Looking to buy our first DP

[Donna_Jean]

I posted in one of the other forums about how in the spring my husband Ian and I will be moving from our home into a used DP full time for at least 6 months, hopefully longer. Besides the right engine one of our must haves is a king size bed. To get what we want we have been thinking we will have to go 42'ish. Because of a lot of the comments about the length being hard to find spots to park I started wondering if we could go shorter, so i started searching the RV sale web sites for DPs around 36' with a king bed and have not found any.

So I have two questions.

1. do any of you have a mid 30"s with a king bed?
2. For those of you with 40+' experience do you find it hard to find RV parks to rent spaces for a few weeks at a time. We want to spend a lot of time in CO, UT, AZ, CA, OR and eventually head south in TX, AL, and FL.

[Deaton]

I have not read all the posts, so I have no idea what your budget might be. But Newmar makes a coach called a New Aire. For 2020, they have three floor plans that are 35 ft with a king bed. You also get a Cummins 450 ILS9, Allison 3000, side radiator, Comfort Drive, and Newmar quality.

See them at www.newmarcorp.com

[Ivylog]

“ Wow i bet you finding driving your 36' a breeze compared to a 45er, can i asked what made you downsize?”
Downsize??? Guess I’m confused...started with a 36’ and now have a 45’. I can’t say there’s that much difference in driving a 36 or 40. A tag axle 42 has a better turning radius than a single axle 40’. After years of never hitting a curb with a 42’ , the first couple months with the 45’ I hit several. Over the last year (7K miles) I haven’t hit any.
Yes you can PM me with questions if you do not want to post it.

Be careful with 40’ DPs without a tag axle for FTime use...many have very little Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC). In 2012 it became legal for a MH to have a 23K rear axle (instead of 20K) so starting around 2014 some 40’ came with a single 23K axle and 3000+ lbs of CCC.

[Bob___Ann]

Donna Jean wrote:

Ivylog wrote:
I’ve posted many times that you should buy more MH than you think you need, ONE TIME!!! 17 years ago as a lurker on this site I made a very expensive mistake believing posts that 36’ is the max for public CGs...so I bought a used 36’ DP. Only took 2 years to figure out what a mistake that was so traded for a used 40’. When we started snowbirding went to 42’ for 14 years...7 summers of which we spent out West staying in mainly public CGs without reservations. Sure it’s harder with a BIG rig but it’s a lot easier now (the internet) than 14 years ago.

Three summers ago we went to Southlake Tahoe on Labor Day without reservations, getting into the city park, our first choice. NO, it was not on Friday, it was on Monday when the working folks have to go home.

This past summer we did 7 weeks out west without reservations (in a 45’) without any major problems finding public CG sites...USFS CGs are our favorite.

I realize the bath and a half four plan is the current fad so I will not comment on needing 2 thrones, or frameless windows.

I loved reading your post, it's very encouraging because i really don't think we could get all we want in anything under 40' thank you for taking time to comment. I also love the fact that you have been at it for so long, it's weird but even though i have never had an RV I just know i am going to love it. Ian and I have had cigarette style boats for the last 30 years, we have had a 43' one for the last 15 and spend a lot of time sleeping in marinas and towing it around, so he figures it will be easier to drive the bus than towing that boat. I have always loved the marina life, meeting new people and seeing new places so I can't wait to hit the road in a nice RV. Thanks again and since you are such a seasoned veteran would it be OK if once in a while i hit you up with a questions.

If you would like to try to stay with a 40' unit check out the Tiffin 40 IP Bus or the 40 IH Phaeton. They are both on the Tiffin Powerglide Chassis. This gives you a higher rail which gives you about 6" more clearance in the compartments. It also gives you a level floor in the back over the engine. (No step up) We found that many of the 42 foot units actually have less storage space due to the space that is taken up by the tandem. Just our two cents. Enjoy your search.

[Bob___Ann]

Donna Jean wrote:
Bob and Ann, i see you have a bath and a half, we would like that also, but LOL i got a little beat up by some because i wanted two "thrones" We are also going to be looking for a small jeep

We love the bath and a half. We have it in this one and had it in our Phaeton. Of course I get to use the half bath and my wife enjoys the big one. Having the two baths is a huge help if you have guests along or even company visiting. Now you know who the boss is. We also really like the king size bed.

[Donna_Jean]

Ivylog wrote:
I’ve posted many times that you should buy more MH than you think you need, ONE TIME!!! 17 years ago as a lurker on this site I made a very expensive mistake believing posts that 36’ is the max for public CGs...so I bought a used 36’ DP. Only took 2 years to figure out what a mistake that was so traded for a used 40’. When we started snowbirding went to 42’ for 14 years...7 summers of which we spent out West staying in mainly public CGs without reservations. Sure it’s harder with a BIG rig but it’s a lot easier now (the internet) than 14 years ago.

Three summers ago we went to Southlake Tahoe on Labor Day without reservations, getting into the city park, our first choice. NO, it was not on Friday, it was on Monday when the working folks have to go home.

This past summer we did 7 weeks out west without reservations (in a 45’) without any major problems finding public CG sites...USFS CGs are our favorite.

I realize the bath and a half four plan is the current fad so I will not comment on needing 2 thrones, or frameless windows.

Wow i bet you finding driving your 36' a breeze compared to a 45er, can i asked what made you downsize?

[Donna_Jean]

Ivylog wrote:
I’ve posted many times that you should buy more MH than you think you need, ONE TIME!!! 17 years ago as a lurker on this site I made a very expensive mistake believing posts that 36’ is the max for public CGs...so I bought a used 36’ DP. Only took 2 years to figure out what a mistake that was so traded for a used 40’. When we started snowbirding went to 42’ for 14 years...7 summers of which we spent out West staying in mainly public CGs without reservations. Sure it’s harder with a BIG rig but it’s a lot easier now (the internet) than 14 years ago.

Three summers ago we went to Southlake Tahoe on Labor Day without reservations, getting into the city park, our first choice. NO, it was not on Friday, it was on Monday when the working folks have to go home.

This past summer we did 7 weeks out west without reservations (in a 45’) without any major problems finding public CG sites...USFS CGs are our favorite.

I realize the bath and a half four plan is the current fad so I will not comment on needing 2 thrones, or frameless windows.

I loved reading your post, it's very encouraging because i really don't think we could get all we want in anything under 40' thank you for taking time to comment. I also love the fact that you have been at it for so long, it's weird but even though i have never had an RV I just know i am going to love it. Ian and I have had cigarette style boats for the last 30 years, we have had a 43' one for the last 15 and spend a lot of time sleeping in marinas and towing it around, so he figures it will be easier to drive the bus than towing that boat. I have always loved the marina life, meeting new people and seeing new places so I can't wait to hit the road in a nice RV. Thanks again and since you are such a seasoned veteran would it be OK if once in a while i hit you up with a questions.

[Ivylog]

I’ve posted many times that you should buy more MH than you think you need, ONE TIME!!! 17 years ago as a lurker on this site I made a very expensive mistake believing posts that 36’ is the max for public CGs...so I bought a used 36’ DP. Only took 2 years to figure out what a mistake that was so traded for a used 40’. When we started snowbirding went to 42’ for 14 years...7 summers of which we spent out West staying in mainly public CGs without reservations. Sure it’s harder with a BIG rig but it’s a lot easier now (the internet) than 14 years ago.

Three summers ago we went to Southlake Tahoe on Labor Day without reservations, getting into the city park, our first choice. NO, it was not on Friday, it was on Monday when the working folks have to go home.

This past summer we did 7 weeks out west without reservations (in a 45’) without any major problems finding public CG sites...USFS CGs are our favorite.

I realize the bath and a half four plan is the current fad so I will not comment on needing 2 thrones, or frameless windows.

[ferndaleflyer]

I currently have a 36ft Monaco that has a queen bed. I previously had a 45ft Dynasty, and a 40 ft Winnebago. Never got turned away from any campground but never tried a forest service place.

[Donna_Jean]

Bob and Ann, i see you have a bath and a half, we would like that also, but LOL i got a little beat up by some because i wanted two "thrones" We are also going to be looking for a small jeep

[Bob___Ann]

We have been to all of the states that you have listed. We have never had a problem finding a campground for our 40 foot. Some of the older state parks will not work but any commercial campground will work fine.

[Lwiddis]

Have you dropped the king size bed wish?