haulmark vs dynamax
 

Need help. I am looking at 2011 haulmark,detroit 13 speed auto trans and a 2008 dynamax grand sport ultra mercedes 6 speed allison. Both good low mielage 30000 coaches. Dynamax seems to have more goodies but haulmark seems to be more robust with the detroit and the 13 speed. Any comments or quality issues who be a help.
I am coming of 3 DP class A, 539,8.3 and now ISM cummins but am thinking of the tc version as the class A's seem to have who services and how much because of the DP.

Thanks for the comments.

The pre-forest river acquisition Dynamax motorhomes have a fairly strong following. I believe the one your are considering falls into that category. Because of that following, when I started shopping, I began with the Dynamax. I considered used units and the newer Force or DX3, after a test drive and some research, I started looking at truck conversions like Haulmark, Renegade, Show Hauler, Chariot, etc.

I believe your observations are accurate. If you wish to further your research, you may want to check out the Forest River Dynamax forum. Another good way to narrow your search is to call each manufacturer with a few questions about the units you are considering. See how your questions are answered.

We opted for the TC. Specifically a Renegade (with a detroit and a 13 speed trans). Although we only have about 700 miles, 2 nights stays, and a full dealership regular service under our belts, no regrets so far.

We evaluated Dynamax and Renegade as they have coaches that met our needs. We chose Renegade, the new model Verona, as providing what we needed in a bunkhouse and the quality as well as price point. We have over 1,800 miles of travel in the last month and one-half with only a few very, very minor issues. The fit, finish, and attention to detail is truly remarkable. Fully loaded we with fuel, water, and all of our gear we are at 29.5K, which leaves us over 4.2K of carrying capacity that we could use, but really won't at this point.

I looked at the M2 based dyna - and I've looked at the larger units a lot.
The dyna rear "caps" are very much like what show hauler does.

Personally having now owned a 12 speed smart/auto shift, i don't think id touch a 6 speed allison in a large conversion truck.

In my reviews and observations the dyna's don't have the basement storage that the haulmark, renegade etc have...the bins are smaller and the doors are smaller, robbing of a lot of space compared to what a columbia chassis haulmark have.

Bushpilot is correct about a 12 speed smart/auto shift being superior to the 6 speed. With the Allison 6 speed you must pick your highest gear based on the driving conditions. In town I use 3rd or 4th as the highest gear it can choose based on the speed limits. With the 6 speed one has to consider the RPM range, whereas a 12 speed will be more precise based on the engine drivetrain consideration. Our choice was driven by the economics of the coach and how many miles we drive each year. Life is nothing but constant compromises.

Im sure there are faster shifting options (ala allison TRUE automatic)....but knowing what i know now, i much prefer the non-torque converter (ala alison/ true automatics)...no doubt a dry clutch (ala smart shift / auto shift etc) is gonna be MUCH cheaper to replace.

I'll second what Don says about an autoshift over a hydraulic automatic. For sure I wouldn't want one. I've had my rig since spring 2009. I've put about 8k miles each summer (living in MN it gets parked for 6 months while we enjoy the snow). The autoshift is the way to go.