A new start up company, Alliance RV

[WhittleBurner]

We looked at the Alliance line at the Tampa show and liked much of what we saw, there was one kind of big thing we did not like.
Build quality overall looked on par with GD with an edge on detail (these are 1st run units though) .

Here are things we liked that GD missed the boat on . I noticed the clear silicone caulk inside around the cabinets and counters looked to be clearer and of better quality. Individual shutoffs for all water lines leading to sinks/toilet etc. Dimmer switches for the lighting and a few clever interior storage ideas.
Slideout flooring sat almost flush with the floor for both the dining and kitchen slide. I really liked No Furrion stove or oven. Residential style stove/oven In fact you could roast a turkey in there!
The biggest thing we did not like the how low the drain was sitting on the one we did a full walk around on , looks like it's waiting for a big hole to catch and rip it off. And of course the in the door steps we are not fond of.

I think in time if they live up to the hype GD could have some competition.

[minnow101]

The low drain has already been addressed. The one you looked at was a prototype. Anyone buying one will have the drain issue resolved. Also, they put in a stool and shelves in the shower.

[Canyonlight]

The low drain has already been addressed. The one you looked at was a prototype. Anyone buying one will have the drain issue resolved. Also, they put in a stool and shelves in the shower.

All your posts on this seem to share some good level of knowledge. Are you part of the Alliance FB group(s) providing feedback to help develop a better mousetrap and/or do you have some other role ?

Dan

[minnow101]

I am a member of the Alliance FB group. The info. I have provided has come directly from Bill Martin.

[Canyonlight]

I am a member of the Alliance FB group. The info. I have provided has come directly from Bill Martin.

When Bill and I got caught up a couple weeks ago he mentioned that several GDRV folks are part of the Alliance FB group.....many actively contributing. It is obvious that your and others contributions have helped to develop a good product relative to desired options, features, etc. GDRV is 'listening" and some of their recently introduced along with upcomming changes reflect this. Competition is good !

Dan

[traveldawg]

A friend kept telling me about Alliance RV so I sort of kept up with what they had to say on FaceBook which seemed to be their primary means of getting input on what potential customers wanted to see. There certainly was (still is?) a lot of anxious folks there about what Alliance was coming out with. Pretty neat marketing strategy - FaceBook. It seems to be working. I checked Alliance's web page too; it looks like many other RV manufacturers' sites; nothing much there that is new.

So I looked at the rigs at the Tampa RV show. Same stuff - different manufacturer. It didn't strike me as a competitor to GD, Montana, VanLeigh let alone other even more high-end fifth wheels. fwiw, I though the Montana was the strongest competitor to GD (options like disk brakes, electric reels, day/night shades...).

I had hoped that Alliance would be far and above most manufactures but a cut below the likes of DoubleTree, etc. Not so.

Still liking my GD in spite of wishing they offered disk brakes, day/night shades, electric reel, Mor-Ryde pin box, One-Control, etc. at the time I bought mine. I told them so and now, 2 years later, they offer a disk brake option. :howell:

[WhittleBurner]

If there is anything Bill is good at it's marketing and facebook marketing.
Funny you saw Montana as a competitor, I walked out of the Montana with a feeling of disappointment at their lack of leaving off small detail items. I squatted down to look at a poorly placed radio, below my waist and I am not tall . I lifted up the giass door and let go. It came crashing down , no shock holding it up. Glad my head wasn't under there. The bathroom sinks made GDs sinks look big! Just wasn't impressed at all with Montana. All 3 have the same furniture , wish someone would use a non peeling material. Maybe this new texture will last longer?

[minnow101]

Bill is a big reason why GD enjoyed its early explosion in popularity. He’ll be a big rason why Alliance will too. The ability for a customer to reach out to a single contact within a corporation who shows empathy, but most importantly can get results is gold.
When GD was bought out and then Bill left, it in my opinion started a cascade of events, not all of which were good. QC slipped, customer satisfaction became slip-shod(CSR Roulette) and emphasis shifted to building rigs as quickly as possible, resulting in obvious defects that were not addressed at the factory before shipping.
I see Alliance today where GD was back in the heyday; 2013-2015. Thats when production was not crazy, the company was making a reputation which resulted in carefully built rigs with someone on the “inside” who will get problems resolved.

[WhittleBurner]

Something I had noticed about Montana was that the heating ducts were still in the floor. I asked the salesperson about that and they said they want it that way so they can run the water lines next to the ducts to keep them from freezing. Even with the ducts in the walls they still have to run underneath. Besides the fact that the basement itself is heated. In the Montana one of the ducts in the back was half under a chair. They also said you don't want a race track type deaign of the ducting for the AC. Said you wouldn't get enough cooling out of the vents that way.

[backtrack2015]

Something I had noticed about Montana was that the heating ducts were still in the floor. I asked the salesperson about that and they said they want it that way so they can run the water lines next to the ducts to keep them from freezing. Even with the ducts in the walls they still have to run underneath. Besides the fact that the basement itself is heated. In the Montana one of the ducts in the back was half under a chair. They also said you don't want a race track type deaign of the ducting for the AC. Said you wouldn't get enough cooling out of the vents that way.

I've enjoyed the "race track" in the sense that you can run either unit or both to cool the trailer. Interesting comment.