homeiswhereweare
Moab
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Joined: 09/20/2008
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My wife and I picked up our new 09 Super Nova 6400 on Friday and drove it home (about 250 miles) and couldn't be happier! We are packing up the kids (4 and 2) and selling the house and storing everything else and hitting the road for the next year (maybe longer). We looked at just about everything on the market and read all the 'bad' and 'good' reviews and despite the few poor comments jumped at the Super Nova after seeing it. What a great decision! Ours is built incredibly well, has every upgrade available and drives like a dream. Now is also the time to buy one - we got a fantastic deal. The hardest part is the never ending tours we are giving to our neighbors.
Some observations for potential buyers. This Super C is built for the younger RVer, which was very appealing to us (we're young 30s). The decor, layout, functions, and features feel like they were designed just for us. We struggled looking at most MH and 5W because they all felt old (no offense retirees) and we wanted something more contemporary and something that looked less like an RV and more like a home. I love the solid maple cabinets, leather seats and couches, minimal use of hotel-like fabrics, solid countertops, residential hardware, entertainment system (5 flat screens, surround sound, etc), , overcab skylight, and the incredible amount of storage both inside and out. We live in UT and the drive home includes some high mountain passes and the SN kept 55-65 up incredibly steep grades (granted we were empty) and had power to spare. The engine noise level (one of the complaints we read about in this forum) were considerably less than I expected for what is essentially a semi-truck on wheels. My wife and I could hold a very reasonable conversation without raising our voices. If you have hearing aids or are otherwise sensitive to noise, you might want to consider a diesel pusher instead.
I'm certain we'll find things we don't like or that we would like to improve and we'll post them as we find them, but we couldn't be happier at this point.
PS - for those of you looking at a Super Nova, one thing we noticed was that their brochures and website don't reflect the 09 models. They have changed a lot of little things from decor to options, etc. You have to go see one to get the full effect. That's what sold us.
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dleslie125
Southern Ontario/Palmetto FL in Winter
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Joined: 03/21/2003
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HIWWA, my experiance has been that the first few days, (or few weeks) will not tell you much about a MH's quality. You have to use it and wait and watch for problems. After you've put a few thousand miles on it and items have had a chance to break and fall off please provide us with an update.
I hope you end up with good reason to be happy with it - but the chance of finding problems is not low.
Don, Bev & Phil
07 Jayco 32SS on Kodiak May 07 Yahoo Kodiak Group
06 HR Amb 40PLQ ISC 330/950 9/05-5/07
04 Winnie Jrny 39W CAT C7 7/04-9/05)
00 Triple E Commander 5/03-5/04
Toad - 07 Tahoe LTZ 12/06 -
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homeiswhereweare
Moab
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That goes without saying. MHs are crazy ideas to begin with. We take complex vehicles put houses on top of them and then essentially put them through earthquakes. To expect them NOT to have problems is simply unrealistic and naive. I've gotten a kick out of this forum and the complaints. How many of us have stick built homes which have never had problems, no plumbing issues, towel racks falling off, cracking walls, etc. Its important to have realistic expectations in life or we will always be disappointed.
Since we will be full timers with young children the amount of abuse will only be amplified. All part of the fun and adventure.
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Frosty's Mom
SW Idaho
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Joined: 01/29/2008
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congratulations on your new SN!! i hope you have many a happy mile with it and guess with a 4 and 2 yr old, you should travel now as they will shortly be in school. you may find a problem or two, but we've found delightful new surprises when we've gone out--and certainly more fun things than problems. the learning curve lasts awhile--enjoy
wee3-gin, clyde & the bichon frise
2003 Minnie Winnie 30V - "The Frosty Hauler"
May the Angels guide your wheels and ride on your shoulder.
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dleslie125
Southern Ontario/Palmetto FL in Winter
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homeiswhereweare wrote:That goes without saying. MHs are crazy ideas to begin with. We take complex vehicles put houses on top of them and then essentially put them through earthquakes. To expect them NOT to have problems is simply unrealistic and naive. I've gotten a kick out of this forum and the complaints. How many of us have stick built homes which have never had problems, no plumbing issues, towel racks falling off, cracking walls, etc. Its important to have realistic expectations in life or we will always be disappointed.
Since we will be full timers with young children the amount of abuse will only be amplified. All part of the fun and adventure.
In theory you are right. In practice dead wrong. When they come off the factory floor and are loaded with problems before they hit the road to the dealer, that is just poor quality. Keep in mind that Larry Curly and Moe do all the QC work in this industry - and it shows. I doubt if airlines and bus companies would put up with RV quality.
BTW, your analogy gets even worse. How many stick and brick home owners lose their homes for 3 months as it sits in the dealers lot waiting to be fixed. My experience as a home owner for over 40 years and 10 homes only makes the RV industry look pretty shoddy. We also have a park model in Florida (Chariot Eagle) and it is far from an expensive top of the line model but its quality is far better than most MHs - and it had to be towed a couple of hundred miles before it was set up.
The problem with the RV biz is that the owners seem to be prepared to tolerate low quality again and again (they seem to think they have to become evangelists for the manufacturers) and thus the manufacturers keep feeding us more of the same.
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goodwind
Arkansas
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Joined: 11/01/2006
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God Bless you my friend as Gulfstream is a piece of******and if you have ever been to the filthy factory you would see why. Be ready for some major issues with this unit and good luck getting it fixed.
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mfa
Florida
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Joined: 08/28/2006
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goodwind wrote:God Bless you my friend as Gulfstream is a piece of******and if you have ever been to the filthy factory you would see why. Be ready for some major issues with this unit and good luck getting it fixed.
Thanks for sharing that with us. A little bitter, are we?
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Texas TC
Corinth,Texas
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Joined: 05/28/2007
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There will be issues, Gulf Stream, International and the dealer network will fix them and you will have a great time. My 6331 SuperNova with over 21000 miles has been great. My minor issues have all been repaired and I have found Gulf Steam and International great to work with.
I totally agree with the house on wheels description. I have had 6 houses, three were custom built and I have had issues with all of them. It is just part of living. You can make the best of it or worry yourself to death. I choose to make a project or adventure out of issues and it always seems to work out in my favor.
Have fun with your sabbatical, enjoy the kids while they are young. They surely grow up too fast. Then, you get grand kids and they are even more fun.
2008 Gulf Stream SuperNova (6331)
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kendall69
Palm Springs California
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Joined: 05/02/2004
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Quote:God Bless you my friend as Gulfstream is a piece of******and if you have ever been to the filthy factory you would see why. Be ready for some major issues with this unit and good luck getting it fixed.
Don't hold back tell us what you really think.
Man, talk about a buzz kill.
2002 - Bigfoot M-29G, 2004 Jeep Rubicon Toad
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homeiswhereweare
Moab
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dleslie125 wrote:
In theory you are right. In practice dead wrong. When they come off the factory floor and are loaded with problems before they hit the road to the dealer, that is just poor quality. Keep in mind that Larry Curly and Moe do all the QC work in this industry - and it shows. I doubt if airlines and bus companies would put up with RV quality.
BTW, your analogy gets even worse. How many stick and brick home owners lose their homes for 3 months as it sits in the dealers lot waiting to be fixed. My experience as a home owner for over 40 years and 10 homes only makes the RV industry look pretty shoddy. We also have a park model in Florida (Chariot Eagle) and it is far from an expensive top of the line model but its quality is far better than most MHs - and it had to be towed a couple of hundred miles before it was set up.
The problem with the RV biz is that the owners seem to be prepared to tolerate low quality again and again (they seem to think they have to become evangelists for the manufacturers) and thus the manufacturers keep feeding us more of the same.
If your going to criticize my posts, the least you could do is provide a reasonable argument instead of what appears to be the obvious ramblings of an old embittered man whose life is apparently filled with disappointment. If that's the impression you wish to leave with the group, than you've succeeded. Since I don't know you, I will withhold any true judgment and can only hope you are just having a bad day. We all do.
My initial post and the many more to come are meant for those who might actually care about our experience not some broad speculation on 'everyone else's'.
Being a hands on person and a pilot used to preflighting my personal aircraft before taking my family up in the air, I have given our coach the same amount of inspection and detail both at the time of delivery and since. My list of 'quality' issues or problems have been limited to two. I have literally been through under and over looking under inspection panels in the chassis, coach and systems. I can only comment on my coach and my experience. For the price the coach is very well built. According to a couple of posters here - I guess I'm lucky. Time to add Vegas to our destination list.
With respect to the airline and bus industries, of course they would not put up with the typical RV quality. They pay significantly more for their equipment and the standards and usage requirements are much greater. The beautiful thing about this country is that if you don't like or accept the RV industry as it stands, than do something about it rather than complain. If you truly feel that the quality for the price can be improved, than start your own coach company or buy an existing one and improve it reaping the financial rewards. If you are correct, than their is a great opportunity to be had. If you feel more regulation is needed, than propose it to your lawmakers - but be ready to PAY for it. Ultimately, you have the power to speak with your wallet. No one forces anyone to purchase something they will not be satisfied with.
I stand by my previous statement about motor homes - they are houses on wheels which go through thousands of miles of earthquake-like conditions. Your comparison to your mobile home in a park is the classic 'apples and oranges'. They travel short distances where they are installed most often on permanent foundations. They then have final QC and fine tuning by the contractor and then sit the remainder of their lives. They have no motorized chassis or other variables to deal with and don't experience the abuse of a motor home. Glad to hear you like mobile.
Maintenance and repair is to be expected with any motor home or vehicle of any kind, but if you have to sit and wait 3 months, than its time to choose a new service center.
I absolutely will not accept poor quality - nor spend my dollars for it and am in no way acting as an evangelist for Gulfstream or anyone else. I was simply trying to share our experience and will continue to do so through the year. We still love our 09 Supernova and are looking forward to a great year across this fantastic country.
If your experiences with RVs has been bad, I can respect that. But don't impose that bad will on to those who are enjoying theirs.
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