Ideal Diesel Pusher

[EasyDoesIt]

There is an interesting BLOG on RV.net regarding the “Ideal Diesel Pusher” The writer has outlined features that are important to him and has selected some units that meet most of HIS requirements. I think it might be interesting to have a thread that allows us IRV2ers to express our opinions. Some may think ideal might be one with 50 pounds per horsepower for great power but not be concerned about the price. I think it would be interesting to rate these features as 1 being nice, 2 Desirable, and 3- a deal breaker without. I encourage constructive criticism of my list as well.
Here is my list:
Feature -------------------- Rating Reason
Full Wall Slide --------------- 3 Opens up coach from front to rear.
Flat dash by Co-pilot -------- 3 Needed for maps and navigation computer
100# GCWR per HP ---------- 2 Many are 100#/GVWR but most of us tow and would be nice for 6% grades.
Air leveling ------------------ 2 Many problems with Electric and Hydraulic jacks
Manual Awnings ------------- 2 Electric Awnings are trouble prone and too weak for Add-A-Room.
Single Piece Windshield ------ 1 It is nice not to have the divider bar.
Independent Front suspension 1 Solid axle works well on the freightliner I have
Hinged Stove Top ----------- 2 Mine did not hinge but I added the hinge.
Large Grey Water Tank ------ 2 Should be as large as the fresh water tank
Pass Through Basement ----- 3 At least one bay should be pass through for Ladder etc.
Combo Washer Dryer -------- 3 Found almost necessary for full timing convenience
Full Coach RO Water -------- 2 Added to our coach. It Does not cost that much for reverse osmosis water.
Pull Out Kitchen Counter ---- 3 Kitchen Counter space is always at a premium.
Bedroom Slide on Pass Side -- 3 Most need to be opened to get to the bed.
Kitchen Pantry -------------- 3 Surprising how many floor plans have no space for Stuff!
Living area in the front ------ 3 Kitchen in front breaks up the living area.
Single Bath ----------------- 2 Why waste space for 2 stools
Lavatory Vanity in Hall ------ 2 More room for large top.
Dresser in Bedroom --------- 2 Just like home
MCD day/night Shades ----- 2 Its obvious.
Lots of Basement space----- 3 No Hydro-Hot,-No Basement Air,-No Side radiator

[ninos]

You might get a million different opinions everyone as different needs budget and taste what works for you might not work for me, that's my opinion doesn't mean its the right one. Joe

[EasyDoesIt]

That's the Idea. Let's let the manufacturers know what we like. Too bad we can't set up a poll type of response.

[Chuck 1935]

I would not want a 1 piece windshield. We travel alot and have collected quite a few stones along the way that has resulted in two windshields being replaced at different times. Being a two piece windshield the only had to repace just half.

[RV Wizard]

I think the ideal coach would be one that a family member or friend owns and lets you use it any time you want.

[EasyDoesIt]

One thing I forgot in the original post. Windshield wipers that do more than a little swipe. Both the Trek and the Winnebago Chieftain had pantograph wiper arms that swept most of the windshield. My Providence has arms that are too short and blades that are too small. I can't see the road signs along the side of the road unless I duck down and to one side. I can't believe they ANSI requirements unless you are a midget. Talking to Fleetwood, they did not recommend any modifications due to strain on the system. I did add about 4 inches to the driver's side arm and found a blade about 4 inches longer. Hasn't failed yet but still not great.

[Crabby Mike]

Would agree with (and have!) most items on your list, but we chose our coach for its bath-and-a-half, not wasted space for us. Also love our hydronic heat and side radiator.

We would add to your list: AGS, tag axle (for its massive CCC), power cord reel, 3 A/Cs, ceramic tile floors, side and rear cameras

[Deerhunter]

My friends & I go to the Tampa RV Show every January and look at all the new RVs. We never can find enough (gotta have) changes in one coach to make us want to trade up. We do see a lot of things that we like and would love to have but they are spread out within all the manufacturers. We also find that our likes & dislikes are different in our group.

So how you might rate something doesn't necessarily mean someone else may rate it the same way.

[EasyDoesIt]

Originally Posted by Crabby Mike

Would agree with (and have!) most items on your list, but we chose our coach for its bath-and-a-half, not wasted space for us. Also love our hydronic heat and side radiator.

We would add to your list: AGS, tag axle (for its massive CCC), power cord reel, 3 A/Cs, ceramic tile floors, side and rear cameras

Now that I have the side cameras I take them for granted. BUT, I find the mirrors are more visible. The small side pic inserts are too small, have to turn on the signal to see well.
My brother bought a 45' Tiffen Allegro bus. With the Hydro-Hot, Side Radiator, Tag axle, and basement storage slides, He had a hard time deciding what to leave behind when transferring from his 40' coach. Nice to have the CCC but if no room then what?

[EasyDoesIt]

Originally Posted by Crabby Mike

We would add to your list:tag axle (for its massive CCC),

Regarding the CCC. Yes, That is very important. Funny how that is next to impossible to determine from the brochure specs. Seems you have to try the coach and take it to a scale or at least go to the showroom and pull open all the doors to find the rating on a given coach. I find the CCC is adequate on our coach at 3700# but I have to watch how I load it. The rear axle gets overloaded quite easily. That you can't tell until you buy it, load it, and take it to a scale.

[OneRVer]

Originally Posted by Crabby Mike

Would agree with (and have!) most items on your list, but we chose our coach for its bath-and-a-half, not wasted space for us. Also love our hydronic heat and side radiator.

We would add to your list: AGS, tag axle (for its massive CCC), power cord reel, 3 A/Cs, ceramic tile floors, side and rear cameras

May I ask why the bath-and-a-half?? Are there more then just you and the wife? Don't being a smart A**, just wondering.

[LindyT]

Before this coach, we had an HR Endeavor. There were so many little and big things that annoyed us and we wished we had, we made an exhaustive list and spent a couple of years before deciding on the MADP. A few of the must-haves from our list were:

- Bath and a half. We have kids, so this was non-negotiable for me and an option I absolutely love now!

- Tag axle. Would never own another coach without one. The Endeavor was significantly off-balance from the factory. Had to be very careful loading it or the load combined with the tanks would give it odd riding characteristics, plus take it to the max axle rating. I can load the MADP any way I want and not have to worry about CCC and it doesn't miss a beat in terms of handling.

- Stackable washer/dryer. Again, we have kids and we spend a good amount of time on the road. I don't like using campground facilities and our previous rig had a combo unit which takes forever to do a small load. Very, very happy with the new stackable units.

- HydroHot. Once again, we have kids. Fighting for hot water, breaking camp to get the LP refilled and so on became really old. We love the all electric unit, the hydrohot provides unlimited heat and hot water and should we happen to burn through the Diesel before we leave a site, it's easy to add more. In terms of space, it hardly takes up any, at least with Newmar's implementation. I wish the electric unit was a bit more useful, but I love it otherwise.

- Residential fridge. I was so sick of Norcold - I insisted on a residential style fridge. Unfortunately, I had a different definition of all electric residential fridge than Newmar and I ended up with a Dometic. A nice side-by-side unit, but I'd have preferred a true residential fridge and should this one ever go, that's definitely what I'll go with since the inverter and battery capacity was already upgraded to accommodate it anyway.

- ComfortDrive. The K2 with ComfortDrive was a requirement for us. Crosswinds, storms, a convoy of semi's... nothing pulls this thing off-course.

- Dinette booth. More sleeping positions and it makes a great work/office area.


Pretty much everything else was a bonus for us. I'm not sure what we'll do if we ever need/want to upgrade. I've attended a few RV shows and the products the manufacturers are turning out these days seem to be getting cheaper in quality as the years pass. Zero interest in the latest EPA garbage either.

[Crabby Mike]

Originally Posted by OneRVer

May I ask why the bath-and-a-half?? Are there more then just you and the wife? Don't being a smart A**, just wondering.

DW saw bath-and-a-half, that's what she wanted. 'Nuff said.

But now that we have it ... really like that you can get out of the shower, and dry off while still in the bathroom. Not out in the hallway, or in a cramped bathroom, etc. Washer/dryer's in there too -- perfect arrangement for us.

As to space and CCC, at 43'+ with tag we have more of both than we ever need. I thought I wanted a 40', but found that most had relatively little CCC -- way too easy to overload that rear axle. The tag (and added length) adds around 5k of weight, but 10k of GVWR, so an extra 5k of CCC -- more than most coaches have in total. Yes, the side radiator takes space (but worth the tradeoff, IMHO), ditto the hydronic heat. And the full-wall slide, which eliminates the bottleneck so many coaches have between front and back -- we are extremely happy with our floor plan!

[OneRVer]

Originally Posted by Crabby Mike

DW saw bath-and-a-half, that's what she wanted. 'Nuff said.

I hear that. "Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. Papa ain't happy, nobody cares."