Skid Rollers on 45' diesel pusher

[swmiller]

In the last month we bought a 45' 2007 Tiffin Zephyr on a Spartan K-2 chassis with a gross weight of 44,600 lbs. It is powered by a Cummins ISM 500 HP engine with an Allison 4000 transmission. At the lowest point on the frame (happens to be the trailer hitch receiver), the standard travel height is 16". I have gotten myself in a couple of situations where the hitch receiver comes very close to dragging when beginning to go up a steep incline as in driveways, etc. Does anyone have any experience or advice on using bogie wheels/casters/skid rollers to protect the undercarriage? I have found some made by Paktron Products that attach to the hitch receiver, and according to them can support the weight of any diesel pusher.

We are brand new to RVing and can certainly use some advice and guidance.

Stan Miller

2007 Tiffin Zephyr

2008 Lincoln MKX

Traveling with Karen and Ralphie the Snoodle

[Guest BillAdams]

If you get into a situation where you need rollers on your frame you are more than likely going to find that you have come upon a "divot" that is too great to overcome. Wheels or no wheels, if you hit a really steep ramp you are going to get stuck when the drive wheels can no longer touch the ground (please don't ask me how I know this!). The solution to the bumper/frame not scraping is avoiding any hump or divot that would cause such a disaster. Despite the sign that said trucks should not go this way, I took that route and quickly found out why the sign was there. Luckily, I was able to use my air bag leveling system to lower the front, raise the rear and get the drive tires to touch the ground again. I backed down just enough to get control again. I asked the Wal-Mart security guard if I could spend the night and took off in another direction the next morning. Lesson learned, the hard way, but lesson learned non-the-less. Many years later we were looking for an RV park in the Shreveport, LA. Everything was really expensive except for one just a bit out of town. We drove out there in our towed and there was a hill that went up one side of a levy and down the other to enter the park. Had we come with our RV we would have bottomed out at the top of this hump and sat there at the top like a teeter-totter. No mention of this by the park owners and even when we went into the office they said it should not be an issue (WRONG!). Do what you know is right. Do what you think you should (not what others think you should). Always err on the side of good judgment even if your good judgment is wrong. You simply cannot compare a moment of Macho with the complete satisfaction of arriving at a campground in time for cocktails!

[NavyDad89]

. Does anyone have any experience or advice on using bogie wheels/casters/skid rollers to protect the undercarriage? I have found some made by Paktron Products that attach to the hitch receiver, and according to them can support the weight of any diesel pusher.

Even the manufacturer's assurances that their skid roller as built can support the weight of "any diesel pusher" I'm pretty sure the hitch assy mounted on "most" will not survive the entire rear weight of the RV sitting on the roller. On the other hand, this would eliminate the problem of the hitch dragging in the future!

[swmiller]

Thank you for the advice. When we decided to buy the DP it didn't cross out minds there would be a lot places we couldn't go with the coach. One of those places happens to be my own driveway. I'm still trying to figure an economical and realistic way to be able to keep our coach at home.

Again, thanks for your input.

[wolfe10]

Many have to use boards to bridge dips to access their storage area. Might that work for you?

[swmiller]

I am going to try stacking 2x12s in order to get in/out of our driveway. The slope at the entrance to the driveway is steep. I am hoping the boards work because reducing the slope would be an expensive solution. Thanks for the input. We've been RVing for about a year a need as much help as we can get.

[Briarhopper]

Crossing a dip that will just barely drag you can go thru the it at a slight angle or turn as you cross the low spot, the wheels on the high side will keep the rear from dragging. Just a trick for the slight drags. Won't work and could damage stuff at too much of an angle.