2018 Entegra Coach Anthem 44F
An In-Depth Review of Entegra's new 44F Anthem floorplan
Article Date: May, 2017
Article and Photography by Mark Quasius
Entegra Coach is well established as a high end motorcoach manufacturer and their Anthem is one of the standards in their lineup.
2018 offers the usual assortment of upgraded features and a new 44F floorplan has been added to the lineup. The new features that stand out in ther 44F include
a spacious rear wardrobe and bath area and a patio side dinette. Filled with the usual high end features and amenities the 2018 Anthem is a great coach in
any floorplan. Let's take a look at just what this coach all has to offer.
Exterior
This coach was finished in the Gold Ribbon exterior decor, one of four available exterior graphics selections. The coach is built on
a Spartan K2 tag axle raised rail chassis with a side radiator and independent front suspension (IFS) with Bilstein 60mm shocks. The coach is equipped with
dual acting hydraulic leveling jacks by Equalizer Systems. In addition the air-ride suspension features Hadley automatic leveling, which can be a benefit when it
is not desirable to use the leveling jacks when parked. Power is supplied by a 9 liter Cummins ISL engine with 450 HP and 1,250 lb-ft of torque and automatic
traction control. A six speed Allison 3000MH series automatic transmission delivers the power to the ground while the 150 gallon fuel tank with dual fuel fills is
supplemented by a 15 gallon DEF tank with both driver-side and curb-side fill locations. The GVWR rating is 49,000 lbs and the GCWR is 64,000 lbs with a
trailer hitch capacity of 15,000 lbs. A massive Cargo Carrying capacity of 12,488 lbs. is generally unheard of for a coach of this size so you'll never have
to worry about being overweight with this coach unless you've been spending too much time at the Cracker Barrel lately.
The Anthem is equipped with LED high and low beam headlights and fog lights, LED docking lights, LED accent lighting and a pulsing
third brake light. Keyless entry, dual pane frameless windows and roof mounted Girard power awnings adorn the exterior. Girard window awnings and a Girard power
entry door awning are also standard. A power lift engine access door allows effortless access to the engine compartment. The stylish front and rear caps, which
bowed in the 2016 model year, include backlit Entegra accents embedded in stainless steel trim. An En-telligent Blind Spot Monitoring system is tuned to
detect objects within the lane of traffic on either side of the vehicle. A security system is tied into the keyless entry system and includes glass
shatter sensors.
Basement storage is plentiful with two large pass-through compartments and a number of side compartments.
The front-most patio-side compartment holds space for an optional Dometic freezer/refrigerator that is mount
on a slide tray.
One of the basement compartments is equipped with a cargo slide tray that extends the width of the coach. This dual acting
cargo tray can be extended from either side of the coach for cargo access from either side.
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The fresh water tank can be accessed via a compartment door on the curb-side of the coach. The tank is trimmed out with an enclosure that
includes a slot to allow manual viewing of the water level, a gravity fresh water fill cap and an area for storage.
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A curb-side compartment in the middle of the coach contains a panel with the various battery disconnects. These disconnect switches
control the house batteries, chassis batteries and inverters. Four L16 6 Volt 390 amp hr AGM batteries are located behind the panel.
This mid-ship location helps to balance the coach's cargo carrying capacity by removing the weight of the heavy batteries from the front axle.
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Engine access is easy on the Anthem with a power engine hatch cover lift. All of the engine service needs can easily be reached from this location.
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The Anthem is fitted with a 40" LED TV in an enclosed patio side compartment. A Bose sound bar and entertainment system is
also included as standard equipment.
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Front View
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Rear view
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Driver-side DEF Fill
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Driver-side storage compartment
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Utility Bay
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Aqua-Hot and electrical service compartment
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The rear-most compartment on the patio side holds the engine starting batteries, air dryer, fuel filters and other chassis
service features. It also holds the 15 gallon DEF tank, which can also be easily filled with pump DEF at truck stops via the handy driver-side
second DEF fill port. The driver-side offers access to the pass-through storage bays as well as a large side compartment immediately behind the front axle.
Just forward of the rear drive axle is the utility bay that holds all of the plumbing features. This panel includes a fresh water hose reel, an outside
faucet with slinky hose and garden hose nozzle, paper towel holder and the usual selection of controls for operating the fresh water system as well as
the switches for the electric dump valves. The holding tanks can be dumped via a Sanicon Turbo macerator, which has cam-lock couplers and a hose storage
bin next to the utility bay. The system can also be dumped via a standard 3" slinky sewer hose if desired. Water filters and a black tank flush system are
also standard. A second compartment holds the Aqua-Hot hydronic heating system boiler as well as a power 50 amp cord reel and cable TV connections. The TRC
40350-RVC automatic transfer switch affords complete surge protection coverage as well as protection against low or high voltage.
The 12.5 KW Onan Quiet Diesel Generator is mounted on a pneumatic power slide that extends the generator out the front of the coach
for easy access for service.
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