P32 or W20 workhorse
We are ready to buy a class A gas motor home. Looking at years 2003 - 2005, 30' - 33' in length. I see that we could end up with an independent suspension P32 or a straight axel W20 chassis. I recentl...
Forum Discussion
tropical36 wrote:rgatijnet1 wrote:
The facts are that there are thousands of the P chassis vehicles out there, in use for years, in various configurations, including motor homes. Most people drove those P chassis vehicles for business and pleasure with no problems at all. Anyone that has been on this forum knows that some people have trouble driving, period. They will not go over certain bridges and will not travel certain roads, because they just do not know how to drive a motor home, or any other large vehicle. They will be uncomfortable in any vehicle larger than a mini-van. It is not the chassis' fault. The P chassis was, and still is, a chassis that can be driven well, by those that understand how to drive a large vehicle, and also understand that it will never drive like a sports car.
I for one, am having trouble understanding all the negative comments about the P30 chassis. I can pretty much handle it with one finger and for it to ride and handle any better, it would have to be a decent DP. I even have the older narrow track. Can't say I prefer it, since I haven't had the wide, but it does allow me get in under the wheel wells when required and there's a lot more of them out there for parts and such.
Our 1992 P30 wheel spacing is perfect for our use and it handles like a dream. We will on a narrow road and if we were a foot wider it would be hard to keep the back wheel from dropping off the end of the short drive way sewer. If narrow lead to handling issues then I might not be a happy camper. :)
There must be a zillion miles put on the P30 and other forward control Chevy trucks over the years. I see some local vending companies running some I am sure are 30+ years old. They hold up well and are cheap to rebuild the under side. On here we hear about slamming but it seems to be about personal preferences and not failures leaving people on the side of the road due to chassis component failures.
As times change the P30 MH's may stay in demand due to their functional long lives under houses. :)
I will agree some builders botched air flow designs and over loaded the specs of the chassis design. If you bought a 32' MH on a P30 chassis with 190" wheel base and load the tail heavy the bad handling is not due to the chassis builder.
