Dennis,
I suspect there is more to your question...
Your question makes me think of the issues I have had with the front tire rubbing the wheel well lip at sharp cut angles on our 2013 Anthem. IMHO there is no simple answer to your question as the clearance you see is totally dependent on where you are parked, how you drove up to that spot, how you were driving prior to stopping, etc. The ride height spec probably is to the chassis but since the wheel rubs the wheel well the clearance there is what is important in the end.
On my 2013 Anthem the top of the tire was almost inline with the top of the wheel lip.....maybe the lip is 1/2 inch higher than the top of the tire. That is if I was driving at highway speeds and came to a gently stop in a level rest area parking lot.
In a truck stop, pumping the brakes to maneuver around at idle the front end will drop low enough for the front tire to rub the wheel well on a moderate wheel cut pulling out onto the highway! When it rubbed I stopped immediately on the shoulder and the top of the tire was easily 2 inches up past the wheel well lip!
At issue is the fact that the front air bags require significant pressure to achieve full ride height.....more than is available at normal (low) idle and while pumping the brakes. Especially if the coach is not moving and the normal up and down body motion is not available to help "lift" the front end to the correct ride height.
You will notice the front air pressure gauge drops significantly each time you activate the brakes. It can drop low enough to deplete the air pressure in the front air bags if you cadence brake without raising the rpm. This will definitely lower the ride height at that moment. Or if the front suspension is pressed into compression due to terrain with the pressure slightly low from low RPM.....try it and see. Regardless of where the wheel travel sensor is set it simply cannot get the front end up if the air pressure in the system drops too low......which can happen in some normal operating conditions.
Even if the air ride height control sensor is set correctly it cannot get the coach to the correct ride height if the air pressure is not high enough or if that corner was a bit low to begin with due to terrain or load.
My coach was thoroughly checked at Spartan because of this as I found it to be an unacceptable situation. A few leaks were found but basically nothing was wrong.
After MUCH discussion noting my dissatisfaction with the situation Spartan recommended adding check valves to the front air bags so that the air bag pressure could not be depleted by low system/brake air pressure. The ride height controller can still release air to level and control height but the bag cannot loose pressure back to the main system other wise due to cadence braking or other causes from the pressure source. In fact, the sensor valve was probably open to the main air system calling for more ride height but it ended up being a "leak" from the bag back to the system.
The check valves are normal Spartan parts that are used in other Spartan chassis applications. It was a $300 fix for parts and labor!!! No brainer. The coach behaves completely differently now and I have not had a tire rub despite "trying" in several situations at full wheel cuts.
Understanding all this you can "drive around" the problem by keeping the RPM high enough when doing sharp wheel cuts and/or revving the RPM or setting high idle when doing repeated braking in a parking lot or getting into a parking spot. Also always give the system plenty of time to air up at high idle before driving away each time you stop or before you do a sharp wheel cut.
Personally, as an engineer I feel the check valves should be standard equipment but it is a relatively easy change especially if you have access to the Spartan factory service or get them to have your local Spartan service put the check valves in.
Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. Your results may vary. Modifying your suspension is your decision and you are responsible.....etc.
Personally, I love the fact that my Anthem can now sit anywhere for LONG periods of time and the front ride height stays perfect. I can just get my fist in onto the top of the tire past the wheel lip regardless of the system air pressure (which is zero after sitting for a week or so.) The addition of the check valves made that possible.
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