Hydraulic motorcycle lift

[racefn]

Ordering a Tifin phaeton 40' dp, have option of Freightliner or powerglide Chasis, want to put Lift on backend for Motorcycle, Powerglide Chasis has weight advantage over Freightliner but also comes with a price, Is the Freighliner Chasis sufficiant?

Thanks
Bob

[Triker56]

For Rear Lifts have your front & rear axle weighted when loaded for travel.
Then you can add on the extra weight of a lift by below.
Measure the distance from the center of rear axle to the center of the weight(Lift).
Divide that number by the RV’s wheelbase.
Multiply the result by 100 to get percent.
That percent of the load is added to the load and becomes the total load added to the rear axle.
That percent of the load is subtracted from the front axle weight and unloads the front axle by that amount.

800 lb bike, Lift 100 lb=900 lb
Center axle to rear 120” wheelbase 240”
120 divide by 240=0.50 X 100= 50%
Weight is 1350 lb added to rear axle
Front axle will be 450 lbs lighter

[Gary RVRoamer]

Triker gives good advice - heed it. It's not a question of FL vs Powerglide - it's how much weight and where is it located.

[racefn]

Good advice indeed also went to tiffinrv site all weight calcs are there, just as triker said, thanks

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

Triker gives good advice - heed it. It's not a question of FL vs Powerglide - it's how much weight and where is it located.

[shore515]

Thanks for the info. I too have a 2011 Phaeton QBH and have been thinking of adding a motorcycle lift. The QBH is a rear bath unit. I haven't had it weight yet. I understand that tis unit is rear end heavy.

[wmpbauer]

Originally Posted by shore515

Thanks for the info. I too have a 2011 Phaeton QBH and have been thinking of adding a motorcycle lift. The QBH is a rear bath unit. I haven't had it weight yet. I understand that tis unit is rear end heavy.

I have a 2011 40' Phaeton QTH on FCCC. Total discretionary weight is 2,065#. IMO, this is a joke, and I was furious when I discovered that I am essentially handcuffed on my total content discretionary weight. I've had to learn to live with it, but frankly feel duped. I know, shame on me for not asking the CCC of the coach, shame on me for not knowing how much the "stuff" I carry weighs, shame on me for frankly not going into negotiations for a new coach armed with that ESSENTIAL information. I can't say there was anything really hidden during the purchase process, but no one told me the CCC...it just wasn't a factor. I knew I had plenty of capacity in my prior coach, and I just kinda never gave a thought that I might be pushing the margins. When I had my new coach weighed, I was absolutely amazed that I was loaded to capacity.

As you can see, I am not happy about this, and have made adjustments....I DON'T CARRY MUCH WATER, let me tell you. I am hyper about my tire pressures, which really isn't a bad thing. I have enough margin to carry a full load of water, but want to have a little extra margin, so only drive with about 30 gallons of water. After monitoring water usage, we rarely use 10 gallons of water a day when we're on the highway, and will stay in a campground about every other day or two.

The point is that you need to absolutely know the total weight of ALL of your stuff before you purchase your next coach. Know, don't guess!

[kannonvaggon]

I happen to own an '09 42QBH Phaeton on Sparton.
I have weighed our coach several times, for various reasons.

I'll throw in a couple of points.....

The tag QBH is NOT heavy on the rear axles even though it LOOKS like it would be with all that length behind the pusher axle. I can assure you it is NOT heavy in the rear, but IS heavy on the steer axle. Who knew??

I have not known of a single tag Phaeton of any model that is not a bit fat on the steering axle. NONE have been anywhere close to being at GAWR on either rear axle. The only way to get full rated CCC on a tag Phaeton would be to load the rear closet with lead bars or sumthin of that order.

A motorcycle lift works exceedingly well on the tag QBH on Spartan. I had a HydraLift installed and it fits and works great and does take just a tad of weight off the steering axle. It helps to get weight to the rear if one has the coach leveled properly and the tag air PSI adjusted to let the pusher axle take a bit more weight by removing some from the tag from what I've seen.

MY own QBH was just a hair under GAWR on the steering axle when EMPTY. It also was almost 1000lb heavier on the DS front than the PS front wheel. The coach now, after a couple tweaks and typical near-full-time loading including a bike on the lift.... comes in a bit under GAWR on the steer axle and within a couple hundred pounds left to right. I am WAY under gross on both rear axles even when loaded for our typical 6 to 8 month winter outings.

Have the coach weighed on all wheels accurately. They are NOT weighed on accurate equipment at the TMH factory. They do not even have proper equipment to weigh a coach there. It is done at a dog food factory across the road in Red Bay. The accuracy there is also a bit suspect. I'm jus sayin ....

You will want the front wheels and tires changed if needed to the larger aluminum wheels and 295 Michelins. This will increase your load margin a bit and allow a little less PSI on the front axle.

Get a full alignment and have all the ride heights and bag pressures set PROPERLY. Don't assume the "measurement" of distance using the suggested chassis heights are perfect for YOUR coach. MOST of these coaches end up with their tails in the air even when supposedly " level " and this adds weight on the front axle. Also a given chassis can be WAY off left to right on load distribution. Don't forget you have a large genset, 6 batteries up front left, sat dome, tile floors, big TV , etc all adding weight up front and not all well centered with the mass of the vehicle.

I will say that OUR QBH on Spartan now drives like a dream and can handle anything I can fit on the lift and tow whatever I desire. I do have the SMI/ AF1 air brake system on our Jeep toad and I like that setup too.

We LOVE the QBH floorplan. It works great for US, but it's not for everybody. My DW has some physical problems with small toilet room size, and the QBH for sure solves THAT issue.
Go ahead and get the washer and the dryer. There is PLENTY of storage in this coach model and it's not a problem giving up the linen closet and gaining the laundry capability onboard. I'm jus sayin....

IMHO the tag QBH Tiffin is the most coach to be had for the money anywhere in the market today... assuming YOU like the floorplan.

By the way.... if yer talkin about that FORTY FOOT QBH model, then don't even think about doing a lift on the back. Ya need a tag axle on rear bath coaches when mounting a lift. The Tiffin 40' modern coaches are a tad weight challenged on the rear axle almost all cases and adding a cycle lift with such a rearward moment arm will do nothin much good for your load distribution. It DOES do good on a tag coach though.
FWIW
AFAIK
etc..

Good luck!
Enjoy your new coach.
Have FUN and travel SAFE.

[racefn]

you reaffirmed what I have been told by others, I backed out of the 40 and are trying to do a deal on tag axle, I'm considering the Phaeton tag and waiting for 2012 specs on the Entegra Aspire, mama wants a bunkhouse for Grandkids, I want tag to bring Bike, It certainly gets Interesting, If only I could Find Bunks in a tag we would both be happy, anyhow thanks for the Info, I appreaciate the time spent on explaining it.

[ToalleyP]

Originally Posted by kannonvaggon

I happen to own an '09 42QBH Phaeton on Sparton.
I have weighed our coach several times, for various reasons.

I'll throw in a couple of points.....

The tag QBH is NOT heavy on the rear axles even though it LOOKS like it would be with all that length behind the pusher axle. I can assure you it is NOT heavy in the rear, but IS heavy on the steer axle. Who knew??

I have not known of a single tag Phaeton of any model that is not a bit fat on the steering axle. NONE have been anywhere close to being at GAWR on either rear axle. The only way to get full rated CCC on a tag Phaeton would be to load the rear closet with lead bars or sumthin of that order.

A motorcycle lift works exceedingly well on the tag QBH on Spartan. I had a HydraLift installed and it fits and works great and does take just a tad of weight off the steering axle. It helps to get weight to the rear if one has the coach leveled properly and the tag air PSI adjusted to let the pusher axle take a bit more weight by removing some from the tag from what I've seen.

MY own QBH was just a hair under GAWR on the steering axle when EMPTY. It also was almost 1000lb heavier on the DS front than the PS front wheel. The coach now, after a couple tweaks and typical near-full-time loading including a bike on the lift.... comes in a bit under GAWR on the steer axle and within a couple hundred pounds left to right. I am WAY under gross on both rear axles even when loaded for our typical 6 to 8 month winter outings.

Have the coach weighed on all wheels accurately. They are NOT weighed on accurate equipment at the TMH factory. They do not even have proper equipment to weigh a coach there. It is done at a dog food factory across the road in Red Bay. The accuracy there is also a bit suspect. I'm jus sayin ....

You will want the front wheels and tires changed if needed to the larger aluminum wheels and 295 Michelins. This will increase your load margin a bit and allow a little less PSI on the front axle.

Get a full alignment and have all the ride heights and bag pressures set PROPERLY. Don't assume the "measurement" of distance using the suggested chassis heights are perfect for YOUR coach. MOST of these coaches end up with their tails in the air even when supposedly " level " and this adds weight on the front axle. Also a given chassis can be WAY off left to right on load distribution. Don't forget you have a large genset, 6 batteries up front left, sat dome, tile floors, big TV , etc all adding weight up front and not all well centered with the mass of the vehicle.

I will say that OUR QBH on Spartan now drives like a dream and can handle anything I can fit on the lift and tow whatever I desire. I do have the SMI/ AF1 air brake system on our Jeep toad and I like that setup too.

We LOVE the QBH floorplan. It works great for US, but it's not for everybody. My DW has some physical problems with small toilet room size, and the QBH for sure solves THAT issue.
Go ahead and get the washer and the dryer. There is PLENTY of storage in this coach model and it's not a problem giving up the linen closet and gaining the laundry capability onboard. I'm jus sayin....

IMHO the tag QBH Tiffin is the most coach to be had for the money anywhere in the market today... assuming YOU like the floorplan.

By the way.... if yer talkin about that FORTY FOOT QBH model, then don't even think about doing a lift on the back. Ya need a tag axle on rear bath coaches when mounting a lift. The Tiffin 40' modern coaches are a tad weight challenged on the rear axle almost all cases and adding a cycle lift with such a rearward moment arm will do nothin much good for your load distribution. It DOES do good on a tag coach though.
FWIW
AFAIK
etc..

Good luck!
Enjoy your new coach.
Have FUN and travel SAFE.

Hi,
I have a 2006 40 QDH and am trying to determine if rv attached lift or truck/ramp is best. If I read this thread correctly, the 40 QDH can't handle a lift. If anyone can verify, I would be grateful.
Thanks.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Few newer non-tag axle rigs can handle a lift or any other substantial weight on the rear. They mostly run pretty close to the 20,000 lb max capacity of the rear axle when loaded for normal travel, so an extra weight puts it way over. You need the tag to provide extra rear end weight capacity, and that generally means a 42-43 footer or a 45'.

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
I just read all your posts on adding a hydraulic M/C lift to the rear. We just purchased an '04 Itasca 36GD with the 330 CAT in her. I also just purchased, off ebay, a perfect condition, '08 model of the "Hydralift" M/C lift for $1800.00. That lift is listed as around 278 lbs, plus or minus. We're planning on putting an '08 Honda Goldwing on it, on the back of the Itasca.

Now, I've communicated with the mfg of the lift, more than once about installing it on a rig of that size and his response is that he's had many dealers install them on 36' units. In the picture gallery on their website, it does show some on smaller units but, the majority of them are on larger rigs and, many with tags.

My question to you that have installed them, did you or, your installer, follow to the letter, the "install height" of the saddle bracket bottoms? That is, the bracket that's welded or bolted to the coach, has a saddle on it (there's two of them) that accept the 4" cross tube and then the top saddle brackets bolt onto those. What ground height is the bottom of the saddle bracket at without the bike on it, with or without air in the suspension system? Thanks for your assistance here.
Scott

[Gary RVRoamer]

A 36 footer may actually be more capable of handling the lift because it is usually lighter and has more excess capacity on the rear axle.Weight is the issue, not length. You are going to add something like 1200 lbs to he back end, which will bear down on the rear axle that much more and lift a similar amount of weight off the front axle, which may make it light enough to be squirrely.

My 40 footer has 19,300 lbs on the 20k rear axle and that's without a full load of water on board. Weigh yours before you proceed.

[Meurigd]

Originally Posted by eracefn45

Ordering a Tifin phaeton 40' dp, have option of Freightliner or powerglide Chasis, want to put Lift on backend for Motorcycle, Powerglide Chasis has weight advantage over Freightliner but also comes with a price, Is the Freighliner Chasis sufficiant?

Thanks
Bob

My '07 Meridian 36G has a FL XC chassis. I bought a "hydralift" hydraulic motorcycle carrier same time as the new coach, 4 1/2 years ago. The hydralift is welded to the rear of the chassis main channels. I carry a 450lb motorcycle every time we take a trip, and I have 39,000 miles on the coach. I weigh occasionally at the CAT scales, and I am usually right at my rear axle GVW with the coach loaded and m/cycle on the back. No problems in 4 1/2 years. I think the Hydralift is the best motorcycle carrier you can buy (but I may be biassed). I have carried my Gold Wing on it (800 lb), but exceeding the GVW slightly. No problems.
I hope this helps you. Good luck

Meurig Davies Meridian 36G XC Chassis