Drivablity of Class C?

My 2 cents.
Bought a 94 Fleetwood Tioga last year, my first Driver. E350 Ford.
32 foot.
Put Firestone Transforce E range all around.
At 20 years old and OEM suspension (I believe) she dances some in the wind.
My brother had same model at one time and he swore by having the water tank half full it helped with stability. I have experimented and find this to be somewhat true. Yeah, you're carrying weight, it's a tradeoff.
Never owned a Chevy, and don't know how the Fords steer today; but my 32' Tioga dang near turns like my 94 E150 full size conversion van.
I can make a lane to lane right hand turn and I slightly encroach the other lane.
I can back this baby up into ant spot with ease.
So, after drivability, don't forget to check manuverability.

Quick shout out to OR drivers-very courteous generally in the areas I was (Boise to Bend to Eugene to coast). Same to UT rural drivers.

But we'll have to disagree on typical 55 MPH highway speeds and pace of auto traffic vs. RV. Not limited to OR of course. No big deal. Everyone sees stuff differently.

To each his own to determine what your driving capability is, road and traffic conditions, RV handling capability. Not sure what highway you were traveling on, but 2-lane 55 MPH roads to the coast of Oregon often form long chains of vehicles during the busy summer.

These chains usually travel at 55 MPH. I think this is partly because Oregonians tend to follow the traffic laws more often than folks in other states. This has been going on for decades. Sure, one BIL spent all his time in the left lane in his Superbee in the 70's, but that was before the population increased greatly.

RambleOnNW wrote:

KristinU wrote:

Bordercollie wrote:
Again, I'm stating a humble opinion, but if you are trying to travel winding roads, especially with grades, at the same speeds as the local yokels in their sedans and pickups, you are risking loss of control on a curve with deadly consequences. Abide by the road caution signs and pull off only when safe and let the parade pass you by. Many of those riding your rear bumper are just young and impatient and have never driven box truck or RV.

Amen to this!

Here's a real-life example...on the way to coast a couple of months back, 55 MPH speed limit on curving road, 45 MPH curves. 15 vehicles ahead a Class C is doing 40-50 MPH for an extended period of time. When that RV finally pulled over I continued on with the traffic and did not pull over. I'm comfortably doing the speed limit within the chain of cars, so no reason to pull over.

I'm with Bordercollie etc. I was just traveling in OR and other 55 MPH marked highways. At nearly no point on these highways was auto traffic actually moving at 55 mph. It was moving closer to 65-70 MPH in most areas including 55 mph winding roads. I drive one the lightest lowest profile w/ handling upgrade class C rigs out there on E450. It could not comfortably (for me) keep up with auto traffic at real world speeds on curving roads posted 55 MPH. Even if it did would I really want the G forces rearranging the contents of every cabinet and cupboard? Keeping up with cars involves more acceleration out of corners and braking into corners vs. what I like to do with heavy RV for efficiency sake. So much better to come to peace with a reasonable pace and slow down and enjoy the ride.

dgantz, You simply MUST:
1. Load as if for Travel
2. Get at least Front and Rear Axle WEIGHTS. A truck stop CAT scale will do that. Four Corner Weights are better but the scale is harder to find. Call a commercial scale sales/service company and see if they can ID one that will weigh you.
3. Adjust Tire Pressure (especially FRONT) to Actual Weight using a Load/Pressure Chart, and I doubt Front pressure will be more than around 55.
4. If you still don't like it, get a Front End Alignment and ask that CASTER be set toward the top of the range NOT the middle like most do. You want at least 5* on the Left. The Right should then be at least 5.5*
5. Make sure there is no play in the tow rig. A "drop receiver" is a top suspect. You want less than 1/2" "side slop" in the tow bar, receiver, connections to the towed vehicle, etc. If your towed vehicle has a badly worn front suspension/steering, it will try to weave behind the coach and throw it off track.
THEN go try again.
A Rear Track Bar is probably the most helpful for the issue you're having. SuperSteer has one, so does BlueOX, and Brazzel's does as well.

Purchased new Class C on E350 chaise. Drivable is good, toad towing is bad. Only 1100 mi on coach and now adding suspension aftermarket parts to make it drivable. Like the man said, a Ford is hit or miss, ours missed completely. A lot of "Tail Wagging" going on with this Thor 22E.

I upgraded the anti-sway bars and shocks on my large class-c and it improved the driving experience significantly. It drives like an SUV now. Here's what I did. If I had a new class-c, the first thing I would do is upgrade the stock bars and shocks.

We downsized 2 yrs ago to a 2012 Sunseeker 2650 and love it. Only susp mods were a Safe T Plus steering control and had it realigned at the spring shop that installed the Safe T Plus. Handles and rides great. It comes with rear air bags. Maybe a longer unit would need more?? I will probably upgrade the shocks in the future. I did replace the couch with 2 recliners......it won't take long for you to figure that out.

I'll just add if you are buying used and an older model think leaf springs. Leaf springs are metal and metal "fatigues". Especially on the 31 ft with all that length/weight behind the real axle.

I think a lot of RV'ers overlook this aspect and importance of ride with a MH.

I put new leaf springs and 'added' one leaf. Ahhhh what a difference, if you want to bump up the limo ride experience in a MH. Also added new Monroe RV shocks and we were on our way across the country in style, comfort and ride-ability. :C

KristinU wrote:

Bordercollie wrote:
Again, I'm stating a humble opinion, but if you are trying to travel winding roads, especially with grades, at the same speeds as the local yokels in their sedans and pickups, you are risking loss of control on a curve with deadly consequences. Abide by the road caution signs and pull off only when safe and let the parade pass you by. Many of those riding your rear bumper are just young and impatient and have never driven box truck or RV.

Amen to this!

Here's a real-life example...on the way to coast a couple of months back, 55 MPH speed limit on curving road, 45 MPH curves. 15 vehicles ahead a Class C is doing 40-50 MPH for an extended period of time. When that RV finally pulled over I continued on with the traffic and did not pull over. I'm comfortably doing the speed limit within the chain of cars, so no reason to pull over.