Tell me where the structural integrity is-

[ernie ekberg]

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/pics-of-...85309.html

[encantotom]

looks pretty flimsy compared to what we are used to. i was surprised they used fiberglass bat insulation. my newell is high density sprayed in foam.

i assume the wanderlodges have the same foam?

tom

[Bluebird Bob]

After 30 years rving, it still bothers me that people go for the flash and not the substance in mh's.
A few years down the road as the batting settles, the cold spots will penetrate the interior walls and the fun begins.
So many people just buy the looks and not the substance.

[davidbrady]

I quickly read thru the Entegra forum on http://www.irv2.com and my take away is that these folks are eternal optimists. They'll put up with just about any issue. All they require is a warranty, an extended warranty, and excellent factory service response times and excellent customer service; this is where they require quality, not so much with the coach itself. I think this is what fundamentally sells these coaches: warranties and customer service. If a manufacturer does well in these areas they can build and sell virtually anything at whatever price point they desire. Contrast this to your typical Newell, Blue Bird, or Prevost owner where the coaches are long out of warranty, the owners are resourceful and hands-on, capable of personally handling most any situation, and have little need for customer service and warranties. Newell, Blue Bird, and Prevost owners require quality in the coach, not so much the customer service.

[ernie ekberg]

one of the forums that I am on a fella stated that there is a new Entegra forum for those who own them or are in the process of purchasing one. They would not let us rif-rafs in. pretty selective group.

[JD33]

(12-03-2013 09:10)ernie ekberg Wrote:  one of the forums that I am on a fella stated that there is a new Entegra forum for those who own them or are in the process of purchasing one. They would not let us rif-rafs in. pretty selective group.

A friend of mine has a new Entegra, I guess that they are fairly high end in the world of "tupperware" coaches. I was interested to note that his is built on a Spartan chassis.

[davidbrady]

The Entegra Cornerstone is built on Spartan's K3 chassis (Recalls), complete with a Cummins ISX and capable of a 20K lb IFS by Reyco Granning; although, the Cornerstone uses a 16.6K lb IFS:

[dentmac]

"All I want for Christmas" with installation included of course


Now just to get NHTSA to wake up and demand the installation into the 450's.

King pin type system? Sway bars!

[mhughes01]

(12-03-2013 12:27)davidbrady Wrote:  The Entegra Cornerstone is built on Spartan's K3 chassis (Recalls), complete with a Cummins ISX and capable of a 20K lb IFS by Reyco Granning; although, the Cornerstone uses a 16.6K lb IFS:

Spartan makes a good chassis. Had friends with big Gulfstream Tourmasters who were quite happy with their coaches and the K2's underneath. But let's face it, they aren't a bus.

These coaches look:

- poorly built - don't look as insulated or strong as a Monaco let alone a Newell, Prevost or Bird. Lets face it, they're Jayco's - they made an OK tent trailer.
- built for show. They're being sold to people who don't know Jack about coaches.
- good from a distance. I doubt any of the wood is real. Likely wood grain vinyl that will peel in a year.

Of course, what's really left in the way of high end manufacturers outside of Newell and a few Prevost converters? Foretravel, Monaco, ... Most are gone.

A new Newell is easily $1.5 million or more and likely the same for a Bird if they were still made. Very few folks have that kind of coin.

[davidbrady]

I agree Mike, the Spartan chassis is an excellent starting point, especially the K3, but even the Mountain Master does well I believe in Entegra's application because Entegra built what they call the X-Bridge frame around the Spartan MM. This adds a lot of bending and torsional strength to the basement. Another area where there can be a lot of strength is in the roof, especially if it's engineered well like in our Wanderlodges. The roof combined with the walls can be thought of as a beam where the walls are the webbing and the roof is the flange. If the walls are stout enough to transmit bending and torsion forces from the basement to the roof, and if the roof is well done, then the chassis can be adequately stiff in bending and torsion. This Entegra has three walls on each side of the motorhome to act as webbing and these walls seem to be well built. So to answer Ernie's question, the strength is in the X-Bridge Spartan based basement framework and the roof and the three stub walls. I bet this thing is stronger than it appears and probably adequately strong. Is it BB School Bus tough? No way! Is it a million mile chassis? Probably not.