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Topic: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later (Read 1106 times) previous topic - next topic

42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

I have noticed that the 42' coaches are comprised of four basement compartments with three four foot wide doors and one 6' wide door.  I have also seen that some coaches have the 6' bay in the very front position and other coaches have the 6' bay in the second position from the front (mine included).  Any thoughts on why this is?  Did it change from one model year to another or was it an owner selectable design choice? I'm also curious from a structural standpoint if one design is inherently stronger than the other and if the longer coaches are inherently stronger or weaker than the shorter coaches, say 36'?  I understand that the semi-monocoque chassis strength is (partly or mostly) in the sidewalls of the coach but I still wonder about how the weight in the basement gets carried.  If you assume 175 gallons of fuel, plus full fresh, black and grey water, plus propane and Aquahot, that's an unnerving amount of weight (3,500 lbs. +/- in fluid alone) being slung under the floor.  I believe that on the 2001 chassis (and maybe earlier) there was a truss under the living room slide that was located under the exterior wall in order to compensate for the big hole in the wall.  In 2002 (and later?) there is a pair of trusses running down the center of the coach that also creates the pathway for electrical, plumbing, fuel lines etc.  But this truss is not under the exterior wall so I don't understand how the 13' living room slide opening is supported.  If the basement floor loads are transferred to the exterior walls by the bulkheads, it seems like the exterior ends of the bulkheads located under the slide room openings would be unsupported.  I'm probably over thinking this but I'm curious about others' observations on this.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #1 –
Starting with 2003, the Aquahot was moved out of the centerline to an accessible bay streetside and the batteries were moved to a "hidden" compartment centerline.  That might explain part of it.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #2 –
My 2008 Has the centerline battery compartment. This is awesome for Lithium as it eliminates the winter weather concern. My only gripe is that it was sized for Group 4D instead 8Dbatteries. Reduces some battery options. 

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #3 –
Actually, that's the way my coach is set up.  So I would say that this change was made for the 2002 model year.  I don't know the weight of a fully loaded Aquahot system, but the three 8d batteries come in around 450 pounds, so probably similar.  I definitely appreciate the accessibility of the AH and the need to access the batteries is obviously much less.  On my coach, both of those are aft of the living room slide opening as are the propane and water tanks so not so much related to my question about the load paths under the slide opening.  My coach seems to have a bit of a sag under the mid point of the living room slide opening.  Not huge but it's there.  The bulkhead under that cannot simultaneously support the floor and be supported by the floor so I'm just trying to wrap my head around where the load paths are supposed to be.  I'm also confused by the radii of the slide room corners and the corners of the slide room opening.  The two radii don't seem to be congruent which causes the gap to be much tighter at the apex.  This is not a new problem and does not seem to be getting worse.  Just something I've been wondering about.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #4 –
Here are the photos.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Geodmann –
Actually, that's the way my coach is set up.  So I would say that this change was made for the 2002 model year.

Must have been a mid-year change.  Friends who had an '02 42 footer had the AH mid-line.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #6 –
The 2001 slide is adjustable up and down and forward and back. Up and down is pretty easy to adjust but for and aft require removing the slide. The 2002 slide can be pushed inward and im sure it's adjustable but Im not familiar with them. The 2001 truss running down the left side of the coach makes working under it a challenge. To remove the water/sewer cover panel is a challenge. Fuel tank must be removed from the passenger side. Definitely a great reason not to have a slide.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Michelle –
Must have been a mid-year change.  Friends who had an '02 42 footer had the AH mid-line.

Mine has a build date of October 2001.  I'm not sure where that falls in their annual production cycle and I assume it's also possible that they built them both ways for a time.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #8 –
Quote from: dsd –
The 2001 slide is adjustable up and down and forward and back. Up and down is pretty easy to adjust but for and aft require removing the slide. The 2002 slide can be pushed inward and im sure it's adjustable but Im not familiar with them. The 2001 truss running down the left side of the coach makes working under it a challenge. To remove the water/sewer cover panel is a challenge. Fuel tank must be removed from the passenger side. Definitely a great reason not to have a slide seal.

My slide is a "train" slide and for all the bad press it gets, I will say that (knock on wood) it works well and has not given me a problem.
As far as adjustment goes, the up/down adjustment is done with shims under plastic glide blocks.  The front/back does not seem to be  adjustable.  The slide is pushed in for seal replacement and that was done when I purchased the coach to replace the original slide.
I've seen pictures of the side truss on the 2001's and I don't envy that design but it does seem to provide strength in the right place.  The trusses in mine run down the center of the coach and the height of the trusses is much less than your truss, probably 10" or so.
To be clear, I don't think my problem is critical and my slide operates well.  There's just something about the tight corners and the variable slide gap that bothers me.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #9 –
Oct 01 would have been called an early 02 back then as they had to have units ready for the Florida supper show. They also had to print the propaganda sheets of the new coaches so there were several coaches that would get caught in year change scramble.

Mike

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #10 –
Wow, as we never had a coach with slides, it was not on my radar , but after looking at the pics of slide radius  compared to coach side wall radius in my books that would not pass. Surprises me that I do not remember reading about seals ever being an issue at corners!!
In my long ago engineering life for design in aircraft and related building those differences between "mating parts" would never have been allowed . Different safety rules I guess.
Johnh

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #11 –
George you have made me curious. My slide with the new seal design allows no daylight past it with the slide seal pressure released and has full clearance when vacuumed down. This includes the corners. My issue was with the center of the bottom and top bowing inward when extended. Before repair you could easily see daylight past the seal top and bottom do to the bowing. Sides were fine.

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #12 –
Quote from: John Haygarth –
Wow, as we never had a coach with slides, it was not on my radar , but after looking at the pics of slide radius  compared to coach side wall radius in my books that would not pass. Surprises me that I do not remember reading about seals ever being an issue at corners!!
In my long ago engineering life for design in aircraft and related building those differences between "mating parts" would never have been allowed . Different safety rules I guess.
Johnh
Well they can be. Especially. If they are out of adjustment. Another fun fact is the seal in the corners is the same as in the straight runs. It basically has to bunch up in the corners in the inside and stretch on the outside to go around the corners. Installation placement is critical for proper operation. HWH will ask for good measurements before they build a custom seal for your 2001 year coach. Long ago aircraft were built and fitted together. Today they are designed on a CAD program and simply assembled. Very little skill required to assemble. Much closer tolerance though. 🤷
 

Re: 42' coach basement arrangement and 2001 vs. 2002 and later

Reply #13 –
Quote from: dsd –
George you have made me curious. My slide with the new seal design allows no daylight past it with the slide seal pressure released and has full clearance when vacuumed down. This includes the corners. My issue was with the center of the bottom and top bowing inward when extended. Before repair you could easily see daylight past the seal top and bottom do to the bowing. Sides were fine.

I followed your topic closely when you repaired your slide and your solution was elegant.  No bowing of my slide room that I can detect.  I have a new slide seal on my living room slide and I agree the new seal design is a massive improvement.  Full contact with the slide room with no air in it and it seems to hold air forever when the coach is in storage.  When under vacuum, my seal pulls fully away from the slide room, but the corners are much closer than the straights.  Again, not a problem but I do keep an eye on it.  My bedroom slide seal is original and it only holds air for about a day if the compressor is off.  One day I will swing by HWH to have it replaced or I may decide to tackle that myself since the bedroom slide room is so small.