Forest River LEGACY 340KP recommendations?

[jbrosecity]

I'd be interested in hearing from folks who have a Forest River LEGACY 340KP. We presently have a beautiful 2019 Forest River Forester 3041DSF which we enjoy, however the downsides are that it is only a 30A coach with a converter and a single A/C. We are considering a great deal on a 2016 Forest River LEGACY 340KP which is 50A with inverter and 2 A/C's and of course, at 36', it is a bit larger than our 32'. It has only 21K miles on it, about double what we have on our 2019. I have had a number of large diesel pushers in the past so I would be comfortable driving this thing. We are pretty happy with FR quality, but I'd appreciate any other owners giving their recommendations or cautions.

[formerFR]

The Legacy, and it's 'sister' the Thor Palazzo(and throw in the Fleetwood PaceArrow and Winnie Forza), are all great 'compact' diesel pushers - like my Palazzo 33.3.

Yes, the electrical systems are much beefier and more designed for 'off-grid' times, with a much larger Inverter/Charger, no Converter needed, with all outlets working all the time, whether on shore power, generator, or inverter. The generator is also very capable and the AGS makes it simply the BEST way to spend time away from shore power.
The two a/c units certainly are a must for a larger coach, and the 50amp power gives up to 100amps of 120v shore power - much more than the typical 30.

The diesel powerplant and allison transmission is a smooth and powerful ride, while talking to your spouse while driving is not a problem - you can whisper, even.

The air bags are a joy when parking and 'lowering' the coach down onto the chassis before using the automatic hydraulic leveling system. The air brakes and exhaust brake also make for easy travel down mountain grades.

A larger residential fridge with icemaker doesn't hurt, either.

[edenjw64]

We just purchased a used 2015 Legacy 340KP with 24K miles. It is our first coach and so far we are very pleased. We have driven about 1400 miles with a trip to MO from TX and back. The size was a little intimidating at first, but it handles well and seems to have enough power with the 6.7 L Cummins. The Cummins generator works like a champ, keeping the coach cool while going down the road with both AC units running in 90+ temps. Parking and setup is much easier than with our previous 5th wheel.

The only glitch so far is with the Girard tankless water heater. If the water pressure is too low and the flow rate is less than 1 gpm, it with trip from the water getting too hot. If the 2016 doesn't have the Girard, that would be a plus.

The airbag suspension gives a very comfortable ride, but it is sensitive to windy conditions. I'm considering replacing the shocks and adding a stabilizer at some point, but have managed so far without that.

It's not the most luxurious coach, but its a great value for the price. The onboard washer/dryer has been a big help as well.

Just be sure to have it checked thoroughly by a qualified RV tech before your purchase.

Best of luck.

[formerFR]

I'm glad we don't have the 'tankless' water heater, but the ol' tried and true ATWOOD elec/propane... works nice no matter 'what' water pressure you have, or don't have!

I see these 'tankless' issues on these forums quite often, and wonder if the 'mobile' nature of the RV tends to create issues with them, since they need a 'specific' minimum flow rate/pressure in order to activate the 'power' to the electricity or propane. At homes where the rate is fairly constant, it might work well, but in the RVing life, where you might be at a campground, an rv park, or using your water pump, not so much.

[conceptumator]

The Girard tankless heater is an issue until you can understand how it works. The folks at their factory helped explain it to me (and had to educate our dealer on repairs) and now we have no problems with it. A 2016 model could also have the next generation of heater which is greatly improved. True that it will shut down with low flow - that's an important safety feature, but below 1 gpm is really low anyway. We have a 2015 Legacy 360RB and there are several things to watch out for. First, as strange as this sounds, make sure the exhaust pipe extends all the way out the back and has a chrome tip. When we got ours from the factory, they had left the rear half of the exhaust system off! Now look at the base of the large slide and see if the floor is scarred where it's rubbing. That's a common issue. Look under the slides outside when they're open and make sure the bottom surface is not messed up from the rollers. FR was having a problem with that and in some cases they actually added rollers or put a steel plate on the bottom of the slide for the rollers to run on. Now crawl under and check out the entry steps. I have an issue on ours right now that I'm trying to get fixed where the super thin plate they used to fabricate the entry steps (inside the coach) actually ripped and now the power step is hanging down at an angle (since they saw fit to mount the 200 lb power steps to the piece of 1/16" steel plate! Now check all the exterior compartments for water damage as they all leak like sieves - bad design on the compartment doors for 2015 and not sure if they fixed it for 2016. Worst one is the front passenger compartment, which I literally had to drill holes in so it would drain since the water was getting up above the compartment door sill! Then check the windshield wipers and see what length they are. I had to change mine out for a 2" shorter blade because they would lift off the windshield at about 50 mph and then rip off in the wind! Next thing would be the headlights. They DO NOT work at night - terrible issue. I'm still trying to fix mine so I can actually see. FR just grabbed a headlight off the street and put it on with no thought to design or function and they're worthless, so make sure you can see by sitting in the driver seat at night with the lights on. The Magnadyne system in the dash is worthless - just replaced mine this month with a camera monitor only. Couldn't hear it anyway as the only speakers are two 3" things mounted to the ceiling right behind the drop down bunk above the cockpit. Replaced it with a Bluetooth Bose and an iPod. FR quality can have a very wide variance. We love our coach, but I would really like to take some FR folks to school on quality control!

[Kenpet50]

We bought a 2017 360RB, used 1yr old with 3000 miles. Have it for 2 yrs and put 7500 miles. We love it for an entry level DP. Agree with what others say. The radio and speakers are terrible, use Bose Blue tooth. When driving at night, I use high beams continuously. We have an Aqua Go tankless water heater, no problems plenty of hot water. Found the FR technical support People to be great when needed.

[jbrosecity]

thanks to all... I think we're gonna stick with the forester for now... it's basically new and drives really well... but I'll refer back to reviews here if we decide to seriously consider the 340KP in the future

[Fischse]

Great thread with lots of good info. After owning my 2014 Legacy BH for the past year, I agree with lots of comments here. I want to add for any prospective buyer to check(and discount the price) if the unit has the original fake leather that peels. You will need to get re-upholstered.

Overall great RV, really happy with it.

Anyone figured out a good solution for the fridge lock? It’s cumbersome to screw that in every time

[Favfour]

Originally Posted by Fischse

Great thread with lots of good info. After owning my 2014 Legacy BH for the past year, I agree with lots of comments here. I want to add for any prospective buyer to check(and discount the price) if the unit has the original fake leather that peels. You will need to get re-upholstered.

Overall great RV, really happy with it.

Anyone figured out a good solution for the fridge lock? It’s cumbersome to screw that in every time

Post #237 on the “mod and improvement” thread has a pic of a replacement latch from Thor. Works allot better then that screw they gave us. You’ll have to keep going down the chain to get the part number and where to order it.

[captnrick3]

Originally Posted by Fischse

Great thread with lots of good info. After owning my 2014 Legacy BH for the past year, I agree with lots of comments here. I want to add for any prospective buyer to check(and discount the price) if the unit has the original fake leather that peels. You will need to get re-upholstered.

Overall great RV, really happy with it.

Anyone figured out a good solution for the fridge lock? It’s cumbersome to screw that in every time

Here here on the fake leather. I replaced the couch with double recliners some time back, just had the dinette reupholstered and FR provided me with complete new upholstery for the captains chairs but I had to do the install. Other than that we are happy with our coach. 40K on it, looks like new (stored in an air conditioned RV garage) and drives great.

[Favfour]

Originally Posted by conceptumator

The Girard tankless heater is an issue until you can understand how it works. The folks at their factory helped explain it to me (and had to educate our dealer on repairs) and now we have no problems with it. A 2016 model could also have the next generation of heater which is greatly improved. True that it will shut down with low flow - that's an important safety feature, but below 1 gpm is really low anyway. We have a 2015 Legacy 360RB and there are several things to watch out for. First, as strange as this sounds, make sure the exhaust pipe extends all the way out the back and has a chrome tip. When we got ours from the factory, they had left the rear half of the exhaust system off! Now look at the base of the large slide and see if the floor is scarred where it's rubbing. That's a common issue. Look under the slides outside when they're open and make sure the bottom surface is not messed up from the rollers. FR was having a problem with that and in some cases they actually added rollers or put a steel plate on the bottom of the slide for the rollers to run on. Now crawl under and check out the entry steps. I have an issue on ours right now that I'm trying to get fixed where the super thin plate they used to fabricate the entry steps (inside the coach) actually ripped and now the power step is hanging down at an angle (since they saw fit to mount the 200 lb power steps to the piece of 1/16" steel plate! Now check all the exterior compartments for water damage as they all leak like sieves - bad design on the compartment doors for 2015 and not sure if they fixed it for 2016. Worst one is the front passenger compartment, which I literally had to drill holes in so it would drain since the water was getting up above the compartment door sill! Then check the windshield wipers and see what length they are. I had to change mine out for a 2" shorter blade because they would lift off the windshield at about 50 mph and then rip off in the wind! Next thing would be the headlights. They DO NOT work at night - terrible issue. I'm still trying to fix mine so I can actually see. FR just grabbed a headlight off the street and put it on with no thought to design or function and they're worthless, so make sure you can see by sitting in the driver seat at night with the lights on. The Magnadyne system in the dash is worthless - just replaced mine this month with a camera monitor only. Couldn't hear it anyway as the only speakers are two 3" things mounted to the ceiling right behind the drop down bunk above the cockpit. Replaced it with a Bluetooth Bose and an iPod. FR quality can have a very wide variance. We love our coach, but I would really like to take some FR folks to school on quality control!

Regarding the front passenger side compartment flooding, I had the same problem on my 2018. I turned on the light and closed the door, on a dark night crawled around to see where I could see light from the outside. Just a little light could be seen from the top right near the generator. Sprayed that seam with flex seal and seemed to work. Drove for about 7 hours in the rain yesterday and it was bone dry.

[Kenpet50]

We purchased a 2017 legacy 360RB one year old. Have for the past 2 yrs. love it. Very easy to drive. No major issues. Highly recommend as an entry level DP.

[KD8EUP]

Just bought 2019 Legacy 340c and like it very much.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by KD8EUP

Just bought 2019 Legacy 340c and like it very much.

Welcome to the forum, KD8EUP!

[captnrick3]

Originally Posted by KD8EUP

Just bought 2019 Legacy 340c and like it very much.

Very nice, enjoy your coach and welcome to the forum