Advice for New Tag Axle Owner

[Rammo]

Hi all,

I’ve been on the forum for a number of years but now subscribed so can contribute, and benefit!

We’ve had an Autotrail Scout for a good few years, but now the kids have (metaphorically) sacked us off we’ve bought a bigger tag axle for retirement and have some questions I’d appreciate any thoughts on - here goes.

1) what downsides can we expect with a 9 m van versus the previous 7.8 m one?

2) any special considerations levelling the tag compared to the single axle?

3) the A Class’ cab’s quite ‘crashy’ / flexy compared to the coach built, any advice (apart from recommending going back to a smaller van)?

Got quite a number of other matters I’d appreciate comments on but will ask these later!

Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[denisejoe]

Point the front and the back will follow just a bit tighter on turns

 

[bigtwin]

In terms of levelling, the sensible (but expensive) thing to do is have levelling jacks fitted.

Otherwise, we carry a number of decking planks (4 off) for the rear wheels and Millenco Triple ramps for the front.

Use the decking planks, in any number combination, as required to level up fore/aft or side to side.

Ian

 

[Badknee]

A 9mtr won’t fit where a 7.8 will.
As above nightmare to level side to side without jacks.
I think our tag is more stable on the road.
Play about with tyre pressures to help stop crashing about or change front suspension.

 

[bigtwin]

A 9mtr won’t fit where a 7.8 will.
As above nightmare to level side to side without jacks.
I think our tag is more stable on the road.
Play about with tyre pressures to help stop crashing about or change front suspension.

I wouldn’t say that its a nightmare it’s just that you cant use ramps on the rear wheels. It takes us just a few minutes to organise our planks.

I agree about the stability, they hold the road well and are surprisingly competent/stable on bends.

Ian

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[Guigsy]

I went from a panel van to an a-class. I was surprised how much the shell crashed and flexed over even minor road imperfections. I got a good improvement by changing from camper tyres to normal van tyres and reducing the pressures. I've also been behind bits of the dash and put sound deadening in, which also helped. But I'm thinking of upgrading the suspension to VB (full) air... not cheap though.

 

[heliart]

Funny reading this. We had an Autotrail Scout for a few years, sold it in 2007 with a plan to buy something larger, but life got in the way and we never did. Been without a motrohome now for the best part of 15 years. Just this past few months circumstances have been such that we are shopping again. Looking at all the tag axle A class vehicles at the moment. Just seeing what fits with us. Looking forward to it greatly.

 

[Fulham Dave]

We bought a tag almost 2 years, it's over 3m tall and 8.72m long.

We live in the van full time, but decided to have the van for a year before making any drastic changes or forking out heaps of cash on air suspension / auto levellers.

The downsides for us were the levelling and stability when passing or being passed by large trucks . As Bigtwin says, carrying decking or, cut up scaffold boards in our case, worked fine, just took a lot longer and a bit of working out. The other issue was harder to overcome, so we decided on Full Air and Levellers from SAP - that was a game changer. The ride is now superb, passing trucks is never an issue, it is stable when on the jacks, even in high winds (unlike with springs).

We find the cab fine, everything is accessible, easy to use

The length you get used to - we also tow a 4m trailer with a Peugeot Metropolis in it, so it can be fun getting on to some sites - but that's part of the experience and fun in my view!

Let me know if I can help in any other way!

 

[Rammo]

Funny reading this. We had an Autotrail Scout for a few years, sold it in 2007 with a plan to buy something larger, but life got in the way and we never did. Been without a motrohome now for the best part of 15 years. Just this past few months circumstances have been such that we are shopping again. Looking at all the tag axle A class vehicles at the moment. Just seeing what fits with us. Looking forward to it greatly.

Ha ha, it’ll be uncanny if you end up with a Burstner

 

[Rammo]

I wouldn’t say that its a nightmare it’s just that you cant use ramps on the rear wheels. It takes us just a few minutes to organise our planks.

I agree about the stability, they hold the road well and are surprisingly competent/stable on bends.

Ian

Great advice coming in, thanks to all. So I plank the rear wheels and stick with ramps for the front. I’ve got plenty of planks from touring caravan days years ago so will re-use.

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[Rammo]

We bought a tag almost 2 years, it's over 3m tall and 8.72m long.

We live in the van full time, but decided to have the van for a year before making any drastic changes or forking out heaps of cash on air suspension / auto levellers.

The downsides for us were the levelling and stability when passing or being passed by large trucks . As Bigtwin says, carrying decking or, cut up scaffold boards in our case, worked fine, just took a lot longer and a bit of working out. The other issue was harder to overcome, so we decided on Full Air and Levellers from SAP - that was a game changer. The ride is now superb, passing trucks is never an issue, it is stable when on the jacks, even in high winds (unlike with springs).

We find the cab fine, everything is accessible, easy to use

The length you get used to - we also tow a 4m trailer with a Peugeot Metropolis in it, so it can be fun getting on to some sites - but that's part of the experience and fun in my view!

Let me know if I can help in any other way!

That’s great thanks!

We’ve been looking at Burstners for some time, last week we looked at one with VB air suspension but it was a bit old so we passed on it and then bought a newer one without it.

Perhaps foolishly I questioned the value of spending a chunk of cash on a suspension upgrade, but I now see why. Ours won’t be ready for a month, so when we get it I’ll see how the early trips go then consider making changes is we’re unable to cope with the crashing etc.

Hydraulic levelling is definitely something I’m considering - pull up, hit the levelling button and reach for the wine; it’s almost an act of fraud

 

[G7UXG]

Ours is an 8.1 metres tag axle and 2.9 metres tall. Our previous motorhomes were all around 7.4 metres, so not that much longer. Never had a problem with access to anywhere, just got to be aware that it doesn’t turn as quickly as a single rear axle.

Levelling is done with E&P. Superb. Transferred it from our last van as it was much cheaper than fitting a complete new set.

As for the ride, I find it by far the most comfortable and stable motorhome we’ve had (5 in total but only one tag). Very stable when being overtaken or overtaking large vehicles. Thought about full air but, for me, not sure it’s worth the expense. Perhaps I’d change my mind if I rode in a full air tag axle.

Tyre pressures on the rear run about 55psi as only 1600kgs per axle, and so a lot less crashing and banging than a single rear with pressures at 70psi or more.

Love it so much that if we swapped, we’d want another tag axle.

 

[bigtwin]

Great advice coming in, thanks to all. So I plank the rear wheels and stick with ramps for the front. I’ve got plenty of planks from touring caravan days years ago so will re-use.

Yes, pretty much but I only really use the ramps on the front if I need a good bit of a rise. Ordinarily, I just use a couple of short pieces of wood to adjust the front height.

Oh, another tip, if you’re parking on grass, use the planks whether you need levelling or not. They prevent the wheels sinking into the ground which can cause wheel spin when trying to leave - trying to haul 5 tonnes of vehicle off grass (particularly wet grass) can be challenging. Planks resolve that potential issue.

Ian