Motorhome handling issues

[Keith Cooper]

We have had significant porpoising  issues with our coach over the last three years. In addition, I noticed some wandering issues in the steering, at times. While we were at the Bull's Rally in Grants Pass, Roy Mueller replaced the Bilstein shocks with Koni's and added a Saf T Plus steering stabilizer with a SuperSteer.

We are currently on the Beavers to Balloons rolling rally and the handling issues are no longer present. Should have had this done this several years ago.

[Bill Sprague]

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm due for new shocks too.

[Richard Higley]

I just bought Koni's for my coach. Won't get them installed for a couple of weeks but look forward to the ride improvement. How much does the steering stabilizer cost?  Might look at that as well. Thanks.

Rich

[Larry Fisk]

The Koni's sure helped our ride. I'm glad we bought those also.

[Terry Melot]

Purchased an 02 Marquis in August. Wondered all over the road. Could not keep it going straight. Seems like it was never satisfied, always want to go either right or left. Full time job keeping in the lane. Could not take eyes off the road for 2 seconds.  I remembered an old trick my father taught me in the 1960s. If a vehicle wonders, increase the "toe in".  Had my mechanic check the alignment.  It was perfectly straight. Told him to add 1/4" toe in. It is amazing how much difference it made. Tracks straight with much less input. So much more relaxing to drive now.
If it causes the tires to wear a little more, it's well worth it. I've been told, you never wear out tires. It is always the date that gets the tire.

[Gerald Farris]

Terry,
If you are running 1/4 of an inch excess toe in, you will wear out the tires before they date out if you drive the average of 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year for a retired owner with moderate use. However, if you drive the coach only on vacation trips you will probably be OK. Installing a trim unit on the steering linkage will also correct the condition without the tire wear problem.

Gerald

[Terry Melot]

Gerald, I don't know what "normal" is. It may be normal with 1/4" toe in.  You say "excess" toe in. I don't know what the factory setting is.
I can't imagine that I will travel in excess of 15,000 miles a year.  If 5 years at 15,000/yr means the tires will wear out in 75,000 miles, that is ok with me in exchange for good handling.
What is the trim unit and what do they cost?

[Gerald Farris]

Terry,
Specifications on your coach probably call for a toe-in setting of 1/8 inch in, and from your previous post I thought that you had increased the toe 1/4 inch more than that, but if you are running a total toe-in of only 1/4 inch you should experience very little excess tire wear.

There are several steering trim units on the market. They started with the Howard Power Center Steering units that are no longer available because the founder retired in the last recession and could not sell the company, to the Safety Plus units that are sold by Henderson's Line-up. Blue Ox also sells a steering stabilizer with an adjustable trim unit. I think that the cost is around $1500, for most currently available models, but I am not sure. However, remember that a steering stabilizer without a trim unit to adjust the center location for different driving conditions will be of little benefit for you problem.

You can check with Roy Mueller, the BAC member who developed the trim unit that Henderson's Line-up sells to see what the cost is and see what BAC rallies you can meet at if you want him to install one for you.

Gerald    

[John Hennessey]

We had the safety plus installed by Hendersons at the FMAC rally in Gillete. Only made a minor difference

[John Hennessey]

The cost for the safety plus was $750

[Joel Ashley]

You'll be glad you have the Safe-T-Plus in a blowout.

[Keith Cooper]

We had Roy install both the Super Steer trim unit and the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer. the addition of the two units made a significant difference in the way the coach handles.

[Terry Melot]

Gerald, thanks so much for the information. I won't worry about an 1/8" too much toe in.
Other folks, thanks for the input.
Keith, what did you pay for the Super Steer trip unit? Gerald said the Blue Ox is around $1500.
Joel, (or anyone) have you ever experienced a blowout on the front?
Anyone; other than an old, cracked, tire; what causes a blowout.
I know from smaller trucks and trailers that running with too LOW air pressure is the worst enemy of a tire. Of course over loading is the second.
We just about can't overload our Beaver tires, so, if we keep the date code under 7 years and keep the pressure up; what are the odds of a blowout?
What I'm hoping for is a million to one.  If for every 1000 RVs on the road, one has  catastrophic blowout once a year, I don't like those odds.
I flew a small plane for 35 years. Have ridden a motorcycle almost all my life.  I will always try to improve my safety odds to keep from being a statistic.
If the SafT plus and the Supersteer improves safety, I will add at the first opportunity.
Anyone know a good service shop in the Phoenix area?

[Joel Weiss]

What I can't figure out from this thread (and other similar ones) is how we can have the exact same MH as several others and have absolutely no steering issues.  I don't think it's a question of our tolerance of sloppy steering being more than some other people's; I really don't think my PT handles badly at all.  It is, of course, basically a truck and I'm not insisting on the steering being as tight as on a fine German car, but nor do I (or my DW) feel we have any difficulty keeping it between the lane markers.

Maybe Gerald can comment as to whether or not there was a large variability in these chassis during production.  Are some simply straighter than others?  A couple of years ago I encountered an owner of a 2000 PT at a campground and he complained of similar steering issues with his new "for him" MH.  My experienced eye noticed evidence of his MH having been T-boned and repaired and I mentally attributed his steering issues to such an accident.  For those coaches that have had multiple owners, I wonder how many such issues are the result of undisclosed previous accidents?  Any thoughts, Gerald?

[LEAH DRAPER]

TERRY
I have the Blue Ox Supersteer installed by Spectrac Suspension Center in Mesa.  I love the unit and the fact that Im can "trim" to handle various road or weather conditions.  I had it installed in 2010 for a cost of about $800.  I had had the Howard Center steering prior on PT so wanted something similar on the 08 Contessa.  Make certain that you have an alignment done just prior installing if you go that route.
Leah