Hi. We are looking at upgrading to a class A that is 35.5 feet, (222" wheelbase, with rear section behind tire center of 10.5 ft and front section in front of tire at 6.5 ft, and sits 13" at lowest point to ground)Has anyone had experience trying to go off main road to ride road that is 15 degrees steep ? Our house is on a private road off of the main road and I dont have experience with such a long RV and so much of the unit in front and behind the wheelbase.Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Side road rises or falls?And do you really mean 15 degrees or 15 % slope?

Hi Ductape. Thanks for the quick reply.The situation is that the main road we live off of is a main route, and is nice and flat (i.e. flat as in when a level is set on it). Our road we live on intersects it at 90 degrees, and is going upward at 15 degrees, i.e. it's also nice and flat, but our entire road (about 600') intersects the main road at 15 degrees. I'm sorry in advance if I'm missing the meaning of your slope question. There isn't any time of transition between the main road and our road, it just starts right in at 15 degrees. It's not a mapped road, anything the town takes care off, so I don't think it would pass standards if it were built today ( built in the late '30s.. )

Well it's been many decades since I had geometry, but IIRC, at a fifteen degree slope, your 10 foot rear overhang is going to be on the ground within about 5 feet of the rear wheels starting up the slope. The front won't make it either.Of course, you could take the unit you are thinking of buying for a test drive and cautiously try and take it up your drive way. You'd want to have a representative load on board.

If I did the math correctly, which I could have done wrong, it looks like that for the coach with a 222" wheelbase to sit at a 15 degree tilt, the front wheels would have to be almost 60" off of the ground. Don't think it is going to happen without the rear overhang dragging.It might work if you could back it up but that would depend on exactly how long the overhang is and how low the trailer hitch sits. I still doubt if it is going to happen. Sorry

If you approach the turn from an angle to the corner you can get a little more clearance.

Turning onto 15 degree sideroad - Can it be done ?

25 Replies

Pangaea_Ron
Explorer
Aug 03, 2015
For a more complete answer. I can go up a steep driveway that is 8.7 degrees from a flat road without the need for any transition.

I can go up a steeper driveway if the transition radius is 105 feet or more. You can change the transition radius by adding flat 2x12's at the transition to go up a steeper driveway.
Kayteg1
Explorer II
Aug 03, 2015
All I could afford wrote:
Where I live lot of houses need 4WD just to make the slope. I had a house with steep driveway going from the road offside about 45 degree.

Kayteg1...Does your 4WD house have a low range transfer case??
Just kidding

Being multilingual I like to catch funny wording like that but this time you beat me to it. :B
Coming to moving the houses, I have seen lot of them going downhill, none of them up.
Houses here are build on slopes where brick will keep on rolling till it lands on the street. Take an owner who bought the house for family money and doesn't feel like maintaining gutters and drainage to make the house go.
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Aug 03, 2015
AH64ID wrote:
Got any pics of the 15° driveway? I didn't think anything in Florida was high enough to get that much slope.

I thought that curbs were the highest thing in Florida. :)
2oldman
Explorer II
Aug 02, 2015
slpmep wrote:
..is going upward at 15 degrees, i.e. it's also nice and flat, but our entire road (about 600') intersects the main road at 15 degrees.
Where did you get the 15° information?
All_I_could_aff
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
Where I live lot of houses need 4WD just to make the slope. I had a house with steep driveway going from the road offside about 45 degree.

Kayteg1...Does your 4WD house have a low range transfer case??
Just kidding
AH64ID
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
Got any pics of the 15° driveway? I didn't think anything in Florida was high enough to get that much slope.
Pangaea_Ron
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
I can do a 8.7 degree incline, but it takes a 105' radius for the transition at the bottom. I can check if I can climb a steep driveway if I place an 8' long 2x4 centered over the transition and there is less that 1" between the pavement and the 2x4.
Pangaea_Ron
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
I'm away from my office until Friday, but if you send me several dimensions, I can give you a drawing that will show what slope and transition radius that you can successfully navigate.

Wheel base
Tire size
Rear overhang length from center of rear tire(s)
Rear overhang height
slpmep
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
Thank you all for the help. It's clear it's not even close, so I'll have to find a plan B location.
Passin_Thru
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
My pickup won't pull a 27% slope. Just take a 100ft tape measure out and run it from the 35 ft mark back to the edge, have someone hold it up at the bumper heigth and you hold at bumper height and you can see. Me, I'd park it at the neighbors.