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Old 04-04-2022, 10:48 AM   #1
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Question about bogie/drag wheels

Hi - new member and maybe about-to-be RV owner.

I had never seen/heard of the above, but were looking at motor homes this weekend and saw them on one. We have a very steep entrance to our driveway, so dragging was a definite concern in our search for a motor home (small-ish Class C), and the sight of that gave me hope. This particular unit (2021 Thor Quantum LH26 on an E-450 chassis) seems to tick most if not all our requirements/desires so it seemed a happy coincidence.

My question is - how much it it reasonable to expect the bogies to lift the frame off the axle?

I mapped out our road/driveway profile and created a same-scale mockup of the wheelbase and relative position of the bogies. It appears that the rear of the rig would have to rise approximately 4" (assuming the front doesn't change - though I suspect it would to some degree, but can't quite comprehend what effect that would have).

Does this sound like a feasible situation? We would probably end up storing the RV at my shop, where there is no issue, but would bring it home occasionally, mostly as extra sleeping quarters when we have lots of quests.
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Old 04-04-2022, 01:04 PM   #2
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Welcome to the forum.

I've never used them myself but have heard others talking about them when discussing certain driveways, etc. that have to be navigated on their property.

There was an interesting short discussion on a prior thread here on the forum several years ago that you might want to take a look at while you're waiting for others to respond:

Do bogie wheels work?
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Old 04-04-2022, 02:17 PM   #3
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I have them on my Class A DP. Our old driveway was steep and the back would drag pulling into the driveway, particularly the toad tow bar. Putting the wheels on helped. Surprisingly if I backed up the drive the rear wouldn't drag as I backed up. I had to come in at a little bit of an angle with helped.
We have since moved to a different house and don't have to have them decided to leave them on and every once in a while I'll drag going into filling stations etc.
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Old 04-04-2022, 02:25 PM   #4
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Depends on whether you are attaching them to the FRAME or a FRAME EXTENSION. If the latter, you can bend/break the RV.


Most RV's were not designed to have significant weight supported by the very back.



Can you lay boards in the dip to ease the angle?
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Old 04-04-2022, 05:53 PM   #5
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As Wolfe 10 stated, many people use a set of boards in the low spot to decrease the angle. The below is a photo of the ramp we have to back up to get the RV in the backyard. At the point where the right ramp meets the sidewalk, I have to place a premade ramp to get the rear-end clearance on my DP.

When we had a gasser, I added some aftermarket airbags to the rear axle. I installed them with the pump and dash gauge. When we would get home, I would just inflate the bags to max capacity and it would lift the rear-end three inches.

The problem with the wheels, they're great for an occasional rolling over a dip, but using them how you intend to, will often cause the rear-end to lift high enough that you lose traction and just spin your rear wheels.

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Old 04-04-2022, 06:26 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by wolfe10 View Post
Depends on whether you are attaching them to the FRAME or a FRAME EXTENSION.
I will have to look further when we go back this coming weekend.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfe10 View Post
Can you lay boards in the dip to ease the angle?
For sure. Good idea - thanks.
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Old 04-04-2022, 06:33 PM   #7
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...lift high enough that you lose traction and just spin your rear wheels.
I have two concerns - the stress on the frame and the traction issue.

Probably no answer for the traction issue unless/until I try it. Unfortunately the dealer is about 1 hour away from home and I kinda doubt he will be wiling to let me try it... However I will bring up the idea when we go test drive it this weekend.
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Old 04-04-2022, 06:35 PM   #8
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There was an interesting short discussion on a prior thread here on the forum several years ago that you might want to take a look at while you're waiting for others to respond:

Do bogie wheels work?
It was that actual thread that, upon a Google search, brought me to this forum
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Old 04-04-2022, 06:52 PM   #9
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They are standard on my PC. I call them skid wheels & they do keep the rear from bottoming on steep approaches.
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Old 04-04-2022, 06:56 PM   #10
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Problem with skid wheels, since they need to be the lowest point, they actually cost you ground clearance.
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Old 04-04-2022, 07:12 PM   #11
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Problem with skid wheels, since they need to be the lowest point, they actually cost you ground clearance.
For sure.

BUT, if "properly" installed, would only have to, theoretically, "cost" one a few thousandths of an inch (the amount of compression the "tire" has).

Pretty sure there are advances to be made on this rig, but my son is an accomplished welder and I would have no qualms about him re-doing them.

The original questions remains:

Quote:
...how much it it reasonable to expect the bogies to lift the frame off the axle?
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Old 04-04-2022, 07:19 PM   #12
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BUT, if "properly" installed, would only have to, theoretically, "cost" one a few thousandths of an inch (the amount of compression the "tire" has).
I'd like to see that!
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Old 04-04-2022, 08:25 PM   #13
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Not only will they decrease departure angle and possible RV damage they will want to lift the the RV which in turn will bring the drive wheels off the ground!
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Old 04-05-2022, 05:49 AM   #14
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Your suspension mounts are your strongest point. The overhang is meant for static download weight not to put upload pressure by, technically, making it a suspension point. Yes they are a great alternative to getting stuck but they make a greater chance of doing severe damage to the coach.
As Wolfe stated, try boards to soften the angle.
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