33AA Red

[F350ms38rssa]

Any body who has this model, do you have any regrets buying this model? Should you have went bigger? Can’t make up my mind between 33AA and 37PA. Comments will be appreciated.

[JohnH12]

We got rid of our 40' Discovery and got a 2018 Red 33AA. I'm 6'2" / 210# and the wife is about 5'2". The 33AA works just fine for our purposes but it's just the 2 of us and 2 small dogs. The daughter and son-in-law have stayed with us once and we managed OK. I don't think the PA would have made any difference with that.
The only plus I could see with the PA is the larger bathroom but I don't want to spend a lot of time in there anyway. My goal is to spend as many hours as possible outside, under the awning, lubricating brain cells
The 33AA isn't quite as stable as the Discovery in crosswinds but I can't compare it to the 37PA.
FWIW: If you can't handle the smaller bath go with the 37PA. I don't know if the extra 2 feet will make any handling difference. If the smaller bath doesn't bother you get the 33AA and enjoy it.
As a note: I compensated for the loss of basement storage by putting a cap on my F-150 that we tow. Access to "stuff" is much easier than getting on my knees to get to a lower compartment.

[Jerryss2]

We're in the same situation. Deciding on 33aa vs 37pa.

Bigger bathroom is nice, and so is the extra 2 ft counter space in the kitchen. Additional cost is minimal.

We want to go to national and state parks, so thinking smaller will give us a better chance of getting in

Jerry

[Reelgator]

I'll let you know in a few weeks. Coming out of a 45ft coach to the 2020 33AA. Wife and I are pretty sure we will do just fine......but.



I'm tired of not being able to get in so many places, last trip did me in.

[JohnH12]

35' vs 37'. Just tell them you're 35' and go for it. There may be a place out there that would measure but I've never heard of it.

[bsedor]

We went from a 43' Entegra Anthem to a 33AA. Do we miss the storage space, bath and a half, etc. Sure.

With the right planning though it's very manageable. The smaller coach fits our situation much better and I'm very happy with the decision. We typically don't spend more than 2 consecutive weeks in the coach.

If we ever to decide to spend more time in the coach I would probably move up to a 40' coach.

[KJR]

We are full timers that switched from a 25’ Airstream triller to a 2019 Red 37pa. We looked long and hard at the Red 33 which is 2” shy of 36’ while the length is attractive we found the bathroom and kitchen storage too limiting. There was no way everything stored in our Airstream bath would fit in the Red 33 bath. The kitchen was also a negative. Only 3 drawers excluding the two under the cooktop and no counter space when the stove and sink covers are off. We imagined playing the cover shuffle game a lot. It would be nice if Tiffin incorporated an articulated stove cover like Newmar.

The 37pa is $11k more when optioned the same as a 33aa. You get a bathroom en-suite with enough storage, room to dress inside, the kitchen has six useful drawers and the two under the cooktop. Ther are two passthrough storage bays on the 37pa, only one on the 33aa.

For us the 37pa made more sense. The Red33 would be a fine coach for part timers or the weekender.

When it came time to move our processions from the trailer we found the 37pa almost full. Items are easier to get to now since clothes can be hung up.

The equipment stored in the back of our Ram truck filled up most of the two basement bays. No way would one passthrough have worked

Looking back on our 2018 travels there are only a few campgrounds that would be more difficult to get into or not at all and we visited 17 out West in 2018, but there are workarounds to stay close to those parks if you plan accordingly.

The issue I’m most concerned with is the height but that would be the same with a 33aa.

KJR

[mricet1005]

Originally Posted by JohnH12

We got rid of our 40' Discovery and got a 2018 Red 33AA. I'm 6'2" / 210# and the wife is about 5'2". The 33AA works just fine for our purposes but it's just the 2 of us and 2 small dogs. The daughter and son-in-law have stayed with us once and we managed OK. I don't think the PA would have made any difference with that.
The only plus I could see with the PA is the larger bathroom but I don't want to spend a lot of time in there anyway. My goal is to spend as many hours as possible outside, under the awning, lubricating brain cells
The 33AA isn't quite as stable as the Discovery in crosswinds but I can't compare it to the 37PA.
FWIW: If you can't handle the smaller bath go with the 37PA. I don't know if the extra 2 feet will make any handling difference. If the smaller bath doesn't bother you get the 33AA and enjoy it.
As a note: I compensated for the loss of basement storage by putting a cap on my F-150 that we tow. Access to "stuff" is much easier than getting on my knees to get to a lower compartment.

I currently have a 41 ft Tiffin Phaeton (40QBH). Due to the passing of my wife, I now travel solo. Typically I'm on the road for 3 months at a time. I periodically consider downsizing with the main objective being increased campground and campsite accessibility. Have you experienced any significant change in that regard? Are there places that you can now stay at that you wouldn't have been able to stay in your Discovery?

One other question - do you find the single pane windows vs. dual pane to be an issue or factor?

My other considered downsize was to a 20 ft travel trailer to pull behind my F-150 which certainly provide more campground and boon docking access, but I'm not sure I'm prepared to give up my DP luxuries.

So far, I haven't pulled the trigger to downsize and am continuing to travel in my Phaeton.

[carllyn]

Originally Posted by F350ms38rssa

Any body who has this model, do you have any regrets buying this model? Should you have went bigger? Can’t make up my mind between 33AA and 37PA. Comments will be appreciated.

We are looking at Red 33AA, We are in a Dynamax Isata 5, need more room, space, etc. We are also looking at Phaeton 40. The Bath and a half would be nice but not for 60K more... Hate to buy too small as we have and want to size up again. Thoughts anyone?

Primo & Carllyn Walker
Buster/Poppy
Dynamax Isata 5 34'
GMC Sierra

[JohnH12]

Originally Posted by mricet1005

I currently have a 41 ft Tiffin Phaeton (40QBH). Due to the passing of my wife, I now travel solo. Typically I'm on the road for 3 months at a time. I periodically consider downsizing with the main objective being increased campground and campsite accessibility. Have you experienced any significant change in that regard? Are there places that you can now stay at that you wouldn't have been able to stay in your Discovery?

One other question - do you find the single pane windows vs. dual pane to be an issue or factor?

My other considered downsize was to a 20 ft travel trailer to pull behind my F-150 which certainly provide more campground and boon docking access, but I'm not sure I'm prepared to give up my DP luxuries.

So far, I haven't pulled the trigger to downsize and am continuing to travel in my Phaeton.

The only campgrounds that I can now get in are Florida state parks. Some will accept 40' but only have a couple of spots that are never available.
The window difference has not been noticeable at all and I don't anticipate the windows fogging up like the dual panes all do eventually.
I cannot imagine being in a bigger rig if solo. There is plenty of room with the 2 of us and 2 dogs.
As I said earlier the F-150 with the bed cap gives me much more storage and it's really easy to get to things. I use it for the things that are normally used at every place we stop and put the less frequently used stuff in the basement compartment.
I would never go back to a towable. The ability to pull over for the bathroom or even stop for a night and never go outside is something I'm not willing to lose.

[Travelino]

Another factor you might consider, is the size of the wheelbase of the 33AA compared to the 37PA. When I was looking at both of them, I searched for threads regaring handling of the 33AA and there were many folks that said it was a bit squirrely, even with steering stablizer. As a rule of thumb, short wheelbases can be more sensitive.


It's something you should research before you buy.


We never thought we would want anything smaller, but balancing reality with capability at our age, we ended up buying a new Wayfarer RW. Need to be more practical in what we pack, but we just completed our first big trip of 3 weeks living in it and it was just fine for us. I think the RW floor plan is key to having a decent living space during the day, plus a decent size bathroom too.


I still love the Red's and it would be so nice to carry more stuff and super nice, when its parked and living in it, but I really don't see myself driving one anymore plus getting into smaller spots, including gas stations. The Wayfarer is easy enough to just start up and take to the local grocery store once in a while to run it.



In the end, you want to make sure it meets your needs and expectations.

[mricet1005]

Originally Posted by JohnH12

The only campgrounds that I can now get in are Florida state parks. Some will accept 40' but only have a couple of spots that are never available.

The window difference has not been noticeable at all and I don't anticipate the windows fogging up like the dual panes all do eventually.

I cannot imagine being in a bigger rig if solo. There is plenty of room with the 2 of us and 2 dogs.

As I said earlier the F-150 with the bed cap gives me much more storage and it's really easy to get to things. I use it for the things that are normally used at every place we stop and put the less frequently used stuff in the basement compartment.

I would never go back to a towable. The ability to pull over for the bathroom or even stop for a night and never go outside is something I'm not willing to lose.

If I didn’t already have the 40 footer I would agree about going smaller. I have to trade off the loss taken anytime doing a trade-in and the fact that my Phaeton is debugged with the benefits and easier parking with something smaller. Certainly being solo if I didn’t already own the rig, I would go smaller. So far I haven’t been convinced enough of the benefits of going smaller to pull the trigger. I have no problems handling the 40 ft rig on my own. Just finished a 3 month trip to the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

[JohnH12]

Definitely keep what you have as long as it works.