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Topic: Lazy Daze Model & Yahoo group has really influenced the resale (Read 4 times) previous topic - next topic
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Lazy Daze Model & Yahoo group has really influenced the resale
Yahoo Message Number: 85866
Quote
"douglascphillips"  authored in part: "Then I remembered something I learned in 9th Grade, called Group Think. This group would make a good Ph.D. dissertation, on the subject."
"Lions and tigers and bears, oh no!"

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"

Slammy5150/Paul So Cal

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Lazy Daze Model
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85884
Larry, (and others), I was going to just read and move on, but I wanted to share the results of my search for the right RV with you.  I don't own a rig yet, so I have to determine quality by reading, researching, and looking.  I have narrowed my choices to 4 rigs.  They are a Bigfoot, a Freelander and two Lazy Daze units, the 23.5 FL and the 23.5 TK.  The Bigfoot has the perfect floorplan for me.  The Freelander has huge storage volume.  Both of these are important criteria for me.

Being an engineer-type, I reduce everything to numbers.  I assigned ratings, 0 to 100, for things such as floorplan, solar capacity, fluid capacity and cargo capacity.  I purchased the RV ratings CD and took their data for reliability, control and value.  I assigned weighting for each area ranging from 3 to 8.  Floorplan was an 8 and cargo volume was a 7, giving a real edge to the two non-LD units.  I crunched my numbers.  I shifted my priorities and did it again.  And again.

Every time, the two LD units come in first and second.
 I have more to learn before I make my decision.  The objective ratings were remarkable to me in comparing LD coaches with others.  That made it very clear why there is such a loyalty to LD RV's.
 Groupthink?  Perhaps that plays a bit here.  If that is all it were, however, the ratings would not show such a difference between the LD units and the rest of the world.
 Does this group influence prices?  I suspect that it does, but fairly so.  I would pay more for a diamond than for a zircon, but to someone who knew little or nothing about them, both might appear to be similar in appearance and value.  I certainly would now be willing to pay more for a LD RV than for a Freelander based on what I have learned.  I have been educated.  That education shows me that there is much more to the value of an RV than the obvious.
'08 MB
Re: Lazy Daze Model
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85928
Ken, I am in process of downsizing from 40 ft dp which has been our home for al most 2 years.  We want to tour more and park less.  I would like to know if you consided Born Free and if so why did you delete it.  At this point LD is my preference but marketing a large RV is tough.  Floyd
 Ken Fears kfears@...> wrote:          Larry, (and others), I was going to just read and move on, but I wanted to share the results of my search for the right RV with you. I don't own a rig yet, so I have to determine quality by reading, researching, and looking. I have narrowed my choices to 4 rigs. They are a Bigfoot, a Freelander and two Lazy Daze units, the 23.5 FL and the 23.5 TK. The Bigfoot has the perfect floorplan for me. The Freelander has huge storage volume. Both of these are important criteria for me.

Being an engineer-type, I reduce everything to numbers. I assigned ratings, 0 to 100, for things such as floorplan, solar capacity, fluid capacity and cargo capacity. I purchased the RV ratings CD and took their data for reliability, control and value. I assigned weighting for each area ranging from 3 to 8. Floorplan was an 8 and cargo volume was a 7, giving a real edge to the two non-LD units. I crunched my numbers. I shifted my priorities and did it again. And again.

Every time, the two LD units come in first and second.
 I have more to learn before I make my decision. The objective ratings were remarkable to me in comparing LD coaches with others. That made it very clear why there is such a loyalty to LD RV's.

Groupthink? Perhaps that plays a bit here. If that is all it were, however, the ratings would not show such a difference between the LD units and the rest of the world.
 Does this group influence prices? I suspect that it does, but fairly so. I would pay more for a diamond than for a zircon, but to someone who knew little or nothing about them, both might appear to be similar in appearance and value. I certainly would now be willing to pay more for a LD RV than for a Freelander based on what I have learned. I have been educated. That education shows me that there is much more to the value of an RV than the obvious.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Lazy Daze Model
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85947
Quote
Ken, I am in process of downsizing from 40 ft dp which has been our home for al most 2 years. We want to tour more and park less. I would like to know if you consided Born Free and if so why did you delete it. At this point LD is my preference but marketing a large RV is tough. Floyd
Floyd, Born Free was one of my options.  I deleted it because the uneven roof design limited the amount of solar I could put up there.  I saw one at an RV show, and I crawled over, under, around and through.  I liked it, except for the roof.  I thought the construction looked good.  The interior was comfortable and seemed to be quality.  Ratings were pretty good.

I was looking at the Born Free 24' Rear Bath.  I figured that the maximum solar I could put on the roof was about 200 watts.  The salesperson at the show agreed that that sounded about right.  I gave it 80% for the floorplan.  Its cargo capacity (weight) was more than the Freelander or the Bigfoot, but significantly less than either LD.  It had the greatest propane capacity of any of the units I looked at.  I loved the lounge chairs.  Its fresh water capacity, at 29 gallons, seemed low to me.
 The objective ratings were similar to LD for reliability and value, but significantly lower for control.

Ken
'08 MB
Re: Lazy Daze Model
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85948
Ken, I would never have considered the roof configuration, but you are correct it is not flat.  I looked at a 26 rear bath LD and the interior storage area is very generous.  The roof on LD's  has a top cover consisting of a single piece of aluminum sheeting.  Is this piece supposed to be flat and adhere or is there a bit of flexibility and air space underneath?  Also, it seems to me that the Born Free is more costly.  Would you agree?   Thanx......Floyd

Ken Fears kfears@...> wrote:
 
Quote
           > Ken, I am in process of downsizing from 40 ft dp which has been our home for al most 2 years. We want to tour more and park less. I would like to know if you consided Born Free and if so why did you delete it. At this point LD is my preference but marketing a large RV is tough. Floyd
Floyd, Born Free was one of my options. I deleted it because the uneven roof design limited the amount of solar I could put up there. I saw one at an RV show, and I crawled over, under, around and through. I liked it, except for the roof. I thought the construction looked good. The interior was comfortable and seemed to be quality. Ratings were pretty good.

I was looking at the Born Free 24' Rear Bath. I figured that the maximum solar I could put on the roof was about 200 watts. The salesperson at the show agreed that that sounded about right. I gave it 80% for the floorplan. Its cargo capacity (weight) was more than the Freelander or the Bigfoot, but significantly less than either LD. It had the greatest propane capacity of any of the units I looked at. I loved the lounge chairs. Its fresh water capacity, at 29 gallons, seemed low to me.
 The objective ratings were similar to LD for reliability and value, but significantly lower for control.

Ken

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Lazy Daze Model
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85950
The roof on LD's  has a top cover consisting of a single piece of aluminum sheeting.  Is this piece supposed to be flat and adhere or is there a bit of flexibility and air space underneath?

Floyd:

The Lazy Daze roof is a single, painted sheet of aluminum.  It is fastened at the edges only, since coefficients of expansion and contraction are different for aluminum as for wood.

Gus Weber
Re: Born Free pricing
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85951
"it seems to me that the Born Free is more costly."
 Much more costly. Base prices differ by about $15,000, and by the time you add in items that are standard on Lazy Daze but optional on Born Free (e.g., air conditioner, generator), you can run that up to almost $30,000 with no trouble--that's according to folks here who've researched both brands.

As we've discussed here, one standard Lazy Daze item that you can't get on a Born Free is a spare tire. BF doesn't offer a spare, even as an option.

For more comparisons, see message #28684 and the messages it refers to, or search the archives for "Born Free".

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Lazy Daze Model
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85952
Quote
From: floyd barnhill
 To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com
 Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 7:28 AM
 Subject: Re: [LD] Re: Lazy Daze Model

Ken, I would never have considered the roof configuration, but you are correct it is not flat. I looked at a 26 rear bath LD and the interior storage area is very generous. The roof on LD's has a top cover consisting of a single piece of aluminum sheeting. Is this piece supposed to be flat and adhere or is there a bit of flexibility and air space underneath? Also, it seems to me that the Born Free is more costly. Would you agree? Thanx......Floyd

Floyd,
 The Flat LD one piece aluminum roof has pros and cons. The downside is that it needs to be sealed well and looked after (Eternabond tape does a nice job of taking care of this issue for good - - the factory should be so nice as to switch to it!).
 The advantage of the flat roof is there's lots of room for solar panels and stuff. My 26 MB has 400 watts (5 X 80) and I know there are others with even more. (For optimal performance, PV panels should not be mounted near the AC etc so as to avoid being shaded.)
 There's no need to make holes in the roof, or even have LD put extra reinforcements in the roof in preperation for solar panels. Solar panels are not very heavy, so the roof is plenty strong as is. Solar panel mounts can be glued directly to the roof, using PL polyurethane adhesive (Home Depot), or with 3M VHB double sided tape (McMaster-Carr on-line). Pick mounts with adequate surface area for bonding. Mounts without much surface area may be attached to aluminum angle to increase area. If the alumimum is bare (not anodized or alodined etc), then rough it first with 80 grit and then use Jabsco Metal Prep (Home Depot) to etch it before bonding.

bumper Yonder
bumper
"Yonder" '05 MB
"WLDBLU" glider trailer
Re: Born Free pricing
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85958
The 24' Rear Bath, is about a $100K. But dealers discount, sometimes as much as 30%, with 20-25% being the average. So I bet you can get a 24 Born Free, for about $80K and that's plenty. I think LDs is a much better value, for the consumer and I really like the idea of NO dealer.
They go to chiselers school and graduate cum laude.
"it seems to me that the Born Free is more costly."
 Much more costly. Base prices differ by about $15,000, and by the time you add in items that are standard on Lazy Daze but optional on Born Free (e.g., air conditioner, generator), you can run that up to almost $30,000 with no trouble--that's according to folks here who've researched both brands.
Re: Born Free pricing
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85964
Like LD, Born Free sells factory direct and prices are not negotiable.
They are currently offering an Alaskan Caravan trip OR a free generator, roof air and TV/DVD to introduce a major model change for their line of motor homes on the new Ford 2008 chassis.

Glenn
Re: Born Free pricing
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85973
"But dealers discount, sometimes as much as 30%."

Not Born Free dealers, if you believe their website:
 "Our factory direct price is firm to all buyers...and you are assured that you get the bottom dollar price without any haggling or negotiations."

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Born Free pricing
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 85983
If you want a late model used Born Free, there's been one in the Minden, NV "Record Courier" for more'n a month. IIRC, around $58K (I'll get accurate details if anyone is interested).

bumper
bumper
"Yonder" '05 MB
"WLDBLU" glider trailer