picked the motor home up and have never run the rig with out it.

logman · 06-15-2010, 11:01 PM

Tmmar, I have the 425 HP Cummins , sure beats the 8,1 L gas had b4

Dbt803 · 06-24-2010, 12:54 PM

When do you add the Howe's diesel treat and how often?

tmmar · 06-24-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dbt803

When do you add the Howe's diesel treat and how often?

Debbie,
I add the Howe's every fill up. Been using it since the second fill up so I don't know if it helps the mileage or if I would have gotten the same mileage with out it. I first saw it at a Freightliner dealer and asked the counter man if it was any good. He said many of the truckers use and like it so I figured that it couldn't hurt.

gmcnitt · 08-12-2010, 10:11 AM

Hello all...I have a 2009 Charleston with the Cummins ISL 8.9 L Turbo Diesel, 425 HP. I get around 8mpg. Had a few issues here and there, mainly the dealers blaming each other for issues, "its the coach manufacturer", or "its Fleetwood", blah, blah.. Its very frustrating when you spend this much and can't get good service. The unit is very nice to drive. Currently my dash air is not working at all (and they just fixed it). I bought it as a dealer demo unit about a year ago, it had 6.5K on it, now I have around 8.5K. Plan on heading out this weekend, guess I will try a can of freon and hope for the best.

Dbt803 · 08-12-2010, 11:47 AM

Welcome to the forum. Hope you get the air working and have a great weekend.

logman · 08-15-2010, 06:14 PM

Welcome to the"I paidover a quarter-mil club and this is what ai got" club!!!

gmcnitt · 05-14-2013, 02:53 PM

Quick update, its been a few years now since I wrote. My 2009 Charleston now has just shy of 22,000 miles on it. I still love her.....and reading here it appears we all have our issues. Luckily I am technically inclined so have been pretty much able to take care of all my issues. Transfer switch melted, a new one was sent to me for free, but it was such cheap quality I replaced it with 2 trusty 50 amp outlets and a 50 amp plug until I can find something heavy duty enough (any recommendations?). All the screws in the dash rusted, but FR sent me new ones. The RCA connection from the video unit to the back bedroom still does not work, gave up on that one, no big deal. Just recently developed an oil leak with the Cummings engine, but the dealer said he would take care of that. Last week while on the road the dryer safety air valve went out, $20.00 later and a drive to Ft. Walton Beach and that is all good again (read about that issue here). Overall I am very happy with the coach and would recommend it to anyone. I truly believe any coach you buy is going to require work and upkeep, updates to keep it going.

My trip last week was around 1700 miles, towing a Jeep wrangler toad style, going the speed limit (In Texas that's 75) and getting around 7.1 mpg based on the dash. Anyone know where I can get parts for the Kubota generator, the radiator cap appears to be leaking. Thanks all....will try to update more, I like reading about others, so maybe someone likes reading my ramblings......

There has to be more Charleston owners out there right?

gmcnitt · 05-14-2013, 03:00 PM

Oh, forgot about the dash air issue mentioned in my first post...they replaced the compressor, I made it half way home from the repair shop and the "new" compressor froze, burned the belt in half, left me on the side of the road. They towed her in, replaced it again, new belt, so far so good. Every time I start my trips I worry about the air, but been over 15k miles so far and all is good.

Also, the cruise/wiper/headlight module went out early on, they replaced that as well, no issue since.

Currently my rear camera has a bad connection, it comes and goes, looking at the connectors they appear pretty weak to me. Anyone else experiencing loose camera connections?

gmcnitt · 06-11-2013, 02:54 PM

I will just keep adding here in case anyone is reading these posts.....keeps me straight. Just developed an oil leak with the Cummins engine. Took it to Cummins, its 4 years old with just over 20k miles on it now and I have to pay $100 deposit. Just dropped it off so we will see what is needed to stop the leak.

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