Hello all, I am curious of which chassis are the easiest to drive and less fatiguing.

A recent neck injury has made it quite fatiguing for me to drive my Barth with the John Deer chassis more then 20 minutes .

So my question goes out to members that have experience with driving the different Barth models with different chassis.

Sorry to hear of your neck problems...

My 33 tag axle Regal was really good on the road. With the larger antisway bar up front and air bags, Bilstein shocks made it track really well. Steel suspension a bit stiff but no sway. I made 18 hr runs with it a couple times.

My air suspension Monarch has a softer ride but will wallow more in cross winds. (Being longer taller and wider it gets more wind loading.)

Both coaches have newer Flexsteel seats, they help too.

Talk to your orthopedic doctor about your symptoms, ie is it the seat, pedals, vibrations, position of steering wheel etc. There are conversion companies that make specialty vehicles for disabled people who can build or modify many of the parts of the cabin seating to minimize your discomfort. If the seat is the problem you can get a sort of prescription for customizing the padding and suspension of the seat and an upholstery shop can rebuild the chair.

The issue is my arms and shoulders, having to constantly drive the John Deer chassis, like most heavy trucks I have driven, it's a constant 2 hands on the wheel correcting the Coach from wandering and steering into passing semi's to stay inside the lane I am in.

That being said ,my coach has Bilstein shocks and a big steering stabilizer.

I was just wondering if the Diesel Pushers drove the same way? I have driven Regal's with the P30 chassis which in my opinion are less fatiguing to drive.

I guess what I am really asking is how do the different chassis line up to ease of driving.

I only driven the P 30 something Regal both 15" and 19.5" wheels and the John Deer chassis.

So with my experience the ease of drivability would be.

1) P30 15" wheels, 22' Coach
2) P30 19.5" wheels, 27' Coach
3) John Deer 19.5" wheels, 30' Coach.

I realize that the taller and longer the Coach is definitely has an effect on its stability.

Just curious of where experienced members of driving the different chassis would rate the pecking order?

Jim do you care to comment?


Thanks,Dave

Sure. First of all, Old Blue is on a 192" wheelbase. That's 20" longer than a standard '85 28' Regal. Secondly, I had air bags and an extra leaf for the rear springs. Third, I got rid of the front coil springs with air bags in them, and installed coil springs designed for the front weight I had. Also, had Billstein shocks, heavy duty sway bar in front, and bell cranks installed by a first rate truck shop who then did a front end alignment with specs I gave them. Very few shops know the proper camber, caster, and toe in for a P30 motor home chassis. My seats were Flexsteel but other than recline, plus forward and back, had no other adjustment. I have an 80 year old back with degenerative disc disease and I could drive the thing for hours with no problem. The more I talk about it, the more I want to buy it back, but that's up to Roger. BTW, I had 19.5" wheels with very nice Goodyear 670s on them
Jim

It also depends on the age of the components your coach is riding on. On this page members can see that Kelshe's Barth would be one of the better driving coaches.

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I did my power steering pump, air bags, and suspension also. Every component that is replaced improves the handling. It depends if your fatigue in the neck is worse than the fatigue in your hip pocket.

Have a Breakaway (rear Cummings and full air suspension)>-. Double shocked to tame down the porpoising and added 4 deg more caster with shims. (most truck type front ends call for little caster- likely due to weight. Mine drives straighter and the effort to turn while parking is not an issue. A good alignment shop can help you (they are hard to find and most cannot get the steering wheel centered let alone do a "complete" front alignment). And just because it is "in spec." does not mean you have optimum alignment. With a conventional steering gear you should be able to take your hands off the wheel on straight stretches and continue to go straight. "Good help is hard to find"

Size/weight is also a big deal. The Barths on P30 chassis were around 15000# with front engines(usually). The Regencies were almost twice that much with rear engines. Two different animals. And then there are the Breakaways. I've owned three of them and my 85' Regal handled better than any of them. Again, 192" wheelbase was huge.