How long is too long ? 40 foot max ?

Hi
Can anyone share experience with class A motorhomes over 40 foot ?
Have you ever been turned away from a public campground ?
Is the tag axle worth it ?

There are public campgrounds with a maximum length of 20? and there are public campgrounds with a maximum length of 75?. Always follow the maximum length restrictions that a campground has or you can get serious damage to your RV. If you need a bigger motorhome, you should get it and just plan ahead to find a place to park it. Even in National Parks with old campgrounds that don?t fit big motorhomes you can find appropriate facilities nearby that you will fit in. They will probably be private, but that just goes with big RVs.

Only a couple of times was I "turned away" for size, though there were a few times (emphasize few) that I called in advance and they had nothing left that I'd fit into. And there are times when it's tough to find a place to stop along the road for lunch/bathroom, etc. (that's true of my current 38 footer, too). But the tag axle, though it cuts a little into basement storage, does offer a bit of extra stability on the road. Still, its main advantage is that it allows the weight capacity needed by the 45 footer (the Beaver was 50,000 lbs). And I had a LOT of inside storage in that Beaver (I miss it), even with having a stacked washer and dryer. The basement storage was about the same as in my Ventana (maybe a hair more).

I will say that the 7 foot shorter Ventana is a tad more maneuverable, allowing an easier task of getting in (and out of) tight spots, but that's only occasionally needed. We did fine with it for four years, and the size was only a very minor factor in our choosing to get the Ventana -- floor plan, especially TV location and counter space were more important, along with certain maintenance items on that particular coach. I miss a LOT of things about that Beaver (air leveling, more inside storage, bigger bath, etc.), but I also love a LOT of things on the Ventana, including the actual door (not just a small window) that serves as an emergency exit for the bedroom/rear bath and the maintenance free chassis batteries, as well as the relative ease of access to the house batteries and improved fuel mileage.

We have had our 43.5' tag for 2 years.  I would say 30% of the time I have trouble.  I have to really research where we are going and I even do a peek on googlemaps to see what I am up against.  State and federal campgrounds are usually posted well, KOAs or resorts are usually fine, but older private campgrounds in hilly or mountain areas can just be ridiculous. 

In reality, this was even more true with our 40' fifth wheel and dually crew cab truck.  The MH is far more maneuverable. 

Heck, I've been "turned away for size" when I upgraded from 20 ft to24. It all depends on the campground site sizes and road access. Obviously, as size goes up the choices get a bit more limited.

Many Rvers have misconceptions about tag axles. It is not there to add value, so "worth it?" is not a meaningful question. A coach is equipped with a tag axle if it weighs more than can be reasonably handled with just two axles.  Motorcoaches are legally limited to 23,000 lbs/axle and many draw the line at 20,000 /bs/axle. Larger and better equipped coaches typically reach the axle weight limit at about 40 ft in length, so a third (aka "tag") axle is added to carry the extra weight. It's a necessity, not an optional upgrade that adds more value.

Besides the weight carrying necessity, there are some minor pros and cons of having a tag axle. However, they are all trivial and mostly just an academic subject for campfire discussions and forum such as this.

We went from a 40' to a 45' motorhome 5 years ago. In the 55,000+ miles traveled since then, we've probably been told no room 3 or 4 times at the most. We like the tag axel because it sure dampens out the porpoise action that seems to be common on the older concrete roads.

A tag probably does help the ride in those circumstances, but the coach is also longer and heavier, both of which have an effect.

This is our first motorhome with a tag, and like Chet, I love the ride. It also helps with stability when a semi passes by, or in strong winds. There is additional maintenance associated with tag equipped coaches - brakes, air bags, tires etc. but the additional load carrying ability is worth it, in my opinion.

We live in the foothills east of San Diego, and there's no doubt that it's more difficult to find campgrounds with sites that are large enough for our 43 foot coach. If you're looking at some of the early 90's smaller tag equipped coaches, you won't have the same trouble finding adequately sized sites. My nephew's 1992 tag equipped coach (an Elite) is only 32 feet long and he can get into a lot of campsites we can't fit into.

Kev