Why does Tiffin use a longer wheel base than other mfgs?

[D in Davie]

I'm considering a new unit and while I like my Newmar Baystar it is on a 209 wheel base. I noticed the shorter Tiffin Allegros use a longer base for the same size MH. Does it handle better on the road? That is a major problem I have with the Baystar. Would it be more difficult to drive around tight corners or back into spaces?

[Unplanned Tourist]

Might not turn quite as sharp, but handling might be nicer in some situations. Depends on the wheel cut. These days there are lots of new ideas for improved handling, even in the shorter wheelbase units, like extra caster and panhard (trac) rods, etc.

[Betr2Trvl]

A longer wheelbase will simply track more consistantly in a straight line.

I've seen notes on wheelbase to overall length, and that 50% is the minimum. See my post (#32) in this thread for some comparisons http://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/33c-...-316976-3.html.

There are also other things it impacts on a Motorhome in particular.

First, is that the shorter the rear overhang, the less push / pull impact you will get from passing trucks. Simply a matter of the leverage effect on the back of the coach.

The other 2 things that I don't see much discussion on, is weight distribution and the related "pendulum" effect related to a longer overhang, which I think are often overlooked when it comes to handling issues with Motorhomes.

First, with a long overhang you can more easily create an excessive unloading effect on the front axle, which can create a squirrelly steering feel and even an unsafe situation. On our way home from our last trip, I saw 2 older Motorhomes with very long rear overhangs that looked very (scary in fact) overloaded in the rear; so much so, it was very apparent that the front end was "light"; I can't image how bad they handled......

The other thing is that excessive weight well behind the rear wheels can create a signficant pendulum effect, exaggerating steering inputs and the push / pull senario with passing trucks. DPs are probably heavy enough to minimize this effect, and the engine weight is accounted for in the design / wheelbase, but probably why tag owners feel they handle "better" than non tag DPs.

I really have no handling issues with our 31SA while we did put a SafeTPlus on after the first 5000 miles. Effects from passing trucks is insignificant, and I am very comfortable with my weight distribution; see the http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/tire-...ht-318441.html for my weights.

As for turning radius, the 24k chassis has a tighter cut (55 degrees I think) than the 22k chassis, but I can't say that either the wheelbase or the cut angle has made any difference in turning or puttng into a campground site since this is our first RV. I can say, I did get to drive a Tiffin 40' Bus around a campground in the fall, and I can tell you, it was totally different going around corners with 10 more feet of Motorhome!

Regards

[luvlabs]

Tiffin's use of a long wheelbase in their gas units results in much better handling motorhomes. The short the overhang coaches are easier to drive in less than perfect conditions. We had a 32CA prior to our Phaeton and it was predictable and easy to drive and handled remarkably well when faced with passing trucks, strong winds, etc.

[D in Davie]

I appreciated everyone's observations. Driving in windy conditions and passing trucks were a major concern for me as my drive out west in the spring proved to be a white knuckle experience for almost 6,000 miles. Wife won't let me go that far again so I'm looking to change her mind with a better riding MH.

[Caswelld]

When we were looking at MHs, we pretty much limited our shopping to Newmar and Tiffin due to quality concerns with many other manufacturers. We looked at a Newmar with a similar floor plan to a Tiffin. We purchased the Tiffin and it had to do with handling and the wheel base affected the handling. Tiffin had the long, better handling wheel base.

It's worth the price to join the RV Consumer Group to help get an idea on quality - based on owner surveys, and handling - basic engineering calculations.

https://rv.org/

Happy camping.

Dave

[Caswelld]

Originally Posted by D in Davie

Driving in windy conditions and passing trucks were a major concern for me as my drive out west in the spring proved to be a white knuckle experience for almost 6,000 miles. Wife won't let me go that far again so I'm looking to change her mind with a better riding MH.

You still need Sumos and a Safe-T-Plus steering damper to tame the F53 chassis. Our Tiffin with those add-ons have made the MH a pleasure to drive. We never get the 18-wheeler push when they pass.

Happy camping