Ridiculous lack of payload....

[Desert_Captain]

The new {March}, issue of Motorhome magazine hit our mailbox yesterday. The cover story is on the Fleetwood Jamboree 30D and as always Motorhome gushes {they never reviewed an RV they didn't love}. Looks like a nice coach, sleeps 6 without utilizing the jack knife sofa or dinette the only problem is that all the bunks will probably be empty.

The wet weight {water and fuel tanks full but no supplies or passengers}, comes in at 13,920# giving you a whopping 580# of ROCC {which was conveniently not available for publishing in the coach stats}. So you have no food, no utensils, pots and pans, spare tire, tools, patio chairs, firewood, BBQ, toys, family members or pets, personal items, etc., etc., and only 580# with which to work as you load your coach...:S

Are they kidding? This a $129,000, 32' Class C that magically get 10.17 mpg {sure it does...}, but maybe thats because there won't be much in it weighing it down. The model that was used for the review was found to be 60# over the rear axle weight limit with virtually nothing/no one inside.

MH does rave about all of the abundant storage {but don't even think about using it}, and outside kitchen and entertainment center... yep gotta have those to go with an empty coach. :B

If you are shopping for a Class C, especially a 30'+ take the time to investigate the weights you will have to live with. C's over 30 are problematic at best when it comes to ROCC {OCC, payload - call it what you like}, but this is nuts. :h

[pnichols]

5) Short(er) brake pad life.

6) Increased brake fade from brake pad overheating whenever traveling down long downgrades without use of the right amount of engine braking.

7) Eventual, or right-from-the-getgo, rear end sag.

😎 Danger of excessive coach structure internal stress from too much truck frame end-to-end twisting if/when driving on roads with an irregular or rutted surface.

9) Danger of transmission early failure from excessive heating due to torque converter slippage whenever traveling up long upgrades.

[carringb]

Bordercollie wrote:
For the benefit of those less informed, what are the typical safety or mechanical issues involved with driving over-weight, too short wheel based RV's?

1) Tire blow outs.

2) Poor steering control. It will feel like its wandering because the front end won't have enough traction.

3) Longer stopping distances. Front brakes have more stopping power, but if there isn't enough weight up front those massive brakes will only trigger the ABS.

4) Tire wear.


Really, that's about it. The rest of the chassis can be pushed hard, and gets pushed hard daily by all the commercial outfits that use the E-series and/or the V10. But the tire issues is a real one, and the handling issues can make your trips much less enjoyable.

[Bordercollie]

For the benefit of those less informed, what are the typical safety or mechanical issues involved with driving over-weight, too short wheel based RV's?

[John_S_]

One of the reasons I ordered my coach on the dodge 5500 chassis. No slides to addd weight either.

[timmac]

Someone on RV.net has a thread about a new Winnebago on a Class A chassis that is 32 foot long with a large slide that was put on a 18,000 lb chassis, my 32 foot Bounder sits on a 20,500 lb chassis and even though I have extra carrying weight its not a lot of extra so how can some of these companies still get away with this is beyond me, maybe its just to save lots of money on the lighter weight chassis.

Buyer Beware..

[D_E_Bishop]

Just remember that especially at shows, the salesmen came from Cragslist. I ask one about the CCC, his reply, "What's that?". Couldn't be important, EH!

[JaxDad]

Desert Captain wrote:
The wet weight {water and fuel tanks full but no supplies or passengers}, comes in at 13,920# giving you a whopping 580# of ROCC.....

A quick look at the specs shows 60 gallons of fresh water capacity.

Why would someone carry 500 pounds of water when they only had 1,080 pounds of CCC?

Especially if that meant leaving passengers behind, I mean other than the MIL? 😜

[ctilsie242]

I can see an inexperienced buyer buying this, listening to the salespersons words that the GVWR is just "legalese", meaning little to nothing in the real world, etc.

It isn't new. I saw less than 500 pounds of OCCC with Sprinter based rigs back in the earlier part of this decade.

[carringb]

That's a heavy coach! Especially compared to similar new units from Forest River and THOR.

And that wheelbase is too short for a 32' coach. The others use 220-223" wheelbases for those monsters.

[harley-dave]

We have a 31' C on a 220" 450 chassis. Empty we have 1200 lbs. available on the rear axle and about 2200 on the front axle. We don't carry much that is heavy but we load it as far forward as possible. Usually carry about 10 gals of water. Loaded ready to go we are at max for the rear axle (we do have air bags there) and still about 800 lbs on the front axle. Drives better that way also. We get a 4 corner weight every spring and adjust as needed. Leaves us just enough capacity to tow a trailer. Oh, we get between 8 - 9.5 MPG with a five star tuner when not towing.

Dave

[LifeInsideJack]

580# ... well, that leaves my MIL on the curb.

[petrel]

We rented a couple of E-350 based C-class units when we were exploring RVing. We fell in love with them. They were so easy to drive, practical, and comfortable for our family.

Unfortunately, when we started shopping for our own, we found that (as the op stated) in some instances the top of the c-class market is where you must exercise the most caution regarding capacities. When we arrived at that point, we found the super-Cs or TCs to be a better option for us.

I know that the manufacturers are trying to keep the costs down, but I think they are really sacrificing their customer's comfort and possibly safety in the process.

[j-d]

I was surprised how heavy ours (signature) turned out to be. It's a VERY entry level-looking coach. No slides, very little trim, thin cabinet doors, etc. I think a lot of the weight is in what I called the "Slab" above. Coaches have a metal framework that serves as the house floor and supports the side walls. Ours is welded STEEL tubing. I think newer ones use a welded Aluminum version. That's gotta help.

[Snowman9000]

In the article, they noted the weight problem, and said they called the factory engineers to discuss it. They were told the factory is working on it.

I can't see how they could take enough weight out to make enough difference.