Gary RV_Wizard said:
The relatively low weight on the front axle should not be a problem if the front end is properly designed and aligned. Weight per se is not needed, but the balance has to match the way the front axle and steering were designed to be used. If you felt the steering on the 28 Breeze was poor, I doubt if weight alone was the factor, but the way the coach was losed could affect the steering adjustment. Without knowing more about the year/model and its chassis, I could only guess.
The 2017 31 & 32 Breeze use a 24,500 lb Powerglide (Tiffin custom) chassis with a 9500 lb front axle. Hard to know what the balance (front/rear distribution) may be when loaded and the range of weights the front end is designed to handle. There is no 28 ft for 2017.
The previous years used a 22,000 lb Powerglide with an 8500 lb front axle for both the 28 and 32 ft models. I have no way to know if they were set up the same on each or if handling differed.
Thanks for your reply however I respectability disagree - the main ingredient for a coach to steer correctly is to have proper weight on the front and rear axles. This is impossible with a pusher configuration due to its inherent unbalanced rear engine drive.
To date no one has been able to build a diesel pusher less than 30 feet. Having the engine and transmission so far behind the rear axle actually lifts the weight from the front of the coach making it impossible to steer, negotiate cross winds or pitch in the road. I have owned and fought two short pusher models to include the Breeze and Safari, both were to dangerous to drive and further confirmed by both Safari and Tiffin dropping the models.
Tiffin tried all sorts of fixes to even include adding steel weights to the coach, dampers, you name it, when they exhausted all means then began an "Alignment Fix" to deal with the problem but never worked. Bottom line there was simply not enough weight on the steering axle to steer the coach. I fought it for a year and dumped my 28 before it dumped me.
Believe me I spent years researching this and talking to every expert in the industry. My Breeze 28 was a absolute nightmare, right after I bought it I jumped on I95 and I exited the first chance I had, I thought my steering was uncoupled. Since it was back in 2010, I don't have my weight tickets but the front axle never was even close to the suggested load rating. There was just no place to add any more weight in the front of the coach.
Axle loading is only one factor, as the rear of the coach bounces in the countless dip on a road (concrete) as the weight of the motor moves down in the fall, it has to lift the front of the coach to compensate. On certain roads in Va as my coach would go over a big dip the front axle would actually lift off the road, I could actually feel all the steering effort loosen as if it would feel if you jacked the front wheels off the ground.
There's also another factor called wheel base tracking, which simply means the longer the wheel base, the more stable it will be in tracking. A short wheel base creates a number of stability problems making the rig more difficult to drive. Lets talk trucks - As the high pressure area of a passing truck hits the rear of a pusher coach with its long overhang, it tends to move the rear of the coach towards the curb side, the only opposing force to prevent it from moving in excess is the track of the front axle which for the most part is not there. As the truck moves forward, the high pressure area is now free to push the lightly loaded front axle curb side.
I know for a fact a 36 ft pusher configuration works because I owned a 36 ft Winnebago Journey with a 6.7 and it tracked like it was on rails, so I'm thinking the Breeze 32BR which measures 33'6" (actually 32'7" without ladder) might squeak by because it's another 3 ft larger than the 28. I have chatted with a few owners and I'm getting some positive results. In any case, I really like the specs of the new Breeze, I like the fact it has a low CG, only 8 ft wide and a bit over 11 feet high.
Regards - Mike
