I was on I 95 in Fla. the other day when I came up to a Tiffen Breeze (28-32 ft) as I passed him he almost came into my lane. As I watched him in my rear view mirror he was all over the road and had a difficult time staying between the lines. It was not windy. I have read on here many times about the wheel base to length ratio having to be .50 or higher for a good ride. I suspect it is more than this ratio. I suspect it has more to do with the weight being evenly distributed on all four tires. It just seemed to me that with the eng in the rear the front end would have less weight on the front tires making for this white knuckle ride. Many on here report that their short MH,s ride well. I am interested in shorter MH's but would be very disappointed with this type of ride. I was wondering what others did to obtain a stable ride that have shorter MH's. Front end alignment tricks, suspension, weight distribution etc. Also would a 32 ft gas Class A be more stable than a 32 ft DP?

Whomever was driving the other rig needs kessons in loading. Either that or the driver was competely freeked out drving something like that. Shorter rigs pose no diving problems when set up correctly.

I would think as a generalization a DP would always be more stable than a gasser simply by virtue of chassis and weight. My light gasser does not handle as poorly as the guy you describe. Maybe he was a bad driver or something was in the road? Maybe PSI was off or his load way unbalanced? Who knows. But it doubt the coach is to blame.Maybe he put it on auto pilot and went back to make a sandwich.

Was it a section of segmented concrete or just plain 'ole asphalt? I once saw a short DP purposing so bad on 95 leaving a rest area it was actually funny looking until I thought about the poor guy driving it. Might have been loading I guess...

And never forget that SOME drivers just cant drive worth a D***!!

Could be loaded too light on the front axle or it also could be a new driver that focuses too much on the road right out front of the coach instead of further down the road.

Short DP's Handling | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

Gjac
Explorer III
Mar 13, 2014
mena661 wrote:
33 ft gasser here, does NOT handle horribly LOL! You should come ride with me sometime.
I would like to If you were not so far away. I like that MH as well as the Bay star and Bay star sport. What made you choose the Canyon Star over the other Stars?
frankdamp
Explorer
Mar 12, 2014
I drove transit for a couple of years at an age in my late 60's. The fleet had a dozen or so 29 and 30-foot rear-engine coaches.Never a handling problem for me, even with a dozen fairly rowdy teens all in the back seats.

8 years or so ago, we were seriously considering a Bounder Patriot "Charleston" model, which was 30' long. If the used car dealer who was selling it had been willing to drop his price down from 2.5x KBB to something closer to 1.25x, we'd have bought it. It was in very good shape. It sat on his lot for about 3 years before it was sold. Can't cure obstinate and dumb combined!
Flanz
Explorer
Mar 12, 2014
moisheh wrote:
Gas MH's that are 32 to 34 ft. handle horribly.
Moisheh

I'll have to disagree with you there!!! I currently have a 2000 NRV 33' SeaView that handles very well. So well the DW drives it everywhere. We've driven this coach up and down the east coast with the DW doing a good amount of it.

-paul
John_S_
Explorer II
Mar 12, 2014
I drove a 34 foot Foretravel for 100,000 miles. It handled fine and we only had to stop once for wind. I have a 42 foot with a tag and it handles much better and have not worried about wind or bow waves of air since. It is easier to drive the 42 foot but there was no problem driving the 34 and it stayed in the lane and I could drive it all day without getting tired too.. Each size has its benefits and drawbacks.
Effy
Explorer II
Mar 12, 2014
30 footer and mine handles fine. Get some feedback but no handling issues.
OhhWell
Explorer
Mar 12, 2014
moisheh wrote:
Gjac. My Bounder is 34 ft. Gas MH's that are 32 to 34 ft. handle horribly. Look at the overhang! The front end usually has a GVW of about 10,000 and the rear 17,000. In 06 Fleetwood went to a 12,000 FE and a 19,000 rear. They have since gone back to a 10,500 FE and a 17,500 rear on the short Excursions.. The Tiffin is very light on GVW. When weighing the coach you are looking for side to side balance. The FA and RA will be very different. It is not unusual to find one side of an axle weighing 1000 lbs. more than the other. This can cause handling problems. That Breeze might be at the weight limits of one of the axles. That too is not unusual. I would suggest you take a few coaches for a test ride and experience the handling.

Moisheh

HAHAH. How many and which 32-34' gassers have you taken for a test drive to form that opinion? I'm sure you follow your own advice on that one right?
Flowergirl
Explorer
Mar 12, 2014
32 ft gasser here. Handles very well.
mena661
Explorer
Mar 11, 2014
33 ft gasser here, does NOT handle horribly LOL! You should come ride with me sometime.
moisheh
Explorer
Mar 11, 2014
Gjac. My Bounder is 34 ft. Gas MH's that are 32 to 34 ft. handle horribly. Look at the overhang! The front end usually has a GVW of about 10,000 and the rear 17,000. In 06 Fleetwood went to a 12,000 FE and a 19,000 rear. They have since gone back to a 10,500 FE and a 17,500 rear on the short Excursions.. The Tiffin is very light on GVW. When weighing the coach you are looking for side to side balance. The FA and RA will be very different. It is not unusual to find one side of an axle weighing 1000 lbs. more than the other. This can cause handling problems. That Breeze might be at the weight limits of one of the axles. That too is not unusual. I would suggest you take a few coaches for a test ride and experience the handling.

Moisheh
Gjac
Explorer III
Mar 11, 2014
moisheh wrote:
Comparing the Breeze to other short DP's is an unfair comparison. The Breeze is on a Tiffin chassis with a very low GVW and an underpowered MaX Force engine. It also uses 19.5 tires. Most other short DP's are on a Freightliner chassis. Winnie and Fleetwood both use the FL chassis with 22.5 tires. Very few owners report handling problems. We have an 05 Bounder on the FL chassis and it handles well. Does it handle as well as a 45 ft. with a tag? I guess not! But it is not problematic. We installed a Steer Safe to do away with the being pushed by passing vehicles. Problem gone. I suspect that the Breeze handling is the result of a badly designed chassis as well as being very light. Has anyone weighed the individual wheels? Maybe the unit is not balanced properly. The GVW is at least 5000 lbs. less than other DP's of that length.

Moisheh
How long is your bounder? My thought is by design all short DP's would have a light front end compared to the rear because of the eng in the rear. I am visualizing the rear tires as a fulcrum and a short distance to the front tires like a see saw just lifting the front end. That is why I asked the question in the op about a front end gas MH of the same length riding better.(less wandering)Again I will go back to my original question, if I weight the MH and find that all 6 tires have the same weight on them would that MH ride better that a MH that weighed more in the rear or the front and why?

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Short DP's Handling

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