Introduce Yourself!

Welcome to Phoenix USA RV's Discussion Board. We think you'll find this is a nice place to hang out. Why don't you start off with a little introduction and tell us a bit about yourself?

We've been rv-ing since the 1980's and love it. After having had 7 new motor homes, one of the more recent ones being a 33 ft Airstream Land Yacht, we decided to down-size. First to a 22 ft Sprinter Leisure Van which was too drastic of a change.  Last fall we purchased a used 2009 Phoenix Cruiser 2400. We make numerous trips from MN to Florida and to the East Coast to visit family.  This unit seems to be more suitable for our needs and those of our golden retriever.

 

I'm sure you will love this forum and all the folks here. There is a ton of info so don't be afraid to ask.

Are you enjoying your Cruiser. We just went from 36' Hurricane by to Thor to a 3100 and love it.

Welcome aboard,   billy

Welcome to the Forum!

We totally understand. We had an Airstream Interstate on the Sprinter chassis. After one year, found it too small. sooooooooooooooooooo+++

We bought a 2010 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 on the Sprinter. Loved the handling, the mileage, the room in the cab but realized we didn't like the double bed in the corner. It was very difficult to get out in the middle of the night. S00000000000000000***

We ordered a 2011 Phoenix 2551 and had Phoenix build it to suit us. We call it the "the 2551 For Two". The only thing we don't like about it is the gas mileage. We posted pictures on the Forum.
 Judi and George

Hello to all,

I'm new to the forum, although I've been reading it for several months. I recently retired and have been looking for the perfect RV (if there is such as thing) to purchase. We started out looking at TT's, then Class B's, C's and finally Class A's. We found the Class A we wanted (Winnebago/Itasca 32H), and still like it over all the other RV's we've seen. Then I came across an article on the PC 2551 and immediately liked what I saw and read. I would be able to park it at home rather than pay storage as would be required if I got a Class A. From the research I've done on-line, I know there are no dealers in the Northern Ca. area, or the Western U.S for that matter. For awhile there was a dealer in Az. but now it appears he no longer handles the PC. This gives me concern as I would very much like to see one in-person before committing to the purchase. I am willing to travel several hundred miles to see one. Is there anyone in the Sacramento, Ca. area that knows of a 2551 that can be viewed? Also some other concerns are: getting warrenty work done, if needed, and routine service work done as needed. Since the factory is in Indiana how do you, as owners, deal with warrenty work? Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated. I've already learned enough from this forum to know that the PC, and specifically the 2551, is just want we're looking for.

We are in Florida and were, initially, in the same predicament as you. I saw the PC on the Internet but we needed to see one in person, so we found one in Tampa to look at. We loved it and ordered one from the factory and had it delivered to Atlanta, where we picked it up. We did all of this by phone, email etc. Needless to say, it all went off smoothly. This was our 2010 PC 2350.

We had a couple of issues, got a quote here in FL., had the work done and got a check within a couple of weeks. Painless. Not every RV is perfect when you take delivery unless you are at the factory to take delivery--and we didn't want to drive to Indiana in January to take delivery.

So, in December we ordered, again fron Stuart, our 2011 PC 2551. Again, an effortless transaction. If you look at our photos on the Forum, we did a couple of "custom" things. We love our PC.
Judi and George

Welcome Rannan.  Ask any and all questions, and you will receive lots of replies.  Enjoy your home....

David

Hi HDdriver:

Wow, lots of questions.   I think you may get a better response if you move this discussion to the general discussion board as I am not sure everyone checks here often. 

I know if you put a shout out there you will get some owners to respond and let you see theirs. I know a couple of the posters are from California. 

As far as warrenty the cutaway chasis part is Ford, so most any Ford dealer will do that work.  As far as the actual Mh part, you call or e-mail Phoenix your problem, they tell you how to rectify the problem. If it involves a rv dealer you send the estimate to Phoenix and they send you a check.  Of course some of us, stop at the factory on our way through.  Pretty dang cool.

David

We live in Coarsegold, Ca. Thats about 25-30 NE of Fresno, feel free to post or email us and we would be happy to have you up and when done we could go to the casino for a great buffet.

Hello to all,

I'm new to the forum, although I've been reading it for several months. I recently retired and have been looking for the perfect RV (if there is such as thing) to purchase. We started out looking at TT's, then Class B's, C's and finally Class A's. We found the Class A we wanted (Winnebago/Itasca 32H), and still like it over all the other RV's we've seen. Then I came across an article on the PC 2551 and immediately liked what I saw and read. I would be able to park it at home rather than pay storage as would be required if I got a Class A. From the research I've done on-line, I know there are no dealers in the Northern Ca. area, or the Western U.S for that matter. For awhile there was a dealer in Az. but now it appears he no longer handles the PC. This gives me concern as I would very much like to see one in-person before committing to the purchase. I am willing to travel several hundred miles to see one. Is there anyone in the Sacramento, Ca. area that knows of a 2551 that can be viewed? Also some other concerns are: getting warrenty work done, if needed, and routine service work done as needed. Since the factory is in Indiana how do you, as owners, deal with warrenty work? Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated. I've already learned enough from this forum to know that the PC, and specifically the 2551, is just want we're looking for.

We have a 2010 2551 and live near Graeagle CA, about 2 1/2 hours from Sacramento, north of Truckee.  We purchased last year through the dealer in AZ that is no longer in business.  Let me know if you want to come up to see the RV, I know how you feel about wanting to see one in person, luckily the AZ dealer had a 2551 in stock and then we order one through them just the way we wanted it.

Sorry, we don't have a casino nearby for a buffet like Billy does.
Bob A

Welcome to Phoenix USA RV's Discussion Board. We think you'll find this is a nice place to hang out. Why don't you start off with a little introduction and tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi,
We just purchased our PC 2552 in March direct from Stuart and had it delivered to our winter home in Florida.  Drove it back up to Elkhart with our trade in and brought it to our summer home in northern WI.  We are now getting it fitted out to tow our Jeep Grand Cherokee-would be interested to know if any folks have found it necessary to have a breaking device added to tow a Jeep. Also bought the extended warrranty from XtraRide-has anyone had any experiences with this product good or bad ?
Like the discussion group, a lot of neat ideas and simple solutions

B

Badger

B  Badger,

We started out towing a light weight little 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder convertible that weighed only 2200 pounds, seen here.


We did NOT have a braking system setup with it.  I considered it marginal.  When we needed to brake hard, it got a little scary.  I thought that little car had very little influence in braking distance until we drove a short distance without the car attached, and it was a huge difference.  I was very surprised how such a little car could push the motor home so hard.

Our 3rd year owning the PC, we changed tow vehicles to a 2006 Jeep Liberty weighing 3800 pounds, seen here.


I was NOT going to risk anything with a heavier vehicle.  I installed a Unified tow braking system, made by US Gear.  It is the only system I know of that activates and utilizes the tow vehicle's power brake booster through a vaccuum pump.  The braking system's sensitivity is adjustable while you drive the motor home which is very useful when you go down long decents.  When set to maximum, you can stop quicker with the tow vehicle than if you didn't have it at all.  I really like my Unified Tow Brake a lot, and another fellow on this forum likes his a lot too.  It is expensive but well worth it for the extra safety.  The kit is around $900-$1000 and I installed it myself.  Installation is not for the novice.  I feel if it prevents one accident, then it more than paid for itself.

Hi Badger,



I am the other fellow Ron referred to who likes the US Gear Unified braking system.  We tow a Jeep Wrangler behind our 2010 2551.  I have towed the Jeep without tow brakes behind a truck/camper and for the first trip with the 2551, the brake system makes a huge difference in stopping distance.  Fortunately I never had to do an emergency stop, but I think I may have been in trouble without the braking system.  Not only is it safer to have the braking system, but it is required in the states I travel.

I agree with Ron that the install is a challenge, I did it myself but it took some time and creative engineering.  The system is both progressive and proportional and the dash control makes it easy to adjust for different driving conditions.  The system in the Jeep is completely hidden and there is nothing to mess with in the Jeep.  All you do is hook up the electric connector and breakaway cable when you hook up the Jeep to tow.  I have driven 7000 miles with no problems.

Welcome to the forum,
Bob

Yes I agree with Bob,

There is virtually nothing to see inside the tow vehicle once the system installed, that is unless you look under my Liberty's driver seat.  I mounted the solonoid on top of the carpet under there.  The vaccuum pump is under the hood by the brake master cylinder, and the control module is tucked up inside the dash board out of sight.  I wanted everything looking real good so I did spend a lot of time routing the wiring to look like it was all originally installed at the Jeep factory.  

Routine hookup and unhooking of the tow to the motor home happens while hooking up the tail lights.  Thanks Bob for helping me with that one.......the motor home wiring, and also about the better (more wires) slinky cable to use.

Bob is the resident expert on this.  I just followed his very helpful instruction.

Hi Badger:

Welcome to the family.

There is no need to me to post a picture as my setup looks exactly like Ron's.  Same color Jeep too.  The only difference is that my Jeep has a diesel engine in it which makes it 400 lbs heavier. I use the Brake Buddy system when I tow. It is a pretty easy system to use.  I don't think it works quite as well as the Unified but I went with ease.  Right Now my unit it as the factory getting fixed as my 12 year old slammed the unit with car door one day by accident.  The company is fixing it for free!!  How about that for service??

I really don't think anyone should tow without some sort of supplemental brake system.  Food for thought.

David

We use a Brake Buddy in our HHR.  With the dash monitor, you can see when it activates, which is rarely.  But it’s a secure feeling when it does.  On our last trip, we were driving in front of a row of parked RVs at a Flying J.  All of a sudden a car came busting through a vacant parking spot between two of the parked RVs, using the open parking spot as a shortcut on the way out.  I hit brakes hard almost hitting him.  There’s no doubt in my mind that there would have been a collision without the supplement braking.

Another observation.  How often do you see folks towing full-size cars, trucks and SUVs with a non-diesel motorhome?  I’m pretty sure most of these folks are exceeding the recommended towing capacity.  But even if not, the biggest risk is braking.  I’ve read that it’s against the law in Canada to tow without a brake assist.  I believe should be in the U.S. too.  Buy a lightweight toad and use a brake assist.  I like the Brake Buddy.  Simple to install, works well, and it easily transferred we traded for new tow car.  Also, I personally don’t feel you need to pay extra for proportional braking.  With careful driving and braking, it rarely comes on.  But when it does…