Community Forums

prespoole39 · 04-30-2013, 09:26 PM

What are the advantage (benefits) of a tag axle on a 40' MH. thinking about a Country Coach or similar, does it take more maintenance and does it effect the milage? etc.

Smitty77 · 04-30-2013, 10:42 PM

Hi - Doing a search on 'tag' will find some good info on pro/con of tag's.

Yes more maintenance. Full other set of wheels, tires, brakes, shocks.

Extra weight to carry, so MPG a bit less.

We have a CC 40' Allure with tag. It was the extra CCC (over 11K), much more stable ride and another set of brakes (these last two items I feel add extra safety) - that made the tag the way to go for us. A side benefit, is the drive wheels are a bit closer to the front, so with the tags lifted you get a tighter turning radius.

Just some of the pro's. These offset the lost of basement storage, and extra costs.

And as I think it was Executive Dennis on rv.net once said 'tag's look cool'

!

Have fun on your search,
Smitty

Mike Canter · 05-01-2013, 02:30 AM

Do a search on the problem of motor homes without tag axles wondering back and forth on the road. A tag axle motor home never has a problem with stability or wondering.

Normally you never wear out the brakes in the time you have a mh so that is not a factor.

I have had motor homes with and without tags and will never buy another one without a tag again. I love the way a tag handles and rides.

TheJeep · 05-01-2013, 03:07 AM

Our first motorhome we had was a Winnebago Journey. It wandered all the time. Our new to us Monaco has a tag and it really makes a difference. Even on a windy day it is easy to drive. The Journey did have a shorter wheel base and that is also part of the handling problem it had.

Pigman1 · 05-01-2013, 06:58 AM

The newer higher end coaches have a lot of really nice interior features such as extensive solid wood, large counter top surfaces, and porcelain tile floors, but you pay in higher weight. 40 foot coaches tend to push the upper weight limits of the rear axle without much of a cargo carrying ability. When I looked into it, our last coach had a 17,000 pound rear axle that had been waived to 19,000 pounds by Freightliner at the coach builder's request, and when I weighed it with only water on board, it was within a few hundred pounds of max weight. A tag was not offered in that length, but should have been. Handling with the tag is also better. The only down side I've found so far is the loss of basement storage room. If you have to worry about the fuele mileage, you've bought too much coach. Get something lighter and cheaper so you can afford the gas.

JMonroe · 05-01-2013, 07:06 AM

I think the number one advantage - additional CCC.

prespoole39 · 05-02-2013, 06:53 AM

What is your MPG?

Mike Canter · 05-02-2013, 07:32 AM

With my Signature at 44k lbs and the Detroit diesel I average 6.2 mpg over a 2000 mile trip pulling the Jeep. My problem is not the extra weight of the tag but the whole weight of a 44' mh with slides and pulling the Jeep.

Sky_Boss · 05-02-2013, 08:41 AM

Moving from a 39' gasser to a 43' tag DSDP is not even fair to compare.

Another tag advantage is that the angle of the drive shaft to drive wheels is a little less than on non-tags. I have had a couple mechs say that it does seem to help in reducing stress on U joints. Take that for what it is worth.

MPG...it MIGHT be 7 MPG on average. On our last trip with toad but not fully loaded we got 6 MPG into the wind and 7.5 with a tail wind. I do 62-63 MPH, We haven't taken it on a trip fully loaded and with our toad but this Sunday we will get that chance for 10 days from Champaign, IL, to Charlotte, MI, to Monticello, IN and back. Hope to get a "final answer" then.

Gary RVRoamer · 05-02-2013, 02:59 PM

A tag axle is not installed on a chassis for any reason other than carrying more weight. Until a recent change in federal road rules, the max loading for a single rear axle was 20,000 lbs. If the gross weight (which includes the CCC) & balance of the coach was such that it would cause the rear axle to exceed 20k lbs, a tag had to be added. Some coach builders chose to limit the CCC in order to stay under 20k lbs while still providing tile floors and lot of amenities in the rear of the coach, while others went for a tag axle chassis to provide more weight.

In a 40 ft coach, the tag provides more weight carrying but costs in terms of dollars (for the extra axle and two more tires) as well as basement storage. The tag basically consumes the space for one full bay on each side.

Recently the feds upped the max single axle size to 23,000 lbs on the interstate and national highway system, but not all states have gone along and some bridges and toll booths are still restricted to 20k lbs per axle.

Coaster1 · 05-02-2013, 03:18 PM

^^^^What he said!

Steve Ownby · 05-02-2013, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

A tag axle is not installed on a chassis for any reason other than carrying more weight. Until a recent change in federal road rules, the max loading for a single rear axle was 20,000 lbs. If the gross weight (which includes the CCC) & balance of the coach was such that it would cause the rear axle to exceed 20k lbs, a tag had to be added. Some coach builders chose to limit the CCC in order to stay under 20k lbs while still providing tile floors and lot of amenities in the rear of the coach, while others went for a tag axle chassis to provide more weight.

In a 40 ft coach, the tag provides more weight carrying but costs in terms of dollars (for the extra axle and two more tires) as well as basement storage. The tag basically consumes the space for one full bay on each side.

Recently the feds upped the max single axle size to 23,000 lbs on the interstate and national highway system, but not all states have gone along and some bridges and toll booths are still restricted to 20k lbs per axle.

With a tag axle the same law gives a total for the drive/tag combo of 34k. This is part of the federal bridge weight restrictions. This is the limiting factor on federal highways and many but not all states follow the same guidelines.

Us3Here · 05-02-2013, 04:02 PM

Don't forget 2 more tires with BRAKES on them!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty77

Hi - Doing a search on 'tag' will find some good info on pro/con of tag's.

Yes more maintenance. Full other set of wheels, tires, brakes, shocks.

Extra weight to carry, so MPG a bit less.

We have a CC 40' Allure with tag. It was the extra CCC (over 11K), much more stable ride and another set of brakes (these last two items I feel add extra safety) - that made the tag the way to go for us. A side benefit, is the drive wheels are a bit closer to the front, so with the tags lifted you get a tighter turning radius.

Just some of the pro's. These offset the lost of basement storage, and extra costs.

And as I think it was Executive Dennis on rv.net once said 'tag's look cool'

!

Have fun on your search,
Smitty

lmcgill · 05-02-2013, 07:01 PM

One more thumbs up for: they look so cool! We wanted the bath and a half. In order to get that we had to go with the tag....at least that's the story I told my wife and I am sticking with that!
Oh yes, they do ride a lot nicer, we got the last of the Spartan Chassis but I am sure the Frightliner is as good. We had that on our Discovery 39S and worked fine, I just didn't like the brakes the way they pulled when they were wet. The Spartan doesn't do that.