Which motorhome circa 10-15 years old has the highest rear end ground clearance?

[kwism]

Due to a having a rather steep driveway I'm looking (before having to fit air-ride) a used motorhome with the best rear end clearance (I believe it is called Departure Angle). If yours is particularly height looking then please do let me know the make/model, so I can investigate further.

Thanks you very much to your valued reply - Chris

 

[EuroTrotters]

Our 2002 Eura Mobil was quite high 716HB Mercedes Chassis

 

[Sundowners]

It will probably be a rear wheel drive with a short overhang---- our Iveco flair was surprisingly good
Our present fiat based van is good but its only 4'long

 

[Nasher]

Have a look for rear wheel drive motorhomes - they tend to be higher to accommodate prop shaft & differential

 

[DBK]

Welcome to the Forum!

I can't help specifically but one thing to look at is the length of the overhang behind the rear wheels. Some MHs have huge overhangs and you can probably cross those off immediately. The longer coachbuilts tend to suffer from this. It is usually less of a problem on A Class MHs.

We have a 6m PVC with negligible overhang but you may be looking for something longer.

Air suspension can help. There are two sorts. The cheapest are simply a form of spring assister and can be used to raise the rear a bit. Full air suspension can be used to briefly raise the rear a lot with the flick of a switch but these systems are expensive - nearer £10K than £5K.

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[bigtwin]

It isn’t as simple as the amount of clearance. That said, your best chance will be with vehicles with the shortest overhang.

Ian

 

[Lenny HB]

Full air suspension can be used to briefly raise the rear a lot with the flick of a switch but these systems are expensive - nearer £10K than £5K.

Only £6-7k

Edit:
Full air just on the rear £4k.

 

[Lenny HB]

Rearwheel drive like Merc or Iveco tend to be the highest, then ones on a Fiat or Ford chassis cab. Fiat camping car chassis & Al-Ko tend to be the lowest.
Also shortest overhang to prevent grounding.

 

[TheBig1]

The biggest issue with older motorhomes is tired suspension due to being constantly loaded. If the van you choose has leaf springs, as many do, they can be upgraded cheaply. Alko axles with torsion springs, is a totally different matter

 

[The Coops]

At 10 plus years old I would be more bothered about leaks! Fit an air suspension at the rear and unless stupid amount of overhang( more than 4 feet) ignore ! Or park front on with chocks at the ready for the rear

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[CazPaul]

This one of ours is great, our drive up here a really steep and bottoms out heavily on the road.

Iveco RWD 2005 Concorde Concerto 648G, 6.48 metres, really high at the back especially when you increase the Goldschmitt rear air suspension.

 

[dunnah01]

Our 2011 Rapido 7065+ AlKo chassis has it's @r$e very much in the air - never come close to grounding even carrying about 1ton of payload

 

[kwism]

Thanks for all your wonderful help forum writers - it looks from your replies that an under 6.5m A-Class has the better rear clearance over coach built motorhomes of similar length - am I reading this correctly? Any for sale?

 

[Lenny HB]

A Class won't affect ground clearance its all down to chassis, tyre/wheel size & overhang.

 

[funflair]

Quite a few of the IVECO chassis motorhomes will have factory fitted rear air suspension that can be raised by a few inches for even better clearance but as others have said the RWD chassis tend to be higher anyway.

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[Ridgeway]

What about those ramps that car transporters use when loading low sports cars ? sort of like a 2 levelling ramps back to back if i remember, they're used to spread the angle a bit if that makes sense. Would require some more precise manoeuvring but you could be made extra wide i guess.

 

[kwism]

Thanks funflair - which under 7m motorhome are Rear Wheel Drive do you know of?

 

[funflair]

Thanks funflair - which under 7m motorhome are Rear Wheel Drive do you know of?

Is the 7metre limit just because you think the clearance/grounding issue will be better? a longer van might come on a longer wheelbase so will ground later than a short wheelbase.

Paul has highlighted his Concorde on the IVECO chassis but thee will be others but quite rare.

 

[funflair]

This one isn't much over 7metres OK 7.8m

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Or this on a Merc at 7.28m, the daft box on the back is a user addition.

 

[CazPaul]

This one isn't much over 7metres OK 7.8m

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Or this on a Merc at 7.28m, the daft box on the back is a user addition.

Lovely van Martin, surely they have made an error with the GVW 4350kg.

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[funflair]

Lovely van Martin, surely they have made an error with the GVW 4350kg.

Quite possibly I think it would struggle at that weight.

 

[nicholsong]

We had a similar problem with our only 7m N&B Arto and a steep drive.

We just changed the contour of the drive so that it had two separate angles/gradients/transitions.

Geoff

 

[cmcardle75]

Be careful. Many rear wheel drive also have dual rear wheel, which because of the increased lead bearing capacity tends to shift the rear axle forward, leading to more overhang.

 

[bigtwin]

Be careful. Many rear wheel drive also have dual rear wheel, which because of the increased lead bearing capacity tends to shift the rear axle forward, leading to more overhang.

I think that conveys the intended meaning rather well.

Ian

 

[cmcardle75]

I think that conveys the intended meaning rather well.

Ian

Yep. You only need a single rear wheel with Lithium!

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[denisejoe]

my euramobile 690hbl has a ground clearance of 45cm or 18”

 

[CazPaul]

Yep. You only need a single rear wheel with Lithium!

What about wine, beer, bikes and all the other rubbish?

 

[kwism]

Is the 7metre limit just because you think the clearance/grounding issue will be better? a longer van might come on a longer wheelbase so will ground later than a short wheelbase.

Paul has highlighted his Concorde on the IVECO chassis but thee will be others but quite rare.

Thanks - I have along driveway (ha! not looking for a full on US style RV though) so not to worried about length ..just worried about grounding the rear and causing damage when I drive in )=; just I hope, I hope, I can find something (sleeps 4, as have two kids) before the Spring (=;

 

[funflair]

Thanks - I have along driveway (ha! not looking for a full on US style RV though) so not to worried about length ..just worried about grounding the rear and causing damage when I drive in )=; just I hope, I hope, I can find something (sleeps 4, as have two kids) before the Spring (=;

View attachment 462825

The drive doesn't look too bad,

Short story for you though, we have friends who had a N+B Arto at about 7m I on a Fiat chassis and getting to their house they always grounded it turning off the main road and up the side of the valley, it was steep they were looking at a 8.5m Flair like ours but were worried that the bigger van would be a bigger problem getting ups their road so they persuaded us to take our van, well I am always upon for a challenge so signed up for a night on their drive and a home cooked meal with wine

Oh and our Flair on IVECO chassis went up no problem without even lifting the rear air suspension, sorry we sold it so can't bring it round yours
.

 

[kwism]

Thanks everybody for their input..most wonderful!
I've done a few measurements on the driveway (see image) and depending (I'm sure on a number of other factors, load etc) I'm looking at between 52-45cms for the departure angle on overhang > axle lengths 2.4-2.05m - Does that sound excessive? I've never owned an MT, so a bit inexperienced I'm afraid