Just how good is the steering & Handling on the Breeze 31-32

[Idleup]

Hello Tiffin owners, my father in law is considering a Tiffin Breeze 32BR and would appreciate any Breeze owners opinions with regard to handling & Steering.

I myself owned a 28 ft Breeze and it suffered with not enough weight on the front axle. Even with the generator, full tank of diesel and weights on the front it still lacked enough weight to steer properly.

I'm thinking the new 31 & 33 ft models with 4-5 feet of additional weight in front of the rear axle it would handle somewhat normal, but I have not driven one so I'm asking any of the newer (cumming 5.0) Breeze BR 31-32 owners to please voice your experiences.

Thanks In advance

Mike

[timwoodburn]

I don’t have one of the newest Breezes, but think my experience is worth sharing:

I have a 2013 Breeze I got in 2015. Initially, I could barely keep it between the lines. I mean I had people blow their horns at me as I wandered down the freeway.

But in April of this year I went to a Tiffin Rally with a friend who has a 2012 Breeze, and none of the issues with steering that I had. While there, I bought a Safety Plus steering stabilizer and had it installed. It all but fixed my steering problems! When I mentioned to the installer that my buddy had no complaints about his Breeze’s handling, he took a look at my friend’s coach and we discovered why. There was a Safety Plus installed on it!

As explained to me, the Breeze has this heavy engine on a relatively short wheelbase. That combination makes the front end light and prone to wander. I am still not 100% happy with the handling but am thinking about dropping the front tire pressure down to 80 PSI, next time out. I think that if your father-in-law made the Safety Plus part of the purchase deal, he would be very happy with the coach.

[Idleup]

Originally Posted by timwoodburn

I don’t have one of the newest Breezes, but think my experience is worth sharing:

I have a 2013 Breeze I got in 2015. Initially, I could barely keep it between the lines. I mean I had people blow their horns at me as I wandered down the freeway.

But in April of this year I went to a Tiffin Rally with a friend who has a 2012 Breeze, and none of the issues with steering that I had. While there, I bought a Safety Plus steering stabilizer and had it installed. It all but fixed my steering problems! When I mentioned to the installer that my buddy had no complaints about his Breeze’s handling, he took a look at my friend’s coach and we discovered why. There was a Safety Plus installed on it!

As explained to me, the Breeze has this heavy engine on a relatively short wheelbase. That combination makes the front end light and prone to wander. I am still not 100% happy with the handling but am thinking about dropping the front tire pressure down to 80 PSI, next time out. I think that if your father-in-law made the Safety Plus part of the purchase deal, he would be very happy with the coach.

Thanks for the reply however the addition of the Safety Plus really can't help the short breeze problem - there is really nothing wrong with the steering.

The problem has nothing to do with poor steering design and everything to do with the fact the engines weight behind the rear axle and short location of the front axle was lifting the front end so the tires were un-able to track the coach straight down the road.

In addition, any side wind or un-even roads caused the front wheels to lose track. Adding steering enhancements is not going to add weight to the axle which it needs.

Tiffin had dozens of fixes which none worked and they all seemed to confuse the problem that the coach needs to be 35 feet or over to compensate for the weight behind the axle to get good steering.

Regards - Mike

[Jackbnibble]

Originally Posted by Idleup

Thanks for the reply however the addition of the Safety Plus really can't help the short breeze problem - there is really nothing wrong with the steering.

The problem has nothing to do with poor steering design and everything to do with the fact the engines weight behind the rear axle and short location of the front axle was lifting the front end so the tires were un-able to track the coach straight down the road.

In addition, any side wind or un-even roads caused the front wheels to lose track. Adding steering enhancements is not going to add weight to the axle which it needs.

Tiffin had dozens of fixes which none worked and they all seemed to confuse the problem that the coach needs to be 35 feet or over to compensate for the weight behind the axle to get good steering.

Regards - Mike

Hey Mike I think you hit the nail on the head because this seems to be the same problem I'm having. I have an open road (RED) 33AA and I can't keep my rig between the lines. I have a rearend diesel with very little weight on the front end It reminds me of driving a pickup with an overload of material such as sand, stone or anything else that has much weightin the back. So, you say the safe-T-plus has added some benefit to the handling but isn't the total answer. Is it fair to say that putting the rig on the scales would indicate that this is a weight distribution problem? This is funny because you are the only person that explained it to makes sense to me. So would you recommend the safety T or try to get more weight up front or reduce air pressure in the front tires? I really appreciate your comments on this issue. By the way, I don't have the same rig but, they sound like the same size.

[BobandDi]

Originally Posted by Idleup

Thanks for the reply however the addition of the Safety Plus really can't help the short breeze problem - there is really nothing wrong with the steering.

The problem has nothing to do with poor steering design and everything to do with the fact the engines weight behind the rear axle and short location of the front axle was lifting the front end so the tires were un-able to track the coach straight down the road.

In addition, any side wind or un-even roads caused the front wheels to lose track. Adding steering enhancements is not going to add weight to the axle which it needs.

Tiffin had dozens of fixes which none worked and they all seemed to confuse the problem that the coach needs to be 35 feet or over to compensate for the weight behind the axle to get good steering.

Regards - Mike

I beg to disagree. I bought a new 2012 28BR in 2011. I had a very hard time keeping it on the road from wandering the first month. I personally installed a Safe-T-Plus and that corrected the problem by 80 to 85%. Once I bought my dolly and had the car & dolly attached to the RV I never had a steering problem again. The weight and added length of the dolly and car made up the difference of the small amount of wandering.

Without the Safe-T-Plus and added length, I agree it's a problem.
With these two additions added, No Problem !

[Kiawah]

Hey Mike I think you hit the nail on the head because this seems to be the same problem I'm having. I have an open road (RED) 33AA and I can't keep my rig between the lines. I have a rearend diesel with very little weight on the front end It reminds me of driving a pickup with an overload of material such as sand, stone or anything else that has much weightin the back. So, you say the safe-T-plus has added some benefit to the handling but isn't the total answer. Is it fair to say that putting the rig on the scales would indicate that this is a weight distribution problem? This is funny because you are the only person that explained it to makes sense to me. So would you recommend the safety T or try to get more weight up front or reduce air pressure in the front tires? I really appreciate your comments on this issue. By the way, I don't have the same rig but, they sound like the same size.

Jack,

You need to tweak your coach, as I have the same coach and it drives great. Both wife and I drive it with no problem, can easily steer with one hand (if you wanted to ).

I'd suggest you check some things that I believe some you've been told on other forum posts:
- get your coach 4 corner weighed. This will allow you to notice if there is any R to L variances, and you may have to have one of your ride height sensors adjusted. ( I had a 500 lb difference in front R to L, and in 15 minutes tweaked the sensor). It also will give you the info you need to look up on the tire chart to get the correct air pressure. This had the greatest effect on our steering, as the coach shipped with max pressure (way too much).
- look further down the road, and don't be so reactive in steering

These two things got us to a very driveable coach. If you still need help:
- have the alignment checked. I believe Tiffin will pay if within the first year. I haven't had to do.
- install a Safe-T-Steer. We were fine for 2 years, and I was actually worried about messing up the steering. Installed it for blowout protection last year (had a long cross country trip planned and wife was going to be doing a lot of the driving), and it did actually make a further improvement in drive-ability.
- consider new/better shocks than the Sachs that ship on the chassis. I changed my fronts to Koni's, but only because one of the Sachs went bad and was squeaking.


And if you are still having problems, there are MCU (Motion Control Units) which are available to have installed. They are a small valve that gets installed in the air line going to the airbags, which effectively slow down the ability for air to flow in/out of the bag, thereby 'tightening up' the movements. I haven't had to do this, but they're available to do if needed.

[Jackbnibble]

Dave,

Thank you for this information. I will be checking into these issues before we get back on the road. I agree the front end seems to be in lose of contact with the road. I do like your ideas and I hope to respond with positive results in the near future.

[trx430ex]

Question, is the generator located behind the driver side front tire? Is the fresh water tank located on the passenger side right behind the front wheel?

Throw this thing on a scale, don't trust door decals, put it on a scale. As is.

Another reason to have scales to the entrance to Red Bay and recorded, it goes both ways. A Lot to be learned from that.

Rig scale & toad scale at the entrance of Red bay, would explain a lot of things.

[Kiawah]

Originally Posted by Jackbnibble

Dave,

Thank you for this information. I will be checking into these issues before we get back on the road. I agree the front end seems to be in lose of contact with the road. I do like your ideas and I hope to respond with positive results in the near future.

Don't think you're "loosing contact with the road". Your front tires will each be carrying about 4.800+ lbs each, for a total front axle weight around 9,700 lbs. That's like each tire is carrying a full size pickup................

[cedwards]

Just trying to revive this old thread, as I too am considering the purchase of a Breeze.... the 28 ft floorplan is OK, but highway handling is important to us, so we will probably focus more on 32 ft. But even that one reportedly has some handling "issues", so very interested in the experiences of others, including if any of the "fixes" have worked...

[grthigpen]

Hi, I have a 2017 32BR and went from a solid driving huge HR Endeavor. My Breeze has no additional mods and drives like a large van I used to own. So stable that my wife doesn't mind taking the wheel some now. It has the lighter Cummins 5.0 and we keep the alignment checked and the tire pressures at what they are suppose to be. The IRS suspension is great. M2Cents

[Idleup]

Stay as far always as you can from the 28 ft Breeze - believe me I owned one and fought its horrible design for a year - worst handling RV on the road! Too much weight hanging over the rear axle from the pusher diesel, the rear located weight lightens the front axle weight to the point it is dangerous to drive. Tiffen even added dead weight to the front of the coach and it was still dangerous.Bob Tiffin should have owed up and issued refund for the coach, all he did is play dumb!





Miike

[Finally Time]

I have a 2017 Breeze 31BR and tow a CR-V. Completely stock; no Safe-T-Plus or any other steering stabilizer. It does not wander; goes where you point it, and it's not pushed much by passing big rigs or side winds. I am very happy with the handling.

It's night & day compared to the 29 Winnebago 27N I had before this. Even after adding heavy duty front & rear anti-sway bars, rear track bar and Safet-T-Plus, the Winnie was a handful in the wind and when big rigs passed.

[markulmer]

Originally Posted by Idleup

Stay as far always as you can from the 28 ft Breeze - believe me I owned one and fought its horrible design for a year - worst handling RV on the road! Too much weight hanging over the rear axle from the pusher diesel, the rear located weight lightens the front axle weight to the point it is dangerous to drive. Tiffen even added dead weight to the front of the coach and it was still dangerous.Bob Tiffin should have owed up and issued refund for the coach, all he did is play dumb!

Miike

Sorry you had a bad experience with your Breeze 28, but you are unfairly extrapolating your experience. I, too, have a 28BR, purchased new in 2011, without any of the problems you complain about. Perhaps you got one with the defective front axle made in Mexico. Mine drives fine, especially after having changed out the shocks with Koni and adding the Safe-T-Plus.