Class C

NO....We were not allowed to test drive the Jamboree. We drove a friend's Forrest river 31', and the best we could tell, it drove fine. This test drive took place in Odessa, Texas in flat country. Our new Jamboree drives fine (in flat country), but the problems come when in hilly areas. Bought the unit @ Ancira RV in Boerne, Tx where it was displayed on the leveling jacks. When we drove the 300 miles back to the dealership (in our Jeep) to pick it up, it was on jack stands in their RV park. We spent the night there and in the morning hooked up the jeep and headed home on IH10. On flat country, it tows OK once you're up to speed. BUT....the hills west of there, trying to running 60 on Interstate, was where the troubles stated. On several long grades, the Jamboree was down to 40 mph and the engine RPM was near 5,000 in 2nd gear. I thought the engine was going to blow.
My mistake for taking the advise and assurances that the unit, although not as powerful as our old Class A, would handle our jeep.....No Problem. If we had been allowed to drive the unit, you really think they would allow us to drive it 100 miles and strap our jeep on the back ?? In talking with other salesmen on the Seneca.....NO, we can't test drive a new unit, and no way can we tie our Jeep on the back.
Ancira is willing to trade up to something else, but they don't handle Super C's ???? Only diesels are Class A's and we've been there-done that. I'm not anxious to buy a Super C due to their size. They all seem to be 37-40 feet long. That's why we sold our Class A. We wanted to downsize, but still have decent power and having poor luck finding something. It seems you can choose between a small Mercedes 188 HP van that won't tow our Jeep or a 38 foot Super C.

handlinranch wrote:
We just bought a new Fleetwood Jamboree 30U. If anyone else has these, what do you do for power and tracking. The tracking on the highway is poor and the power is awful towing a jeep. Any suggestions? Thanks

Why did you buy a Class C that has these issues? Did you not do a thorough test drive? The V-10 in your rig is more than capable of towing a Jeep so there must be drive/powertrain issues {that should/would}, have shown up on the test drive. If that is the case they should be 100 per cent covered by your warranty. Who did the towing set up for your Jeep? It sounds like whoever did it needs to take another crack at it.

The good news is that getting the coach weighed {properly loaded for the way you will use it}, and then providing the proper PSI to the tires should go a long way towards correcting the tracking issues. Worst case scenario it may need a proper alignment{which it should have come with}. Had you raised these issues following the test drive you would have had the option of negotiating the costs involved or walking away.

It is not too late to go back to the dealer and ask them to step up and solve your issues especially if that request comes from your attorney accompanied by a copy of your warranty with the appropriate passages highlighted. Keep us posted and good luck!

:C

Check your tow bar.

I started having problems with the steering and it turned out (after MANY stops at repair shops) it was the tow bar on the toad. It appeared locked in But with closer inspection you could see that it wasn't staying locked. When you went forward to do your check, it looked locked but get on the road and it was going in and out. Was a new tow bar also.

Causing my MH to have steering problems when that lock moved back and forth on the tow bar.

It is not enough to check the front end alignment "to be correct". The acceptable range of caster is about +1.5 to +7.0 degrees. Ford usually ships the E Series at about +3.5 degrees which is OK for city driving but you want to have at least +5.5 degrees for highway driving.

E350/E450 Caster and Handling

From Popular Mechanics May 1973.

START QUOTE:"If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave, thus necessitating constant corrections in steering."END QUOTE.

How are you comparing the tracking and towing power? It's not going to handle like a sports car, nor pull like a turbo diesel pickup, but it shouldn't be "awful" Assuming it's working per manufacture spec, there are ways to improve both. What Shocks are installed? A lot of people are happy with the High performance aftermarket ones. They're expensive but usually worth it. Check sway bars, are they the small weak factory ones? There are aftermarket companies that sell big heavy ones. 30' is probably close to max weight as well. Airbags on rears may help. Make sure the front end alignment is correct as well as tire pressures.
For power, there's not a lot of options, since that's the biggest engine ford makes that will fit in there. Banks power systems makes intake and exhaust systems that claim to add power. Previous owner installed those on mine, so I can't tell the difference, although it does do pretty well through the mountains along the west coast. Towing for class c is traditionally an issue since the hitch is mounted so far behind the rear axle. Usually only about 3500lbs unless you do some modification to the set up.