driving my new class c

TexasNative wrote:
I'm relatively new to this game as well, but how come most/any folks don't mention the fact that if you're weighing your rig at a station, that means you drove it, which means you're getting an inaccurate/higher reading in your tires?

So you would conceivably be setting your psi incorrectly...since you're supposed to do it with cold tires.

You're weighing the motor home and the weight of it doesn't change because the tires are hot, only the internal tire pressure changes. You take the weight data and compare it to the tire load chart to determine the cold tire pressure. You don't adjust the tire pressure until after the tires are cool again.

I'm relatively new to this game as well, but how come most/any folks don't mention the fact that if you're weighing your rig at a station, that means you drove it, which means you're getting an inaccurate/higher reading in your tires?

So you would conceivably be setting your psi incorrectly...since you're supposed to do it with cold tires.

Almost all RV's tend to wander from cross-winds, passing trucks, dips in the road surface, etc. You can improve things with proper air pressure, and wheel alignment with your camping , etc., stuff on board fresh water tank and holding tanks about 1/2 full. Some RV owners invest in stabilizer bars, special shocks, airbags, and special alignment settings, etc. and some claim much better handling after the upgrades. Most Class C's have a harsh ride on weather and heavy truck-damaged rough interstate highway surfaces. The rear springs on many RV's are quite stiff to handle heavy cargo in the rear.

You may learn to "live with" typical handling and harsh ride issues. We have always taken frequent rest stops to stretch, walk around and sit on solid ground to calm nerves from driving on rough roads. Try making reservations or finding an RV park in afternoon time to settle down for the night, avoid "no vacancy" problems and anxiety of trying to find a place to park at night.

Enjoy the ride, taking secondary asphalt paved roads with better scenery when practical. Try to keep speeds around 55mph for best fuel economy and more relaxed driving. Use lower gear on downgrades to save your brakes. Pull out when safe to let the parade pass, ignore "hand gestures" from passing cars. Change lanes carefully and plan ahead for off ramps and merges using your GPS.

I will add this tidbit. Your front tires probably do not need 80 psi. On certain cars and SUVs I have created better tracking and calmer steering by running higher pressure in rear tires than fronts. This is an old car-tuning trick. Of course, you have to have enough in the fronts to carry the loads. To figure out the possibilities, you have to weigh your RV and then look up the front tire weight loads in an RV tire inflation table. Then you can run whatever PSI it gives. RV makers just say run them full, but they are not the ones living with the RV on the road.

Maybe someone who has done this can tell us if it helped calm down the steering.

Excellent advice from "j-d". I only ride with 65 PSI in the front tires but 80 PSI in the rear tires due to the actual weight carried on each axle. With the long overhang on most Class C motorhomes, it's easy to have too much weight behind the rear axle and that weight acts to lighten the weight on the front axle which can cause poor handling. I moved almost 100 lbs of "stuff" from the rear compartments to storage further forward after weighing my rig the 1st time after it had been fully loaded. Having the correct distribution of weight and the correct tire pressures makes a BIG difference in the handling.

There are dozens of threads about this. There's good discussion in a recent thread with topic "swaybars" and another about being pushed around by trucks.

What Chassis is it on? Particularly if your chassis is Ford E350 or E450, the "80" you mentioned may be part of your answer.

Especially, again, with Ford, VERY important to inflate front tires to what a Weight-to-Pressure Chart calls for based on ACTUAL SCALE Weights. Load your RV up as you would for a trip, people and all. Get Thee to a Truckery (Truck Stop/Travel Cener) and weigh it on their CAT Scale. If you tow something, pull that up onto the scales too. People on board for the weighing!

Then go to the Air Station and adjust your tire pressures. Your sidewalls are going to be marked "80 PSI MAX" and they're pretty much fitted to your chassis with no excess capacity. So your Chassis label will also say "80" but that only applies to max rated axle loadings!

If somebody aired all six to 80, it's probably too much in front and your coach will wander, even if everything else is OK. Excess pressure in the rear tires...pretty much just makes it ride harder, but little effect on wandering.

Check all SIX tires. Look to see if there are flexible valve stems or extension tubes/adapters. You need Solid, One Piece Valves like These from BORG, also available at Camping World.