Handling characteristics of MH.s

Gjac wrote:
In looking for a shorter MH 30 ft or less which would have the best overall ride. I know many on here have had various types of MH's over the years. I mostly read about the Ford Class A's being rough riding.....

If you bear in mind it’s a 5 ton truck with a small house on top......

The ride is AMAZINGLY good.

hohenwald48 wrote:

msturtz wrote:
. . . the Class A has a 208” wheelbase and a 55 degree wheel cut the Class A is much more maneuverable. Add to the fact that the class A has a short 3” front overhang and a short 3’ rear overhang. . .

Something doesn't compute. A 413" long motorhome on a 208" wheelbase has to have 205" (17+ feet) of overhang somewhere. If it has 3" on the front and 36" on the rear, where'd the other 166" (13+ feet) go? Maybe I'm just reading things wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. :)

It's a bit more complicated than that. Our DP has about a 48" front overhang when measured to the centerline of the axle but the salesperson measured it from the front of the tire. So, 208" + 48" + 2x 36" (22.5" wheels are actually larger than 3') is about 328" back. This leaves about 86" or 7' of rear overhang compared to the over 12' of rear overhang on our Class C. It depends on where you measure from and to however in every case a DP is going to have a relatively shorter rear overhang as a percentage for a given length than a Class C. We had a Class C rig with an OEM listed length of 31' and an actual length of 33.5' and a 45 degree wheel cut compared with our Class A DP which has only a 208" wheelbase and a 55 degree wheel cut a much larger (compared to the C) front overhang and a much smaller rear overhang again compared to the C.

DrewE wrote:

msturtz wrote:
We have had a class C & and now a short class A DP. Our 31’ 218” class C was actually about 33.5’ our 33’ Class A is actually 34.5’. However, because our Class C had a 218” wheelbase and a 45-degree wheel cut and the Class A has a 208” wheelbase and a 55-degree wheel cut the Class A is much more maneuverable.

I'm genuinely confused here: how does your longer class A have a shorter wheelbase, a shorter front overhang, and a shorter rear overhang than the class C? Where are they hiding the extra length? :h

I know it sounds a bit strange but let me try to explain it this way. Most OEMs don't count the "chassis" part of cutaway chassis cabs such as the E450 in the listed model length. Our Class C rig was listed as a 31' rig but was actually 33.5' (402") bumper to bumper. Our Class C had essentially a 0" front overhang due to being on the E450 chassis. So, this means all of the unit's length is aft of the front bumper. With a 218" wheelbase and 16" tires you are 402" - 218" you have 184" - 32" (two tires) or 12.66' left of rig aft of the rear tires. Note the pivot point is at the centerline of the axle not the rear of the back tire so tail swing is a big issue. Now for our DP here is how the numbers work. Coach is listed as a 33.3' unit but is actually 34.5' or 414". On our DP the front axle is set back about 48" (4') from the front of the rig, add the 208" wheelbase to the 48" front overhang plus the large 22.5 tires at another 36" each for a total of 72 which leaves a rear overhang of 86" or 7.16'. All of this said the Class C units essentially have no front overhang so all of that length is pushed to the aft. Even if you subtract out the tire width from the above calculations in both cases you still end up with a relatively much longer rear overhang in Class C rig. Another common misunderstanding about Class C vs Class A rigs is the width. Almost all standard Class C rigs are 102" wide or 8.6' at the house portion which is the exact same measurement for a Class A rig. The difference in perception has to do with the cab. The cabin a standard E450 is much narrower than the house causing the perception that the rig is narrower when in reality it isn't.

msturtz wrote:
. . . the Class A has a 208” wheelbase and a 55 degree wheel cut the Class A is much more maneuverable. Add to the fact that the class A has a short 3” front overhang and a short 3’ rear overhang. . .

Something doesn't compute. A 413" long motorhome on a 208" wheelbase has to have 205" (17+ feet) of overhang somewhere. If it has 3" on the front and 36" on the rear, where'd the other 166" (13+ feet) go? Maybe I'm just reading things wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. :)

msturtz wrote:
We have had a class C & and now a short class A DP. Our 31’ 218” class C was actually about 33.5’ our 33’ Class A is actually 34.5’. However because the Class C had a 218” wheelbase and a 45 degree wheel cut and the Class A has a 208” wheelbase and a 55 degree wheel cut the Class A is much more maneuverable.

I'm genuinely confused here: how does your longer class A have a shorter wheelbase, a shorter front overhang, and a shorter rear overhang than the class C? Where are they hiding the extra length? :h

We have had a class C & and now a short class A DP. Our 31’ 218” class C was actually about 33.5’ our 33’ Class A is actually 34.5’. However because the Class C had a 218” wheelbase and a 45 degree wheel cut and the Class A has a 208” wheelbase and a 55 degree wheel cut the Class A is much more maneuverable. Add to the fact that the class A has a short 3” front overhang and a short 3’ rear overhang vs. the class C with a massive rear overhang of about 11’. The Class C’s poor handling, road manners, harsh ride, squerilly steering, very loud noise and heat from the engine right next to us added to the poor experience. A lot was done to the Class C to correct the deficiencies, airbags, trackbars, steering stabilizers, Hush mat in the entire front cabin including doghouse and so on, ultimately the problems weren’t solvable. The limited water, battery and weight carrying capacity combined with the other things made it impossible to meet our needs. Our Class A DP was only marginally more expensive than the Class C but vastly quieter and more usable in every way.

We are on our 4th MH now. We have had a diesel 34 footer, a 36 foot diesel (Itasca Horizon), a 40 foot Damon Essence diesel and now this 40 foot Newmar gasser on a Ford F53 chassis.
The 34 ft diesel was the worst ride and the 40 ft gasser is the second worse. The 40 foot and 36 foot were on Freightliner chassis and both had a great ride, with the 40 footer slightly better.
I think the airbags, length and weight make the bigger diesel coaches the better ride.
Phyical problems makes the gasser a necessity because of the handicap features of a wheelchair lift and HC bath.

Judging from the responses I guess not many have had TC's or Class C's etc to compare ride qualities. Not interested in a large DP.

I believe road engineers measure the wheelbase of 30' motor homes. That tells them how far apart to place the tar strips on the highway. :).....Dennis

Ok, Many motor homes suffer from 3 things you can correct after market

Sway.. Side to side rocking.. Like Fans at a rock concert holding up their BICS

Workhorse put on heavy duty sway bars because they knew it was going to be a Motor home but not all companies do. So you may need to upgrade the sway bar.

Wag.. LEAF SPRING suspension allows the axle to move up and down relative to teh body (So does coil spring) but it also allows side to side movement of the body over the axle.. If the front moves right, and the rear left. You THINK you are drifting right and compensate. Only now you really ARE drifting left as the ends "Swap" (Wag the other way) and now you compensate again... Well this is now a full circle and it's very tiring.

TRAC BARS also called PanHard bars.. Stop this DEAD.
With either coil spring or Strut suspension Trac Bars or equivlent (independent front axles) are STANDARD and this is why pick ups went that route in the 60s.

Adding a trac bar makes a big improvement.

Finally you can add a steering stablizer.. THe two I suggest you look at are the Blue Ox Tru-Center and the Safe-T-Steer with optional remote re-center device.

The final adjutment is made FROM the driver's seat. and if you are under unusual conditions like a strong steady cross wind you can RE-Center to compensate.

These devices help you to stay on the straight and narrow. and when your ride is 6" Wider than the maximum for nearly everyone else. THE LANE IS NARROW