I've got my eye on two at the moment. I keep coming back to them after looking at literally thousands of different Class B's for sale. Here's a stupid question for you and I promise I will have more stupid questions once I buy one. I'm a newbie. Have never owned an RV before and I will be soloing and basically full-timing. I tend to be kind of a go-for-it adventurous type of gal.
1) How do they handle in high winds, mountains, etc. They seem like they would be very top heavy and tipping is a concern. I don't know. If one isn't installed, should I get a steering stabilizer?
2) Again with the tall factor...any problems driving down the road and whoops no way am I fitting under that bridge/tunnel/what have you. I told you it was a stupid question.
These are NOT stupid questions by any means! They're very real concerns.
1. For crosswinds, I've never had a major problem that wasn't corrected by doing, say, 55 mph, instead of 60 mph. Yes, they are tall vehicles, but they're also very heavy, which offsets some of the tendency for them to blow around. I do not have a steering stabilizer. A headwind will eat gasoline but otherwise not cause a problem.
2. When I bought mine, the woman warned me that it's about 10' high. The one thing she mentioned was gas stations on "blue highways". So far I've yet to find any situation where the clearance was a problem, but it's definitely something to watch. I also watch more closely on parkways that trucks are not allowed to use, but again I've never had a problem.
The rule of thumb for me is 10,000 lbs and 10 feet. If you see a bridge or clearance marked for less than either of those, you may have a problem. But if trucks, busses, or even other motorhomes are using the same road, you should be fine. In the RV world, our B-vans are pretty tiny.
Actually, one mistake I did make last summer: after some rainstorms, a large, heavy branch was hanging down lower than I realized, and I hit it. It damaged the upper front windshield. I don't recommend doing this.
(The weight of our vans is right around 9,000 lbs, but that's unloaded without a driver. Truthfully we are probably above 10,000 when fully loaded for a trip. So my little rule-of-10 isn't perfect...it just provides an easy way to remember what to look for.)
