muskrat49 wrote:
My 42 foot DP with tag has a ratio of 52%. According to them, that means it would handle horribly. The reality is that the tag axle effectively extends the wheelbase by about 4 feet, thus changing the ratio to 61%.
The reality is that balance matters more than wheelbase. No class C is ever going to handle as well as a DP with tag. The average DP has a lot of coach in front of the front axle. That has a major effect on balance. That front overhang should probably be subtracted from the total length to make the comparison more valid.
Their metric seems to be trying to measure the rear overhang, which may be valid for comparable vehicles. But DPs are not comparable to other RVs.
True, their metric is only a single piece of the puzzle; making it only slightly relevant. I'm sure there are cars that have the exact same (or close) wheelbase and length as a Porsche 928. But the Porsche's near perfect 50/50 weight distribution (front engine/rear trans) means that the handling is worlds different than a front engine/front trans vehicle with the exact same length/wheelbase ratio.
