In this installment of our discussion we are going to talk a bit about basements, basement storage features, and other things that might be in your basement. A large and well featured basement is one of the primary reasons folks choose a diesel pusher.
Basement storage: It seems to me that for the most part, typical diesel pushers have a lot of storage and this is not normally a great concern. I have seen some models that had insufficient storage capacity and it is something that everyone should check before purchasing a new coach. The chassis a manufacturer chooses to put under the house determines that gross vehicle weight and there are things a manufacturer can do to save money when specifying a chassis from the chassis maker. Sometimes these things affect the GVW adversely and the loser is the ultimate owner who cannot carry enough “stuff” in the basement. One recent example concerns a very high line Class A manufacturer who chose to save money and reduced the front axle weight rating. The result was a very expensive diesel motorhome that was overloaded with just the passengers on board. This flap has still not been settled to many owners satisfaction.
There are several aspects to the basement arrangement that we should talk about. I much prefer the basement storage arrangement with “pass through” type compartments. I have looked at several pushers with storage compartments attached to the bottom of the slides and I really don’t like that configuration. I agree that it makes the compartment easily accessible since you don’t have to duck under the extended slide to get into the compartment. However, it bothers me that you have all that extra weight hanging from the slide and the slide mechanism. My guess is that this is done by the manufacturers to save money rather than to provide convenient access, although I haven’t heard of any studies done comparing slide reliability with boxes hanging from the bottom. Anyway, I still prefer the pass through type because it allows me to carry really long stuff.
I am also not a real big fan of Joey beds or slide out trays. Granted they provide a degree of convenience but you do that by sacrificing storage space. All in all, that is probably a matter of personal choice and not really a deal breaker to me.
From a convenience standpoint, there are a lot of available items for you basement that a manufacturer can and should include in this expensive vehicle. I would like to see a built in power cord reel, and hose reel for the fresh water. Also as standard, should be a whole house filter with replaceable cartridges.
I don’t really know how to talk about the arrangement of the various controls located in the basement, generally referred to as the water compartment. In some ways, it bothers me if the fresh water system and the holding tank dump system are located in the same compartment. In another way, that type of arrangement does save space by only using one of the limited number of basement compartments. I have seen some very nice arrangements in this area, and some that make no sense whatsoever. I would be interested in hearing some of your thoughts on this part of your motorhome. What do you look for, what do you like and not like. I will mention one feature I do like. My first DP was a Coachmen, and in the water compartment the tank drain hose was mounted into a 4” PVC pipe setup which was mounted under the compartment. The pipe included a 90 degree elbow which pivoted to allow the hose to “point” in the direction of the drain hole. When you were finished with the hose, simply push it back into the PVC, screw on a cap and you were done. My current DP did not come with this feature and I finally got around to building one myself and installing it, last year, my own personal step towards building a more perfect coach.
In our next installment, we are going to talk more about basements and basement features. Until then, go camping and have fun.
Larry