I have a 2014 Coachmen Freelander 22QB on a Ford E-350 chassis.It came with stock steering stabilizer, front and rear sway bar.I installed an aftermarket RSSC steering stabilizer, front and rear helwig sway bar and a trac bar. We previously owned a truck and camper and had sway issues in VERY windy areas like the southwest until we installed Helwig sway bars. They helped with most of the issue.Anyway the RV now handles pretty good but we still get a slight wander or as my wife calls it "slop" in the steering wheel. It is almost like occasionally you feel like you don't have complete control of the wheel.If we can solve this last issue we can relax and enjoy our RV!Thanks for your suggestions.

Assuming that you've weighed it & adjusted tire pressures accordingly, and that you've also had the front end alignment checked, next step is Bilstein front shocks. I don't own a Ford, but have seen many, many posts here singing the praises of the improvement this makes even on new ones. Jim, "Just when I finally got a handle on life, the handle broke..."

Also look into Koni-FSD shocks. Same performance as Bilsteins but offer a softer ride when conditions allow.It does sound like a wheel alignment might be in-order. That may help some with your steering wheel floaties. Also make sure your front tire pressure is set per the tire PSI sticker on the driver's door. The RV manufacture should have added one there. Over & under-pressured front tires can create some floaties too.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Regarding tire pressure I had been fighting that so finally when to a tire shop and they found a screw in the front passenger tire. Repaired tire, check pressure on all tires - set them to ratings suggested in front door (75 front, 65 rear).We then took a trip, only about 140 miles round trip.Lot of steering issues resolved except for the wander issue I am describing.

It's new, so we know the front end components are not worn. You've already done a lot. But have you had the front end alignment checked? I've heard told that Ford covers "one alignment" as if they know they can't guess how your chassis will be loaded. I suggest you DO have it aligned but if it's at Ford, be sure they're equipped to handle, and actually understand, this Twin-I-Beam chassis. What we've learned here is that you do NOT want the CASTER set to "Factory Spec" which is at the mid-point of a range which goes up to about 7-degrees positive. Mid is about 3-degrees positive and we've found that 3 is NOT enough to make the steering want to come back to center. About the most you're likely to be able to get is around 5-degrees positive. That's because the same adjusting point also determines CAMBER and you'll drive Camber out of range with more Caster than about 5-degrees. I say "equipped and understand" because many treat the E-Series chassis as a "Toe-Only" alignment. Caster and Camber are very important and need to be set correctly. Then Toe is set last. It's critical too, and how the Toe is set also determines if your steering wheel is centered as you drive straight. Tell the shop you want Before and After printouts from their alignment system. It's normal for the Right/Passenger side CASTER to be a fraction of a degree more than the Left/Driver side. Don't worry if they don't come out equal, they aren't supposed to.

You need to weigh the rig and set the tire pressures according to the tire manufacturers load chart. Ignore the sticker on the front door because the manufacturer of the chassis has no knowledge of the weight of the completed vehicle. The other key issue is wheel alignment. You need to take it to shop that can deal with alignment on a class C and have them set the caster as close as they can to the maximum. The alignment shop will want to set the caster close to the middle of the allowed range but that is not what you want and it won't help your wandering. Shocks won't really help with wandering. Once the tire pressure and alignment are optimized, the steering will be as good as it's going to get. It will likely never drive as easily as a car.

Driving issues almost solved - but..... | Good Sam Community

jdog
Explorer
May 15, 2014
Are you towing a car?
j-d
Explorer II
May 15, 2014
There was a question about the Ingalls Adjustable Bushing fitting E450. I Does because it Must. Since 2008, E-series Axles, Ball Joints and Upper Ball Joint Bushings are the same across the product line. The different series use different Hubs (for Dual Wheel vs. Single and the lug bolt arrangement) and Springs but the rest is the same. If somebody has an older E150 the parts might be different.
I've toyed with getting a set of adjustable bushings, and doing a Cut and Try Alignment. Get it so I like it then buy fixed bushings to go permanent with. Two shops I called said if they find adjustable bushings they remove them. They've seen them come apart/come out. Go deep enough and the companies that sell the bushings do not want them used in RV conversions, box trucks, etc. Since there is not an E450 "van" (only some form of cutaway) that probably explains why they don't list them. Even though they do in fact fit.
BeaverCamper
Explorer
May 14, 2014
Great link Harvard. Thanks to all for the advise. Sounds like the next step is to get an alignment and ask for Caster to be as close to 5 as possible.
Have a great day!
Harvard
Explorer
May 14, 2014
BeaverCamper wrote:
...
Anyway the RV now handles pretty good but we still get a slight wander or as my wife calls it "slop" in the steering wheel. It is almost like occasionally you feel like you don't have complete control of the wheel.
...

These words are precisely my experience circa 2011
BeaverCamper
Explorer
May 14, 2014
Yes Michelin LTX all around.
j-d
Explorer II
May 14, 2014
BC - 80PSI is needed to carry the capacity of the E450 rear axle. I expected, though, that late model E350 would now have Load Range E tires. They didn't used to, but it just seems to me it'd be cheaper to furnish all the same tires on both series. What tires to you have? Michelin LTX?
j-d
Explorer II
May 14, 2014
bob_n, I have it from another forum member that Ford reduced the steering "boost" (providing a little less "help") but not till around 2008. I wonder if that Ford dealer had a tweak that anticipated that. I really wonder what they did. The Power Steering seems to be the classic hydraulic pump and gearbox arrangement. But goodness! If the truck is going down the road with Antilock Braking tweaking the Brakes here and there because of some Stability Control, that would explain part of the E-Series poor gas mileage...
BeaverCamper
Explorer
May 14, 2014
All the tires are Michelin load range E - up to 80 lbs.
bob_nestor
Explorer III
May 14, 2014
I owned a new 2004 E-350 that had the wander problem. Steering was like a video game with no road feel or feedback. That RV was lost to an 18-wheeler and his insurance replaced it with an identical new one also on a 2004 E-350 chassis. The second one didn't have the wanter problem and had good road feel. I talked to an old Ford engineer about it and he said it was an issue in the drive-by-wire firmware in the computer, and taking it into a Ford truck dealer for tweak in the feedback loop would have resolved the problem. Don't know if that's true since the one with the bad steering feel was lost in to the 18-wheeler.
j-d
Explorer II
May 14, 2014
You're welcome...

What are your GAWR Front, GAWR Rear, and Tire Load Range? Used to be the E350 came with Load Range "D" tires and max pressure was 65. E450 came with Load Range "E" which allow up to 80. If you have LT225/75R16, I'll guess they're "E", at least all the replacements seem to be.

Funny story, neighbor has the "little" Hummer (H3? the one based on a Chevy S-10) and it was time for replacement tires. Sam's Club installed Load Range "E" tires on it and, yep, aired up to 80. He wondered why it rode hard...

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