good news when considering a new 2005 classic

[2airishuman]

greetings all

recently someone posted this thread on weight rating/capacity issues for the classic models in 30/31 or 34 ft lenghts....

http://www.airforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=15259

today, curiosity got the best of my friend 'bob' who called the factory for clarification on this issue.

bob spoke with a very competent customer service person who apparently monitors the forums (hi jim) and he had the correct numbers at hand.

the new catalog is correct for new orders.

30/31ft classic models have a gvwr of 10,000lbs with 10,300lb for the slide model. 34ft classic have a gvrw of 11,400lbs.

dry weights (ubw) for the 31s and 30 are 6,900-7,100lbs while the 30/slide is 7,900lbs. ubw for the 34s are 7,900 and 9,000 for the slide model. of course this is before options are added.

this means that ncc has greatly increased...2400-2900lbs. for the 30/31s
and 2400-3500lbs for the 34ft models.

how did this happen??????

upgraded axle capacities....the 30/31s now get 2-5000lbs and the 34s get 3-3,500lbs units.

they have been listening to "customer wants".

also, it looks like the fresh water tank is now 60 gallons on all of these units.

these improved numbers apply to 2005s being built now, while 2005 models that where made earlier in the year have the previous 8700/9100 gvrw with the lesser rated axles. you can tell which is which by reading what's printed inside the unit.

bob didn't find out when the change happened, but he's happy the new unit he's about to be ordered will have room for more stuff!!

cheers

[Silvertwinkie]

It sounds to me that even though the 30 and 31s have a 10k GVWR, that is only because of the axles are upgraded allowing more NCC, not because there is more stuff installed in them? If that's the case and you don't fully load the NCC, then the coach will still weight about 8700lbs? It seems that the unloaded weights are similar to 2004, so my take is that the coach has been given more NCC room, not more toys? Is this correct or did I misunderstand?

Thanks for the post.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

It seems that the unloaded weights are similar to 2004, so my take is that the coach has been given more NCC room, not more toys? Is this correct or did I misunderstand?

yes that's how it appears....same base weight but much greater ncc (>1000lbs) so we can load more of our own toys on board!

or at least not be so worried that when carrying the family essentials we'll be over the limit.

it might also be fair to predict a longer life service life for the higher capacity axle system; also the trailer my have a firmer ride/maybe even less likely to sag?
just a guess since i know absolutely zero about trailer design or engineering or machine suspension.

cheers

[flyfisher]

Thank you for posting this information. This is a significant improvement over prior year models. (I checked the NCC for the Classics for the past several years, and they all had similar, minimal, NCC's.)

Does anyone know if it would be practical to upgrade my 2004 Classic to these higher rated axles, and if so, how much it wouold cost to do so?

As I posted the other day, I'm still wondering (and I'll find out when I weigh my Airstream this spring) whether I actually have any NCC on my 30' Classic LTD, taking into consideration the additional weight of the Limited options as well as the other options I have (most of the ones offered by the factory).

John

[74Argosy24MH]

Have they also beefed up the frames? Airstream has had its share of problems with frames over the years. If they haven't strengthened the frames or loaded one to 10,000 lbs. and put it on a shaker for 50 or 60,000 miles to verify the integrity it won't matter what weight the axles are.

John

[Silvertwinkie]

That is good news as NCC has always taken a fairly good hit anytime you get an upgrade be it Safari Upgrade Pkg (even though I know we are talking Classics), heck the leather sofa upgrade took 74lbs.

A few concerns would be how much harsh would the ride be (which I sure they engineered and thought about).....and what John mentioned. By placing larger water tanks, and 1000lbs of gear in various areas of the coach, what effects if any will it have toward frame and flex.

Thanks again for the post and the clarification. I am kicking around the idea of a 31' Classic and when we first started talking on the other thread, my first reaction was....damn, it'll exceed my tow vehicles tow capacity, which is still true if I load it to the hilt, but right not out of the gate.

[guskmg]

FWIW my 2006 35' SOD built late June 2005 has a GCVW of 11,500#. It has Henchlin axles rated @3.800#, according to the parts manual. I upgraded the master brake E/H pump to Dexter as the original company went out of business and I was afraid of getting stranded before the modification (the wiring has to be changed). I have changed the pads once in 60,000 miles.