Community Forums

jerztime · 07-26-2014, 07:16 PM

Hello everyone! I'm new to the MH world and shopping for the first MH. Was originally looking at Class C's, but saw a nice Class A (Itasca Sunstar) that got my attention. I friend 'warned me' about a sway issue that A's have but C's don't. Can anyone enlighten me on what this is, how significant it can be, has it made anyone switch fro A to C? Many Thanks!!

DieselTech39 · 07-26-2014, 07:25 PM

Glad you're aboard.

There are lots of posts in the Forums regarding your issue. I don't know of any that specifically addressed someone going from an A to a C because of sway. Type sway in the google search widow in the tool bar above and leave it set to irv2.com and you will find copious reading to help you in your search.

Best of luck in your decision. Enjoy your adventures and be safe.

Mrfoto · 07-26-2014, 07:35 PM

I have driven both and due to distance behind the rear axle, both had tail wag or sway. There are after market products to help each.

TBS-POPS · 07-26-2014, 07:38 PM

Your friend is a little mis informed…. Not all class a's sway as some of the over length c's do also. Depends on the chassis and how much overhang behind the rear axle the unit has. Beware the "cheaper" models that are built on a short chassis and have excessive overhang . You'll get the tail wagging the dog affect in either a class a or c.

Coaches handle differently. Reminds me of a friend of ours that traded off a 40ft "problem" Monaco DP for a 36ft gas Allegro. She swore the Allegro was going to tip over cause she was so used to driving the air ride Monaco that was glued to the ground. She got used to driving the "sprung" Allegro after about 6 months of driving it.

macantic · 07-26-2014, 07:54 PM

We have a 37'8" class A with a 14ft overhang and don't seem to notice any tail wag,up front anyway,sometimes passengers will say it swings and sways on certain roads or windy conditions when they go to the bathroom.

PushedAround · 07-26-2014, 07:57 PM

I have a 39' Allegro RED. The only thing that wags in my coach are 4 tails.

Rich-n-Linda · 07-26-2014, 09:25 PM

SOME Class A's - the ones with a lot of overhang behind the rear axle - will have the "tail wagging" problem. The longer the overhang behind the rear axle, the worse it will be.

You can easily determine how bad the problem might be. Divide the wheelbase by the overall coach length. For example, our Mandalay is built on a 276" wheelbase Freightliner chassis. The overall length of our coach is 41' 6" or 498".

276/498 = 55% - OK

Anything over 53% will be pretty stable. Numbers below 53% will be unstable, and numbers less than 50% are downright dangerous.

Many 36' coaches have this problem. They are built on a shorter wheelbase chassis and typically have a longer overhang behind the rear wheels. A 36' coach is 432" long and many are built on a 228" wheelbase chassis.

228/432 = 52% - not good.

pushtrk99 · 07-27-2014, 07:21 AM

Add a trac bar to the rear and stiffen both sway bars and tail wag will go away unless you have some other mechanical issue or your tire pressures are off-Rich
pauperspride.blogspot.com

JFXG · 07-27-2014, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerztime

Hello everyone! I'm new to the MH world and shopping for the first MH. Was originally looking at Class C's, but saw a nice Class A (Itasca Sunstar) that got my attention. I friend 'warned me' about a sway issue that A's have but C's don't. Can anyone enlighten me on what this is, how significant it can be, has it made anyone switch fro A to C? Many Thanks!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich-n-Linda

SOME Class A's - the ones with a lot of overhang behind the rear axle - will have the "tail wagging" problem. The longer the overhang behind the rear axle, the worse it will be.

You can easily determine how bad the problem might be. Divide the wheelbase by the overall coach length. For example, our Mandalay is built on a 276" wheelbase Freightliner chassis. The overall length of our coach is 41' 6" or 498".

276/498 = 55% - OK

Anything over 53% will be pretty stable. Numbers below 53% will be unstable, and numbers less than 50% are downright dangerous.

Many 36' coaches have this problem. They are built on a shorter wheelbase chassis and typically have a longer overhang behind the rear wheels. A 36' coach is 432" long and many are built on a 228" wheelbase chassis.

228/432 = 52% - not good.

+1 on this info from Rich n Linda. One additional concern with using a smaller chassis is the reduced weight bearing capacity. You could find yourself overweight before you're even half loaded. You always have to be very careful shopping a Class A in the 35-37 ft range, or a Class C in the low to mid 30 ft.

To help in your shopping, and for detailed ratings based on this and other factors, I suggest you visit The RV Consumer Group www.rv.org .
Subscribe, read, learn. We found them to be a very valuable source when we were shopping for our coach.

MSHappyCampers · 07-27-2014, 02:31 PM

I don't have a problem with sway on my coach!

**TonyDi** · 07-27-2014, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I don't have a problem with sway on my coach!

Me neither.

terry735001 · 07-27-2014, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pushtrk99

Add a trac bar to the rear and stiffen both sway bars and tail wag will go away unless you have some other mechanical issue or your tire pressures are off-Rich
pauperspride.blogspot.com

there is some thing else to look out for that is not added

making things stiffer is not the way to go on some RVs

RVs with a rubber gasket type installed windshields like to start to pop out when you stiffen thing up to much

but you see this more on bigger class A RVs then Cs so make sure its safe to do this type of updates on any RV that you want to add them too

dezolen · 07-27-2014, 06:32 PM

No sway on our unmodified 37' coach

usinvestment · 07-27-2014, 06:32 PM

Most all the new class A's come stock with front and rear anti sway bars. Many owners will to the Cheap Handling Fix, see threads on that. There are many after market additions if you feel it's needed. My coach handles very well. I did a few modifications for my own personal preference of how I wanted it to handle. Each coach is different and handles different.

Handling also depend on the loads you carry and if you have proper tire pressures. Some coaches need an alignment, like I said each coach is very different. The general statement your friend made is like saying all American made cars break down and foreign cars don't.