Options qustions...

Hi folks, looking for opinions on the value of a couple of options....

Surround sound:    MSRP $690  Wondering if sound quality is ok and is it throughout the coach? Decent subwoofer?  Graphic equalizer on head unit? Does it connect to TV? Cab radio?

Insulated glass:   MSRP $1508  Does it help with exterior noise? Anybody had issues with clouding? General observations?

All opinions welcome.
More questions to come as we get closer to pulling the trigger.

Thanks, Jim G.

Insulated glass- Makes a difference with noise but definitely still hear things. Not sound proof. Bigger plus is heat and cold barrier.

The emergency window on our 2552 is starting to fog after 5.5 years. Only one. It has always seemed to leak cold air. I suspect it was improperly sealed from day one and I didn't know enough to complain. I talked to Doug at the factory and he said it is an easy swap out but he has to order the window so I'm replacing it next time we are near Elkhart.

We've had both for 12 years and 40,000 miles.

Our insulated glass windows are of the older design that slide to the side to open.  So far so good on the fogging...nothing yet.  We feel they are well worth the cost.  It is more quiet inside and they control the inside temperatures much better.  Our old rig without thermal windows, they would sweat a lot over-night, running wet droplets in the morning.  The thermal windows do not sweat at all.  Everything is nice and dry.  We also notice in our 2350 sleeping with thermal windows by our head and Irene's side, there is no noticed radiated cold on cold nights with the shades drawn.  Our old rig with shades drawn, we noticed the cold fall on our faces.

Regarding the surround sound.  We are glad we have it.  In our 2350 without a slide-out, we did have Phoenix install the subwoofer in the front dinette bench seat to free up the outer storage compartment.  I will admit the sound system is not "Bose" quality, but it's nice enough, surely worth the price.  I would not want to rely on the speakers inside the TV.  Our head unit is the old "Executive" brand which has FM radio, CD, and DVD.  The FM radio portion is NOT user friendly.  I have considered replacing the head unit with an updated blueray version, but have not been motivated enough yet to take action.  I do NOT know if current day units include AM and/or FM radio.

I chose the insulated windows.  Really can't comment since we took delivery in September 2018 and used it for 4 months.  No complaints and, since it was mentioned, in colder temps, our windows remain dry and clear.

I think the surround sound is a nice option.  Keep in mind that whatever you are watching, DVD for example, must be surround sound compatible {if I'm saying that properly}.  The sound while watching regular TV will come over the front two speaker which is far better than the TV speakers.  DVD surround sound is pretty good and is evident that you are enjoying surround sound, especially in such a small space.  As Ron said, it is not BOSE quality, but I suspect that HQ would install a BOSE system if asked.

The cab radio does not project through the speakers, but project through the cab speakers and two speakers in the rear of the motorhome (3100).

I'm happy I opted for these.  Good luck with your build and do NOT hesitate to contact HQ and ask for any modifications you may dream up.  The worse that can happen is they say "no".

Cheers 

Barry T

Have them install the ac units from advanced rv and not the noisy penguins . Advanced rv is the us supplier and will ship directly to you or the builder.  If I was buying new that would be in the top three that were a must. A deal breaker if they wouldn’t offer it

I forgot to mention what Barry T said about the Ford cab radio, and the surround sound system.  I agree with him, though not sure which speakers work for CATV and non surround sound DVDs.  I never paid attention to that, but what he says sounds about right to me.

Nothing is shared between the TV surround sound system and the Ford radio inside the dash board.  The surround sound system speakers are dedicated to the TV which are hooked up together to the head unit (DVD surround sound player) located in the upper right cabinet.

In our 2007-2350, we have two speakers in the rear pointing downward over the rear corner double bed.  They are hooked up to the Ford radio in the front cab.  They are controlled by the "fade" feature within the Ford radio.  Given Ford has only two door speakers up front, the fade feature is otherwise not utilized, so it works out perfectly.

Thanks for all the comments!
I had forgotten about the condensation issue. We have non insulated windows in our current trailer and years ago I swore I would never have them again.

SO consider me sold on both options.

Now I've got to decide about Truma HW, compressor fridge, ACs, AGM, Alum Wheels, spare tire option, Euro Chair or cabinet, power beds (leaning towards one), 6" stretch and much much more. 

Ron: Thank you for convincing me to pass on the undercoating. I will plan to apply my own Fluid Film before any winter forays.
Joseph: Will certainly learn more about the Advanced RV air conditioners as noise is not my friend.

Regards, Jim G.

Jim,

I missed the part as to the PC model you plan to order.  If ordering a 2552 as stated in your profile, I kindly offer my thoughts.

- YES to the spare tire because the extra weight in back is not of concern
- NO to the Euro chair for a no-slide, or if you plan to seat-belt a 3rd passenger now and then.  Get a fixed 3rd captain seat (with seat belt) instead because there is no place to move it anyway.
- YES to a separate switched porch light in back and also on driver side to light up all around the PC when needed
- YES to small awnings over all windows on driver side
- YES only for ALCOA brand alloy wheels.  Avoid other brands for the alloy is very likely a weaker material.
- YES to two 6V AGM batteries
- NO to undercoating (you already agreed)
- YES to full body paint

I don't know what TV antenna gets installed these days.  I do not like our old style crank-up one at all.  It works fine, but is a massive contraption that is horribly installed on the roof with lots of goop and a strange shaped mounting plate.  It's not Phoenix's fault but rather the design of the antenna.  I also don't like where Phoenix mounted it.  I feel they should have mounted our antenna a foot further back to avoid the otherwise nicely painted, clean & smooth B+ cap.  A non-crank-up antenna would not have a crank inside, just a rotator.  Or maybe install a 360 degree antenna not requiring rotation.  Either choice could be placed anywhere in the ceiling inconspicuously.

I personally love the wood grain cab area we have, but that is surely a personal matter.  Make sure Phoenix understands the finish you want whether it be matching wood grain or the carbon fiber look.

Keep in-mind that you can have the current offering galley sink and stove, or the older design with square sink and Corian-covered stove.  I would ping the few people here who have experience with both designs.  We love our older design a lot with one exception that I am not sure is avoided with the stove of today.  When cooking with an extra large pan that over-hangs the knobs, the heat damages them as SHOWN HERE with ours.  I replaced the knobs and decal so it's fine again.  If only my wife would pay better attention.  It takes many times cooking with a don't care attitude for them to get like that.  Irene thought I was over-protective of our PC until she finally cooked them to look like the pictures.  She has since made sure the large pan over-hangs elsewhere.

Ron: Thanks for the insightful reply!

Jim,

I missed the part as to the PC model you plan to order.  If ordering a 2552 as stated in your profile, I kindly offer my thoughts. Yes really like the 2552. This is about the largest my wife will feel comfortable driving that has permanent beds which is the first requirement I was given.

- YES to the spare tire because the extra weight in back is not of concern [b]SOLD. would never want to have to wait for service for  simple tire change. [/b]
- NO to the Euro chair for a no-slide, or if you plan to seat-belt a 3rd passenger now and then.  Get a fixed 3rd captain seat (with seat belt) instead because there is no place to move it anyway. Agreed, thug we do want a slide unit, the chair seems bulky and unneccesary when you can just spin the passenger seat around. Willl likely go for the extra cabinet there that provides a mll table.
- YES to a separate switched porch light in back and also on driver side to light up all around the PC when needed Great idea!
- YES to small awnings over all windows on driver side Great idea again. Had not thought much about this but I do like the looks and they must help quit a bit with heat of the sun.
- YES only for ALCOA brand alloy wheels.  Avoid other brands for the alloy is very likely a weaker material. This one will depend on price. Though I do love the look of nice Aluminum rims, I dont want to buy an expensive maintenence item. Even the clear coated ones don't look good forever.
- YES to two 6V AGM batteries Ok, agreed
- NO to undercoating (you already agreed) 
- YES to full body paint 

I don't know what TV antenna gets installed these days.  I do not like our old style crank-up one at all.  It works fine, but is a massive contraption that is horribly installed on the roof with lots of goop and a strange shaped mounting plate.  It's not Phoenix's fault but rather the design of the antenna.  I also don't like where Phoenix mounted it.  I feel they should have mounted our antenna a foot further back to avoid the otherwise nicely painted, clean & smooth B+ cap.  A non-crank-up antenna would not have a crank inside, just a rotator.  Or maybe install a 360 degree antenna not requiring rotation.  Either choice could be placed anywhere in the ceiling inconspicuously. [b]I have noticed just this on some of the used ads. Antenna up on the front cap doesn't look good. We will probably not go for satellite and a good non-crank will suffice.[/b]

I personally love the wood grain cab area we have, but that is surely a personal matter.  Make sure Phoenix understands the finish you want whether it be matching wood grain or the carbon fiber look. Interesting you mention this. At the Tampa show all the units had the gold carbon fiber look. We didn't really like it but didn't ask about available choices. Will now. Thanks!

Keep in-mind that you can have the current offering galley sink and stove, or the older design with square sink and Corian-covered stove. We don't mind the look of the new style but will certainly inquire about options at the factory. I would ping the few people here who have experience with both designs.  We love our older design a lot with one exception that I am not sure is avoided with the stove of today.  When cooking with an extra large pan that over-hangs the knobs, the heat damages them as SHOWN HERE with ours.  I replaced the knobs and decal so it's fine again.  If only my wife would pay better attention.  It takes many times cooking with a don't care attitude for them to get like that. Sounds like you and your wife are opposite my wife Marge and I. She tends to be the more meticulous one and I am more often the one being "corrected" .  But it is all good. Irene thought I was over-protective of our PC until she finally cooked them to look like the pictures.  She has since made sure the large pan over-hangs elsewhere.

Jim,

Looking over your posts refreshes familiar issues that I worked through late last year while trying to lock in specs for my new 2552 (which I picked up in February).  I wonder how many PC buyers have struggled through the same familiar effort--we all want our new purchase to be as "right" as we can make it to begin with, and it's a challenge to consider all the options and try to evaluate which of them make sense for us to plunk down the extra money.  We read volumes of posts on the forum, trying to glean what other buyers opted for, and how the results worked out for them.  At the risk of boring you with a long post that you may have already seen, I'll attempt to link to an earlier post in the "Introductions" section in which I went over options I chose for my own 2552.  I've not tried to link another post before, so if I mess it up I apologize in advance:

https://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php?topic=4.msg30228#msg30228

In any event, I don't think there is an option for the PC (plus some "add-ons") that I didn't consider in great detail and research pretty thoroughly, so if there is any particular question I can possibly address, I would be glad to do that either here or by PM.  Developing the details of your unit is one of the really enjoyable parts of the purchase process, but I it is a genuine challenge and can deteriorate into some confusion and even frustration before everything is finalized.  Anyway, all the best in your efforts,

Mike   

We have the cabinets & the eurochair. We wouldn't give up that chair for anything, it's the most comfortable seat in the house. Having both does push the chair out a bit so we have a smaller aisle when the slide is in but we can easily get around. We slide it into the kitchen area and turn the passenger seat for seating for four. John also likes it dead center in the open space for TV viewing.

It's all a matter of personal taste and planned use.

Thank you guys for all the input. I hope to have some time this weekend to organize my thoughts and priorities.
I started a spreadsheet a while back and have been throwing ideas at it (mostly from this site) but now it is time to get it cleaned up and useful.
Sure I'll be asking lots more questions!

2 Frazzled, do you know if the Euro Chair can fit through the door?

Thanks.

Yes, we've wrestled it out before. I also want to say that you could add a recliner later (as long as you choose one that fits through the door.) I had eyed the sleek Stressless recliners for years before we bought the rig and considered one of those instead but opted for the factory supplied chair, we like it and it matches everything else. You could ask Phoenix to install the bolt hole in the floor and just put in the knob. This means you either have a knob to stub your toe on or you find some sort of cap to cover it and stash the knob until you add a chair.

Factory method to secure the chair: bolt hole in floor, angled steel bar with hole for bolt on one end and "u" shaped section on other end that goes over base of the chair. Big knob on bolt to screw on and off. Chair has round raised base so bar cups it like putting a hand over it to hold it down. Bar looks like squared of question mark. π_ (sort of)

Our method (as shown by friend): screw hole in floor, knob installed through D-ring in heavy duty dog collar that has "d" ring big enough for screw to go through, flexible dog collar wraps the chair base. Dog collar allows quick release and easy lock down. Collar stays on bolt, not on chair when unlocked. Will it hold in a severe accident or roll over? Don't know but that chair would be the least of our worries at that point. I expect half the rig would break loose by the time the chair did.

If you want a bolted down seat with seatbelts, have Phoenix install - remember you won't be able to move it. When we carry a third person, they strap in on the couch. Personal preference.

OK, so I've finally got most of my ideas for a 2552 into a list with my current thinking on each option.
This is certainly a work in progress but I think a good start.
A copy of today's version is attached.
A lot of my question marks can be answered by a call to the factory I'm sure but I welcome your input on any items you have an opinion about.
I have listed some prices but only the items with an MSRP are from PC and the rest are just my estimates. Some items I have no idea and left them at $0.
Any input on pricing of options would be especially appreciated.

Best regards, Jim G.