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Old 12-07-2014, 08:00 PM   #1
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Berkshire 40BH 60 handling

Thank you very much for everybody's help on this forum with figuring out the difference between 390 and 40BH! I just bought the last brand-new 2014 40BH model this Fri and currently driving it home. I have a question about handling as I noticed that when I drive over the section of the road where one side is higher then another, it seems that while wheels holding the road just fine, the coach itself significantly floats over the wheels towards the lower part of the road. I understand it has air suspension, but the float seems somewhat excessive and effects overall bus handling. Is it normal? Is there a way to adjust it?

Thank you in advance.
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Old 12-07-2014, 08:50 PM   #2
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Congrats on your new motorhome. I wish you many happy miles of travel.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "floats".
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Old 12-07-2014, 10:00 PM   #3
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Another way to describe it would be a lot of body roll
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:36 AM   #4
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Berkshire 40BH 60 handling

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Another way to describe it would be a lot of body roll

Not sure what you are referring to exactly. You are driving a tall unit. There will be a tendency with a high center of gravity for the coach to tilt a little on un-even smaller roads.

I think once you get used to it that factor will not be as noticeable.

I went from a 34' coach to the 40' one. My comment was that the new coach drove "big". I got used to it easy. The only thing I miss is the turning radius. Takes much more space to turn the 40' one around. Have no intent to go back tho. Love the Berkshire.

I also see you are from the Chicago area. Where did you buy your Berkshire?

Russell
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Old 12-08-2014, 09:41 AM   #5
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Alex,
Congrats on your new coach. Hope you have many fun, memorable and trouble free trips with it!!

Have you made sure that your air bags are fully inflated? If not, that may be causing some of your issues. Try stopping and looking at the wheel wells. The top of the wheel well should be about 6-8" above the tires. If it is lower than that, hit the retract all button to raise the jacks and wait a few minutes. See if that raises the coach and if it does, that was you problem.
Tom
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Old 12-08-2014, 11:08 AM   #6
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Cat-RN, We bought it in Anthem RV in Arizona. There was another brand new 2014 unit available in Tennessee, but it was 390BH model and we really liked the layout changes in 400BH. Plus the price difference was only a few thousand dollars. We flew out there on Thursday night, took a delivery on Friday and drove it home.
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Old 12-08-2014, 12:17 PM   #7
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tmmar, thanks for your response. I will try your suggestion later today. I have a feeling that this is just my perception, it is no sports car after all. I think firming up the suspension would definitely improve the ride,The "floaty" feeling probably comes from soft air suspension.
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Old 12-08-2014, 05:40 PM   #8
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Quote:
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Cat-RN, We bought it in Anthem RV in Arizona. There was another brand new 2014 unit available in Tennessee, but it was 390BH model and we really liked the layout changes in 400BH. Plus the price difference was only a few thousand dollars. We flew out there on Thursday night, took a delivery on Friday and drove it home.

Our dealer is in Elkhart. Thought u might of bought it there. Enjoy::

Russell
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Old 12-08-2014, 09:12 PM   #9
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When you hear hoof beats, don't look for zebras!

Most handling problems on most vehicles start with tire pressure. Get weighed, check the chart, make corrections and recheck your handling. On our coach, dropping the pressures 10 psi improved handling 100%.
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Old 12-08-2014, 09:51 PM   #10
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I agree with TwiceThelce. Good advice.
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Old 12-08-2014, 09:52 PM   #11
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Our Berk when we first got it the steering felt very loose, so we had a safe-t-plus put on and went from two handed driving to one handed most of the time, nice and firm now.


Agree with tmmar, air bags down, flat hand between the tire and wheel well, air bags up, hand up between tire and wheel well.

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Old 12-09-2014, 01:16 PM   #12
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Thank you for the comments.


While we were driving the rig home my wife read all the manuals and her constant question was "what is the recommended tire pressure?". There were references to it all over the motorhome manual but no numbers listed, only reference to look at the tire sidewall's markings. I know that for cars, tires' list max pressure that this tire can be inflated to, and I would not want to inflate the tires that much. Cars also have a sticker, which is usually glued to the driver's side either front or rear door seal with listed cold tire pressure for front and rear tires (usually for a couple of tire sizes).


The question is where to find this in 400BH?


Thanks,
Alex
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:24 PM   #13
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If you google Goodyear tire pressure chart, it will give you the proper pressure for our tires depending on the weight of the coach. I weighed mine full of gas, all of our normal stuff in there, clothes for a trip and the wife, both kids and myself. This is the weight I usually weigh when traveling and then looked it up in the chart and set my tires to that. If i add water to the tank, I take that into account but it's rare I travel with fluid in the tanks. Hope this helps and if need be I can take a picture of the chart and post it.

Jason
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:36 PM   #14
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Here is the chart. When you weigh the coach on a 4 point scale, it will give you each weight on all four tires and then you can look at the chart and inflate or deflate as necessary.

Jason
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Old 12-09-2014, 02:54 PM   #15
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Thank you very much. This is a must info. I would think the dealer tell things like that.


I just downloaded that PDF file and saved on my phone.
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Old 12-09-2014, 06:53 PM   #16
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Alex,
Not to be too negative, but it is a big win if the dealers know own their names!!! (LOL!!).
Dealers only know how to sell, not the workings behind the coach.
Tom
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Old 12-09-2014, 06:59 PM   #17
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I'll chime in for anthem RV.... I also got mine there and I live in phoenix. They took the time to walk through it with me but I didn't know what I didn't know... Once I started using it I had 10,000 questions for them and they were great at walking me through stuff. But that being said this forum is the true great resource. Thank you forum!


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Old 12-12-2014, 08:59 AM   #18
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X2 on everything that Jason said. Like to add that we all may have different brand tires and you must look up the pressure for the your brand, model, size and weight. Set pressure according to each wheels weight and in morning before driving. It is difficult to find 4-wheel weighing places, but frequently at big rallies, it will be available. Otherwise use axle weighing, available at CAT scales. Also, check frequently!
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Old 12-12-2014, 09:26 AM   #19
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Just an FYI. The tires on the same axle should be set to the same pressure.
Tom
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Old 12-13-2014, 10:26 AM   #20
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I would also add that the heaviest side of the axle is what sets the tire pressure for the axle. That is why a 4 corner weight is a must.
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