Lateral Stability of Recreational Vehicles in Steady-State Turning: An Extended Bicycle Model

Recreational vehicles have been and are being built in many sizes and shapes. The potential for lateral instability exists among these possible configuations. This paper develops a new, analytical, lateral stability result which incorporates the effects that steer angle, tractive force location and front to rear weight distribution have on steady-state turning. This new analytical result can be easily and quickly evaluated saving valuable time and money for the recreational vehicle designer. Several examples are given demonstrating the usefulness of the result.