F53 chassis hanling in the wind
We have a, new to us, Winnebago Vista 26 on the F53 chassis. Have done the cheap handling fix, wheel alignment and tire pressure checks. On any kind of a windy day or truck passing the coach is a bear...
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I may have missed it, but I didn't see where you said what year model and how many miles are on the rig. When we got ours, I was very nervous about how it handled, especially the body sway. When I got under the rig, I saw that all 4 of the sway bar bushings were completely gone....not just worn, but GONE! I replaced them and it made such a significant improvement, I decided to leave the CHF alone. Since then, I have added air bags and replaced the front leaf springs as I had one that was in a negative arch and causing the rig to lean to one side. The leaf spring replacement made a very significant improvement in handling as did the air bags.
To address your problem, I would suggest making sure that the sway bar bushings are in good shape....if they are original, I would also suggest replacing them with a little stiffer poly bushing to take some slack out of the sway bar setup. Since I don't have a trac bar, I can't address that as an improvement, but many have done it and swear by it to stop the pushing you describe when the wind blows or a truck passes. Me, personally, I experience more push from a small car that I do from a big truck. It's weird, but it's what happens.
Get your alignment checked by a big truck place that knows how to align large vehicles, and set the alignment as recommended above. That will help with the rig's handling going down the road (straight-ahead tracking) and keep you from having to constantly adjust the steering to stay in the lane.
There are several other add-ons that you can purchase and install, but at the end of the day, it's never going to drive like a car. I had to resolve myself to that fact and now that I have adjusted my driving style to match that of the rig, I have a much more enjoyable experience when we travel!
To address your problem, I would suggest making sure that the sway bar bushings are in good shape....if they are original, I would also suggest replacing them with a little stiffer poly bushing to take some slack out of the sway bar setup. Since I don't have a trac bar, I can't address that as an improvement, but many have done it and swear by it to stop the pushing you describe when the wind blows or a truck passes. Me, personally, I experience more push from a small car that I do from a big truck. It's weird, but it's what happens.
Get your alignment checked by a big truck place that knows how to align large vehicles, and set the alignment as recommended above. That will help with the rig's handling going down the road (straight-ahead tracking) and keep you from having to constantly adjust the steering to stay in the lane.
There are several other add-ons that you can purchase and install, but at the end of the day, it's never going to drive like a car. I had to resolve myself to that fact and now that I have adjusted my driving style to match that of the rig, I have a much more enjoyable experience when we travel!
