Bclemens fingerprints

[tcrossan]

Will be shopping for a 36-37' gasser in January '22.
Has anyone seen Brian Clemens fingerprints on the GT5 or 7 that can be seen and appreciated?
His work carries a lot of weight with me.

T Crossan

[NXR]

I thought Brian is GM for all of the FR motorized divisions now.

That being said, I know the GM of the Georgetown division also reads these forums and has interacted with owners and helped but he prefers to not say he is the GM, just that he is a factory employee.

He has people assigned to monitor the Georgetown-specific forum here and also on a different site. Those folks fairly regularly interact with owners on both sites. They are both sales and warranty/service employees.

Ray

[tcrossan]

Awesome. I'm interested in knowing what improvements have been made since "renewed" mgt and how the GT is the better purchase since all are using the new f53 chassis now.

[NXR]

Significant differences I'm aware of since our 2020.0 GT5 34H5 was built in May 2019:

- The exterior walls were made 3" taller. That allowed the inside ceiling to be "squared off" like a regular room whereas ours has a curved ceiling. Not a big deal but more aesthetically pleasing to me.

- The basement "ceiling" was also raised 3" so the pass-through area has more height. The basement passthrough floor on ours is pretty flimsy and the new one is ribbed, just like the outside compartments.

- The basement compartment Rotocast mold was updated to make the compartments noticeably larger and the exterior basement doors were enlarged as well. I think FR is claiming about 25% more basement storage due to those two changes and from what I've seen it is a significant space increase.

- The 2021.5 models got a new angled dash whereas ours looks old.

- The 2021.5 models got a new Sony radio up front, which is also the camera display. It's a bit smaller than our Jensen XRV10 but has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard because it's really an automotive radio.

- So far I have not seen or read of any significant issues with the new V8 chassis and engine. People are reporting somewhat better mileage, less noise, and better stock handling due to the new 2" front and rear sway bars.

There have been a few issues with the V8 chassis but Ford seems to be developing fixes in a reasonable time.

- But apparently the ride still leaves something to be desired and I am now seeing people that have replaced the Ford V8 shocks with aftermarket shocks, just like we did on our V10.

- One thing I am not a fan of is that the real thermostats were removed in favor of touchscreen control but there is no HVAC control while using the phone app.

That change did allow the Automatic Generator Start to engage on a high interior temperature, though. Ours just engages on low house batteries and that is a concern because we occasionally leave the doggie inside.

- I read that FR is evaluating a new GE heat pump/air conditioner to replace the venerable Atwood's we have. The GE heat pump is supposed to produce heat down to 25 degrees F whereas the Atwoods only produce heat down to 45 degrees F.

- FR changed from an Onan generator to a new NPS generator. It saves about 100 pounds of weight but is still having a few teething issues worked through. NPS seems responsive from what I've read.

But...FR apparently did not opt for the NPS "Eco" kit that allows the new inverter generator to throttle up and down like a real inverter generator. Hopefully FR will make that a standard configuration.

- Plus the usual interior trim and color changes that occur.

Ray

[tcrossan]

Nice review! How have your Atwood AC units held up? 1 of our Dometics died within the 1st year and they both do A LOT of cycling. Hopefully the GE equipment will be an improvement over either brand.
How about the rear suspension? Smooth? Or needs work also?

[NXR]

So far so good. I added the Micro-Air EasyStarts this summer and I now can run both on a 30 amp pedestal.

You would have to ask someone with the V8 about suspension questions.

Ray

[Cdefrees]

Originally Posted by NXR

Significant differences I'm aware of since our 2020.0 GT5 34H5 was built in May 2019:

- The exterior walls were made 3" taller. That allowed the inside ceiling to be "squared off" like a regular room whereas ours has a curved ceiling. Not a big deal but more aesthetically pleasing to me.

- The basement "ceiling" was also raised 3" so the pass-through area has more height. The basement passthrough floor on ours is pretty flimsy and the new one is ribbed, just like the outside compartments.

- The basement compartment Rotocast mold was updated to make the compartments noticeably larger and the exterior basement doors were enlarged as well. I think FR is claiming about 25% more basement storage due to those two changes and from what I've seen it is a significant space increase.

- The 2021.5 models got a new angled dash whereas ours looks old.

- The 2021.5 models got a new Sony radio up front, which is also the camera display. It's a bit smaller than our Jensen XRV10 but has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard because it's really an automotive radio.

- So far I have not seen or read of any significant issues with the new V8 chassis and engine. People are reporting somewhat better mileage, less noise, and better stock handling due to the new 2" front and rear sway bars.

There have been a few issues with the V8 chassis but Ford seems to be developing fixes in a reasonable time.

- But apparently the ride still leaves something to be desired and I am now seeing people that have replaced the Ford V8 shocks with aftermarket shocks, just like we did on our V10.

- One thing I am not a fan of is that the real thermostats were removed in favor of touchscreen control but there is no HVAC control while using the phone app.

That change did allow the Automatic Generator Start to engage on a high interior temperature, though. Ours just engages on low house batteries and that is a concern because we occasionally leave the doggie inside.

- I read that FR is evaluating a new GE heat pump/air conditioner to replace the venerable Atwood's we have. The GE heat pump is supposed to produce heat down to 25 degrees F whereas the Atwoods only produce heat down to 45 degrees F.

- FR changed from an Onan generator to a new NPS generator. It saves about 100 pounds of weight but is still having a few teething issues worked through. NPS seems responsive from what I've read.

But...FR apparently did not opt for the NPS "Eco" kit that allows the new inverter generator to throttle up and down like a real inverter generator. Hopefully FR will make that a standard configuration.

- Plus the usual interior trim and color changes that occur.

Ray

NXR - Great Post!

Want to clear up the NPS "Eco" kit..... We are in fact using the NPS "Eco" gen set! We have been using them for over a month now. Just took a little time to use up the inventory we had with out the "Eco" kit. Hope this helps

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Cdefrees

Want to clear up the NPS "Eco" kit..... We are in fact using the NPS "Eco" gen set! We have been using them for over a month now. Just took a little time to use up the inventory we had with out the "Eco" kit. Hope this helps

Thanks for the clarification. is FR also installing that sound deflector?

Ray

[Cdefrees]

Ray,

I wasn't aware of the sound deflector until I heard Iggy talking about it. So, my gut is telling me that this might be for the models without the "idle down kits"? To the best of my knowledge we are not putting them on here at the factory. NPS does offer the "Idle down kit" for sale.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Cdefrees

NPS does offer the "Idle down kit" for sale.

I had read in a few places that installing that kit requires that the generator be physically removed but those were not Georgetown units.

RAay

[tcrossan]

I read on another site that these NOS generators are very noisy is the Onan still and option?

[NXR]

Originally Posted by tcrossa

I read on another site that these NOS generators are very noisy is the Onan still and option?

The NPS "ECO" kit allows the engine to be throttled up and down with the load, like a real inverter generator. But that ECO version was not available at the beginning. It is retrofittable but not cheap.

https://www.npsrvpower.com/product/eco-kits/

They also have a sound deflector and at least one person said NPS sent it to them under warranty for a self-install.

https://www.npsrvpower.com/product/sound-box/

At least on the Georgetown you can still order an Onan but just the 7000 version. The 7000 will have somewhat higher fuel burn which is why I stayed with the 5500.

Ray

[Cdefrees]

Originally Posted by tcrossan

I read on another site that these NOS generators are very noisy is the Onan still and option?

Currently Onan is standard in our GT7's. GT5's will be the NPS "Eco" 5500. Hope this helps