The Tale of Two Days Driving

"It was the best of times and the worst of times" , Charles Dickens, The Tale of Two Cities.

The best experience of driving a motorhome is with the sun and wind at your back, on good roads through an eye popping scenic drive like Monument Valley, Arizona. The worst experience is sun directly in front and wind at a side on a rough road. You won't be able to observe the scenery because you are tensed up, holding the steering wheel tightly with both hands and arms, trying to keep going forward on the road.

To say that motorhomes are not aerodynamic is much more than a slight understatement. The front of the motorhome is relatively flat and has over 80 square feet of surface area ready to bully push a giant hole in the air. The sides are very flat and have about 4 times the surface area of the front ( 340 square feet - mine ) and is an easy target for a wind gust including those provided by a passing semi-truck.

One advantage to punching a giant hole in the air with the front of your motorhome is that there will be very little reduction in fuel mileage when towing a vehicle ( a toad ) as it is traveling the hole or vacuum area made by the pulling motorhome. The wind, however, can cause dramatic negative effects on fuel mileage if directly in front or even more dramatic if directly on a side or at about a 45 degree front to side. The worst effect is the sudden changes as the road direction changes and the winds shift in both direction and intensity.

I had a very long windy drive while moving from central Iowa to the Black Hills area of South Dakota. I could feel the Liquid Spring Smart Suspension changing to counteract the wind caused shift in weight distribution. The best visual example of this happening is the large racing sailboats that have crew to lean out over the deck handrails to redistribute the weight as the wind pushes the sail and tips the boat. I decided to shift to sport mode for a faster response to shifts in wind, road and terrain. I had some help now while driving in these situations. It was as if my trained crew was leaning out to help stabilize the motorhome. I arrived in Rapid City feeling not exhausted, but ready to set up for the night and enjoy the rest of my evening.

I realized that this smart suspension system is the "frosting on the cake" that makes it THE SUPERIOR suspension for motorhomes, and I predict many other large RVs and other highway vehicles in the future.

Monument Valley here I come and it will be the best of driving days.