Community Forums

Bee950 · 05-25-2012, 07:49 AM

Looks like I wont be upgrading. I love my 40 foot single axle. I saved $40.00 in tolls on my last trip by having a single axle. I was pulling a tandem axle trailer. The price from 4 to 5 axles is steep!

TerryO · 05-25-2012, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bee950

Looks like I wont be upgrading. I love my 40 foot single axle. I saved $40.00 in tolls on my last trip by having a single axle. I was pulling a tandem axle trailer. The price from 4 to 5 axles is steep!

Tolls are a pain. We just paid over $50 to drive across Oklahoma. Tag axle with a toad lets you pay the same as an 80,000 lb. semi. I thought Oklahoma tolls were only going to exist until the highways were paid for :-( I think they've been paid for many times over by now.

Still, IMHO the tag is worth it in handling.

757driver · 05-25-2012, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ann n Gene

I talked to the factory yesterday and they confirmed, ALL Entegras now have tag axle. No more 40 ft floor plans in the lineup.

Perhaps the move to all with a tag axle has something to do with the poor CCC of the 40' Aspire. A review I read listed it near 1300lbs for the 2011 model year.

Ann n Gene · 05-25-2012, 10:06 PM

IF you want a new 40ft. there are several still on dealers lots. Try Bishs in Idaho or Pharr Rv in Lubbock, they both had new ones the last time I checked as well as RVOne in Floriday has a couple. Likely a couple of others also.

rvguy02 · 05-26-2012, 11:09 AM

FYI... Our 2012 Aspire 40DRQ CCC is actually higher than originally determined due to the tires on the coach and the front axle rating. I don't know about 2011 models, but the Spartan MM chassis on our 40DRQ is actually rated at 13,860 on the front axle. Our true CCC is closer to 2500 lb. Not stellar, but quite usable until we can afford the tag. We travel with no more than 50% in the water tank to give us a bit more "wiggle" room on CCC. That, plus the "fudge factor" built into the chassis makes me feel confident that we're o.k. We worked all of this out with engineering at Entegra. I tried to get Entegra to upgrade us to 295 tires on the front, but they said no. With 295 tires on the front we would have been able to run with somewhat lower front pressures, but the ride has been very nice overall with the 275s... Next it's time to get Spartan to upgrade us to the Koni's on the front...

757driver · 05-26-2012, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvguy02

FYI... Our 2012 Aspire 40DRQ CCC is actually higher than originally determined due to the tires on the coach and the front axle rating. I don't know about 2011 models, but the Spartan MM chassis on our 40DRQ is actually rated at 13,860 on the front axle. Our true CCC is closer to 2500 lb. Not stellar, but quite usable until we can afford the tag. We travel with no more than 50% in the water tank to give us a bit more "wiggle" room on CCC. That, plus the "fudge factor" built into the chassis makes me feel confident that we're o.k. We worked all of this out with engineering at Entegra. I tried to get Entegra to upgrade us to 295 tires on the front, but they said no. With 295 tires on the front we would have been able to run with somewhat lower front pressures, but the ride has been very nice overall with the 275s... Next it's time to get Spartan to upgrade us to the Koni's on the front...

That's not bad at all. The 2011 Aspire 40DRQ on a freightliner chassis had a 12400 lb front and 20000 lb rear axle which for an almost 41 footer is not great. Looks like they changed their tune rather quickly with a heavier chassis and a better CCC.

rvguy02 · 05-27-2012, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72driver

That's not bad at all. The 2011 Aspire 40DRQ on a freightliner chassis had a 12400 lb front and 20000 lb rear axle which for an almost 41 footer is not great. Looks like they changed their tune rather quickly with a heavier chassis and a better CCC.

Just to clarify, Entegra needed to check the ratings out with Spartan before confirming to me that our front axle was indeed 13,860 lb... I had originally expressed concern about CCC to Entegra which prompted their evaluation. It's great working with the team at Entegra (Joyce and Don and the many others behind the scenes) because they really dig into everything when a customer has concerns.

757driver · 05-27-2012, 11:39 AM

That is great to see rvguy02. Hopefully one of these Entegra's will be in our not too distant future (retiring 2015).

rvguy02 · 05-27-2012, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72driver

That is great to see rvguy02. Hopefully one of these Entegra's will be in our not too distant future (retiring 2015).

We were not ready yet either, but were somewhat forced into upgrading when our 10 year old National Dolphin was starting to require larger and larger repairs. We were looking at $5-10k of cost to keep her going which was throwing good money after bad. We looked at the used market but took the plunge and went for new after we saw the Entegras. Our bank account is hurting every month we write that check, but the Aspire makes up forget (sort of -

) the pain... Once the kids are off the payroll things should ease up a bit, although I guess they're never fully off! At least they still enjoy being with us as much as we enjoy having them around!

Kathryn · 06-03-2012, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ann n Gene

I talked to the factory yesterday and they confirmed, ALL Entegras now have tag axle. No more 40 ft floor plans in the lineup.

I was truly disappointed to hear this - I had seriously been considering an Entegra but definitely wanted to stay 40' or less to avoid road, park and CG restrictions.

I finally emailed them at corp HQ and got an almost immediate reply (impressive!) which included the following ...

Quote:

"... You are correct, we have stopped producing 40 footers for the time being. We are reevaluating floor plans. We will be producing them again is my understanding. Be on the look out for new 40 foot floor plans as we move into the new year."

Perfect for me since I won't be buying for another six months anyway!

Kathryn

rvguy02 · 06-03-2012, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryn

I was truly disappointed to hear this - I had seriously been considering an Entegra but definitely wanted to stay 40' or less to avoid road, park and CG restrictions.

I finally emailed them at corp HQ and got an almost immediate reply (impressive!) which included the following ...

Perfect for me since I won't be buying for another six months anyway!

Kathryn

We LOVE our 40DRQ! The layout is great, so hopefully they won't change too much. The separate toilet is something we really like and wish they would have done that in the 42 footers. About the only thing they might want to consider is moving the main 40" TV to the opposite side of the kitchen (if that's possible). Then again we have watched almost no TV in a coach that has 4!!! Whatever you do, stick with Entegra. They are amazing. I would not consider anything else now unless I was made of money! Even then, I'm not sure I could own a Prevost or Newell... Too glitzy for my tastes. No worries though, I'm NOT made of money.