I'm a woman and can change my mind..mommy said so.

[Tatooed_Lady]

Okay, here's the deal...I'm nuts.  :-?
No shock? Ok. How's this? We've got the '06 Grandee sitting in our back yard, and I spent a LOT of time digging up information on tubs, etc. We "went large" because I figured it'd be better for hubby (6'3") to stretch out in, my son's taller than me now and still growing, we've got some friends/family that have trickled in from time to time and I figured that getting a larger tub would keep things simple. Plus, I drooled over it...bea-u-tiful!
So now, we're thinking of DOWNSIZING (yes, it's been LESS than a year since fill #1)!!! It's turned out that my son has used it about 4 times that I know of, and our 'friends' all think that 30 miles is too far to drive to come see us, even though it's the SAME distance for us to go to see them! Sheesh.
So it's me and the long-legged hubby. And I find that although it's great for being able to stretch out in, it's deep. Really deep. Not like "holy cow, I need a snorkle!" deep, but deep enough that with my 6% body fat   (okay, 26% or so), I tend to float out of every deep seat. Unfortunate but true. I haven't lost that weight yet, but I'm procrastinating about it seriously now!  
So we went to the HS dealer that we got this tub from, and my hubby joked (at the time) with the owner about being there to trade it in. She about fell over. He mentioned that, and I started getting ideas (wicked me!)...I figure that the tub won't gain any value if we keep it longer, so this would be a good time to trade...I've thought that a lounger MIGHT work, if it were more of an upright style, that is.
They've got HS, Tiger River and Jacuzzi, and I've been considering going to Jacuzzi...if I went to, say, a J-355 or thereabouts, it might be an even swap...it's something I'm seriously considering...
I would say "we" are considering the swap, but the hubby's been letting me take the reins in any projects or purchases that go on around here....that sillyass.

[Brewman]

Okay, here's the deal...I'm nuts.  :-?

You say that like there's something wrong with it.

[Ehizzle]

Going from a Grandee to a J355?  :-?

[cooltoy2000]

I'd say it's a slight step down. Maybe look into the Vanguard.

[Tatooed_Lady]

Brewman - Nope, nothing at all wrong with being nuts, so long as you do it right and do it well.  
Ehizzle - I'm not real sure what we'd wind up with...but I can't see going out and spending MORE money on a tub than what we've got invested already. I saw and liked the J-470 (or 480, whatever)...however, that's trading a behemoth for a behemoth....I'm thinking a bit smaller so I can brace around the tub easier, a little shallower so I don't feel like Shamu setting sail....and cheaper, doubtless, simply because I can't see the dealer giving us 100% of our cost back on a trade, even though it's under a year. If we went down in initial cost, we could get more chemicals, accessories, whatever....I'm not saying go from an $8k tub to $4k and get nothing but a 1.5 oz. jar of Vaseline in the deal, though.  

Term, you'd know....what kind of depreciation would we be looking at on the Grandee? I'm looking ballpark numbers, not exact science, so don't worry about the TX to WI translation.  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 If you are thinking to go Jacuzzi you may want to wait for the 07 spas and see the changes they are making to the J-300 line of spas.

[Chad]

Grandee - 100'' x 91'' x 38''
J-355 - 91'' x 84'' x 38''

[neocacher]

If you paid $8,000 for it, I would be surprised if your dealer gave you more than $5000 for it after a year.

[patty]

TatooLady
you mentioned floating and bracing.. terms i'm familiar with being more of a floater myself.  Is the 355 the one w/ the foot dome?  If not you might want to take a look at the Jacuzzi (365?) w/ the foot dome .. besides a fantastic massage... it REALLY helps to stay put..  Just a thought.

[Chad]

 Is the 355 the one w/ the foot dome?

No foot dome on the J-355.

[RobRoy]

You would probaly be better off selling the tub on your own.

The dealer will take it off your hands a flip it for a nice profit. Try the newspaper first

[Reese]

Have you tried running the tub with the minimum water level?  My wife has much less problem with floating when the water is at the low mark versus "full".  3 inches lower water also allows her to use more of the seats comfortably.

[Vinny]

My advice would be try different things but I wouldn't get rid of the tub even if it didn't work. The money invested was too much to waste.

I have a much different opinion on my tub than most people - I bought it for hot water and jets to soothe my aching back(and other parts too). I dry tested it but didn't wet test it and it fits OK and works great. I don't live in my tub and if I used it 40 miutes a day (which I don't) it's only a hot tub - it's better than trying to fit a 6' body in a 5' bathtub ... that scenario doesn't work.

My opinion is that you really don't know anything until you live with it. Houses, cars or anything else seems great until you live with it a while. and know it's faults - some you can live with and some you can't. Try to live with this as it could be a very costly decision to buy another tub.

[Bonibelle]

Ohhhh, I'm with Vinny. ...it would really not be worth the trouble and aggrivation to switch out tubs, not to mention the cost!
Are you sure you are not finding that the whole "tubbing" experience is less than what you expected? I would really be sure that it was the deep seats, the tendancy to float and the size of the tub that has made you rethink your current tub....or could it be the fact that it doesn't really do all that you thought it would? :-/

Why not get the hubby, a nice glass (or two) of wine, some good music and go out and enjoy that tub....focus on the things that are great about the tub. You can get creative and anchor yourself or just maybe enjoy floating a bit..And then go in and rearrange ALL of your furniture...you'll feel lots better and forget about this really crazy idea of yours!!

[SpaNE]

Okay, here's the deal...I'm nuts.  :-?

Yes you are.

You have a great spa and you are thinking of trading it because you tend to float out of every deap seat.  Either sit in one of the shallow seats, or wet test a potential replacement spa to make sure you are comfortable.