Powerhouse Coach - RV-Dreams Community Forum

jholderbaum · RV-Dreams Family Member

Powerhouse Coach

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Powerhouse builds a beautiful coach.......but with a price tag of 750 k to well over 2 million they are mostly owned by corporate holdings

but if you can get one in 30 days at a price you can afford with a good operations budget go for it, they are good for hauling but fuel and maintenance costs are high for these rigs

jholderbaum · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yeah, I am looking at a 4-ish month build time if I go with them. I assume their diesel costs are not much more, if at all, than what it costs me to pull my 40' steel horse trailer with my F-250 Diesel (~9mpg).

They "Start" at $319,000, but it baloons to just under $500,000 after I add all my extras from their price sheet.

Have you seen the inside? I am confident the Volvo Chassis is a good choice, but wanted to know how the fit and finish inside looked.

We live on Cape Cod, and there is not a single one around here. Add to that I am recovering from surgery (planned) and my DW is in the middle of Tax season, leaves me little chance to visit out west to see them at his factory 1st hand.

Jess

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jess I have had a class 8 for three years, it's the only way to go IMO. I have heard some sketchy stuff about Powerhouse over the years. My unit was built by Silver Crown, they terminated there Motorhome division. If I was going to build today I would take a serious look at Renegade, Showhauler, and definately NRC....there are some good used units out there priced right, check out Racing Junk. Com.....I have a Frieghtliner Chasis with a DD 515 HP Turbo, 10 speed Fuller Eaton....love this combination......maintenance on these rigs are much lower than diesel pushers, for basic maintenance I stop at any truck stop coast to coast, the price structure is the same as any over the road truck, access to the engine is easy, look at TA trucks tops, they have all the service fee schedules, I get between 7 and 8 mpg...also check out Truck Conversion.net, it's a forum that specializes in Truck Conversion Motorhomes, keep us posted....

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

PS my Rig will be in CT soon, if you want to take a look PM me..

jholderbaum · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'd love to take a look. We've been looking ar Haulmark 4505s as well. Just no custome layouts like the Powerhouse.

How long is your rig? Do you pull a trailer/Toad? Any problems with RV/State/National Parks?

Jess

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know what it is like to drive a class 8 conversion but I can tell you I wouldn't have a smaller tow vehicle. It is all about driving comfort. You can drive all day and feel rested. These things were built for non-stop operation and they live up to it. You will replace tires for age before wear. My drives have about 300K on them and still have another 100K left in them. Steers are good for 100K to 150K.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

jholderbaum wrote:
I'd love to take a look. We've been looking ar Haulmark 4505s as well. Just no custome layouts like the Powerhouse.
How long is your rig? Do you pull a trailer/Toad? Any problems with RV/State/National Parks?
Jess

45' long, we have a garage / Toy Hauler, Smart Car is in the Garage....In the future maybe a trailer, but for now the smart car and Triumph Motorcycle hitch mounted will due.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

I get into state parks, no problem, the 45' Total helps, no toad, no trailer....

CurveCarver · RV-Dreams Family Member

My rig is a 2009 Silvercrown and as Genecop mentioned their motorhome division is no longer in operation. I looked long and hard at all the class 8 MH conversions and decided and went with Silvercrown b/c the Coronado chasis/cab has much more room and comfort and the floor plan was ideal for my application. Safety on the road and security while boondocking were also major points of consideration as I spend 95% of my time boondocking. Also when I compared the house construction materials and build quality IMO the SC is superior to the others.

To reiterate what MarkS stated, there is nothing that can compare with these units for capability, durability, driveability, or comfort on the road. The maintenance is a piece of cake d/t easy access to engine and drivetrain. If you look at RV Dreams archived discussions on motorcyles you can find pics of my rig w my motorcycle on a Hydralift on the rear of my unit.

The downside in my experience is primarily the height, @ 13.3 ft I've had some real headaches getting into and moving around in some State & NPs, NF CGs, and even BLM sites. However, even with these times of difficulty I wouldn't trade off for anything less.

If I were in the market for a MH or tractor I would buy a used unit in a heartbeat before considering any other rig. If you are interested you could call Steve Hill @ Five R Trailers in Golden CO 800-278-1830 http://www.fivertrailer.com/inventory.cfm?iCatID=1 as he seems to have a line on a number of these units.

On another note I have taked with folks who are very happy w their Jayco Seneca med duty MH.

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Bruce Stirling

Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Friday 22nd of March 2013 11:42:46 AM

jholderbaum · RV-Dreams Family Member

I did a search for Silver Crowns, are they out of buisness? From the used rigs I saw used for sale, they are beauties, right up our alley.
I've seen the NRCs here and there, I'd love to find a contact for them.

You have a Triumph on a hitch mount? How much can those mounts hold? My old 32' Class A Gas had a hitch (well three 2" receivers, really) for a motorcycle lift that the previous owner had put on it.

Jess

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

My husband and I have been part time RVers for about 4 years. Our first RV was a 38' class A 1998 Safari Serengeti. When we decided to work towards being full-timers we wanted something a little bigger with slides. After a lot of research we decided we wanted a Powerhouse Coach. We took a road trip and went to visit Powerhouse in Idaho. My husband wanted to see if they were made as well as our research showed. We were very impressed. Ending up purchasing a used 2008 Powerhouse in 2012. It is 52' and 3 slides. The interior is beautiful wood with a home look, not a glitzy interior that you see on some of the new motor homes. My husband says that driving the PH is much more comfortable than driving a regular Class A. Because it is on a semi chassis we have purchased a 24 ' trailer we will be towing (smart car and scooter inside). Since it has such large water and fuel tanks we can dry camp or boondock for a longer period. The previous owner of ours did desert racing in Nevada. Adding the trailer makes us a little long, but with some planning we should have no problems with most RV parks. We love showing people our home and will always be willing to show it off. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us. We Are working towards our goal of full time RVing soon.

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Now that's a nice "Land Yacht"

qaqeemasq · RV-Dreams Community Member

Can you send internal and external pictures of your Powerhouse coach?

How is the build quality and durability? Have you experienced any maintenance issues?

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

We purchased our Powerhouse Coach 2 years ago. We were able to purchase a used 2008 which had only had one owner. Before getting the Powerhouse we had owned a 38' Safari Serengetti with no slides. When we started looking we wanted something that we could be comfortable in as we full-timed with our 5 feathered kids. My husband wanted reliability and it had to be Diesel.

We decided to make a trip to Idaho to Powerhouse so we could see first hand how they were made. It is a very well built, sturdy based construction. The woodwork is beautiful. It is not glitsy as some of the newer model motorhomes. We didnt want that so we enjoy the custom wood.

We have the Oasis water system and we love it. Our rig has 3 slides which are very sturdy. DH says it drives great and is much more relaxing to drive than our former MH.

We just purchased a 24' trailer which we are using with a pintel hitch. Towing weight is not a problem with a Powerhouse.

i am an engineer by trade so I have spent more time than the average joe changing a few things. The things I changed were not items that didn't work, it was just that I was very particular and a little more critical because of my background.

You will need to check with your home state and see if you will need a special license. In Kansas we needed a special Class B license, but it was easy to get.

Being 52' long does limit the RV parks some, especially state parks. I have to do a little more planning and check out google earth. Some parks say they are big rig friendly, and they really are not.

Be prepared to attract some attention and get asked if you are in Nascar. if you are anywhere near us, we would be happy to show you our rig in detail. We also will be at the fall rally.

i will send you some pictures at the email you sent me, as well as our phone number.

Overall we love our rig and would buy another one.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Saw a beautiful remodeled 2008 on RVTrader yesterday. Think it was in Orlando. I'd never seen the interior of one and they are gorgeous! Good thing I hadn't seen that before we bought our "el cheapo deluxe RV"! 😄

Sherry

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

WestWardHo wrote:
Saw a beautiful remodeled 2008 on RVTrader yesterday. Think it was in Orlando. I'd never seen the interior of one and they are gorgeous! Good thing I hadn't seen that before we bought our "el cheapo deluxe RV"! 😄

Sherry

LOL, careful Sherry, that name may stick... I kinda like "Rolling Rest Home".... See what you started Mark biggrin

Brian

-- Edited by biggaRView on Thursday 26th of June 2014 10:12:24 AM

qaqeemasq · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks Patti and Ed. I am looking for durability, reliability and longevity in an RV Coach. I look forward to seeing pics of your Powerhouse Coach. How is the factory in Idaho?

I saw this Powerhouse coach for sale in Miami:

http://ferco-motors.ebizautos.com/detail-2006-volvo-vnl_6014-powerhouse_coach-used-10746689.html

Thanks again.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Brian, we like the Rolling Rest Home too and get a lot of comments on it at parks.
Love MarkS's description too.

I think the Powerhouse Coaches I've seen (online) are stunning & sure look well built. I'm not into the
Vegas look of some of them though.

Sherry

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

We we're very pleased when we visited Idaho. Powerhouse Coach is not a huge facility but you can definetely see they are well built. I think we spent a day with the owner of the company when we were there and he went over all the details of the rig, and let my DH take out a couple on a test drive. The outsides are painted very unique on most of them, but the insides are so homey. I will get those pictures to you.

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

Go to www.powerhousecoach.com. There is a tab used rigs for sale. You might find somehing there. We bought oure used that way.

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just wanted to show you what our rig looks like with the trailer. Our RV is a Powerhouse Coach and the trailer was ordered from trailer country and we had the vinyl done to coordinate.

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

wow.. Nice !

cejones4210 · RV-Dreams Family Member

OMG, I want one! LOL, will never convince DH, he will say way too big!

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

DH was afraid of that, but actually said it is easier to drive than our 38' Safari we owned before this one.