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Topic: U295 Height to get into building? (Read 954 times) previous topic - next topic

U295 Height to get into building?

I have read that the U295 series have a overall height of 11-8 1/2".  I have an awning @ 11'3" on the side of a building to get under before getting to the warehouse 12' door.  My U225 @ 10'8" fits with room to spare (7") with the CB and radio folded. 

Can air bag coaches be lowered and then driven, to get under the awning?  I have read about dumping air to park, and adding air to clear and cross low pavement drainage areas to get into driveways.

Or am I looking at rebuilding the awning system to gain my clearance to park inside?
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #1 –
Dave,
Air bag coaches can be manually lowered by holding the HWH pad's dump button, then moving slowly.  The coach air system will want to raise it as soon as you let go of the dump button.
Peter
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #2 –
You need to get a better def'n of 'room to spare'. I don't think that 295 will lower a full foot.
The selected media item is not currently available. Dave Head & Megan Westbrook
Titusville, FL - The Great Outdoors
'98 270 buying this month
Toad is a 2018 F150 XLT

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #3 –
I believe the suspension travel is 3" down & 6" up...IIRC
Peter
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #4 –
Dave, you have sparked my curiousity?  Are you looking at trading coaches?

Glen
Glen Kenney
Colmesneil, Tx
Former owner of
1997 40' U320
Build # 5099

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #5 –
If only 3" down then it is a rebuild. 
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Glockjock –
Dave, you have sparked my curiousity?  Are you looking at trading coaches?

Glen

Always looking, and there is a 36' U295 out there that sparked our interest.  We love everything about our U225 and have done much to improve and upgrade this coach.  Someone will have a nice one when we sell ours.
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Dave and Dolly Cobb –
Always looking, and there is a 36' U295 out there that sparked our interest.  We love everything about our U225 and have done much to improve and upgrade this coach.  Someone will have a nice one when we sell ours.

Funny how that works... the only thing I can think of on our U225 that I don't like is the rear radiator; I absolutely LUST after a side radiator. But I have 600 watts of solar panels in the shop waiting for me to install them along with the MPPT charge controller (just need to buy and/or fab more bits) and other upgrades. Once I'm done (are we ever done?) I would be hard-pressed to find another coach that could survive as long in the outback, drive as far on so little fuel, and still be as comfy.

Hard to stop looking though....

Craig
1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #8 –
If I where to get the 295 I would do the rebuild to get the necessary height. You know how Murphy (Murphy's Law) is.
My 295 will only go down 3-4 inches, when it's all the way down the drive shaft is VERY close to hitting the crossmember right above it. The tires also will rub the fender wells.
Bruce, Linda, and Macy
Zoey RIP 1/20/19
1999 U295 40' build #5400
2017 silver Jeep Wrangler, 1260 watts of solar on top
Moving around the country

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #9 –
I will be on ladder tomorrow to recheck my clearances.  Would just factor in a rebuild along with other things in the purchase.
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #10 –
I'm dealing with a door height issue also.

My 95 295 is 11'4 1/2" in travel mode to top of A/C's

I think it was raised to 11'6 1/2 on 02 to 05 model years/

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #11 –
Thanks all for the info, height, and issues with tire rubbing and drive shaft angle.  What a great collective bunch of experiences and info that the many forum members share.  Sure helps.
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #12 –
You can also temporarily air down the tires to gain more clearance.  Any slight change in grade will mess up your calculations.
Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #13 –
This might help anyone who wants to check to see if they can clear an overhead obstruction.

At a rest area I watched a car hauler driver use a height gauge made from a vertical pole with an arm mounted at 90 deg that reached just over half way across the load.  (An upside down L shape).  Holding it vertically keeping the bottom on the ground he walked around the trailer to see it anything touched it. 

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159
 

Re: U295 Height to get into building?

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Keith and Joyce –
At a rest area I watched a car hauler driver use a height gauge made from a vertical pole with an arm mounted at 90 deg that reached just over half way across the load.  (An upside down L shape).  Holding it vertically keeping the bottom on the ground he walked around the trailer to see it anything touched it. 
That sounds like a useful tool. However, beware of the clearance issues if the ground has a dip, bump, or change in slope. Old underpasses for railroads are notorious for having a road that dipped under the bridge. A long vehicle can lose a few inches of clearance compared to a short vehicle because the tires are uphill from the lowest point of the roadway.

Also, beware of the dreaded high center on a long vehicle. That specific hazard was highlighted in our small town when the ~100' long trailer high centered on the railroad track at 1:00 a.m. While the crew was adjusting the lifts on the fancy liftable, steerable trailer, the train rounded the nearby curve at about 55 mph. The crew applied emergency braking. The train derailed, and the trailer with the cracking tower on it was shoved aside and overturned. No one was hurt and some great stories were generated.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX