I'm not wanting to offend any Class A owners with my question.
I will be in the market for an RV in the next 12 months and I'm just wanting to get one that meets my needs (which includes something wife can drive).
IF this RV Consumers Group is somewhat correct, then a Class A may not be best the choice for me. IF RV Consumers Group is missing important details (like vehicle having steering stabilizers, or a low center of gravity, or wider wheel tracking, etc.) on each specific model build (and just making generic conclusions) then it is going to be inaccurate.
This is what the report says (for many of the Class As). Here is an example of report's section on Highway Stability
for the
2015 Thor Palazzo 33.3 Bunkhouse. It scored Highway Control as a "53".
RV Consumers Group page 446 wrote:
Highway Control:
This model of motor home is built on a Freightliner chassis. The total adjusted wheelbase of this model is 208 inches. When you divide wheelbase by the length of the motor home, you have a wheelbase-to-length ratio of 50%. This ratio gives us a good idea of the handling characteristic you can expect from this vehicle. From accounts of performance under average road conditions, you should expect that this model with this wheelbase will perform as follows:
* difficult handling under normal driving conditions / very dangerous under adverse driving conditions.
For the
2015 Thor Palazzo 36.1 : This one scored a "73" for Highway Control.
RV Consumers Group report page 448 wrote:
Highway Control:
This model of motor home is built on a Freightliner chassis. The total adjusted wheelbase of this model is 242 inches. When you divide the wheelbase by the length of the motor home, you have a wheelbase -to-length ratio of 54%. This ration gives us a good idea of the handling characteristics you can expect from this vehicle. From accounts of performance under average road conditions, you should expect that this model with this wheel base will perform as follows:
* tend to wander and cause some driver fatigue in windy conditions, when trucks are passing, or on uneven roads.
Occupant Safety:
We consider the occupant safety risk (collision or fire, traveling or when parked) for this Class A pusher motor home based on type, brand, model, chassis specifications, and quality of workmanship when under 10 years old and in good condition as:
* design deficiencies may render it high risk of rollover, collision, or fire.
So, I'm looking for Highway Control scores over 80. There are a few Class As with scores over 80 (not many)- but most of the Class Cs are over 80. I guess the Class C have a longer wheelbase than the Class A for some reason (even when they have the same overall length).
