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Old 12-08-2017, 03:13 PM   #1
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Alante 30 amp question

Hello all, my family and I are looking at our first Class A and we really loved the layout of the 2018 Alante 31 series. I am very skeptical of the 30 amp service and power management system. Does anyone own a Class A with 2 air conditioners that can give me some information on this? Thanks in advance.
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Old 12-08-2017, 04:32 PM   #2
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So far, it's worked great. Both of the 11,000 BTU units work together on the 30 amp circuit. When we turn on something else (like the microwave) the systems turns off the compressor on the rear unit until we're finished with the microwave, then turns the compressor back on.

Pretty slick...
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Old 12-08-2017, 04:35 PM   #3
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We have the precept 35s that has two ac. We looked at the Alante but decided to trade up for couple of reasons. 30amp is ok for one ac, the JRide Plus is a much better ride than the JRide in the Alante. I know there is a price difference but after calculating adding handling suspension and the ac would not be strong enough and the precept has a king size bed.
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Old 12-08-2017, 09:24 PM   #4
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The Logan’s: Turning off the compressor momentarily sounds a lot better. The dealer was showing me, but gave me the impression that I would have to manually set a timer in the power management system. Will the generator support both ACs and TVs? Do the 2 AC units do a good job of keeping it cool? We plan to do a lot of beach type trips and don’t want to worry about being uncomfortable. I read in another thread that they were only designed to lower the temperature by 20 degrees from ambient.

carogan: I may get something like the Precept, if I find a good used one. We are looking for something fairly new and haven’t found any decent deals on anything just a couple years old.
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Old 12-09-2017, 09:57 PM   #5
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Some of the things to consider when talking about cooling are the color of the unit (white will stay about 10 degrees cooler than a darker color), and shade. We beach camp in Florida, and shade can be hard to find. However, just keeping awning out can make a big difference. But, yes, 22,000 btu's keep it nice and cool.

We looked at the Precept, but it was about $23,000.00 more, was heaver, and had a bunch of stuff that we neither needed or wanted. We sometimes dry camp, so we sure didn't want the tank-less water heater... it's worthless when dry camping, because the pressure fluctuations cause you end up getting scalded or frozen. The folks we camped with got Jayco to replace theirs for a normal water heater, at no cost.
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Old 12-10-2017, 12:27 PM   #6
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Florida will be one of our main destinations, so we may choose white if we go with the Alante. There is one campground that lets you park really close to the sand, but it doesn’t have gray water or black water hookups for those sites. So, gray water and black water capacities are on my mind.

I was figuring 25-30k difference just based off of MSRP. Our local dealer is asking 93,400 for a 2018 Alante. I’ve seen a couple new 2017 Precepts online for 95,000 - 100,000. I’m thinking our local dealer has some negotiation room since that is the first number he threw out.
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Old 12-10-2017, 12:41 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by TigerFanatic1 View Post
Florida will be one of our main destinations, so we may choose white if we go with the Alante. There is one campground that lets you park really close to the sand, but it doesn’t have gray water or black water hookups for those sites. So, gray water and black water capacities are on my mind.

I was figuring 25-30k difference just based off of MSRP. Our local dealer is asking 93,400 for a 2018 Alante. I’ve seen a couple new 2017 Precepts online for 95,000 - 100,000. I’m thinking our local dealer has some negotiation room since that is the first number he threw out.
The golden rule for new RV purchases is 30% off MSRP.
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Old 12-10-2017, 02:16 PM   #8
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Thanks. He was wasn’t quite at 30%, but fairly close. I figure his first number isn’t his lowest.

We are probably going to search used, due to the immediate depreciation. However, most of what I see in my area is people upside-down, since we are looking for something less than 5 years old. We aren’t in a rush, as we plan to make a purchase prior to the end of 2018, unless we just come across the right deal.
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Old 12-10-2017, 03:56 PM   #9
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We paid around 80k for ours, but we added a porcelain tall toilet, digital thermostats, thermostatically controlled vent fan, and a front Super Steer steering stabilizer.

When the time came to sign the deal, I got the dealer to add a spare tire carrier (Roadmaster) and a spare tire.

We were happy with the deal.
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Old 12-10-2017, 04:50 PM   #10
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Thanks for being open with purchase price. I was expecting 85,000 if we decide to move forward with the Alante. My wife was stating 80,000, guess I should listen to her more. Lol.
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Old 12-10-2017, 06:53 PM   #11
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We have a 2017 31V. We dry camp often. We did all the suspension upgrades, not cheap. We changed to house battery to tell 6V golf cart batteries which is a must for extended dry camping stays. We got our coach new for 84K which was fairly reasonable. We also added a hard wired whole coach surge protector, which has saved our butt once that we know of. The power management system works flawlessly and the two AC units cool the coach very well.
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Old 12-11-2017, 09:04 AM   #12
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We got our 2018 Alante 31R for 93,500, out the door. So far the management system has been good. Our coach remains cool. Actually, since it is not too hot, we rarely run the rear AC. I'm sure that will change when it warms up.
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Old 12-22-2017, 03:01 PM   #13
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Agreed

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Logans View Post
Some of the things to consider when talking about cooling are the color of the unit (white will stay about 10 degrees cooler than a darker color), and shade. We beach camp in Florida, and shade can be hard to find. However, just keeping awning out can make a big difference. But, yes, 22,000 btu's keep it nice and cool.

We looked at the Precept, but it was about $23,000.00 more, was heaver, and had a bunch of stuff that we neither needed or wanted. We sometimes dry camp, so we sure didn't want the tank-less water heater... it's worthless when dry camping, because the pressure fluctuations cause you end up getting scalded or frozen. The folks we camped with got Jayco to replace theirs for a normal water heater, at no cost.
We also opted for the Alante over Precept, only matter of choice. The two AC on 30 amp service was a big issue with me. I talked with factory rep, read a lot of forums in search for the perfect answer. I am downsizing from 38 DP to 32 Gas. I'll let you know if my information was correct or not (took me over two months to pull the trigger). As an FYI the color thing seems to be true. Wee have camped with friends who have dark color versus our light tan DP and I noticed their AC would run more than ours.
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Old 12-22-2017, 04:39 PM   #14
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I'm shocked that white versus light tan would make much of a difference. I guess I'm glad that my Alante is white.
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Old 12-24-2018, 09:10 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Logans View Post
So far, it's worked great. Both of the 11,000 BTU units work together on the 30 amp circuit. When we turn on something else (like the microwave) the systems turns off the compressor on the rear unit until we're finished with the microwave, then turns the compressor back on.

Pretty slick...
Is this with the water heater in electric or gas mode? Also when running both ACs, how many amps are you drawing. I too am concerned about the energy management system and the two 11k btu ACs. I’m more at ease now than I was, but still would like to learn more about it. Do you have any information on which energy management module is installed, the config, etc...?

Thanks,
Mike
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Old 12-25-2018, 09:49 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Logans View Post
So far, it's worked great. Both of the 11,000 BTU units work together on the 30 amp circuit. When we turn on something else (like the microwave) the systems turns off the compressor on the rear unit until we're finished with the microwave, then turns the compressor back on.

Pretty slick...
X2, it's worked great for us also
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Old 12-25-2018, 08:14 PM   #17
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We purchased an Alante 31V at last years Black Friday sale through Camping World. It's sticker price was $125,287 and we paid $83,900. Thought that at least took care of a good share of the initial depreciation. Yes, we did some suspension modification that helped the ride a bunch for less than $750. And we added sound proofing to the doghouse for $75. Then we added fun stuff like water softeners, gas grill, updated single handle faucets, etc. We did three initial trips last summer of 7, 10 and 33 days putting just under 10,000 miles on the unit. We were in 40+ MPH wind, absolute down pouring rain for several days and near 100 degree daytime temps. The Alante performed just fine; handled well, NO leaks and fantastic A/C. We were able to run both A/C units to cool down the coach very quickly and then only needed one to maintain the temp. It is great that both A/C units are plumbed into all of the ceiling vents - front of coach and bedroom. So, we would run the bedroom
unit when we were in the front of the coach and the front unit when sleeping. This way the noise was kept to a minimum and we only had to run one unit. The management system works as advertised but we rarely had to run both units when running other electrical devices except the refrig and water heater. We also looked at the Precept and while it is a beautiful coach I just didn't want to spend the added $20-$25,000 more. I think our Alante is a good "value" coach and would not hesitate to recommend it. We are planning a 70 day Alaska trip next summer followed by another 33 and 10 day trip with full confidence in our Alante.
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Old 12-27-2018, 09:37 AM   #18
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We also opted for the Alante over Precept, only matter of choice. The two AC on 30 amp service was a big issue with me. I talked with factory rep, read a lot of forums in search for the perfect answer. I am downsizing from 38 DP to 32 Gas. I'll let you know if my information was correct or not (took me over two months to pull the trigger). As an FYI the color thing seems to be true. Wee have camped with friends who have dark color versus our light tan DP and I noticed their AC would run more than ours.
Update for 2018. OK we have completed trip to FL with only a few small issues. Then August trip from Texas to Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and back to Texas. We flat towed a Jeep Liberty the whole trip and had no problem keeping up with most traffic. Never had any issues with electrical system. I would plug into 30 amp service and switch fridge to electric, start water heater on gas then switch to electric. turn on both AC to cool rig. Shutting down second unit after a short time. The engine AC was able to keep the front area cool (even with that huge windshield). This trip was a little over 5000 miles averaging 350-400 miles a day (retired and in no hurry) All said we are very happy with coach after a few suspension mods. I have a couple of items for warranty to work on. All the small issues we fixed ourselves.
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Old 01-13-2019, 10:32 AM   #19
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We have the Alante 29S with AC in living and bedroom. Normally we only turn on 1 AC at a time depending on where we are (sleeping or awake). On the rate occasion we had both on we did notice that everything works as advertised... If we used the microwave temporarily the AC might turn off.

Here is my opinion on exactly why I like having both AC's... They are rather loud so much so that watching TV can be a problem if AC is going in same area. If we are in living room watching TV we will turn on the bedroom AC only, we will shut the ducts in bedroom to shunt all cold are into living room. We will also close bedroom door. This really helps with sound issues. Then when it's night we reverse and turn on living room AC only, shut all those ducts and run all the cold air into the bedroom. Again with the door shut it helps keep the cold air where we want it and block most of the loud AC noice in the room we are not currently using.

Beware though, on one particularly hot and muggy day (we were moving in and outside door was open a lot), the AC over bedroom started icing up. We didn't notice it until we turned off that AC and the ice started to melt... All over our BED! We have always been careful since then and I'll place extra towels and maybe even a drip pan (cookie sheet) right under the AC, but it has never done that again so it's not an ongoing problem.
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Old 05-24-2021, 08:05 PM   #20
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I can’t seem to get the bedroom ac unit to work. We have a 2021 Alante 27A and trying to understand why there is two units if I can’t run both at the same time?
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