Ugly floor vents in Fleetwoods

[Mrs. X]

Well, I just looked at a very spacious, pretty Fleetwood but realized that it has vents in the floor (carpeting). I really hate this, although I guess I would get used to it, but is this a pretty common thing in M-H's? I know Homestead has perimeter vents but what other manufacturers do and is there any advantage to one over the other?

[chris]

i am in the Fleetwood entertainer and have perimeter vents with the exception of the bathrooms and kitchen which have floor vents.

[Mrs. X]

That's interesting - I asked about perimeter vents for this model - which is one of Entertainer series - and I was told they were not available. The salesman was also not sure whether I could get the lighter-colored cabinets and trim for this model which had a medium brown color. The family room had a wooden mantel piece in this same shade of brown and I explained to him, that I HATE brown. Just HATE it! His response was - "most people LIKE it". I was about to say "AND???????????????" when he suggested that "we" could go to Home Depot and buy some off-white paint to change the color. I laughingly asked him who "we" were. But I can't believe that there is no option in cabinet colors in this model. Were your perimeter vents an option or did they come standard?

[Chris]

The model we bought was the 4523F out of elizabethtown PA plant. The vents came standard.
The wood color is a light brown and we wanted to get a darker trim but was told it wasn't available. The only colors we could change were the rugs and window trims, curtains and counter tops. We went with the burgandy carpet and green marble counter tops.
I think the entertainer is a mass produced model with few options to keep prices down, since the cost of the home is a very good bargain given all that comes with it (whirpool appliances, rheem water heater, coleman furnace, etc.)
so far so good with the house, fleetwood has been very responsive fixing items and installing items that were ordered but not put in when the house was built.
We also got a skylight in the kitchen and solar tubes in the bathrooms. it makes the house so much brighter and gives it a great look.
although, i would suggest not getting the jaccuzi tub option. it is a very low end jacuzzi and we now wish we would have put one in ourselves.
We do however love the windows, double pane and they tilt in to clean.
Also, you must get rain gutters installed, since the eaves only come out about 6 inches and the rain pours in the windows without them.

We bought the house soon after it came out and got a bargain. my fiance's uncle sells homes and were told that about 3 weeks after purchasing it the prices jumped almost 10k because of the popularity of the model. We paid just under 50k although because of her uncle we received a fairly substantial discount.....but it does show you how much room for negotiation a dealer has, since i priced the same model from another dealer at 59k (before the price increases)
hope this helps

[rmurray]

Fleetwood builds completely different products in every plant...Those built in the SE are a very basic version of those built in other states..

[Mrs. X]

Yes - Chris, Mr. Murray is right. It sounds like your Fleetwood comes with a lot of standard things that are not available in the southeast Fleetwoods. I think the model I mentioned earlier is built in Tennessee. I was looking at some Claytons yesterday - THOSE ARE GREAT HOUSES! - and they have the vents in the floor too, although I could order the perimeter vents. I'm not sure how important (aesthetically) that really is, though.

Also, I talked to an independent dealer about the Entertainer model I looked at and she said they would sell it for thousands less than the Fleetwood dealership, although if I buy the piece of property I had in mind,which will be owned (if the deal doesn't fall through) by Fleetwood who will then sell it off lot by lot , then I think I'm going to be forced to buy from that dealership. This is a problem because the dealership won't budge a dime on the price of homes.

[Myra]

the vents in the ceiling, but I prefer the floor! Why?

Heat rises and cold falls. In the wintertime, if the vents are in the ceiling, the heat stays at the celing and you have to use ceiling fans to get the heat to the floor. If it starts out there, it seems to me the room would be warmer. In the summer you want to keep the cool air down low where you are also, and if it starts out there anyway, it seems to me to be more efficient. I'm no rocket scientist, but that's the way it seems to me. I also remember being a kid (we lived in a couple of "trailers" when I was little) and getting up on cold winter mornings, taking my blanket into the living room, and making a "tent" over the heating vent. Aaaahhh! I am very cold-natured and if I don't have something to "back up" to in order to get warmed up, then I am very uncomfortable. I'm used to "space heaters" with a real fire in them!

I realize they are ugly and can also get in the way of furniture placement. The perimeter vents should help with that problem, if you can get them. Also, once you have bought the home, you could buy some better-looking vent covers from Lowe's or Home Depot (Renovator's Supply also has some nice solid brass ones...kinda pricey for my budget) and replace the factory vent covers.

Just my thoughts.