Does SIZE really matter?

[mykee50]

OK, you thought I was taking about something else didn't ya?

I'm in the market for a 40' Monaco or HR. I've been looking for about a month for a good deal. I finally found what seems to be a great deal on a 06' HR Imperial PBQ with all of the bells and whistles and low miles. BUT it's a 42'er with a tag axle.

Is there a big difference going from 40' to 42' (actually 43'-1") when it comes to driving, manuvering, or getting into some parks? Do any parks have 40' limitations? We currently have 28' class C so size has never come up.

What do you guys think?

Thanks, Mike in Issaquah, WA

[Drifter]

Size doesn't matter at all if your alone, but in coaches a 40 is very close to a 42. Ours says that it is a 40 but measures 41'8".

[LewF]

Does it have a tag axle - that makes a big difference in our opinion. We had an 07 Endeavor 40 SFT and now have an 09 Camelot 42 KFQ. I think there is a substantial difference, to the better, in the ride and stability at speed. The Endeavor, even with the Koni shocks we had installed, had a very harsh ride. In addition, with the single drive axle the rear weight was restricted to 20,000 lbs and we were always over that weight. The new rig with tag has a 30,000 lb rear limit. Aside from the bells and whistles there were three major reasons we switched, larger rear weight capacity, better handling and ride, and easy access to the engine with the side radiator on the RR10S chassis vs. the RR8R rear radiator chassis. Our one vote - take it for what it is worth.

Lew

[AFChap]

The fact that it has a tag axle will make a much larger difference than the additional apx 2 ft length. There are some campgrounds that have limited length sites and/or narrow tight turns that more length make difficult or impossible, but if 42 won't fit 40 won't likely be much better!! Some states (CA, ??) restrict vehicles over 40' length from some highways. Whether the differences are a plus or minus depends on you and your needs/desires.

As noted, a tag axle does add carrying capacity and perhaps ride & handling improvements.

On the down side, a tag axle adds expense for tires and mechanical upkeep, reduces basement storage capacity, and can cut turning ability although most tags can be raised in slow speed tight turns to get around that problem.

[itdave]

Get one with a Tag better ride and weight carrying capacity. If you get anything over about 36 foot you will run into problems at many state and federal campgrounds. They have a very limited number of sites that will take anything over 36 ft, going from 40 to 42 will not make any difference in finding sites. The only other issue I have seen between a 40 and 42 is the ability of the engine to maintain speed going up hill. The tag axle is about 10K heaver than the non tag, if both coaches have the same HP engine obviously the tag will not have the same performance as the non tag.

[mykee50]

OK, thanks for the responses. I checked with the seller and the tag does raise. It has the ISL 400 engine.

As for the extra 10,000# on the tag weight. Do they really weigh that much more or is that what they add to the coach's rear rating? Looking at the specs the gross vehicle weight is the same either way. I'm no expert so feel free to set me straight.

Thanks, Mike

Holiday Rambler

[DennisZ]

I don't know about other states, but in Califronia if your rig is listed as over 40 feet you need to obtain a different drivers license (non-commercial class B). The restriction on roads is usually limited to routes that also restrict large trucks.

[JoeandMarcia]

Size matters in a lot of things. Your choice in motorhomes included!
It all depends on your wants, and what you will be doing. 40' will exclude you from many parks. The ones built years ago when a 20' tag-a-long was the big boy in the park. Newer parks it won't matter as much. We have been turned away from a few parks because we were 37'.
As stated before the tag will give you the ability to carry more weight, but it will also give you less room to carry that weight in.

[lonestarace]

We currently have two diesel pushers, a 38' 300hp 98 DutchStar single slide non-tag that weighs 27K the way we load it, and 42' 450hp 99 Executive single slide w/tag that weighs 38K the way we load it. The DutchStar is near its gross weight of 27.4, while the Exec is nowhere near it 45k gross weight. We don't tow anything either. They both have plenty of power. The 38' gets one mpg better(10.5 vs 9.5) than the 42'.

We have 22k miles of driving experience(TX to Alaska & back, etc) in the 38'. We just recently purchased the 42' and have only driven it from FL to TX and a couple of local trips. We took some wild back roads in the 38' on our Alaska trip that would have been next to impossible in the 42'. The steering ratio is much quicker in the 38'. I spent many a day sawing back and forth on the 38' steering wheel. It could have been done in the 42', but it would have been much more difficult.

On the open hwy, we prefer the stability of the 42' Exec w/tag. Anytime we're off the open hwy, we prefer the quick responsiveness of the 38' non-tag DutchStar. When we're finally parked, we prefer the 42' Exec. The windows are all larger, the interior ceiling is 4" higher, suite style bath/bedroom, etc.

We don't need the extra weight carrying capacity of the tag but the additional stability is nice and the spaciousness is wonderful. But the little 38' drives like a go-cart.

They both have their pluses and minuses. It just depends on what your gonna do with it and what your priorities are.

[zman62]

We went from a 39ft to a 42ft Camelot. Having the tag is incredible. The coach is so much more stable and so much easier to control. We have had no issues as far as getting into parks. We tow a 2010 F150 so we are around 65ft give or take.

Kert
Fall City

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykee50 OK, thanks for the responses. I checked with the seller and the tag does raise. It has the ISL 400 engine. As for the extra 10,000# on the tag weight. Do they really weigh that much more or is that what they add to the coach's rear rating? Looking at the specs the gross vehicle weight is the same either way. I'm no expert so feel free to set me straight. Thanks, Mike Holiday Rambler

Mike,

The tag does not add 10,000 lbs of weight. That is the capacity of that axle. The tag is located behind the drive wheels and when lifted the turning radius of the coach will be the same as a typical 40 foot single axle motorhome. I don't have a tag but wish I did. I would love to ditch the darn rear radiator and dread the day I need to change the belts.

Bob

[Route 66]

Quote:

As for the extra 10,000# on the tag weight. Do they really weigh that much more or is that what they add to the coach's rear rating? Looking at the specs the gross vehicle weight is the same either way. I'm no expert so feel free to set me straight.

Although the tag axle has 10,000# capacity and increases the MHs GVWR by 10,000#, you can't use very much of that capacity as there is just not enough room to add cargo.

[ShapeShifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Route 66 Although the tag axle has 10,000# capacity and increases the MHs GVWR by 10,000#, you can't use very much of that capacity as there is just not enough room to add cargo.

I think I wouldn't mind being in that position. On my 40' rig, I have plenty of cargo space that I can't use because I'm already at my 20k rear axle limit. My wife can't understand why there are empty cabinets, but she's not allowed to load them up!

In my case, I don't need more cargo space, I need more carrying capacity to be able use the space I have. There would be basement space lost to the tag, but the extra two feet of coach would take care of a lot of that.

When I was shopping for this rig, it was my first, and I was a bit intimidated by the length. When I saw the tag axle units, I just figured it was more equipment to fail, more brakes to service, and more tires to eventually be replaced. (My new wife had a variety of RVs in the past, with a 40' DP being the largest, and she was somewhat intimidated by the size as well.) I wish I had known the benefits to a tag at the time, as I would've given them much more consideration.

[LewF]

For info - we lost no "basement" storage space when we switched from a 2007 Endeavor 40 to our 42 Camelot. I can get more in the Camelot than the Endeavor and I don't have to worry about overloading the 20K drive axle. Just our experience.

Lew