Coach tends to wander

I appreciate all the help and food for thought. Tires are a year and a half old, I check pressure before each trip to be sure they have the psi the coach recommends, haven't had each corner weighed but don't carry hardly anything in the coach but know that doesn't mean everything is good, coach has 50,000 on it, have had new bushing etc. replaced in front but have not had it aligned nor have I had air bag pressure checked. This is my first MH so I guess I am learning as I go. I do have a mechanical head on my shoulders but some things I need to hear from others that have experience.
Thanks everyone for help
Jack

Definitely get an alignment done by a reputable truck alignment shop. Then, load the coach like you are heading out for travel, get all four corners weighed, and move the stuff around to get the right and left sides of each axle fairly even. Set the tire pressures as recommended by your tire manufacturer for the weight your are carrying. Then, if you still have some wander introduced by side winds or by 18-wheeler bow waves, install a rear trac bar to keep the coach box and the frame moving in the same direction at the same time.

JackEnloe wrote:
I have a National Tropical 2004, 38' that I have to actually drive all the time. I have been reading about the steering stabilizers of which I think I like the Safe Steer best. I called Camping World to talk to them about this product and if they could get it for me. Immediately the person told me that in his experience he would think the problem is in the rear stabilizer. This is something that surprised me.
Has anyone solved the "wander" by replacing the rear stabilizer? I want the motorhome to be easier to steer but don't want to spend money on something I don't need.
Interested in your opinion
Jack

Mandalay Parr wrote:
Front end alignment.

I would tend to agree -- I would make this recommendation to anyone who has a coach. First question in the 10 year life of the Coach has it been Aligned? Cars and trucks all work off the same principals and if aligned they are easy to drive and wear out parts a whole lot less.
Find a good local truck/bus shop that does fleets and get the Coach aligned, usually $150-250.

I have always been a proponent of alignments but a few years ago I was talking to a fellow who had 250 over the road tractors. His kids got into the business and started keeping all sorts of records on cost per mile etc. They found that if they had all the new trucks aligned when delivered the cost per mile on MPG's, Tires and general wear and tear over the life of the truck was the single most significant thing they could do. Basically he said, the savings, just on the Alignments, paid for his brand new 45' Coach.

So the long and the short - alignment first, the other stuff is just that -- stuff.

JMHO,

Tom/Barb wrote:
Most times it is the road not the coach.

X-2 and wind amplifies it!

RFCN2...tried to send you a private message about your name. You have private messages blocked....

I'm curious what your name stands for. Is it service related?

Here are the steps I took to solve my wandering problem:

1) Tire pressures
2) Alignment
3) Cheap Handling Fix (free)
4) Rear Track bar.

It tracks very well now.

The previous motorhome we bought wandered quite a bit when I bought it. Here was the sequence of events I used to solve the wandering problem.

1. Made sure tire pressure was correct for the motorhome weight. Going to the high side of tire pressure for me reduced tire squirm and wander.
2. Started replacing worn out suspension and steering components.
3. Checked alignment and had a bit more positive castor put in.

The greatly improved the handling of the coach which was a 1975 GMC motorhome.

My final solution was to buy a much heavier coach that did not wander. This really solved the issue.
But for sure replacing the connector pieces in the steering helped a lot. on the old GMC.

JackEnloe wrote:
I have a National Tropical 2004, 38' that I have to actually drive all the time. I have been reading about the steering stabilizers of which I think I like the Safe Steer best. I called Camping World to talk to them about this product and if they could get it for me. Immediately the person told me that in his experience he would think the problem is in the rear stabilizer. This is something that surprised me.
Has anyone solved the "wander" by replacing the rear stabilizer? I want the motorhome to be easier to steer but don't want to spend money on something I don't need.
Interested in your opinion
Jack

Jack,
Well, as usual, advice given by Camping World leaves less to be desired. Wandering, especially in motor homes, can be caused my a multitude of things. First, check all your tire pressures. Too much tire pressure causes the tires to be "mislead" by all the imperfections in and on, the road. If and when you check them, the smartest way to go about it is, GET THE COACH WEIGHED.

Then, get on your computer and find the tire chart that applies to your tire manufacturer. Then go to your particular size/type/model of tire and see what they recommend for your tire pressure, based on the axle weights you came up with.

Now, once that's done, alignment is next on the agenda for attempts at correcting steering and wandering problems. If at all possible, try and get all four corners weighed to see what, if any, are the differences between the front two corners and, also the rear two corners. If there's significant differences and, it's possible to maneuver some of your loading, then that will help with better balance between the right and left side of the coach. If you can't or, have no way of balancing things out, then you have to live with it.

Another thing that actually co-insides with alignment is, wheel bearings. Do make sure that both front wheel bearings are tight or, I should say, "Properly adjusted". Any loose bearing situations are magnified when the loose side tire is running down the road. You see, when bearings are loose, the tire loses it's ability to "track" straight and therefore, will wander because it has less control.

The next items are steering components. You'll have to make sure your tie-rod ends are snug and not worn, ball joints,(if you have them) need to be within specs too. Another words, make sure all your components up front, THAT ARE FACTORY INSTALLED, are in good working order.

This MUST be done, before starting to THROW money at any after market equipment. I don't know how many miles you have on your shocks but, if they're worn, the body can lean a little here and there and therefore, that has influences on the suspension which, also has influences on steering and control. This means checking any "anti-sway bar components too. Many times, the bushings on the factory ones are rubber and, they get really squashed and severely worn or, even disappear due to age and mileage. That will cause some handling issues too.

Now, once you're completely satisfied that all front end components, steering, bushings, shocks etc., alignment, tire pressures are all up to snuff, then, and only then, you can move towards the rear of the coach to see what can be done back there to possibly either correct or, enhance handling performance pertaining to the front end.

So, hope this helps some. Throwing money at after market products prior to getting factory settings into correct specs, is not very smart in my book. Just an opinion here, good luck.
Scott

1ST of all there are many reasons why a coach would wonder or drive loosely. Start with tire pressure, then load distribution, then if they are OK then look at stabilizer bushings. They are sometimes worn out and can solve the problem at little cost. Then shock absorbers, followed by control arms, and then steering box and rack and pinion, tie rod ends and or tightness of all steering components. Tires should be rated for the load you carry and no more than 7 years old. The roads do cause weight distribution to be shifting if you have the air bags to set pressure, most times the low point of the road is ditch side which requires that side to be lower and tip the tall RV which shifts the load and causes steering problems. So up the air bag pressure about 10 LBS more on the ditch side which in USA is right side. Of course if you are texting and talking on a non blue tooth cell phone, stop doing that as you need to be concentrating on the road. Make sure your load is not on the rear overhang of the rear axle, as that will make the rear,(tail), wag the dog (front).

Front end alignment.