Tiffin Phaeton 40QBH
America's Most Popular Diesel Pusher Gets a Rear Bath 40' Floorplan
Article Date: December, 2011
Article and Photography by Mark Quasius
Sometimes a product launch hits its target dead center. When Tiffin first launched its Phaeton motorhome, it was
an immediate success and has been gaining ground ever since. It quickly established itself as the number one selling diesel pusher in the
country, a title it has held for the past four years.
The Phaeton offered the most bang for the buck, balancing plenty of features and amenities with an attractive price.
Not to rest on its laurels, Tiffin Motorhomes continued to improve the product with new upgrades and floor plans every year. The 40QBH is
the latest floor plan to be offered.
The demand for rear bath floor plans has been a huge trend in recent years, but these have typically been offered in
longer 42 to 45 foot motorhomes on tag axle chassis. The 40QBH is Tiffin's first offering that provided a rear bath on a single-axle,
40 foot chassis.
Squeezing a large bath area into any motorhome is a real challenge. Whenever you add something you need to take away
something else and the livability of that floor plan suffers. But Tiffin did an amazing job at packing everything needed into a 40 foot floor
plan. The sales of the 40QBH quickly took off, exceeding all expectations, and now it's hard to find one in dealer stock. Fortunately,
Kings Campers, in Wausau, Wisconsin, is a respected Tiffin dealer and the team there was gracious enough to provide me with a 40QBH to
test and review.
An optional 32 inch exterior LCD TV is located in a protected enclosure in the galley slide out and will provide entertainment
in the patio area.
Chassis and Drivetrain
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The Phaeton is available on either of two chassis options. A Freightliner chassis is available as well as Tiffin's
own proprietary Powerglide chassis. The Powerglide was initially launched in the Allegro Bus line as a premium chassis option and has
received many accolades by happy owners. The Powerglide is now offered in the Phaeton line, as well, and was the chassis selected for
the Phaeton that Kings Campers gave us to review.
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The entry stairwell is trimmed with solid surface risers and non-slid rubber treads. A handy storage drawer is built
into the steps.
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The Powerglide chassis cuts no corners. Huckbolts are used throughout the chassis rather than rivets for improved
strength. The Powerglide chassis as used in the Phaeton 40QBH is a rear radiator design with solid I-beam front axle. An 8.3L Cummins ISC
with exhaust brake cranks out 380 hp and 1,050 lb-ft of torque and is coupled to an Allison 3000 series six-speed automatic transmission.
The rear axle is rated at 22,000 pounds while the front axle is rated at 14,600 pounds. This gives the 40QBH a gross vehicle weight rating
of 36,600 pounds. The weight placard inside this motorhome indicated a generous 5,805-pound cargo carrying capacity. A 10,000 pound towing
capacity brought the GCWR to 46,600 pounds.
The 55-degree turning radius allowed for ease in navigating some tight corners in Kings Lot, while the 266-inch
wheelbase made for a nice stable ride at highway speeds. The Phaeton comes with a dual-fill, 100-gallon fuel tank and a 15-gallon diesel
exhaust fluid tank. Fresh water capacity is 90 gallons while gray water capacity is 70 gallons and black water is 50 gallons. A 35.7-gallon
LP tank provides ample capacity to keep the dual furnaces and hot-water heater fed.
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