Community Forums

Andy Bean · 01-08-2008, 01:15 PM

Pros and cons of a 42 vs a 40??
Particulary when it comes to getting into parks.
We have a 40 now and are contemplating going to a 42 tag axle.
Thanks for your input!!

Andy Bean · 01-08-2008, 01:15 PM

Pros and cons of a 42 vs a 40??
Particulary when it comes to getting into parks.
We have a 40 now and are contemplating going to a 42 tag axle.
Thanks for your input!!

GaryKD · 01-08-2008, 02:03 PM

Hi Andy,
For me, unless I find the perfect floor plan, the next step is a 45' coach. I can't see the $s being spent to gain a foot or two, or three. For me, CG requirements mean I will be staying in CGs that would accomodate a 45' coach. So the CG concerned mentioned in your OP is not the same for me.

Joe-K · 01-08-2008, 02:16 PM

Andy,

I'm not sure what rig you have now, but most likely by going from a 40 to 42 you gain inside space, but you may lose some outside storage because of the tag axle.

We recently made the move from a 36 Journey to a 43 Allegro Bus. For us, we started out looking at 40' Tiffins, but soon realized that we wanted the extra space afforded by the 42' floorplan. When Tiffin released their 43' floorplan, that really sealed the deal for us, as the 43 has quite a bit more square footage of floorspace inside the rig due to the enlarged slides.

To offset the typical loss of exterior storage in going with a tag axle rig, Tiffin gets rid of the hot water heater and propane furnaces in their 42 foot floorplans so by eliminating them, you actually gain storage rather than feel like you loose some because of the tag.

Which rig are you looking at?

Latitude · 01-08-2008, 02:59 PM

Joe re Tiffin gets rid of hot water heater and propane furnace!!! How do they replace them???or Where???
and
From my experience(Which is not much) and research I think where you could get a 40' you could get a 42'!!

Rick

Rick

Joe-K · 01-08-2008, 04:46 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Latitude:
Joe re Tiffin gets rid of hot water heater and propane furnace!!! How do they replace them???or Where???
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No furnances and water heater....that wouldn't be good

I should have explained further that in the 40 foot rigs, the motorhomes usually have 2 propane furnaces and a propane water heater, all of which take up external wall area that usually reduces the amount of storage somewhat.

On Tiffin's 42 and 43 foot rigs, they eliminate the furnaces and water heater and install a HydroHot heating system for heat and domestic hot water. The Hydro Hot unit is mounted in the center of the rig and takes very little space. It heats the motorhome by heating an antifreeze solution in a boiler then distributing that hot water to small heaters throughout the rig.

The domestic hot water comes from circulating the water through the boiler so it's basically an on-demand system that has no storage tank. It also provides an endlless hot water supply.

Cruzer · 01-08-2008, 05:18 PM

We started out with a 33' coach because we didn't want to go too large and wanted to be able to get into places. 18 months later we traded up to a 40' Allegro Bus and found that it fit almost anywhere that a 33' coach did. After 2 years of the Bus we started thinking about a 42' tag axle coach so we started looking at our campsites and found that the 42 footer would fit wherever we had our 40 footer. So, after another year we bought the 42' Bus and are very happy. The extra room is nice, the tag axle rides awesome, CCC is virtually unlimited, etc. No drawbacks for us. Joe's point about the basement storage is well taken. Technically you should lose 2' of storage space when going from a 40' single axle to a 42' tag. But Tiffin designed the coach around the AquaHot heating system and I find I have at least as much space, maybe a hair more, than in my 40' Bus. I'd go for it if I were you. I did.

Tom N · 01-08-2008, 05:40 PM

HydroHot is available as an option in the 40' Allegro Bus.

-Tom

JavaJelly · 01-09-2008, 01:33 AM

Had a 40' now have a 43'. Love the coach but, there are some campgrounds that don't accept coaches over 40'.

Two that I can name that we had trouble with are Lion Country Safari KOA near Miami and Superstition Sunrise in Arizona.

Also, if a campground is near full, it is less likely you'll get a spot.

I'm not saying don't do it, just be aware of a few more limitations. I wouldn't trade back.