jauguston
Bellingham, WA
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Joined: 07/03/2005
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Don't listen to the scare mongers. Our GS below does just fine.
Jim
Jim, Sharon and Buddy the Yorkie
1999 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 31' ISB Cummins 210 uprated to 275
AIMS 2500w inverter 4-6v GC batteries
3- Kyocera 130w solar panels
Pressure Pro TPMS
1987 Suzuki Samurai tintop Toad w/VW 1.6 turbo diesel power
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OkStateRV'er
Oklahoma
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Joined: 11/04/2004
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Newmar makes some shorter DP's. Newmar has a 34 ft. Ventana and a 36ft. Dutchstar , both pushers.
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2008 Dutchstar 4304
2008 Honda CR-V EX-L, M&G brake system, Falcon 2 tow-bar, Garmin nuvi 350 GPS
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bkd148
Spanaway, WA.
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Joined: 09/05/2007
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Beaver made them from 1996 to 2002. Called them 30 footers but they measured out at 31ft-10in. I owned a 1998 and really kind of miss it. My 40ftr I have now can't fit in many of the places I use to go to. Marty
2002 Beaver Patriot Thunder
Cat C-12 455hp. 6spd. Allison
2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
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Boomer719
Southern California
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Joined: 05/20/2008
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Safari made a 30' Sahara, both slide and non-slide, in the late 90's that had the Magnum chassis and a Caterpillar engine. Coachmen also made a 30' diesel coach that used the GM 6.2L diesel engine and GM transmission. Neither of these units had air ride which I would think would be a major factor in considering a diesel pusher. Both nice coaches, but the shorter diesels have a tendency to "porpoise" or yo-yo the front end on some roads due to the short wheelbase and weight of the drive train in the back. The bouncing effect can be very disconcerting.
The suggestion of an extended test drive is a great idea and make sure that the coach is full of fuel and the water tank as well as the holding tanks are full of water because the additional weight actually can exaggerate the porpoising.
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runway18-2
missouri
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Joined: 12/03/2008
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30 ft. Rockwell
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/rvs/1448142890.html
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Spikester
Belfair WA
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Joined: 04/05/2008
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Don't be intimidated by the short wheel base issues, a DP has a lot better weight distribution than gas models. The coach body is more centered over the chassis than a gas coach. On my 34' Newmar I have almost as much of the coach body in front of the front wheels as the "over-hang" in the back, not true on a gas model.
Mine is a dream to drive, especially with "Comfort Drive".
Spike
08 Newmar Ventana 3330
350HP ISBXT
Spartan NVS Chassis
Mini Cooper Toad
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B Bob
Jamul, CA, USA
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Joined: 05/07/2003
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If you need something short there are some good front engine choices like the FRED. IMHO a DP under 36' has some handling physics that cause problems. Specifically the ratio of the chassis length and the house length is too low (ratio under 53%) and that makes the coach more sensitive to wind, truck wash, and so on. I have just spent two months looking and driving a bunch of diesel coaches. The ones with longer wheelbases are much easier to drive on the freeway at freeway speeds.
The other issue is, why do you want a short box DP. The only really good reason is to get into State parks and fit in small areas. If you want to do that then smaller size is a good thing. But if not I can tell you that from my experience when you are driving a few more feet out back are not more difficult to drive.
A good handling shorter DP is some of the Country Coach 36's.
Bob & Barbara Nuttmann
2002 Country Coach Affinity 42'
Jamul, CA
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f14ro
Bedford, Wyoming
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Joined: 11/15/2003
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Bought my 34ft Knight new in 2004 and love it. ... and there have been at least two places that I could not have gotten into with a 40ft motorhome. (Fish Creek at Glacier NP and Dockweiler Beach in L.A.).
Every year we do the Canadian Rockies in it, and in the winter we live in it for 3 months near Yuma.
Like all motorhomes, there are compromises, but in my case I can live with the minor things inherent in a short diesel pusher (small basement storage volume and a slight "hop" on bumpy roads due to the heavy engine in back and light front end are two that come to mind). Regardless of what the naysayers will tell you, it isn't really that bad (at least mine isn't).
Jan Jacobs
2004 Monaco Knight 34PDD
2008 Chevy Suburban Z71 4x4 toad
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Diplomat Don
Moorpark, Ca
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Joined: 04/09/2005
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Gaetan....I have a 36' DP and I wouldn't go any shorter. The wheelbase is the same length as the 32' Fleetwood Terra, I owned, on a Workhorse chassis.
Obviously, people are happy with their short coaches, but I would stick with at LEAST at 34' like the Winnebago or longer.
If you look at older coaches, a lot of them had propane generators which are substantially louder.
Don & Mary 
2005 Monaco Diplomat 36SKT
400 Cummins 
2007 Dodge Dakota 4WD
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Gaetan
Jonquiere, Qc. Canada
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Thanks for taking time to give me your comments that I will take in
concideration it is greatly appreciated
Gaetan
Gaetan St-Hilaire
2004 silverado 4/4 2500HD long box Duramax/Allison
2003 everest 323k
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