Gulf Stream Owners RV Forum - View Single Post

pchicky · 12-18-2008, 07:59 PM

JimBob: My 6400 has the same sticker in the door. While I was checking things out, I pulled up my ISIS report from International to see the raw detail of everything the International put on the chassis. Here's what is says, verbatum, regarding the axles:

Front Axles: "AXLE, FRONT NON-DRIVING, {International I-100SG}I-Beam TYPE, 10,000-lb Capacity"

Front Suspension: "SUSPENSION, FRONT, SPRING Parabolic, Taper Leaf, 10,000-lb Capacity; with shock absorbers"

Rear Axles: "AXLE, REAR, SINGLE {Dana Spicer 17060S} Single Reduction, 17,500-lb capacity, with 190 wheel ends"

Rear Suspension: "SUSPENSION, RR, SPRING, SINGLE Vari-Rate; 18,500-lb capacity, with 4500 lb auxillary rubber spring"

So, taking the weakest components (front and rear axles), then technically you could get 27,500 lbs on the chassis to reach the engineering limit of the components (assuming your didn't put too much weight all in the back and overload the rear axles). Probably for safety reasons and for front/rear balance and to give a safety margin, the front axle limit (by Intenational) is 7937 lbs and 17,500 for the rear, for a total of 25,437. The Gulfstream post shows GVWR at 25,900 and unloaded weight on my model 6400 at 22,708 (includes full diesel fuel). Taking the lower number from the International sticker (25,437) from the unloaded weight give me 2,729 lbs available for water in tanks, people and "stuff", which is more than enough capacity.

So, it doesn't matter if you go by International or Gulfstream numbers, the chassis can handle the load, with room to spare on the 6400 model. Also, this is a truck chassis, so it's gonna ride like a truck chassis (stiff). And with a longer overhang you probably will get more "giddyup" if you hit a good rise in the road and have a bunch of stuff loaded in the back. That's just physics. Yup, there are things everybody can do to soften it up, but it gets down to the cost side. I was use to getting the crap beat out of me by the Kodiak Four Winds so the SuperNova is like heaven to me, and it rides as good as a 29' Winnebago Class C I had as my first motorhome.

With that said, I'm at a loss to explain how our new friend Chuckyboy has a bouncing issue on his rig.....my 6400 hasn't exhibited this in the least bit.

So, that's about the extent of my knowledge on the topic....

12-18-2008, 07:59 PM	#15
pchicky Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 72	JimBob: My 6400 has the same sticker in the door. While I was checking things out, I pulled up my ISIS report from International to see the raw detail of everything the International put on the chassis. Here's what is says, verbatum, regarding the axles: Front Axles: "AXLE, FRONT NON-DRIVING, {International I-100SG}I-Beam TYPE, 10,000-lb Capacity" Front Suspension: "SUSPENSION, FRONT, SPRING Parabolic, Taper Leaf, 10,000-lb Capacity; with shock absorbers" Rear Axles: "AXLE, REAR, SINGLE {Dana Spicer 17060S} Single Reduction, 17,500-lb capacity, with 190 wheel ends" Rear Suspension: "SUSPENSION, RR, SPRING, SINGLE Vari-Rate; 18,500-lb capacity, with 4500 lb auxillary rubber spring" So, taking the weakest components (front and rear axles), then technically you could get 27,500 lbs on the chassis to reach the engineering limit of the components (assuming your didn't put too much weight all in the back and overload the rear axles). Probably for safety reasons and for front/rear balance and to give a safety margin, the front axle limit (by Intenational) is 7937 lbs and 17,500 for the rear, for a total of 25,437. The Gulfstream post shows GVWR at 25,900 and unloaded weight on my model 6400 at 22,708 (includes full diesel fuel). Taking the lower number from the International sticker (25,437) from the unloaded weight give me 2,729 lbs available for water in tanks, people and "stuff", which is more than enough capacity. So, it doesn't matter if you go by International or Gulfstream numbers, the chassis can handle the load, with room to spare on the 6400 model. Also, this is a truck chassis, so it's gonna ride like a truck chassis (stiff). And with a longer overhang you probably will get more "giddyup" if you hit a good rise in the road and have a bunch of stuff loaded in the back. That's just physics. Yup, there are things everybody can do to soften it up, but it gets down to the cost side. I was use to getting the crap beat out of me by the Kodiak Four Winds so the SuperNova is like heaven to me, and it rides as good as a 29' Winnebago Class C I had as my first motorhome. With that said, I'm at a loss to explain how our new friend Chuckyboy has a bouncing issue on his rig.....my 6400 hasn't exhibited this in the least bit. So, that's about the extent of my knowledge on the topic....