Like most new RV owners, we've been anxious to follow the progress of the Alpine unit we've ordered. So we arranged a factory visit to coincide approximately with the completion of the chassis -- essentially the part we'd never see unless we saw it before the "house" was constructed over it. Despite our generally modest level of technical knowledge in coach construction, we're well aware of how crucial the chassis is to the structural integrity, handling, and "driveability" of any unit. It's the basic building block where a great deal of the "value" of the unit really lies -- in the engineering, structural integrity, and durability of what will unquestionably be the single most important component of what we've just purchased.
We recall doing a factory visit in early 1999, and meeting Gary Jones who originally designed the innovative new custom chassis for Alpine -- the "Peak Chassis". We recall as well discussing our observations with Bob Gummersall, who has long served as our primary technical advisor to RVers Online. A couple of years later Bob visited the WRV factory in Yakima at the invitation of Gary, and he subsequently wrote an article which was extremely complimentary of what he saw. This article was first published in December 2001, and Bob's enthusiastic endorsement of the Alpine chassis was one of the factors we had in mind when we recently opted to purchase an Alpine unit. However, with the passage of time we became curioius about the modifications that might have been made in the past few years. Having our own unit going down the manufacturing line seemed like a perfect time to do just that. Our first stop was at the recently completed Customer Service Center to meet WRV's Mike Glazier who would take us to the Peak Chassis assembly area. [Not shown behind this picture are several dozen brand new oversize overnight hookup sites avaliable to Alpine owners.]
New Alpine Factory Customer Service Facility
We were fortunate to have WRV's top two chassis engineers give us an update, and a guided tour through the Peak chassis facilitiy. Dave Frampton and his associate Darrell McLean are the two persons most closely associated with the evolution of the Peak chassis in the intervening years. And while much of the information we received was a bit more technical than we'd dare paraphrase here, the main conclusions were things we could easily understand.
It would be difficult to convey a true picture of the Peak assembly plant without first describing an overview of the process that leads to an incredibley neat "package" --the finished chassis. The plant is laid out into various "stations", each of which contributes some processes or components as the new chassis evolves. At one end are neatly stacked piles of steel, each of which arrives "pre-engineered" by being cut to precisely the right length, and pre-drilled at the connection points. At the last station a completely finished chassis is ready to be "driven" to the next building to have the house installed. One's first impression of this plant is one of impeccable cleanliness and orderliness. The second impression is in seeing in one sweeping glance the progression from sorted piles of steel at one end, to a gleaming white finished chassis product at the other. The exceptional appearance of the finished product is no accident. After the initial assembly of the frame rails and cross members the evolving chassis body is treated to a special cleansing bath of baking soda, where any rust or residue is removed. Then the freshly cleansed product is taken to the adjacent paint both where it is treated to a generous coating of special formulated protective white paint. The emerging chassis, now about as corrosion resistant as it could possibly be, then progresses through the balance of the stations to final completion. The following two pix show mid-stages in the process:
After "Soda Bath" and Paint Application
Mid-Stage Chassis Construction
Our bottom line conclusion is that the basic innovative chassis design orinally done by Gary Jones, as described in Bob Gummersall's earlier article, is in fact unchanged. And there appears to be little reason to tinker with change to the core concept, given the exceptionally high level of reliability the Peak chassis has achieved. The design is still that of a "frame rail" chassis, as opposed to the semi-monocoque design favored by some other high end manufacturers of diesel pushers. Perhaps the most important characteristic of either style results when the chassis is not an imported "one size fits all" product that the house sits on. Instead it is custom designed and built by the coach manufacturer to support the changing floorplans and weight distribution requirements that naturally occur in new model designs. The extremely robust frame rail design of the Alpine chassis, which uses a 2 3/4" thick fully laminated floor to provide structural integrity for the house portion, avoids the use of several thousand pounds of additional steel required in the semi-monocoque design. And its use of huck bolts instead of standard bolts or welds is unique to coach chassis construction.
Though unchanged in basic concept, with new floorplans, upgraded power, and the application of innovations that were not even known just a few years ago, some modifications have indeed been made to the Peak chassis. Perhaps the most visible is the inclusion of one additional major cross member near the engine compartment, occasioned by the upgrade from the Cummins 350 to the Cummins 400 HP engine, which increased both engine weight and torque.
With each of the model changes, the Peak chassis group has been careful to maintain its target of 40/60 weight ratio, with 40% of the coach weight allocated to the front wheels. Changes have been made as well to the location of the long propane cylinder (referred to in-house as "the torpedo tube"), which now is mounted cross ways to the frame to provide improved side-to-side balance and increase storage. And the HWH automatic leveling jacks have now all been upgraded to 12,000 pounds each -- even on our comparatively small unit.
Alpine was among the first to use a multiplexed electrical systems -- something many other manufacturers are just now discovering. We only had a vague idea of what a "mulitplex" electrical system is. We were aware that it greatly reduces the miles of wire needed in coach construction; and that it was intended to make isolating electrical problem areas much easier. We now understand the concept, though in our usual non-technical way. The reason so much wire is used in coach construction is primarily due to the fact that it is often such a long distance between a switch that activates something, and the thing that is controlled by it. Turn one switch in the driver's area and the tail lights illuminate offers a simple but illustrative example. But multiply this by perhaps hundreds of items, and the amount and weight of needed wire increases accordingly. The notion of "multiplexing" is simply using one box in the front, and another near the rear of the coach, which are connected by only a very few wires. Switches and electrically operated devices that would otherwise be connected with long wires are instead connected by a relatively short run to the front and back multiplex modules, and the signals (commands) that operate the electrical device all run over the same few (shared) wires that connect the front and rear modules. Thus not only is a great deal of wire "saved" in the construction process, but the modules can pinpoint far more precisely where an electrical failure might have occurred.
While the use of multiplexing is gaining favor among high end coach manufacturers, Alpine's very early adoption of this technology has enabled it to make increasingly sophisticated applications of it each year. The Peak chassis group considers itself at the forefront of the newest innovations using this technology.
It should be noted in passing that one Alpine characteristic has not change since it's initial development -- the use of hydraulic disk brakes. This has been another unique Alpine feature, and from our research it seems to be one of the features Alpine owners most like about their units. It's intended to give the completed unit a brake "feel" that for all practical purposes is the same as a car. In fact the pedal set is virtually the same as you'll find in your family car or SUV, and in the current models the pedal set is adjustable to provide the driver with that "just right" level of comfort when driving the rig.
There presently is no comparable chassis feature to this one:
And finally a word about "SmartBeds" -- an exclusive feature first introduced last year in Alpine's highest end "Apex" coach, and now included as standard equipment in all the '07 Alpine SE models. When I first heard this term I was envisioning something new in the bedroom area -- something you must sleep on -- but with not the foggiest image of what it might be. Especially in the context of something described as "electro-hydraulic". As it turns out the "SmartBed system" refers not to the bedroom, but to the outside storage bays -- and it's arguably the most innovative new feature to be found in high end motorhomes in recent years. This industry-leading feature is now built into every new Alpine Limited SE coach.
Other manufacturers have struggled with the issue of access to the storage bays, an issue often exacerbated by having a slide room extending out above the bay storage area. No one enjoys hunting through a large storage bay for an item that inevitably is at the very back of the bay, and usually under some other items. Efforts have been made to address this issue with easier ways to open the doors; and with inserts that can "roll out" if you unlatch them and give them a tug (and they don't stick). While these rolling inserts can help considerably, it's at a price -- diminishing the useable space of the storage bay itself.
The Alpine SmartBeds are a quantum leap forward. At the press of a button the entire storage area opens and glides smoothly outward. There are no doors to unlock, latches to open, or trays to be released and manually pulled out. With the press of a button an HWH mechanism slides the entire bay outward to its full length, providing easy access. Since it doesn't use "inserts", virtually all the space remains available for the intended use --i.e., storage. What's really remarkable about these robotic storage areas is the design weight capacity -- an incredible 750 pounds per bay. This is achieved through the use of a highly sophisticated slide mechanism that keeps the bed perectly aligned, permitting a quick and nearly silent slide in or out even under a signficant load. While we had a full explanation of how this all works, I'd dare not try to repeat it here, as it's much more technical than I can fully comprehend. I did understand, however, the demo they offered: Darrell (who like me is a full sized individual), stood inside one of the beds while Dave pushed the buttons that caused the bed to go in and out. Even with Darrell standing near one edge of the bed, and no counterbalancing weight in the rest of the bed, the smart bed glided in and out quietly and smoothly. In the SmartBed feature WRV has come up with an innovative solution that is clearly an industry first.
Our Conclusion:
The bottom line to our visit with the Peak Chassis group is that based on the fully tested success of its initial design the Peak chassis remains the same in concept. However in the past few years there have been a number of innovations that have built on that concept and offered further refinements and improvements. We're glad we had an opportunity to see the part of our new coach that becomes invisible to us as the house goes on. And we'll have a great deal of confidence in that key component despite our inability to see much of it again.