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Old 01-12-2016, 11:39 AM   #1
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Question Two motorhome questions that have been bugging me

Why are there no gas pushers?

Why do all diesel pushers have the door way up front?
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Old 01-12-2016, 11:42 AM   #2
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1. Cooling problems and no real advantage.

2. Not all do, but almost all new ones do. Better utilization of space since the door/steps don't intrude into storage bay space.
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Old 01-12-2016, 11:47 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RV Vagabond View Post
Why are there no gas pushers?

Why do all diesel pushers have the door way up front?
WOW, good questions.
From what I have heard, the door breaks up the floor plan.
Having it up front allows a better flow in the coach.
Seems like the shorter coaches can't spare the space for steps in front of the Passenger seat.

On rear engine, I think it starts from being heavy duty for a larger coach.
Bigger tires and heavy frame, make it higher off the ground. So they can mount a diesel under the bed. A smaller coach would not have room under the bed/floor for an engine.

this is my WAG....

Dan
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Old 01-12-2016, 11:47 AM   #4
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Personally, we wouldn't want a door in the middle. It breaks up the space.
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:26 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by twogypsies View Post
Personally, we wouldn't want a door in the middle. It breaks up the space.

Never thought about it, but that sounds like a good reason!
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:47 PM   #6
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Ok, you are all saying a mid-coach door breaks up the space. But gas coaches have the door mid-coach. Why is it ok to break up the space for a gas coach but not for a diesel coach?
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:50 PM   #7
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Gas coaches are built on existing chassis like those for a delivery truck. A delivery truck needs a rear door, hence no engine in the back.

Diesel pushers are mostly built on custom chassis, which are more costly than a stock chassis like the gassers use. Since the chassis are custom, the rear engine location is easily accomodated.

If you were to put a custom chassis on a gas coach, the price would have to be increased substantially.
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:56 PM   #8
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FWIW One of the reasons why I am not interested in a DP is that she refuses to sit over the steps. ;-) Yes, I know there are floor plans with other locations and good reasons to want them. I also see the point of a mid entry.

All current vehicles are built on multi use chassis. DP's are built on Bus chassis so they need the door up front so the driver can collect the fare.
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Old 01-12-2016, 12:58 PM   #9
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FYI - There is a gas pusher chassis, the Workhorse R-26 UFO gas pusher, but Workhorse sold out and the new buyers didn't continue it. I think it was only produced for a couple years - maybe about 2008/2009.
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Old 01-12-2016, 01:03 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRUSA14 View Post
Gas coaches are built on existing chassis like those for a delivery truck. A delivery truck needs a rear door, hence no engine in the back.

Diesel pushers are mostly built on custom chassis, which are more costly than a stock chassis like the gassers use. Since the chassis are custom, the rear engine location is easily accomodated.

If you were to put a custom chassis on a gas coach, the price would have to be increased substantially.
Marc has it right. This is not an issue of the RV Manufacturers driving the location of the doors, but rather what chassis platforms are offered by companies such as Freightliner. The larger bus chassis are designed for the transit market, where the front door allows for control of passenger loading (to collect fares, specifically). The smaller bus chassis are more often used for shuttle buses, etc. Were an RV manufacturer to spec something outside the chassis makers' standard offering, the costs associated with that custom platform would make their offerings non-competitive in the marketplace.
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Old 01-12-2016, 01:10 PM   #11
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Some 2 million dollar Newell coaches have the mid entry door.
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Old 01-12-2016, 01:18 PM   #12
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Monaco/RoadMaster up through 2013 model year and Newell built their own chassis specifically for the floor plans they were building. They were/are not "off the rack" multi use chassis. Newell does offer a mid door floor plan but most floor plans are front door. Seems like a front door plan offers better flow and easier entry and exit for the driver and front passenger.
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Old 01-12-2016, 01:58 PM   #13
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I would love to have a mid entry DP. Come in and out of the kitchen area etc. Our friends had one and I loved it. They are hard to come by. However er we came out of a 5th wheel so we were used to that
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Old 01-12-2016, 02:25 PM   #14
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The next question is why aren't there front-engined diesel motorhomes? It seems like it would be an easy upgrade for Ford to swap out the V-10 for a Powerstroke, and would be far cheaper than any of the current diesel pushers. I'd love a sub-30' diesel motorhome.

Yes, I know there have been front-engined diesels in the past, from early Bluebirds up through Freightliner FRED chassis. This entire post is rhetorical.
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