Lifting my class C

[Nomadist]

I have a new-to-me Class C, a 1997 Four Winds, 23ft long.

Often, when I enter a gas station or other driveway, I drag my butt on the pavement. Technically, I drag the hitch (see pic below). I'm afraid this will get worse when I'm towing my 7x14 trailer that will carry my motorcycle. I also want to go onto dirt roads and perhaps a tiny bit offroad to do some boondocking.

This picture shows the problem:



And how low the hitch has been placed is making it worse:



My options seem to be:

• add castor wheels
  
• raise the vehicle permanently with a lift kit; I've identified one for $2k (installation extra) that will do the job
  
• raise the vehicle on-demand with air bags
  
• raise the hitch
  
• a combination of the above

I'm sorting through the options and, as this is my first RV, I'm learning fast.

A few notes and tips I've learned from others:

• the lift kit will bring up the entire rig by 5", front and back
  
• the geometry of this type of vehicle does not allow for many good options (agreed! who designed this with so much cabin behind the rear wheel?); the person who mentioned this to me stressed getting castor wheels no matter what else I do
  
• like the castor wheels, I've been advised to add airbags no matter what as this helps firm up the rear when loaded with the trailer; this person also suggested foregoing the lift kit and just going with the castor wheels and air bags because lifting the entire rig will make the steering less safe. This makes sense to me and I'm leaning toward this (castor wheels plus air bags, no lift kit).

But the problem is made much worse with the hitch placement. My question to the folks here is whether the hitch can be raised in some way. The visible part appears to be attached to a long bar that appears, in turn, to be attached to the frame. Is there a hitch design that isn't so low? It looks like that alone would give me four more precious inches.

Then again, with the wheels and airbags, maybe lifting the hitch isn't necessary. Perhaps I should spend only a bit of time and money since I expect this to be my training rig to be upgraded within 24 months.

Thoughts?

Edit: got the pictures in

[Grit_dog]

Topic....revived from the grave....lol
Was sorta hoping nomadist got some air in his bags after 6 months... but alas he appears to have faded off into the sunset. Good screen name then I suppose!

[JaxDad]

As with almost anything else in life, technique counts more than anything else in life.

Recall you are driving a 30 foot brick, not a car, then, as you pull in stay close to the curb and turn far less sharply than normal and use up every inch of width of the entranceway into the station.

Basically what you are doing is exaggerating the corner and by doing so you you gradually work your way up the ramp and limit the difference too.

[quasimatter]

Booner wrote:

I recently put HD Bilstein shock all the way around my motor home along with a steering stabilizer. I purchased them from Amazon; the shocks were around $90 each and the stabilizer $115. It greatly improved the handling. I put the stabilizer on myself; it was simple to do and the factory stabilizer was well past worn out. If your going to tow something, you'll want a good handling rig. Also, I'm wondering if you lifted the rear end of your MH, if that would change the caster on your front wheels either for better or worse as far as handling goes? If you still are running on the factory shocks and stabilizer, it's probably time for a change anyway.

Hi Booner (or anyone else) - could you link the Bilstein Shock and steering stabilizer you purchased? I could not find E450 Shock/stabilizers (for CA 28A Majestic) on Amazon.

Edit: Answering my own question for others in future:

Steering Stabilizer on Amazon $115

Rear Shocks part number 33-176840 as per Bilstein (08-16 E450 motorhomes)

Front shocks - Part number 33-187563 as per Bilsteing (08-16 E450 Motorhomes)

I have linked to Amazon but can be bought cheaper elsewhere.

[memtb]

pianotuna wrote:
memtb,

Thanks for the pictures.

;). You bet! memtb

[pianotuna]

memtb,

Thanks for the pictures.

[FunTwoDrv]

Lots of great advice given...the one nice thing about those Firestone bags is they don't take much volume so they can quite literally be pumped up with a bicycle pump. Also, check the top bracket on those bags. The one in the picture appears to be angled slightly. The ones on ours are square to the axle.
You may not need, or want, the rollers once you have implemented the suggested suspensions upgrades/changes.
Gary

[Gary45]

In my case, I don't think the receiver can go higher without needing to go through the white bumper because it would be mounted atop the crossbar. It looks that the configuration is different between the two rigs.


I think you will find that with his hitch as with mine the cross bar is mounted between the frame rails not attached to the bottom - that places the receiver just below the bumper, the rest of the hitch being up above the bottom of the frame. I know that with my 27 foot backing into my driveway even on a 45 degree angle if I had a hitch like yours that roller and the angle iron part of the hitch would tear up my driveway.

[Grit_dog]

OP, I’d think twice about removing the spacers on the drag wheels if you plan on towing a trailer. Looks like they were designed that low to at least keep the true or hitch a little ways off the ground in a dip.

[Nomadist]

@gotsmart interesting that you have an actual skid. It's got some wear but not too much.

In my case, I don't think the receiver can go higher without needing to go through the white bumper because it would be mounted atop the crossbar. It looks that the configuration is different between the two rigs.

But look at how the designers figured out for your rig that the wheels needed to be pushed back and a slope added to the rear overhang, as well. Your rig is longer but those two changes increase the departure angle a lot. As someone else pointed out, the geometry of my rig simply doesn't give me much to work with—which is another good reason to keep my changes to a minimum. Anything I do won't change this rig's departure angle much.

@memtb thanks for those pictures! That's what I was thinking of (though I remember one even wider; no matter). Interesting how your roller is mounted beneath the receiver hitch. The only thing with that is that the bottom of the roller is about the same distance from the frame as the bottom of my wheels. Changing to a roller reduces the chance of a wheel getting into a hole—but it doesn't buy me any more inches/increase my departure angle :-(.

[memtb]

normadist, from your photo....it appears that the rollers could be removed and replaced with roller, using the same roller base/frame. I’ll get a photo or two of mine, tonite !

I was incorrect on the class c roller length ,it’s been awhile since I was under there. The roller is only 24”, with roller diameter approximately 4 1/2”. It is secured to the receiver outer frame same as your rollers. If you wanted longer, the roller mounting brackets could likely be mounted to the rv frame. If done this way, it would make the roller approximately 18” longer, giving greater coverage. If mounted to the RV frame, the roller would still run beneath the receiver hitch frame, helping prevent it from connecting pavement or getting hung up on something.

The photo was taken from beneath the rv, looking toward the back. It’s rather tight under there, I hope that the photos will offer some help! memtb




Our 5th wheel roller runs from frame rail to frame rail. The roller is 70” in length, giving nearly side to side coverage.

[memtb]

pianotuna wrote:
membt,

Do you mean 3 feet--or three inches?

3’ by memory....I’ll measure tomorrow. The one on our 5th wheel is about 5 feet long.
The extra length provides better protection...IMO, where as a narrow dolly wheel can hit a hole or low spot and offer no benefit!

I can also supply a photo, if wanted! memtb

[gotsmart]

Here is the receiver on my 2004 Majestic 28R. I'd be interested in seeing how the Op's receiver is installed. Mine might be higher. Can the Op's receiver be reinstalled 3 inches higher? In the 3rd pic it shows the drop adapter for the tow bar. Even with that I enter curb cuts at a 45 degree angle and do not have a clearance issue.




Here is a side view:

[Nomadist]

@memtb thanks for the suggestion...I think I've seen those wide ones but after 10 minutes of searching online the only picture I've found was this:

pinterest . ca/pin/314900198915333079

Checked some retailers, tried "rv wide roller", "camper roller" and a few other search terms. In any case, I'm pretty sure I know what you are referring to. They are *much* wider than simple wheels, which, as you point out, can end up in a hole. Two wide rollers on either side would seem to be better. Have to think that one over...my initial thinking is that I'll start with these because I have them and keep the roller idea in my back pocket if it looks like I could use them.

Edit: found this thread. Some folks there are adamant that rollers and wheels should not be used and instead recommend skid plates. A dealer chimed in saying he replaces "dozens" of rear-quarter panels yearly because of rollers:

airforums. com/forums/f477/bumper-rollers-26660.html

Has me think that my intuition of preventing the rear from touching at all was on target (to the best of my abilities). It also has me think of going even more slowly over angle changes than I already have been. In my case, the wheels are attached to the frame so I think I have less risk than the airstream trailers might have. Still.

@opnspaces when underneath yesterday, I was looking at the rollers and thinking the same thing: the bottom of the roller might *just* protect the hitch receiver with the spacer removed. I'll measure it next time.

I took this picture hoping to show the angle...it's close:



In the least, I can replace the spacer with a smaller one. Two extra inches!

At least I now know after my under-carriage investigations that the scraping sound I was hearing was actually the wheels. Phew.

@pianotuna it's very possible he means 3 feet...the roller I saw went clear across the rear bumper. Wish I could find a picture to post.

@DrewE good point. I can test before investing in the compressor.

[pianotuna]

The "flanges" that held the air bags broke their welds. When I was upgrading the springs the shop could not source anything that fit correctly which is why I went to timbrins.

[DrewE]

So where the hoses are terminating is just a valve cap on a standard Schrader tire valve. Unscrew the cap and put some air in with whatever you have handy to inflate tires; I would not be at all surprised if they're working just fine as designed.

If they're Firestone Ride-Rite units (and I'd guess they are), the pressure limits are 5 psi to 95 psi if memory serves--they say to always have at least a tiny bit of air in them to avoid damage, though I've never heard of any being damaged from lack of air. I wouldn't be surprised if the system is working fine as designed. I find around 40-45 psi works nicely for me on my motorhome, which of course is an entirely different unit and model than yours.

Having a built-in compressor tied into the system and valving to be able to adjust on the fly for sure is a nice feature, but not essential to be able to use the air helper springs.