Advice on longer motorhomes.

[beachcaster]

Hello all just joined this is my first post.

Im looking at a Burstner Elegance ( couple of years old ) which is a tag axle and is just over 28 feet long.
I love the space inside..masses of room etc
I have driven one and found it fine......but I am slightly concerned about the use of a longer motorhome like this in general touring /wild camping /Aires ect.

Can anyone with personal experience of a vehicle like this give me some feedback?

Many thanks

barry

 

[Deleted member 2636]

I have enough problems parking with 7m plus a bike rack.
The troubles begin when you want to visit a town and there is nowhere to park for a big vehicle. This is why we are looking at putting a little car on a Trailer

 

[Deleted member 967]

I have enough problems parking with 7m plus a bike rack.
The troubles begin when you want to visit a town and there is nowhere to park for a big vehicle. This is why we are looking at putting a little car on a Trailer

We have a Smart on a Bantam Trailer behind our Hymer S700 (7.21m) so overall we are 10.83m. We have used Aires in Normandy and Brittany without a problem during the summer although on the trip down to Spain in November we twice had to find alternative Aires, as the chosen ones were too small or awkward to get into. We found much better Aires that way. We always allowed plenty of time as we like to get parked up before it begins to get dark.

The Smart is great for exploring places not just towns. It is also useful as a water/waste carrier when off Aires and campsites. Its less conspicuous than a large Motorhome.

 

[jezport]

We have a long Tag Frankia. Our last van was a shorter 21' van. To be honest weather you have a 21' ar 28' van there is little difference. You still need 2 parking spaces, the width and height would be more of an issue than the length. We take our van into villages and towns and have not had any issues that we wouldn't have had with a smaller van.

 

[syldale]

long m/h's

hi beachcaster. when we changed to a tag we found a lot of aires are difficult to park in because the French m/h's are mostly 6 or 7 meters long so they are built to accommodate these any longer and there is only certain spots that you can squeeze into on some sites most books camper park books tell you the length they can take as a guide it's like every thing experience will come to you in time . you are right about the extra room . we are retired so when we go away it's for a month or two so it comes in handy .

 

[maingate]

Hi and welcome to the forum,

I have a Burstner 747 Active tag axle (8.2 metres long). It is very rare that we use a proper campsite, although we used some C&CC Temporary Holiday sites this year.

As has been said, it does'nt matter whether it is 6 metres or 10 metres, it is still a big vehicle for normal car parks. You just buy 2 tickets instead of one.

The Alde heating is brilliant in the Burstners and there is loads of storage space in ours. I carry a wind turbine in the garage, spare tyre, chairs and loads of other rubbish but I cannot fill it up. It is no problem using the van in winter as it is fully winterised.

As jezport says, the height can be a problem and you need to keep your eyes open for low branches. I decapitated my status TV aerial this summer near Newbury.

I would go for it if I was you. Good luck.

 

[Firefox]

I don't like driving anything over 6m long. It's not the length on the road that's the problem but the continual restrictions you face on turning and parking. Especially turning and having to think about every smallish dead end road you go down, if you are going to be able to get back out.

 

[maingate]

I don't like driving anything over 6m long. It's not the length on the road that's the problem but the continual restrictions you face on turning and parking. Especially turning and having to think about every smallish dead end road you go down, if you are going to be able to get back out.

Nah, you worry too much mate.

If you do get stuck, you have a bed, food, water and the telly. What's the problem?

 

[John H]

I agree with most of what has been said - we have a 23 foot long van and have been able to get it into some places you wouldn't believe! Something that hasn't been mentioned so far is that it is not so much the length but the rear overhang that is critical. Some vans have what I would call ridiculously large overhangs beyond the rear axle and there is a very real danger of grounding when you go over the slightest of obstacles (eg sleeping policemen). Otherwise, 20 feet, 30 feet - they all behave the same and they all need two spaces in a car park.

 

[fiftysomething]

We have a 28' + Tag Axle Kontiki and find that people are helpful and make allowances for it.

For instance when we went to visit Blenheim Palace in the early spring we were sent to park up by the coaches which gave us loads of room on the nice solid drive, rather than squeezed in amongst the cars on the muddy grass.

Think of it as a small lorry (and consider where lorries get to) rather than a large car.

You also need to consider the Class on your driving licence to make sure you're legally allowed to drive a vehicle that size but I presume you've already done that.

My advice? Go for it!!

 

[Deleted member 5759]

Main thing I have found is having to be very carefull in garages when getting diesel, you have to have enough room to drive straight ahead to avoid clouting anything when turning.

Peter

 

[gordon]

I don't like driving anything over 6m long. It's not the length on the road that's the problem but the continual restrictions you face on turning and parking. Especially turning and having to think about every smallish dead end road you go down, if you are going to be able to get back out.

wheres the problem if you can drive down the road you can surely reverse out.

 

[Deleted member 12539]

the rear overhang that is critical. Some vans have what I would call ridiculously large overhangs beyond the rear axle and there is a very real danger of grounding when you go over the slightest of obstacles

I have what could be slated as a 'ridiculously large overhang beyond the rear axle' on my 7.5m long 'van, but to date (which covers about 6 months) I have had no problems.
'Sleeping policemen' are no more a problem for a 'large overhang' than a short wheelbase would be, the body height at the back is the same as, or maybe even higher than, between the front and rear axles.
The overhang does help when cornering, as it reduces the space needed on tight corners, making it easier to drive. Admittedly, it is important to remember that I have 2m of 'van swinging at the back, so I have to be careful not to 'swing' onto 'objects' or people, especially cyclists.
The overhang does allow me to park with the back end facing breathtaking scenery with the overhang ensuring the best of views.

To get back to the original question, I agree with most of what has been said .....go for it!
I didn't realise how long and high my 'van was amongst all of the other 'vans when purchased, until I got it home and parked next to my VW Polo !!!!!

I have no regrets though!

 

[John H]

The reason why I said that some overhangs are excessive and can therefore cause problems is because I have travelled in convoy with friends who have had the problems I mentioned while our van coped with them easily. If you have to cope with sharp breaks of slope then a large overhang can easily cause grounding.

 

[shawbags]

I don't like driving anything over 6m long. It's not the length on the road that's the problem but the continual restrictions you face on turning and parking. Especially turning and having to think about every smallish dead end road you go down, if you are going to be able to get back out.

Buy the van and find reverse,you can always kick the misses out to guide you back .

 

[jezport]

The reason why I said that some overhangs are excessive and can therefore cause problems is because I have travelled in convoy with friends who have had the problems I mentioned while our van coped with them easily. If you have to cope with sharp breaks of slope then a large overhang can easily cause grounding.

You have more chance grounding the middle of a longer wheelbased van than one with a large overhang. Thats why short wheelbase 4X4s are better off road than LWB models.

 

[Deleted member 775]

my advice is if you realy need and want a long van then go and get one i have a short one because i want one and a mate of mine has a long one he has that because he wants it ,i am shure your enjoyment will outweigh any minor problems you will encounter .and lets face it if you love something you can put up with most things . after all look at the size of some of the coaches nowadays they dont seem to have many problems

 

[John H]

You have more chance grounding the middle of a longer wheelbased van than one with a large overhang. Thats why short wheelbase 4X4s are better off road than LWB models.

Only going from personal observation - I'm not saying there aren't problems with other set-ups but I have several times seen vans with large overhangs ground at the back and have never seen any lwb ones (of which mine is one) ground in the middle. Merry Christmas.

 

[syldale]

buying a tag

hi beachcaster. just to recap on what the guys have said and my opinion is you need to take wider turns watch your back end when it swings round try not to take sharp turns because the two back wheels will fight one another thus premature ware on tyres .your steering will not be as responsive as non tags because of this . yes we bottom out driving into a tight French aire but we have a tow bar which is lower than the m/h but as only happened once with no damage and check if you can drive 5tons .good luck

 

[jezport]

Also remember that the major plus of the Tag is that they are very stable on the road more like driving a bus than a van. They also see to be better on grass and mud than the single rerar axle models, this may be due to better load distribution ober the 6 wheels.