Class A Wind Handling

Manufacturers design their chassis with a certain amount of sway built in. It's there to let you know when things are getting a little hairy out there. If you intentionally reduce that safety margin by stiffening your suspension, well, . . . . bad things can happen pretty fast. If you are seeing 80,000 lb. 18 wheel trucks blown over, you might want take that as a hint to get off the road.

Of course worn shocks and suspension/steering parts should be replaced as soon as possible. Upgrading within reason makes sense.

Chum lee

Twomed wrote:
It's a box...physics can not be overcome. At some point you will be uncomfortable, find that point and know when to pull over.

Without a doubt, one of the best answers I've ever seen on here, period. At the risk of sounding a bit caustic, if one is gonna buy one these rolling Kleenex boxes, one is gonna have to put up with any and all consequences of driving it. Wind, rain, bad roads, effects from passing and oncoming 18 wheelers, up hill, down hill, long grades, tight passages like the 550 in Colorado, and more and more. Driving these is not the same as driving a VW. Concessions have to be made and or learned.

Get out there and drive it. If the wind comes up, deal with it. We'd all like to have PERFECT driving conditions, for every mile we travel, AIN'T HAPPENING!!!!
Scott

FIRE UP wrote:

Twomed wrote:
It's a box...physics can not be overcome. At some point you will be uncomfortable, find that point and know when to pull over.

Without a doubt, one of the best answers I've ever seen on here, period. At the risk of sounding a bit caustic, if one is gonna buy one these rolling Kleenex boxes, one is gonna have to put up with any and all consequences of driving it. Wind, rain, bad roads, effects from passing and oncoming 18 wheelers, up hill, down hill, long grades, tight passages like the 550 in Colorado, and more and more. Driving these is not the same as driving a VW. Concessions have to be made and or learned.

Get out there and drive it. If the wind comes up, deal with it. We'd all like to have PERFECT driving conditions, for every mile we travel, AIN'T HAPPENING!!!!
Scott

/\ This. As I've mentioned before, it didn't take me long this past year to learn the MH TELLS ME how fast it wants to go, not the other way around. To much wind - slow down. Super rough road - slow down. My rule #1 - I'm never in a hurry. Rule #2 - If I get in a hurry refer back to rule #1. As both FIRE UP and Chum Lee has said in one of my threads, it's not a race car. It's not even an SUV. It's a huge top-heavy box rolling down the road.

Al

I have been very happy with the way my MH rides in the wind. I am wondering if a front engine vs a rear engine makes any difference.

dubdub07 wrote:
I have been very happy with the way my MH rides in the wind. I am wondering if a front engine vs a rear engine makes any difference.

The answer is that IT COULD.

Weight distribution is important in handling. In a DP, if heavy components are located too far back (have even seen generators put just in front of a rear bumper on a diesel pusher), the front axle is underloaded. This leads to poor handling and more susceptibility to blowing in cross winds.

Front engine vehicles should (yes, should, not DO) have better weight distribution. Much of this depends on the length of the rear overhand and weight of what is behind the rear axle.

dubdub07 wrote:
I have been very happy with the way my MH rides in the wind. I am wondering if a front engine vs a rear engine makes any difference.

Most likely with the chassis engineering itself and above all with any coach, the amount of overhang behind the rear wheels.
Most DP's have little and have seen some gassers, that look like the tail is about to wag the dog, while it's still sitting still.
We had an old gasser with a tag once and went across three states in the SW with a terrible cross wind. Never did stop, except for overnight and with the all the rocking, we couldn't even put the slide out.

I had a 39 ft. National Tradewinds and twice I had the pleasure of driving it in Misspuri and Oklahoma in winds that were blowing semis over and I could see my tow whippin back and forth behind me but felt little affects, that was a diesel, then I picked up my 40 ft. Newmar Canyon Star and headed across the desert with 43 MPH cross wind gusts, Stopped at a roadside rest and had lunch with the coach rocking slightly but it handled great. Just slow down and expect the worse and wait for that next gust, if it's too bad get off the road.

As covered by others already, many variables in coaches and wind related handling. For some coaches, aftermarket component additions can be of great help. But some coaches, usually the entry level of a manufacturer, have way too much 'tail hang'. Shorter chassis, but still longer coaches, are not a good formula in the wind. While add on components will help this some, these coaches will never be as good of handling in the wind, as those with better Wheel Base to Coach Length proportions.

And yep, many call it snake oil, but I've personally seen the improvements in especially shifting wind conditions, of using Air Tabs. I did do many of the handling components add on's and shocks to our 99 F53 18K Chassis (T-28 Bounder, so did not have much of a tail hang, compared to many I've seen on the road:)!).

If you find that the wind does disturb you while driving, and decide to improve suspension and handling, consider Air Tabs in that mix too. Not expensive, and even after all of the other mod's I made - they really helped too. Cumulative in my specifics.

And no matter what I had done to the Bounder, no comprising to a DP with Tag:)!

Best of luck to you,
Smitty