34 foot or bigger

[dwarne]

Looking to swap my Class A gas for a Class A diesel. Want to stay around 34 foot. Had a friend stop the other day and he said go bigger. The pusher puts more weight on the back end and a short one handles terrible!

Opinions?

[Triker56]

Only reason to go bigger is if you want washer/dryer in it.

My 34' 10 plus MPG DP handles just fine for over the 9 years I have had it.

Has your friend had a short one or even drove one?
Are you going to buy one without a road test?

A long one gets more complaints of being to hard to get in and out of Flying J RV Islands then short ones.

[desobelman]

Very hard to find DP under 36'. I think the new Monaco/Navistar has just come out with a short DP.

Why only 34'? I think a 36' to 38' is very easy to handle, MUCH roomier than a 34' and will fit into most RV sites.

Just my 2c.

Happy Trails!

Darryl

[Ernie Ekberg]

40 foot- i stay away from"J" rv islands- too much like a convenience store

[Tha_Rooster]

You know what they say different strokes for different folks I went from 34 to 37 to 40 and would not change a thing.

[bachler]

unless Your friend is paying for it, and has set guide lines; Do not go shorter then 36or 38' . your best investment is a 40' They are a delite to travel in and are big enough to live in (full time ) And if you and your pardner shop for a main stream manufacturer That has a dealer repair net work. Buy a 2 to 4 year old coach and you will find it will be an investment , And you all will be happy. We bough a used one once , That brand has fallen by the wayside. It was a leadder in its time. We had to pay someone to take it... I say never again. Main line;; Point blank;; Life is good

[Ernie Ekberg]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

You know what they say different strokes for different folks I went from 34 to 37 to 40 and would not change a thing.

AMEN- theres the 2 of us- plus 4 little poodles, all got to have our space- in fact Brenda has to have more of my space

[LokiGT]

Originally Posted by dwarne

Looking to swap my Class A gas for a Class A diesel. Want to stay around 34 foot. Had a friend stop the other day and he said go bigger. The pusher puts more weight on the back end and a short one handles terrible!

Opinions?

The short ones handle great, less tail to wag, but gas motorhomes don't get the sweet suspensions from the factory. The reason DP's handle better is because of their superior suspension set ups. I agree with longer because I like the space but not because it might handle better.

[srydve]

We like our 34' dp just fine. The handling is good and we don't miss what we never had ( longer length). With a couple of slides you still have lots of room and the shorter length is easier in tight spots and campgounds with shorter sites. One drawback on shorter dps is they are a lot harder to find on the used market, there's just not as many of them out there, but if thats what you want be patient and you will find one. Look at lots of units and buy what you want not what someone else thinks you should have.

[B Bob]

When people suggest buying a diesel pusher longer than 34 foot it's not the overall length of the coach that they're talking about. The overall length of the house is not the issue. What is the issue is the ratio of the chassis length compared with the house length. In general that ratio should be in excess of 53% and upwards towards 55%. Several people with shorter diesel pushers have replied in this thread that they have very good handling in their coaches. I'm sure that they're telling of their experience correctly. So the best thing for you to do is to go out and drive a number of coaches and to decide which one handles like you like it. When I was test driving and buying a coach a little under two years ago I found that the coaches with longer wheelbase compared to box length tended to be more comfortable driving on the freeway. And so I came time to put my money down. I did it on a coach with a long ratio of chassis length to house length .

[gcampbell]

I own a 34' Monaco Knight. It was hard to find. Dealers tell me they are so popular they sell for a little more because of the demand. Mine gets about 12.3 mpg. Im told this is because its lighter than the bigger DP's. The short size lets me zip around things the big boys cant. I have a washer/dryer in it. I can park it at my house and even two foot bigger would not work for my parking situation. I was also told about the horrible ride I would get with a shorter version (proposing). Baloney! Its a myth. Go for it if you can find a shorty.

[offthewall]

Originally Posted by dwarne

Looking to swap my Class A gas for a Class A diesel. Want to stay around 34 foot. Had a friend stop the other day and he said go bigger. The pusher puts more weight on the back end and a short one handles terrible!

Opinions?

We have a 2010 Itasca Meridian 34Y. It's 34'11" mirror to ladder but the body is 34' even. It drives like a dream. Smooth, no "porpoising", no wander, good pick up and quiet at highway speeds! We had a 31' E450 based class C before this one. That was NOT fun to drive. We like to visit many state and national parks. Most have a 35' limit. With three slides (one a full wall slide), there is more interior room than many longer coaches. A longer coach would offer more exterior storage at the expense of not allowing us to visit the parks we like. We also get 9.5-11 MPG while towing a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited at 65 MPH rather than the 8 mpg that many of the longer DP's get.

[Dutch Star Don]

dwarne.....I have a 36' diesel and its been good. We like the floorplan and it handles well. Since I do have a short coach, I'll tell you its NOT going to handle as well as a longer wheelbase coach. No matter what you do, the engine and transmission needs "X" amount of room. The only way to accomodate them is to shorten the wheelbase. Thye're more likely to porpoise. When you get into the really short ones, like a 32', you lose the space for a generator. Years ago when they were selling some 32's, they were putting in propane generators. A propane generator would be a deal breaker.

For me, the perfect coach would be a true 38' - 40' coach. Most of the 40 foot coaches you look at are really 41' 6" , 42' 3" etc. I'm sure that many gassers would die for the storage in my coach, but as diesels go, I have one four foot, side to side compartment. The 38' - 40' coaches have two. As you get older, you don't necessarily need more space, you just need more space that is easy to access.

[GOLDWINGER2]

Originally Posted by Diplomat Don

I'm sure that many gassers would die for the storage in my coach, but as diesels go, I have one four foot, side to side compartment. The 38' - 40' coaches have two. As you get older, you don't necessarily need more space, you just need more space that is easy to access.

What would I carry? I even have mounted full size spare.
Maybe an extra Freezer?
J