HOT TUB from a sledders view

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Hello everyone,

My wife and I have been looking at hot tubs for the past few weeks. We're so confused on what to buy because there are many things we like from different manufactures. So far I really like the Sundance Cameo but then again it's the most money (figures).

My wife wants a lounger and I want all the girly stuff like a stero with Ipod dock, lights, water fall, etc. Warrenty is very important to us too.

These are the following units we have looked at that are local in our area:

Sundance
Coleman
Hot Springs
H2O
Marquis
Mountain Springs
Clearwater
Apollo
Jacuzzi
Artic Spa

We want the Spa for us for the most part. After a good day riding we want to have a hot massage and soak. I more then likely will sit on the cool off seat a lot and my wife will enjoy the lounger. We will also entertain from time to time too. If anyone can chime in and tell me your experience, that would be GREAT!

 

[Weekday Warrior]

My experience is I pay for the damm thing to run year around and it gets used maybe once a month (fun at first >:] then blah)


other than that I ain't got much else to offer you, I'd go with a manufacturer that is very close by your house, pay less for them to come fix the dang thing.


I think they all have ozone injectors now don't they? Also there is some chems that are much better than chlorine too. I keep mine down pretty low on chems or it bothers my eyes.

 

[Ex-Member]

Parents had a Marquis at teh old house, worked great, flawless for the 8 years or so before they moved. Only thing I didn't like about it is the texture along the waterline, made cleaning it a b*tch.

They now have a Dimension One, and seem happy with it...

Bromine's the popular chemical now... safer than and just as effective as chlorine; and doesn't leave that nasty smell behind. The ozonator... Probably won't find one without it, but the bulbs burn out after ~3yrs. I don't think my parents ever replaced theirs after it burned out, and I never noticed a difference.

I used the one at the old house regularly, usually a few nights a week, and just throwing the chems in weekly was about all the maintenence we did besides changing the water 2-3x/yr.

 

[TBWdracula2003]

i dont know much about them except there nice on a sore back. and the old adage of " you pay for what ya get " is generally the rule but theres always some stuff thats not brand name thats as good or better than brand name so do what i do when i dont know.....google it! hope it helped

 

[Trenchmaster]

I have to agree with Weekday Warrior, I pay to run mine and the novelty of it wore off long ago. Mine has two pumps, a small one for circulation, and a larger one for when the tub is in use (rarely). This set up is supposed to reduce operating costs.

 

[Scott]

Mtn springs is just down the road from me...about 5 miles. They are nice tubs. I don't have any experience with any others.

 

[firecatguy]

not sure if you have http://www.calspas.com/ out ther but this brand has served me very well for the last 12years has 2 pumps and 2 heat units and i added 15 more jets when new. I have had 0 prob with my tub it runs all year here in MN it sits for weeks at a time with no maintenance {cabin} always worried about it breaking with no one around!!

i put a TV up in the corner of the gazebo and watch the news out ther at night love it cant go wrong best is sitting in ther after a long day of riding..

lounge chair is awsome dont wast your money on the neck jets water fall sound like more to go wrong add your own TV in the room and stereo

 

[acs47x]

we have a jacuzzi 480 and love it. Very trustable name. They have been around for along time. I used to work for the local dealership and they are the best tubs in out town by far. They are def. quality.

 

[Top]

Thanks for the replies. We did find out that thwere is a Cal Spa dealer in town too. We will check them out tomorrow.

I have the same thoughts as others here; How often will we use it? I don't want to spend $10,000 + for a spa that I won't use much, but then again the older I get the more sore muscles I discouver......

SOmetimes I think I wrapped up on all the bling stuff and loose track why I really want / need a spa.....

What to do..... What to do.....

 

[Skinner]

I have had a Spa since '93. We bought a Cal Spa and had it for two years and then traded it in for a bigger unit (Cal Spa). You cant go wrong with the Cal Spa. We had it for twelve years and didn't have a lick of problems. Bought a Dynasty Spa two years ago and it was a mistake. its a piece of $hit. I have the old Cal Spa in the garage and I'm going to probably to put it back up. The quality of the Cal Spa has been top notch. After a day of sledding my buddy and his wife came down and sat in the spa. The next day they went out and bought a Cal Spa. My Brother-in-law and my father in law have bought Cal Spas after coming over. The Cal Spa keeps the water cleaner and a lot less maintenance. We use ours year round at least two or three times a week. My buddy uses his every morning after he gets up. Its great after a long days ride. Anyway good luck. you will love it. Oh by the way. Buy a white spa the lights look better when you turn them on. Don't buy a spa with the stereo in it if it goes out you are out of luck. Buy a boom box it will be cheaper and you can use it on other things. The stereo options are expensive for what you get.

 

[dmkhnr]

I to pay to run mine only to use it 12 times a year.
I have a vita spa (made by DM industries they make the Ski Centurion boats)
It has 2 big pumps, waterfall, volcano, LED lights, ozone, and anything else that was available at the time of purchase.
4 years old and not a single problem.
Best advice would be to try and find a nice used one as they are only worth $2-3k after a year of use.

 

[EricW]

I have had half a dozen tubs or so. My last 2 have been Sundance. I have had no issues with Sundance at all. Had to sell my last one with the house. I went over a year without one and missed it dearly. My experience has been that once you have one, it's hard to go without.

For me, the tubs have been much more than theraputic (which they are). I have had some of my best times in our different hot tubs. From playing with the kids to good times with friends, to those 2 candle, 2 bottle of wine, 2 people evenings that my wife and I look forward to. Our memory book would be way short if it were not for hot tubs over the years.

That said, I have dealt with the Spokane dealer for Sundance down on Division past White Elephant. My experience has been that no 2 people get the same deal. You have to deal with them twice as hard as any used car dealer. There was 2 grand difference in our last tub just this past fall between my wife dealing and me. There is a ton of markup on these things and the sales people are on commission.

The most noteable positive to that dealers history is that they put in writing on my sales agreement that they will honor their 5 year agreement travel paid to my tub. I live about 100 miles away. I never had a call on this tub or my last, but my buddy had a stereo issue on his and they came and fixed it no cost to him at the same travel distance. BE SURE TO GET THAT IN WRITING. They tried to tell him they didn't do that especially at the price they quoted. I gave him a copy of my agreement and they honored my terms and price for him. I would be glad to give you a copy as well if you needed. They squirm, but they will come through.

I would have your wife try the lounger a few times first. Do it with the jets on, I bought the Maxxim with a lounger and it seems like I float out of it if I relax completely. I have some small scuba weights that I use if I want to stay in the lounger as it is designed. I think each person floats differently based on how full of BS you are. I float. LOL. I would say come give ours a try, but I took it off for the next couple months for more furniture on the deck. Make sure you look at your electrical situation and codes, added $600 to my deal to wire correctly. Shoot me a PM if you need more info.

BTW, a sled deck works great for delivery, slides on the ramp glides and onto PVC roller just right. Good luck. EW

 

[Blacktooth]

My 2nd job is doing maintenance on spas. (My opinion) I would not own a hot springs spa, they are nightmares to work on. The sundance cameo is a great tub, All sundance tubs are fairly easy to work on if there is a failure. Most of what I see is operater error. Letting them freeze or running them without filters and sucking stuff(usually prefilter socks) into the circulation pump. I would go with the cameo(or any other sundance spa).

 

[Maul]

I would deffently look at arctic spas. they might not have the bling that the other ones do but the quality cant be beat. you can get to all the plumbing and use the heat off the motor to warm the water so there more effecint.
I have done service work on every brand for the last 6 years and i like the acess of the arctics the best.

 

[hatchers]

Buy a FROG.....best SPA ever, a ture tuners tub, all jet packs are like legos, you remove each pack and attach wahtever nozzle you want, and all plumbing is in the tub, so you will never get a leak, or a leak that really matters

been using my FROG for two years

 

[Snorider]

had a tiger river spa and it held up to more abuse from us coming back to the cabin from sleddin or skiing and all of the oyster shell bits and the sand from em. then we made a rule that no one could eat oysters in the tub cause that was a mess to clean in the morning but still great times. we finally are going to replace it this year after 12 years not sure with what yet.

as for chemicals we went with bacqua spa(i think thats how they spelled it not sure). had excellent results with it but from one of our friends said that their water was too hard and didn't get the same results as us. so just another thing to keep in mind.

 

[Top]

Thanks for everyones opinion, it really helps! So far I really like the Sundance Cameo but after the price tag of $12,000 + I'm a little gun shy!!!

 

[EricW]

Top:

Just pulled my sales slip. Mine shows the Cameo at $12,660 and the Maxxus that I got at $15,280. I actually paid $10,900. Add to that $32.50 for a Silver Ion container and $105 for a spare filter and $50.00 for a spa caddy to put drinks on. Sub total 11,087.40 then tax 953.52 and out the door is 12,040.92.

What I got free:
No trip charge for warranty work
Sun Purity Ion Kit
C.D. SE Ozonator
Cover
Cover Mate III Lift
Smart Step
Total Value of all the above (not inc. free trip charge) $938.00

This deal was done on 11/2/07 with Renee Demick

My wife got a separate quote on 9/18/07 for $14,058. out the door with ZERO freebies. Her sales person was Sophie. BIG difference, same store.

If you look at just the base price only, I got about 30% off right in the high demand time of the year. Not many tubs sellin right now I bet. The same numbers for the Cameo ($12,660 base) - 30% would be $8,862.

You should be able to do something in that price range plus all the freebies this time of year, especially if they have a floor model, mine was an order. Again, let me know if you need copies for leverage, my buddy got the same deal too and has his papers as well. Good luck. EW

 

[76FOMOCO]

go cal spas 2 over 11 years and no probs. dog all the bells and wistles and just get one with 2 pumps and save the money on all the bs. get the cover lift~!

 

[tudizzle]

I think the key to any hot tub is placement. In college we bought a nice large CalSpa and put it near the back corner of the lot...right next to a sorority...seems like we used that thing every night!