Tag Axle good and bad points please

Allan & Loren

Allan & Loren

Free Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2014
Posts
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Location
Leyland, Lancashire
Funster No
34,450
MH
Autotrail Dakota
Exp
Since 2014
We're looking at new to us Motorhomes and have seen a few with the right layout for us, some of which are tag axles. So would like to ask for opinions on the good and bad points as never had one. We do go skiing so also how do they handle in snowy conditions too please?
 
Bad points... Not got one but more tyres to replace...Typical Scottish thinking:LOL:
 
We love ours .Bad points well cant think of any.Large payload,stable on the road ,lots of interior space ,cant help about the snowy conditions we try and avoid those :LOL:.tows very well with the 3ltr engine,very smooth.Go for it and enjoy.
Brian & Jo
 
+'ve - large payload
+'ve - really good handling on the Alko chassis

-'ve - some French campsites won't let you on (personal experience from two different sites), but the majority do.

Ian

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You won't be on the hard standing with the RV's at Chester + FWD:LOL:

Higher toll charges in France.

Martin
 
With the large payload and roof space, it will allow you to fit plenty of solar and batteries to be completely independent for power.
We also have been turned down at a couple of French sites (mainly municipal)
Cheers
Ed
 
Sheddy said:
We also have been turned down at a couple of French sites (mainly municipal)
Cheers
Ed
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I'm sure you have Ed but that was because you're Welsh wasn't it?

Joking apart, I read on here many years ago about the dificulty getting the handbrake to work and the difficulty using levelling wedges.
 
Better handling than 2 axle van but usually have lower towing weight.

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Had one for 9years,never got turned away on continent. Only some sites in UK.when we rang to book.Very stable,good payload. Towed well with 3ltl engine
 
bigtwin said:
+'ve - large payload
+'ve - really good handling on the Alko chassis

-'ve - some French campsites won't let you on (personal experience from two different sites), but the majority do.

Ian
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Thought it might be a problem on some sites due to the length as they are longer than our RV as we're only 8m
 
Dont know about abroad cos its something that has never interested us,but in this country never had a problem with sites even when we had a 37ft RV(y)
but the tag axles certainly no problem at all.(y) Enjoy.
Brian & Jo
 
Never had problems on sites or parking (even Pitlochery car park) we love the space and if you enter the tolls in France at a direct angle the camera can't tell the size I've never paid the high rate in five years If you are confident in driving a van over 8 mtr then go for it
 
Don't have one but only problem I've come across is poor ability to pull away on slippery or loose surface uphill with front wheel drive.

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bigtwin said:
+'ve - large payload
+'ve - really good handling on the Alko chassis

-'ve - some French campsites won't let you on (personal experience from two different sites), but the majority do.

Ian
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Allan & Loren said:
Thought it might be a problem on some sites due to the length as they are longer than our RV as we're only 8m
Click to expand...

No, not a length issue (Oo, Err misses!), definitely a tag axle issue.

Explanations for refusal were very clear and we could also see a large RV on one of the sites.

The first time was a site somewhere just south of Carcasonne and the second was at Amboise. We tried the Amboise site a couple of years after the first refusal but got the same answer!

Ian
 
Some sites in France particularly municipal have a blanket no twin axle rule aimed primarily at a certain type of caravan but catches tag/tandem axle Motorhomes as well.

Martin
 
@bigtwin don't know why tag axle would be an issue but a couple of site refusals wouldn't worry me we'd just give our business elsewhere.
 
Allan & Loren said:
@bigtwin don't know why tag axle would be an issue but a couple of site refusals wouldn't worry me we'd just give our business elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Allegedly it's because they can't ban gypsies (who tend to have tag axle caravans) but they can ban tag axles!

Some say that they can damage grass?

It's a sufficiently rare occurrence that it wouldn't influence our decision to have a tag axle. As you say, plenty others to give your business to.

Ian

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My first MH was a tag axle and I'd heard that many French sites wouldn't let us on, as they tended to churn the grass pitches up.

In three years of ownership, I never got turned away from a French site and I never churned any grass up, on any site.

A very stable and capable drive (y)
 
Our first was also a Tag on a Renault Master/Alko combo...lovely driving motorhome (and she was quick too:D:D) with good space inside and loads of storage for those longer trips. She was 8.3m and never had an issue getting on sites here or over the water. Only swapped her as we wanted a newer van and one that was tad shorter (7m) for easier manoeuvring/parking in towns etc when out visiting.
 
Had a swift kintiki 669. Great van travelled far and wide in Europe as far as the Artic circle and down to Portugal for Winter. No problems on the Airs never refused on a campsite although had to on many occasions give up on a few dud to the sizes of pitches.
Deciding on buying a tag is down to you. Ask yourself. Do we need such a vehicle? Ours was 8.7m 9.3 with the bike rack so it can be a length issue!!!!
 
When we changed from a two axle 4,250 kg van to a tag axle 5,500 kg of the same make, engine and gearbox, the first thing I noticed was the stability on the road and apparently more efficient braking.

The toll roads in France will treat you as a class 4, which is about twice the price of a class 2, which is two axle under 3.5 tonnes. I don't know about @sally47 's comment about approach angle to the tolls - I thought that sensors counted the axles as they passed. However, pressing the 'help' button and explaining you're a camping car usually gets you reclassified as a class 3 or 2.

We've never been turned away from a site due to having three axles (but we've only had this van for two and a bit years).
 
Cavs said:
When we changed from a two axle 4,250 kg van to a tag axle 5,500 kg of the same make, engine and gearbox, the first thing I noticed was the stability on the road and apparently more efficient braking.

The toll roads in France will treat you as a class 4, which is about twice the price of a class 2, which is two axle under 3.5 tonnes. I don't know about @sally47 's comment about approach angle to the tolls - I thought that sensors counted the axles as they passed. However, pressing the 'help' button and explaining you're a camping car usually gets you reclassified as a class 3 or 2.

We've never been turned away from a site due to having three axles (but we've only had this van for two and a bit years).
Click to expand...
We r a tag axle and have always been class 2 . Deciding issue is height not axles
 
As for snow, the only thing we've found is that you'll need the snow chains on sooner than you think.
 
We have had our tag axle a couple of years and not had any problems.Its no worse than any other FWD motorhome on wet grass.When we bought the motorhome it had a sat dome fitted and we always got charged class 4 at French tolls,so we were always pressing the button at tolls and saying `un campingcar sil vu pla`,and they always dropped us down to class 2.But since the Dish has been fitted its now class 2 everytime.So in our experience the tag doesnt make a difference.

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