Handling Issues for 2000 Patriot

[Phil And Carol Upham]

We have a 2000 Patriot, dbl slide, 330, with 30,000 miles on it.  It does well on a smooth road but in truck ruts, winds and road irregularities it is a handful.  I have installed Konis and have Howard Steering, all of which have helped but not solved the problem.  I get tail wagging, erratic steering when trucks pass or if the road is very rough.  I am taking it to Redlands Truck Service just outside of LA.  Is this typical behavior for a Magnum chassis and Beavers of that era?  What sort of things should I look for as Redlands sorts through it.  I drove a new Monaco yesterday and was amazed at the difference.
Thanks,
Phil

[LEAH DRAPER]

Phil
I had a 1999 Pat. Thunder with the Howard Steering.  Have you check the fluid level for Howard P/Steering.  I once lost the assist because the fluid was low.  Restoring it to the proper level corrected the problem.  Other question, do you have it adjusted properly?   I presume you know it is NOT static, it can be adjusted on the fly with your controls.  
Just thoughts I had.  
Leah

[Phil And Carol Upham]

Leah,
The Howard is not low as I did look as per your suggestion.  I did have it go dry once so it is on my checklist prior to travel.  Thanks for the suggestion.
Phil

[Arden Smith]

You might want to have your ride height checked as that effects the inclination of the king pins and therefore effects the caster.  Mine was a little low along with some ride height air valve leaks giving me an oversteer problem, Changed the air bag valves because of cracked valve bodies(plastic) and reset the ride height and it drives like a different motorhome. All this was on the front end, I didn't change the height on the rear as that would effect the drive line angle. It still wants to follow the ruts in the blacktop somewhat but it now doesn't give me any suprises.
Front wheel toe in will also have a great effect on tracking those ruts.
Arden Smith
98 Monterey
300 cat

[Phil And Carol Upham]

We went to Redlands Truck and RV Service.  Spent three nights.  The rig was inspected and they suggested we align it.  We had just had an alignment by Alb Alignment a year ago but Redlands folks felt that should be done.  It was seriously out of alignment.  They also found a rear seal out on the passenger side.  This was corrected and while they were doing it one of the two axle nuts were found to be missing.  Prior to this they had me get on a creeper with the tech and they showed me the work needing to be done and why.  Had the Motion Control  Airbag Controls installed on all four corners.  We drove from Redlands to Indio.  The Beaver handled better than it ever has.  I suspect the issues we were dealing with have been corrected as well as they can be.  More miles will give a clearer picture if this worked.  They weighed it as well and we were able to get correct tire pressures.      

[Richard And Babs Ames]

Phil and Carol I posted your reply to our source list. They also have a number of good reviews in http://www.rvservicereviews.com