Isn't it amazing how things change when identities are out in the open.
I have smelled sour grapes from the first post..
I did spend a couple of days in Mn. at the Kingsley plant last wk... the major difference I see in the Kingsley compared to the others that use square tubing framework is the much lower center of gravity.. the floor is MUCH heavier than the others and the side walls and roof are much lighter in weight... the connection between the original truck and coach is massive.. lots of steel used there.. I had Lonnie at Showhauler tell me that the connection cannot be made without a boot because there was no way to eliminate flexing and eventually cracking will occur at the joint.. I have seen how they are built and I must humbly disagree,.not just based on my view of the process but also after closely checking four older Kingsley coaches on the lot... a '96, '97, another '97 and a '98 (one belonged to LeAnn Rhimes) none of them showed the "expected" signs of fatigue from the joint...I wish I had taken more pictures of the process.
I am more concerned with the connection at the base of the wall and the floor... but as Bill mentioned my limited engineering ability is a poor match for the fact that three of those rigs I looked at were built that way and are holding up fine after 7 or 8 years all with 500HP engines.. there was another one that a hockey team (MUDBUGS) traded in on a new unit that was delivered while I was there..(new one sleeps 30)... the old one was being disassembled and rebuilt for resale... 750,000 miles since originally being built on a new chassis...
NO I still haven't bought one... I guess I am tooo picky.. or maybe I need electric hunting socks... my feet still get cold..
Thanks again to Ralph, Jerry, Tiffany and all the folks at Kingsley Coach.. My son and I were treated like Kings (pun intended) during our visit and everything possible was done to make our trip a success. I would not be at all reticent to buy one of them if finances would allow..
I posted some pics at my webshots page and will post a few more soon. The '99 Freightliner classic is still for sale as of today...99K miles only.. new tires being put on it too.
http://community.webshots.com/user/jwildrn