How good are Coachman Forest River rv's?
Quality? Talking about 2014 models. have they been around long, construction quality, ease of operation? Thinking of the 24G Prism with the slideout in the rear with a walk around bed. Appreciate any ...
Forum Discussion
It's been pointed out here in other connections, but it seems Coachmen takes full advantage of the Stretch-Availability of the E450 chassis. This can lead to a bigger turning radius than we'd like, but it also:
Reduces Tail Drag and Tail Wag
Tracks Better on the Road
Allows proper Front Axle Loading
Decrases chance of Rear Axle Overloading
Look at the Coach from a Side View. The ones where the Rear Axle is AFT of the center of the Body (not counting cabover) seem to bring up less handling and axle loading issues.
Include Weighing in your coach selection process. Find out where there's a truck stop (CAT Scales has a lookup online) and include their scales in your test drive. Most C's don't overload the front axle. The trick is to have ENOUGH on the front. I hear two minimum numbers. One is 75% of rated capacity. The other is 1/3 of total actual coach weight. Say an E450-based coach scales at 13000#. 75% of its 5000 front GAWR is 3750 and 33% of 13000 is 4333. We've read where some C's had around 3000 on the front, an overloaded rear, and poor handling.
Longer wheelbase relieves those problems. Based on reading and experience, a "31-foot" Class C ought to have a wheelbase a few inches either side of 220-inches. Coachmen does that.
Reduces Tail Drag and Tail Wag
Tracks Better on the Road
Allows proper Front Axle Loading
Decrases chance of Rear Axle Overloading
Look at the Coach from a Side View. The ones where the Rear Axle is AFT of the center of the Body (not counting cabover) seem to bring up less handling and axle loading issues.
Include Weighing in your coach selection process. Find out where there's a truck stop (CAT Scales has a lookup online) and include their scales in your test drive. Most C's don't overload the front axle. The trick is to have ENOUGH on the front. I hear two minimum numbers. One is 75% of rated capacity. The other is 1/3 of total actual coach weight. Say an E450-based coach scales at 13000#. 75% of its 5000 front GAWR is 3750 and 33% of 13000 is 4333. We've read where some C's had around 3000 on the front, an overloaded rear, and poor handling.
Longer wheelbase relieves those problems. Based on reading and experience, a "31-foot" Class C ought to have a wheelbase a few inches either side of 220-inches. Coachmen does that.
