We managed to score 5 days in the Zion Watchman CG for next week so today and tomorrow are dedicated to the requisite pre trip preparations. We have not used our coach since last fall, had to cancel Quartzite due to Covid and then had a frozen pipe burst in our house which took 7 weeks to completely repair/replace and obviously kept us at home...grrrr.I am lucky enough to be able to store the 24' Class C on our property with a dedicated 30 amp connection. We often have temps down in the mid to low 20's and have seen mid teens a couple of times so... Last December I winterized the coach even going so far as to blow out the water lines with my compressor. Drained the 40 gallon water tank and 6 gallon water heater. Filled the traps with RV antifreeze and added half a gallon to both the black and grey tanks. No need for anti freeze in the lines so did not have to blow them out again.Ran the generator for an hour under a decent load, cranked up the 35K btu furnace for 45 minutes, fired up the tank heaters for half an hour. After refilling I ran the water heater on AC and LP and basically ran/checked every system in the coach with no issues. :B Given the recent spike in fuel prices I'm glad I already had full fuel and LP tanks. It's been raining off and on all day so topping up the tires{ 60 on the fronts and 65 on the rears} can wait until tomorrow. I will verify 25 psi in the air bags as we are traveling with a medium load of about 11,000# which includes a full water tank.Spare keys, meds, cash etc go into the safe. I'll grocery shop in the morning and then all that will be left is to load food, clothes and toys. Hope to be on the road {332 miles} by 0730 and in our site by 2. The weather is going to colder than originally forecast but winter camping is not new or a problem. The heavy snow that fell in Zion this weekend should leave the park an amazing winter wonderland. Can't wait!:C

In response to the pre-trip air pressure. We are new to the class c motor home. We are running 70psi front and rear with the air bags at 60psi. The suspension has the heaviest sway bar that you can by I think that it’s 1 1/2” dia. Heavy duty shocks front and rear. The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?

The 80,000 pounds 18 wheelers weigh has a lot to do with their stability.

Yep knew that. So are you agreeing that a class C rv should be all over the road?

Phedley wrote:In response to the pre-trip air pressure. We are new to the class c motor home. We are running 70psi front and rear with the air bags at 60psi. The suspension has the heaviest sway bar that you can by I think that it’s 1 1/2” dia. Heavy duty shocks front and rear. The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?Without knowing what coach you have it is hard to guess but... Until you weigh your coach loaded as you normally travel you will no idea what the proper psi should be. Take your scale weights to the tire manufacturers load/inflation table and air up accordingly. Lots of folks {and I am one of them} add a 10 percent fudge factor for good measure.Sounds to me like your front tires are probably over inflated for the load they actually are carrying which will exacerbate that "pig on skates" feeling. If you have a Ford 350/450 you would also probably benefit from some additional caster. The right should be around 4.8* and the left about 4.5*. Happily it is a simple matter to correct both of these and costs very little to do so.Give us the specifics on your coach as that will make it easier for us to speculate further. Good luck!:C

Phedley wrote: The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?You may want to try Air Tabs. They didn't save me a dime on fuel--unless there was a tail wind, but they did improve handling with oncoming big trucks.The tabs also improved cabin noise--quite dramatically.https://www.airtab.com/application-rv.htmYou report 70 lbs in the front. I find that too high for my 28'5" class C. I run 65 in the front and 80 in the rear. My rv feels as if I'm driving on top of a round ball with too much pressure in the front. Think about weighing all four tires individually. My total is 13,750 pounds fully loaded with all tanks (waste and gray) with two passengers. At that time, there were 455 lbs of house batteries. Rear axle rating is 14,000.What is the ratio of wheel base to length? 55% is ideal (27 foot with 176 inch wheel base). As one approaches 50% handling gets worse--quite rapidly. Below 50% and it is a nightmare.

Pre trip preparations... | Good Sam Community

Phedley
Explorer
Mar 05, 2022
I read the reviews on the air tabs. Impressive. Also will change my tire psi. Thanks
pianotuna
Nomad III
Mar 05, 2022
Phedley wrote:
The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?

You may want to try Air Tabs. They didn't save me a dime on fuel--unless there was a tail wind, but they did improve handling with oncoming big trucks.

The tabs also improved cabin noise--quite dramatically.

https://www.airtab.com/application-rv.htm

You report 70 lbs in the front. I find that too high for my 28'5" class C. I run 65 in the front and 80 in the rear. My rv feels as if I'm driving on top of a round ball with too much pressure in the front.

Think about weighing all four tires individually. My total is 13,750 pounds fully loaded with all tanks (waste and gray) with two passengers. At that time, there were 455 lbs of house batteries. Rear axle rating is 14,000.

What is the ratio of wheel base to length? 55% is ideal (27 foot with 176 inch wheel base). As one approaches 50% handling gets worse--quite rapidly. Below 50% and it is a nightmare.
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Mar 05, 2022
Phedley wrote:
In response to the pre-trip air pressure. We are new to the class c motor home. We are running 70psi front and rear with the air bags at 60psi. The suspension has the heaviest sway bar that you can by I think that it’s 1 1/2” dia. Heavy duty shocks front and rear. The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?

Without knowing what coach you have it is hard to guess but... Until you weigh your coach loaded as you normally travel you will no idea what the proper psi should be. Take your scale weights to the tire manufacturers load/inflation table and air up accordingly. Lots of folks {and I am one of them} add a 10 percent fudge factor for good measure.

Sounds to me like your front tires are probably over inflated for the load they actually are carrying which will exacerbate that "pig on skates" feeling. If you have a Ford 350/450 you would also probably benefit from some additional caster. The right should be around 4.8* and the left about 4.5*. Happily it is a simple matter to correct both of these and costs very little to do so.

Give us the specifics on your coach as that will make it easier for us to speculate further. Good luck!

:C
Phedley
Explorer
Mar 05, 2022
Yep knew that. So are you agreeing that a class C rv should be all over the road?
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Mar 05, 2022
The 80,000 pounds 18 wheelers weigh has a lot to do with their stability.
Phedley
Explorer
Mar 05, 2022
In response to the pre-trip air pressure. We are new to the class c motor home. We are running 70psi front and rear with the air bags at 60psi. The suspension has the heaviest sway bar that you can by I think that it’s 1 1/2” dia. Heavy duty shocks front and rear. The RV still does not handle well especially in the wind. It is all over the road. I’ve driven 18 wheelers before and they handle like a corvette this RV not so. I’m driving about 55-60 mph. Any ideas as to why it handles the way it does?

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