Thor Forums

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Metalman

The front/rear weight bias can be a serious problem on some motor homes. I had a 24 foot class C RV that was so light on the front end that firmly applying the brakes would cause the front tires to slide. The first and only time that happened was a wakeup call for me to allow long following distances and look way ahead.

I don't fully understand why they do it, but motorhome manufacturers often use chassis with short wheelbases and then extend the rear excessively. I'm guessing they do it to lower costs, and to improve turning radius, but in the process they are sometimes creating some of the instability issues owners complain about.

Other factors like increased motorhome height and/or higher center of gravity are obvious contributors to instability. We just have to keep in mind that instability doesn't come up in the showroom where most motorhomes are selected, so manufacturers have little incentive to solve the problem if it's going to cause them sales. They could build lower motorhomes with lower CG, but few would buy them.