Does Size Matter

[CountryCoach2000]

Hello. We are considering going from our 2000 Country Coach Allure to a 2006 or newer 45' coach. Have any of you out there gone from a shorter coach to a 45 and regretted it? I understand we will be limited to where we can go in some cases, but the livability is hard to beat. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Safe travels to everyone out there.

[LoneStarBQ]

My experience has been that the larger you go the heavier the coach and the heavier the chassis. Those two things make for a smoother ride and a ride that is less affected by wind. So, on the highway, the larger the better. In town, the longer can be a little more difficult.

[mpierce]

Just depends on where you want to go. The bigger you get, the more limited you will be in tight roads, and smaller sites to park. If that limitation is OK with your lifestyle, then the bigger WILL be better.

If you have found that your current size is keeping you out of many places you now want to go, you will not be happy that the bigger coach will keep you out of even more places.

All things are trade offs.

[manholt]

I went from a 32' to a 40', that was good. Then a 40' to a 36', wrong. Then 36' to a 45', great! I have only been turned away 1 time due to size and have found no roads that was impossible to negotiate. Got my current 45' last year November 21st and now have 16,476 miles on it, that I put on! You will enjoy the ride!!!

[tucsonrail]

I like the shorter coaches. Unless you are a fulltimer who needs 45' with 4 slides. I am looking for a new coach and have driven the 43-45 tag axle models and they feel heavy and sluggish, not to mention maneuverability. Take a look at the Allegro Bus 37AP.

[medico]

We have a 45 and one time I screwed up setting my GPS. I drove the coach around and through downtown Gettysburg while towing the Jeep. It was slow going, but I made it. If you don't know downtown Gettysburg, it's an old, civil war era town with everything close.

With careful driving you should not have a problem. The larger coach will be much smoother on the road and will give much more storage space. It sometimes takes a little bit more pre-planning of your routes.

[jplante4]

Went from a 28 to a 35. Other than not being able to get the 35 into my favorite gas station at home. I haven't noticed any issues. Parked in the driveway, the DW can still maneuver around it to get in and out of the garage. We wouldn't be able to do that with a 45 footer.

[manholt]

If I lived on the Cape or most other small areas of New England, I would also have a coach less than 36 foot. Province town or Wellfleet is not for the faint of heart.

I don't normally take mine to the house, due to small, narrow roads in my subdivision. However, I put on 13-15,000 miles a year and I would not trade the ride for anything!

I only ran across one RV park this year, that I was too big for, in Eugene, OR. Also, I fuel up (150 gal.) in truck stops.

Good Luck & Happy New Year!

Carl

[medico]

I am able to fit into our neighborhood gas station with my 45 footer. The diesel pumps are behind the building in the backside pumps. There are entrances in front and back, plus the diesel is MUCH cheaper than any other station (yesterday it was $2.70 per gallon. You read that correctly, $2.70 per gallon.) The next closest station in price is well over $3 per gallon.

I did find a couple of parks that we had to maneuver a little to get parked, but we did get in. I'm sure there are many SP or NP we would not fit, but we generally do not spend a lot of time in those parks. I have found that the roads into a site, with tree cover, etc., are more challenging than getting into the park. Google Earth does help with this.

[royclem]

My wife and I recently went from a 29 foot class C to a 22 foot class C. We bought the older RV to be sure we would like the life style. We did, so we went to a new one after 5 years with the 29 foot.

We decided smaller would suit us better. Most times it's just the two of us but sometimes we bring our granddaughter and it's fine. But the wind and the big trucks passing you make it interesting. It's all about your needs no one choice will be the same for all. I guess that's why they make different sizes and models.

Happy Trails to all Roy and Emma Clem

[hermanmullins]

Side Note:

Here in Texas, QT is building Convenience Stores with very nice Truck Islands. They have very nice selections of snacks and very good coffee. They also have a card that works well for Rvers. It is called, "QT PUMPSTART Card". It allows you to fill up then go in and pay. This eliminates your C/Card from stopping at $100.00 and you have to recycle and run another $100.00 and so on.

We will be there this AM for fuel and coffee (maybe a donut or sweet roll).

Herman

[alltooledup]

We just moved up from a 29 foot class C to a 37 foot class A. Before we bought our previous coach we had read a lot about 27' limit to coach size in national and state parks. Then when we got there there were all these behemoth 5th wheels and coaches

. When we were hooked up with the toad we had to uncouple only 2 times in 12,000 miles once for a GPS error on a deadend road that was supposed to go to a campground and a Loves Travel Center much smaller than most. We were just lucky with love for a while but then like many loves it fell apart

At BadLands NP there was a semi cab pulling a toy hauler that garaged a smart car! So I am hoping and betting as we have moved up in length that campgrounds are going have larger sites. Our local campground Indiana Dunes State Park remodeled from a mostly tent facility to a large motorhome friendly park just last year. Clifty falls and Brown County also can handle big vehicles. Custer State Park in SD has campgrounds for everyone no matter the size. Cave of the Winds NP in SD had very large sites we just drove through to look and as is the case in most every camp ground there are massive 5 wheels. Some of the Escapees parks have a 40' limit but by looking at the photos a larger coach or trailer would fit.

So this is just what I have been seeing in IN, Mich, SD, NM and it is possible there are more smaller sites so the smaller the coach/camper the easier it is to get a spot. One other thing that I noticed on our 2014 SD trip is that there is often a private campground very close to state and national parks with lots of campers. This may be due to the private campgrounds offering full hookups which the NP system does not favor or it could be a blanket size limit at the park. Pictured Rocks NP in Michigans entry road was a 2 track so they were not kidding about the size limit.