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texas
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Joined: 08/22/2007
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I have seen some post about the quality of this RV. in the past. Could anyone out there discuss the pro's and con's of the Phoenix Cruisers. Thank you.
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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Joined: 02/26/2007
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Hi cancel,
I own a Phoenix Cruiser 2350, now over a year old. I think they are extremely well made, especially when considering the price you can buy one for. Phoenix USA did a good job in construction methods and materials used. You can take their VIRTUAL TOUR to see how they are built. Then compare that to other brands in the same price range. Anything made better will be a one piece body like a Coach House, but at twice the price of a Phoenix Cruiser.
I have been known to say way too much about how good the Phoenix line is, so I'll save that for private emails.
One thing noting a potential negative, and it is pending your physical size. They are not built for real tall or wide people. The interior ceiling height is only 6'-4", with narrow isles, the result of a smaller over-all width than a typical class-C. Some people may find a typical Phoenix Cruiser confining. I consider the Phoenix line as a cross-over motorhome, in-between a B and a C. Even Phoenix USA implies that. It is a scaled-down class-C motorhome which makes them very unique.... an attractive alternative, yet none of the limited accomodations of a class-B.
All Phoenix Cruisers have good sized bathrooms with decent sized separate showers. Beds are good sized, but if you want bigger, model 2900 has a queen bed. All models have plenty of spacious cabinetry. We ordered our model 2350 without a slide-out, appreciating the bonus storage that the no-slide-dinette offers. All models have good practical capacities of fresh water, sewage, propane, & gasoline. My point here is.....even though PC's are scaled down, none give up utility or comfort of larger class-C's other than elbow room.
My wife is 5'-1" at 110 pounds, and me 5'-10" at 180 pounds. We are very comfortable in our model 2350. The bed, bathroom, dinette, isle etc. are all very comfortable and functional. But if I weighed 300 pounds, I'd have serious trouble with everything. If you are big people, then you'll need more elbow room. Then I advise you think bigger and get a standard sized class-C.
We like the compact size of our PC2350, mainly because it fits in our garage, but it does handle better and is more easily driven & parked than your typical motorhome. It's short height and narrow width makes for a smaller frontal footprint, which is more aero-dynamic than most motorhomes which helps with fuel economy too.
Email me direct for some excellent interior pictures of ours using it's own interior lighting. Phoenix's Website has terrible interior pictures, none doing it justice. They used a flash for most shots which makes them look dark and uninviting.
Adding: If you want a good deal on one, look up Don Keller of East Acres RV on the web. He is discounting them very nicely, much more than other Phoenix dealers. Speaking from experience.
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Bought new in June 2007, Phoenix Cruiser-2350
Fits inside our garage.
Dingy towing a red Toyota MR2 Spyder
See The Inside by clicking on "View Profile" and scroll down
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jim1632
Arlington, VA
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Joined: 10/22/2003
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Just visited the Phoenix factory a few weeks ago.
What is your gas mileage with and without the toad?
Jim and Gloria Hurdle
1998 Starflyte B-plus
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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jim1632 wrote:Just visited the Phoenix factory a few weeks ago.
What is your gas mileage with and without the toad? Okay, this is not a straight & simple answer. Here are the influential factors.
- 2007 Phoenix Cruiser model 2350, built on a 2007 Ford E350 chassis with V10 gas engine
- curb weight empty 9200 pounds (we add 1000 pounds more in water, people, food & gear)
- towing 100% of the time, so figures based on towing alone
- tow vehicle is a 2000 Toyoya MR2, weighing 2100 pounds (the little red car parked next to the RV)
- gas mileage was an average over a 5000 mile trip from Chicago to San Francisco, to Las Vegas, and everywhere in between, combined city, highway, mountain, etc.
- cruising speed between 65 and 70mph on the open road using cruise control where we could, with 60psi in rear tires/65psi in front tires.
- 10 hours of generator usage, consumng an unknown amount of gas from the same chassis fuel tank
GAS MILEAGE 9.8 mpg
We feel we could increase our gas mileage to 11.5-12mpg by running with 10 more psi in all tires, limiting our top speed to 60mph, and NOT using cruise control.
I don't have a "Best" gas mileage under ideal conditions. Only the average from the entire trip.
It is a simple question with a lengthy answer.
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jim1632
Arlington, VA
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Joined: 10/22/2003
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Ron - thanks for the reply. I have a Miata at about the same weight so your experience is exactly what I need. We just used our 21 ft 2000 Starflyte for a 5500 mi trip. Averaged a little more than 10 MPG without towing anything so the Phoenix may actually be more efficient. Or at least no worse than our current experience.
Sorry - I have not been able to identify how to send a PM to avoid using the open mike here!
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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jim1632 wrote:Ron - thanks for the reply. I have a Miata at about the same weight so your experience is exactly what I need. We just used our 21 ft 2000 Starflyte for a 5500 mi trip. Averaged a little more than 10 MPG without towing anything so the Phoenix may actually be more efficient. Or at least no worse than our current experience.
Sorry - I have not been able to identify how to send a PM to avoid using the open mike here! No problem. Very few people tune into a Phoenix Cruiser specific posting anyways.
Though I never seen one in-person, the Starflyte did catch my eye on-line.
Though our RV's are small enough to tote around in all by themselves, it's really nice to go out and see the sights in our little sports cars with the top down. Your 2000 Starflyte Ford E350 V8 or V10 will handle very well pulling your Miata 4-wheels-down. You will need a bit more gas to get up to speed, and more brake to slow down, but neither a concern. No secondary braking contraption will be needed. Once at cruising speed you won't notice the car back there at all. The Miata should also track great when cornering in mountains and canyons. Like our MR2, the Miata's low center of gravity should make it a very friendly tow, never pulling on the rear of the RV when cornering.
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texas
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Ron, thanks for the information. It sounds like you really like your Phoenix. I was looking at the Coachhouse but as you said the cost is out of sight. Even with the discounts it is still up there. That is why I was looking at something else like the coachhouse and I started looking at the Phoenix. Have not driven one because there is no dealer in Houston.
A few questions. How is the ride. My wife has motion sickness and we looked at other C but they had more sway while in motion. What options did you put on your Phoenix and what options would you recommend. We are looking at the 25 ft. Cruiser.
Again thanks
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lnn
Ponca City, Oklahoma, Kay County
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we have a 2008 2950 and love it. the ride and drive is excellent. we get 8mpg towing a crv.best quality and engineered unit for the money we have seen. just my humble opinion.
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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cancel wrote:Ron, thanks for the information. It sounds like you really like your Phoenix. I was looking at the Coachhouse but as you said the cost is out of sight. Even with the discounts it is still up there. That is why I was looking at something else like the coachhouse and I started looking at the Phoenix. Have not driven one because there is no dealer in Houston.
A few questions. How is the ride. My wife has motion sickness and we looked at other C but they had more sway while in motion. What options did you put on your Phoenix and what options would you recommend. We are looking at the 25 ft. Cruiser.
Again thanks About the ride. Any Ford chassis motorhome, basically will have similar behavior. The Phoenix line is a little improved because of it's lower height and width, which does rock less, but not enough to make a point of it. But I admit, I only test drove only one other Ford chassis class-C, so my comparison isn't much to comment on.
Our 2350 model is built on the Ford E350 chassis. I am very particular about handling issues in general, from lessons learned from our old RV of 24 years. I had our PC2350 suspension upgraded right away before our first big trip. Before the improvements, there was some rocking, floating, and other negative behaviors. After the work was done, the RV handles like an SUV. We had a thicker front sway bar replacing the stock one, and added a thick rear sway bar where there was none prior. We replaced the Ford shocks with Koni-RV shocks, and added a rear trac bar to eliminate all rear tail wagging. We also replaced the front steering stabilizer with a better one from Safe-T-Plus. After adding a wheel alignment with special off-set bushings, total cost was $3900. You could probably get away with half what we did, but I went full throttle because our plan is to keep the RV until we can't drive anymore. I can say the work done saved our lives on that first big trip last year when I took a curve on a mountain road way too fast. The RV with the towed car behind, stayed planted on the road, handling the situation great, all while hitting the brakes hard.
My wife and I are extremely happy with our 2350 and the options we selected. We special ordered ours last year in May, just the way we wanted, holding back nothing of interest to us. Lucky for us, the dealer we ordered from, was very helpful with our selection, explaining the benefits of certian features we initially ruled out. We quickly realized the benefits on that first long trip.
You can buy a brand new 2007, last year's model 2350 loaded with options from the dealer we worked with, Don Keller Of East Acres. I think he lowered his price down under $65,000. It has more options than ours, maybe even with some suspension upgrades. If that model interests you, I think it could be well worth a flight there to drive it back home to TX.
If you end up special ordering, I could advise which options we selected, with lots of details why. It's close to getting every available option, though we didn't get a slide-out, and I installed my own TVs to get bigger screens for less money.
Are you considering model 2551 ?
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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lnn wrote:we have a 2008 2950 and love it. the ride and drive is excellent. we get 8mpg towing a crv.best quality and engineered unit for the money we have seen. just my humble opinion. Mine too.
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