I just sold my old Class C motor home which had no trouble getting up my steep driveway. I had to hit it at just the right angle and the skid bar on the back frame rail would occasionally just touch the ground for a half inch or so. Now I am in the market for a class A and I am looking for a used coach that will have to fit my wife's preferred floor plan as much as possible, but primarily it has to get up the drive. We are looking at gas coaches and diesel coaches (don't get me started there) so before we start looking in depth, I would like to ask the considerably knowledgeable folks here if there is a direction that I should focus my search. Our previous class C had an 11 foot overhang and the skid (which was the fist thing to make contact) was 17 inches off of flat ground. Does anyone even make a class A with that kind of rear end clearance?

NO, but with air leveling...raise the coach up you should be able plus the overhang off the rear of a DP is not that much. Have to have a DP to have air leveling.

Ivylog wrote:NO, but with air leveling...raise the coach up you should be able plus the overhang off the rear of a DP is not that much. Have to have a DP to have air leveling.I see from your signature that you have a tag axle 45. Do you know what length your overhang is and how high the hitch is on your rig?

trikepilot wrote: I see from your signature that you have a tag axle 45. Do you know what length your overhang is and how high the hitch is on your rig?Bottom of hitch is 15" off the ground and 7' back on the 42' Dynasty (it's next door) and 8.5' back on the 45' Navigator. I would say you can raise the coach atleast 4" more...19". I got hung up trying to go into a friends driveway with the Dynasty raised up (drive tires would spin in bottom of a ditch). Took me a little while to figure what to do...blocking a road. I lowered the front all the way down and made sure the back was all the way up and it went ahead. If it had still spun I was going to increase the tag axle's airbag pressure to 100+ lbs (from 45) in the hopes that would raise it up even more.So I'm guessing you have a Piper Tri Pacer...trikepilot?

No on the TriPacer but I do have some time in one. Thanks for the measurements. I bet I could get that Dynasty up my drive. I am exploring inverted V ramps to see how that will help. I just want as many options as possible.

I have a dip at the entrance to my MH bay in my house and the new rig's front cap hit when the front tires went into the dip/drain. Raising the front up got me in but I decided to solve the problem by pouring concrete in the dip BUT I still needed water to go through it. Not enough thickness to do 6" pipes so used 2'X12 Styrofoam for the drain and poured the concrete over it plus some rebar to span the hole created. Gasoline eats Styrofoam up very easily once the concrete has cured a couple days.

Long overhang and dragging hitch delima--solutions request

trikepilot
Explorer
Jul 13, 2018
I have a friend with a 40 ft Alfa Gold that is going to come up and try to back it in the drive. We will have lots of 2X8 blocking to use as helpers if needed. If that exercise goes well then I will put an offer on a 2006 Beaver Monterey that I have my eye on. I hope that is a good coach mechanically because it sure looks good inside and out. I just want to make sure I can get it up the drive first.
mchero
Explorer
Jul 08, 2018
OP's driveway not that bad. Backing in rather than nose first.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 06, 2018
My rig is 12.5' to the drive and distance to the tag is of limited use as the drive has most of the weight.

The hitch is about 17", however that would drag and damage the mud flap. The mud flap could be left off as it's of limited usefulness. Manual air leveling could add a few inches.

My 04 36' Endeavor had 10' overhang and more ground clearance. I think Monaco lowered the frame and increased the ceiling height.
frankdamp
Explorer
Jul 06, 2018
Our Class A (a 32-footer) had about 7 ft rear overhang. The original owner, from whom be bought it, had put wheels, maybe 6" diameter, close to the outer ends of the rear bumper. On the odd occasion we encountered a step in the road or a curb when entering a gas station, the wheels would hit just before the bumper would have grounded.

They probably struck maybe 6 times in the four years we used the coach.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jul 05, 2018
Isaac-1 wrote:
I am surprised to see no one has mentioned helper air-lift air bags on a gas class A. I am planning on adding some to my class A to help get in and out of places (gas stations, etc.) at low speed.

My DIY cost estimate for the project is around $650

The post above yours.. Re-read it :).
TNGW1500SE
Explorer
Jul 05, 2018
I've got casters on each side of the hitch. They mount to the hitch. Works great.
Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Jul 04, 2018
If you opt for a hitch mounted roller device, inspecting the hitch is still recommended when you know you've been dragging. Depending on the depth of the dip, a lot of stress can be put on the hitch mounting assembly with or without a roller device. The roller will minimize any sliding/scraping damage of course.
ncrowley
Explorer II
Jul 04, 2018
If you are going to get the diesel, I would really look into the hitch saver at Source Engineering, as I said in a previous post. Call them and you can can get more information. I think your driveway will need a solution like that.
trikepilot
Explorer
Jul 02, 2018
Thanks for the answers so far. The consensus seems to be "block it" and "bag it". I may still be wasting my time but I am hoping to "buy it" first. I understand that the Super C coaches ride quite a bit higher and have really nice floor plans. I just need to win the lottery to be able to afford one.

In the event that I wind up with a 2007 to 2013 class A diesel, which seems to be what I can afford pre-lottery winnings, is anyone aware of models with short 7 to 8 foot overhangs and higher than usual 14 to 17 inch rear clearances? Looking at those first may enable me to either block it OR bag it without having to do both at the same time.

Here is a picture of my crazy driveway for reference.

https://i.imgur.com/i4CvRGI.jpg

I know that the RV I am looking for is a unicorn, but hey, I still believe that I can find it.
JaxDad
Explorer III
Jul 01, 2018
Isaac-1 wrote:
I am surprised to see no one has mentioned helper air-lift air bags on a gas class A. I am planning on adding some to my class A to help get in and out of places (gas stations, etc.) at low speed.

My DIY cost estimate for the project is around $650

A friend did that, then realized he had to start adding air way before he got anywhere near the gas station in order give it time to go up, that or stop nearby and wait while it went up. Then there’s the ‘do I need air, and if so how much?’ issue.

In the end he gave up and added a caster wheel, it always works instantly IF needed.