Slideouts on a ClassC: How many?
Interesting here Slideouts are common on Motorhomes but not Caravans in Australia. What do you find is an iptimum number and type?
Forum Discussion
IMO, the best place for a slide-out is BETWEEN the front a rear axles. A slide-out located well behind the rear axle is the absolute worst place. Think of the levereage, the down-forces a slide-out introduces. 500 pounds back there, subtracts 500 pounds in front of the rear axle, but the downforce can increase the load on the rear tires by piles more than 500 pounds. The weight from "leverage" is compounded.
I drew this up a few years ago to illustrate the situation with my own rig without a slide-out. On trips with a full tank of fresh water (that is located against the rear bumper) and us sitting in the front seats, the leverage from water-weight is so influential, that the measured weight on the front axle is only 100 pounds heavier during trips as compared to the rig completely empty. During trips, we load our rear axle to the rated limit as defined by Ford. Not carrying water changes the scenario significantly. We carry a full tank of fresh water because we exclusively boondock.
Adding a 500 pound slide-out located behind the rear axle on our particular rig would be detrimental.
More recently I made some suspension changes up front to address the harsh ride and rear-end sag. I replaced the heavy duty front springs with ones rated the next step down. This leveled the rig nicely and also makes the ride much better with reduced thrashing. You can read all about the project which includes pictures, by CLICKING HERE.
I drew this up a few years ago to illustrate the situation with my own rig without a slide-out. On trips with a full tank of fresh water (that is located against the rear bumper) and us sitting in the front seats, the leverage from water-weight is so influential, that the measured weight on the front axle is only 100 pounds heavier during trips as compared to the rig completely empty. During trips, we load our rear axle to the rated limit as defined by Ford. Not carrying water changes the scenario significantly. We carry a full tank of fresh water because we exclusively boondock.
Adding a 500 pound slide-out located behind the rear axle on our particular rig would be detrimental.
More recently I made some suspension changes up front to address the harsh ride and rear-end sag. I replaced the heavy duty front springs with ones rated the next step down. This leveled the rig nicely and also makes the ride much better with reduced thrashing. You can read all about the project which includes pictures, by CLICKING HERE.
