What not to do!!!!!!!!!!

mjphelan wrote:
Thanks guys I appreciate all comments.
Has anyone owned a tag that would not have one again?

Opinions are great and appreciated! But...people who represent their opinion as fact and as the only way you or I can do things really irritate me.

I'd tell you my opinion and experience with tag axles.....but then again, you state you don't like people who tell their opinion which irritates you. :W

Two Jayhawks wrote:

gemert wrote:
Opinions are great and appreciated! But...people who represent their opinion as fact and as the only way you or I can do things really irritate me. My problem I know. My point is that whats important to me is Power to climb, a tag axle, continuous hot water, floor plan in that order. I don't care what the floor plan is if I can't take a long hot shower I am going to be miserable. If every time I drive on a hill I am going 15MPH I am going to be miserable. If every time a truck passes me I have to fight the wheel (tag axle) I am going to be miserable. We move a lot so that may have something to do with it. If I have to turn my head a little to watch TV, eh so what! My point is that when someone says that the floor plan is more important than anything else I respect their opinion but tend to "bristle" some because they cannot say that for all of us. They can say it is true for them. It may even be for the majority, I don't know, but not for me. My advice to you is to make a list of your priorities, find some that have what you want, sit in some of them, on a lot, figure out what you like and go from there. I doubt if I would be happy without a tag because of the way I had to fight the wheel every time a truck passes me in the non-tags that I have driven. Anyway, there are lots of different opinions out here, good luck sorting them all out. By the way my Beaver has very low ground clearance but the tag axle is so far to the rear in comparison to the drive axle in non tag 40 ft coaches that I have never scraped the rear undercarriage. Not sure if it would matter on a 45 ft.

Everyone here is saying the same thing no need to get bristle. Those that tout floorplan first likely assume buyer has already narrowed search to coach's that meet all needs (power, options, price).

You know what assume really means, if not ask and I will tell you. I don't think that what you say is true. Most who ask are people that do not own a DP or never have. They are looking for opinions and should get many. I just think we should be honest that there are a lot of opinions and they are just that, opinions. Just don't present your opinion as fact because it is not. Continue to advise and give it to them straight. Just my opinion worth exactly what you paid for it!

You're only a hour from DiMartini in Grass Valley. Spend some time hanging out there since they usually have a healthy selection of new and used DPs. We bought our last two there (wouldn't use their service department). It can give you a feel for floor plans but also a chance to test drive a variety of coaches. If there is a tag axle unit that you like, I'm sure taking it for a hour drive to your home to test the driveway wouldn't be a problem. Biggest problem we made was buying a unit that was smaller than we liked, traded up a couple of years later.

gemert wrote:
Opinions are great and appreciated! But...people who represent their opinion as fact and as the only way you or I can do things really irritate me. My problem I know. My point is that whats important to me is Power to climb, a tag axle, continuous hot water, floor plan in that order. I don't care what the floor plan is if I can't take a long hot shower I am going to be miserable. If every time I drive on a hill I am going 15MPH I am going to be miserable. If every time a truck passes me I have to fight the wheel (tag axle) I am going to be miserable. We move a lot so that may have something to do with it. If I have to turn my head a little to watch TV, eh so what! My point is that when someone says that the floor plan is more important than anything else I respect their opinion but tend to "bristle" some because they cannot say that for all of us. They can say it is true for them. It may even be for the majority, I don't know, but not for me. My advice to you is to make a list of your priorities, find some that have what you want, sit in some of them, on a lot, figure out what you like and go from there. I doubt if I would be happy without a tag because of the way I had to fight the wheel every time a truck passes me in the non-tags that I have driven. Anyway, there are lots of different opinions out here, good luck sorting them all out. By the way my Beaver has very low ground clearance but the tag axle is so far to the rear in comparison to the drive axle in non tag 40 ft coaches that I have never scraped the rear undercarriage. Not sure if it would matter on a 45 ft.

Just to give you an example. I don't care about taking long hot showers. A navy shower is fine with me. I would not like to go up a hill at 15 MPH either. But, those huge 600 HP rigs that blast up the steep hills a 70 MPH is not me either. I have a 300 HP Cummins 6.7L ISB. It slows down in the hills to 35-40 MPH. That is fine with me. Takes me a little longer to get up the hills, but no big deal. My rig does not shake when trucks go by. But, I doubt I will ever have or need a tag axle. If I was looking at a 42-45' rig, yes on the tag axle. But not on the 38-40' I am looking for.

Floorplan is important. Not above everything else. But it is up there on the list. Mid ship TV is very important to us. Ability to sleep 3 young adults WITHOUT having to open all the slides is important to us. Large holding tanks. A place for pots and pans. Clothing storage for 5 adults. 4 door refer. Some pass thorough storage for chairs and tables. NOT huge sliding storage trays that slide out both sides. Not needed for us. Good A/C that can cool the coach in 115 degree AZ summer weather. Securely mounted windshield as we just broke our 5th windshield on our Tiffin. I bet that last one is not a priority on anybody elses list!!! ;)

Which brings me to my point. Nobody elses list matters. Figure out what you want and what you can't live without. Because there will almost always be compromises!

Good luck!

Mark, welcome to RV.Net! I love Fair Oaks, when my Dad was alive he lived in Carmichael, he would send me shopping to Fair Oaks, when I was visiting (I would stay at Cal Expo with my RV.) I suggest looking at some coaches on the net. I good start is demartinirv.com (just up the road from you in Grass Valley and a fun website to browse), he is a high volume RV Dealer, he gets a lot of bank repo's and trade ins. And if you don't like is offer on a RV he encourages you to make a counter offer. Good Luck in your search!

mjphelan wrote:
Thanks guys I appreciate all comments.
Has anyone owned a tag that would not have one again?

How about when setting up the MH?

Do you all use the generator to power the slide outs?

No one does that I know of, unless you're a regular boondocker.

How is servicing a generator that isn't on slides? (any pro's to non sliding gen.)?

Don't know if you'd call them 'pro's' but professional shops know how to deal with gensets even if they are not on slides. The Onan gensets are pretty reliable too.

Getting fuel at the best price? (Costco?)

Sometimes I'll go to the trouble of checking DieselBuddy online for the best prices, but really, it's just too much bother if I'm traveling. I just stop when I get to near 1/2 tank and fill up, if I'm parked, sure, I'll find the nearest low priced fuel online.

Is a 40' too long or a 45"?

Depends on your driving history I think. If you've driven large rigs or pulled long trailers, you'd be good in either. If you've never driven something long before, learn to be cautious.

Is a 400 cummings about right for hills?

The rule of thumb is 1 HP per 100 lbs. So if you are looking at a 36,000 lb rig, you'd want a 360 HP engine. A 33,000 lb rig, you'd want 330 HP engine. And so on.

If you find the GVWR for a rig you're looking to buy and it calculates out at, say, 85 lbs per HP, you could easily top a hill at 75 MPH. But if you're worried about fuel prices, you should keep the rig at between 55-65 MPH.

A 40' non tag DP will NOT have a better turning radius than even a 42' with a tag. The wheelbase to the drive axle wins... 20K lbs vs 6K lbs. Non of the names he listed make a patched together tag axle coach. Yes 20 years ago there were some and they had 16" tires, not 22.5.

mjphelan wrote:
Hello Forum, I am a first time buyer or soon to be of a class A motorhome.
What a daunting process.
I have owned travel trailers before 30 years ago.
My wife and I were going to buy another sailboat but have decided to motor home for a few years first, then resume our circumnavigation.
We live in Sacramento and are thinking of purchasing a used Newmar, Tiffin, Beaver or Monaco with a tag axle.
Our home has a fairly steep driveway, one reason for the tag. We still might have to ramp the tires to avoid bottoming out.

My question to this forum is WHAT NOT TO DO?
Any bone head mistakes a first timer might make?

Regards Mark

In my opinion, everything is a balance and compromise. You should make a list of 'must' have's and 'like' to have's. Fill in the most that you can on the coach that you are looking at.

Keep in mind that some small things can be changed later like the TV's if they are the tube type. I assume that you are buying a previously loved unit.

2007 and later (mostly), you will have a particulate filter with a diesel coach. Later, if my memory serves me correctly, 2010 and later coaches will have the need for DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid).

Personally, I would stay away from a Navistar engine as they tried to make their engines without DEF and they had problems. I would try to stick with Cummins or CAT. CAT is out of the OTR (over the road) business just making engines for construction equipment but a coach with a CAT can still be serviced with no problems.

Safe travels,
MM.

First of all, do the research. THEN, make a list of YOUR deal breakers. Of course, the floor plan has to satisfy your needs. But, there are several OTHER features that you have to include on your list. Obviously, you already know this selection process is daunting.

Comparing tag to not tag. I did own 40' motorhomes with and without tag.
No -tag had (installed by PO) anti-rocking shocks, yet rocking on crossing the shoulders was a bit annoying.
Than no-tag gives sharper turns, more storage and less maintenance.
My non-tag chassis was commercial Gillig chassis, so the motorhome was holding the freeway speeds pretty steady, but lot of motorhome builders use short chassis and extend it out of proportions, where tag is a "must" patch. Those come with whole bunch of handling and structural problems.
Final conclusion - assuming that you are not considering the "patched tag", it is judgement call.