Wheel Alignment

[Gil_Johnson]

Well I finally did it.  I went to Josam's Frame and Alignment, http://josamusa.com/JosamIndex.htm, after all the rave reviews I've read here as well as on other message boards.  The two years I've owned my Contessa 42 it's always pulled to the right.  I was told by one shop it's the crown on the road, get use to it.  Another shop said, oh you're running Goodyears, that's just the way it is.

I had to do something because one front tire was worn down to the wear indicators on the edge of the tire.  All other tires were in really good shape.  The coach only has 22K miles on it.

I went to Josams and spoke to their service guy, Barry.  Barry is a knowledgeable and easy to talk with.  When I saw the results of the alignment from all wheel positions I was shocked at what I was looking at.  The drive axle wheels were aimed in opposite directions, both pointing outward—really!  The tag axle wheels were close to being aimed in the same direction.  The problem being that direction was not parallel with the frame.  And the front axle was not too bad, only needing a couple of shims.

Barry explained why my rear wheel positions and tag axle were so far out of align and said my coach was not much different than most all other 10 bag Roadmaster chassis that have been in before.  The fix is not easy.  In fact the tag axle fix required them to remove the torque arms on one side cut them down to the right length and reweld them.  BTW, over the 2 days my coach was there he had a half dozen coaches come in for alignment work.  He also was replacing the rear arms on a 4 bag chassis.  It looked pretty scary given were they broke.  Apparently another common problem.

Then it was off to TCI Orlando for new front tires.  They too were very easy to work with and they didn’t mind working on RVs (TCI Tampa openly states their dislike with RVs).  In an hour’s time I left with new oversized (that’s another topic) Michelins on the front axle.  I left there to drive across the state where I live and was amazed.  I could take my hands off the steering wheel while going down the interstate, something I could have never done before.  BTW, I only did this to see if the work made a big change.  With and ear to ear grin, I can say it made a huge difference.

So, if you’re ever near Orlando I highly recommend you stop into Josam’s and have your alignment professionally checked.  Even if you’re not so close to Orlando, go out of your way.  They are easy to find being very near the Bee Line Expressway and Florida Turnpike.

Go to YouTube.com and do a search on “Josam Alignment” and check out some of their videos.  Josams is not just the shop name it's the product name.

BTW, I have nothing to gain by recommending Josam or TCI Orlando other than the thanks I would get from any of you that go there based on my recommendation.

[Robert Mathis]

Gil, your experience is just like mine. Those guys really know what they are doing. It isn't cheap, but you know the job was done correctly.

[Keith Oliver]

Gil
Is your drive axle independent suspension, or does the axle run through from one side to the other?  I am having trouble getting used to the idea that tires on a normal axle could be toed out as you describe.

[Gil_Johnson]

Keith I struggled with a solid axle housing being bent too.  Yes, my drive axle has a one piece axle housing, as I suspect most (if not all) have.  It was explained to me that the mounting plates, tabs, or whatever they are on the axle are welded to the axle housing.  No surprise there given that's how they are all done.  The apparent problem is that these welds only cover about half the diameter of the axle housing and if the weld is not done correctly that area of the axle gets too hot and bends.  This too is no surprise.  The surprise is that more care is not taken in the welding process and that the axle housings are not trued after the welding procedure.  Again, Josam says they have seen many of these.

I'll try to go over to the coach this weekend and get the before and after data.  I can scan it and send it to you.

As bad as this situation is, there was a coach in having the trailing axles replaced on the 4 bag Roadmaster chassis.  One arm was broke in two!  I understand this is a well known problem and one that the old Monaco had a recall on.  The after market arms are obviously much improved.  If there's anyone out their with this chassis, they should immediately inspect these arms and plan to have them replaced.

[Glenn Perkins]

For those of you on the Left Coast, Ewing Brothers in Las Vegas does a great alignment as well.

[marty christensen]

Gil, I have 15,000 mi on my coach and the my front wheels also pulled to the right.  I thought as you it was the wind or the crown in the road.  As it seemed to be getting worse as the tires were wearing, I tried serveral times driving down the white line in the center of the road with no wind conditions and the coach still pulled right.  I took it in to an alignment shop and my front end was way out of alignment.  Fortunately my tires were still usable.  After the alignment I had the two front tires rotated (reversed) and that changed the wear pattern to where the coach drives great.  I did have the other 2 axles checked.  I probably should have.

What size tires did you go with on the front?

Marty Christensen
2008 Contessa,  400HP

[Richard And Babs Ames]

We recommend Jo Sam also.

[Ken Sair]

Anyone willing to give a ballpark figure for Josams work?  Heading to Orlando and giving it some thought.  Mine hasn't been aligned since Nov 2010.  Slight pulling but nothing major.

Ken Sair 2007 Contessa (no tag)

[Gil_Johnson]

In my case, about $1,100 with tax.  Keep in mind they had to heat the drive axle and bend/straighten it, $255.  They also had to remove the torgue arms on one side of the tag axle and shorten them, $258.  I'm guessing that if you had a proper alignment performed before, your charge will be far less and certainly less given you have one less axle to measure/align.

[Ken Sair]

Thanks Gil. I will also give nthem a call and explain past maintenance and current driving conditions. I've had a lot of time to think about it as we cross Texas

Ken Sair 2007 Contessa

[Don Hircock]

Ken,

Visited Josams in 1997, yes, I see that is about 5 years ago.  Had tires balanced and alignment done for $300 and change. Probably more now no doubt.   Was impressed with their under promise and over deliver.  Was told when I went in it would be 3-4 hours and was driving out in 1.5 hours.  Was happy with price at that time as I was figuring it would be more.

[Richard And Babs Ames]

We got by for under $50 last time we were there but they only put the coach on the movable steel plates to check the suspension components. We had our drive axle aligned and full laser line up done and prices were the same for the axle, and it is a time thing on the alignment, but budget $250 and hope to be pleasantly surprised.