fighting the steering

Crazy Ray wrote:
Put Steer Safe on it. JMO Google steer safe.

X2 Put on Steer Safe after my second trip 6 years ago. Best money I've spent. Drives like a car. No wander, no loose wheel, just straight down the road.

First: A full suspension inspection (Should have been done by alignment shop, Some skip a few things though)

now: Improvements

motor homes have three major handling faults

Sway (Like fans at a rock concert or "We Are The World" event, or the arm on a metronome if you are a musician. SWAY bars.. The ones on my rig are good but often you can stand an upgrade.

WAG.. With solid axle front suspension (And rear as well) and leaf springs the body can "Shift" a bit over the axle, now if both front and rear shift the same way you likely won't notice but that almost never happens.. usually the front goes one way, the rear the other so YOU think you are going down the road slantwise (only the body, not the wheels) and correct, this causes it to "Swap" so you you correct again and follow a /\/\/\/\/ path (Exagarated big time)

TRACK Bars Also called Pan Hard bars.. These LOCK the body centered over the axle and if you put on two (front and rear) they stop this 100%.. Most advisers say the rear is the most important,,, I did the front,, HAPPY.


Steering Stablizers like the Safe-t-steer or True-Center

These devices try to keep you pointed straight ahead.

When my F53 was brand new I had a problem with keeping it going in a straight line. I would make a steering correction to one side and then have to make another correction to the opposite side. Making constant corrections wears the driver out pretty fast.

The RV dealer had me take the unit to a wheel alignment specialist who found that the right king-pin was occaisionally seizing up hence the need for constant corrections. Ford, because the unit was under warranty, had me take the king pin assembly to a machine shop where they reamed out the bore so it was now free to move all the time as required.

I did everything that others have mentioned and it did improve the handling. I also had the rv reweighed and the front was very light. After I rearranged things and put the front almost to max it drove great after that. The F53 are light on the front and need weight on the front wheels.

Henersonlineup

We were advised to call these people. They will ask you exactly what your issues are and will advise you what you need to correct your problem.

They are wonderful to deal with

Being a first time driver of this thing myself, I too was alarmed at the drift in steering. Once I got a bit used to it I found myself starting to relax a bit... then I realized I was leaning over to the right going down flat lane highways.. and noticed it even more especially in left hand turns... and it played into the unit drift of the steering..

I had just loaded this thing with fuel (propane and Gas) and thought that might be an issue.. but the fuel tank is centerline so that ruled that out. The propane is too small for the kind of weight lean I was seeing.

I had also loaded personal belongings including about 2000 rounds of ammo of various calibers. So I decided to stop and shift any of that to the opposite side and see if that helped.

It did however I think the problem is not solved in my case. I am thinking that a shock and possible a leaf spring has gone bad on the one side. I have also noticed the front is very soft on bumps.. which tells me all the shocks may be bad and need to be replaced.

Shocks have a HUGE impact on steering of ANY vehicle but especially large ones that weigh as much as these do.. I would suggest having your shocks and springs checked..

I am having all mine replaced. I got very lucky buying this 1998 38' Fourwinds Windsport RV for only $5000. To date I had only put in about $1500 in repairs to start. With this work I will be up around $3000 added... still a heck of a deal regardless.

Definitely check for abnormal tire wear to tell if there's a tracking problem. As stated, you probably want to go to a truck place for alignment check instead of a standard dealership or car tire place.

Just FYI... my coach was swaying badly but driving/tracking straight without any effort and I found that the bushings on the rear sway bar were completely deteriorated. I replaced them and it handles like a brand new coach.

Good Luck!

There was a post on here a few months ago about the same problem with the 2003 and 2004 f-53 steering. Try and find it as the solution was a simple part that Ford installed at no charge.

I did the rear sway bar bushing replacement, front & rear CHF sway bar mod & built a rear trac bar & I'm one hand driving now.
Pulling a 24' enclosed & normally got the fresh water tank full, so it is loaded every trip & still not hard to drive.

Now you want a coach thats hard to drive, buy one with a John Deere chassis under it & those wheels tucked under the wheel wells & in around 100 miles your chest will be hurting from sawing on that steering wheel so much. God help when a truck passes, white knuckle dont even come close to saying it right. Been there done that, good thing I drove trucks for 20 years up & down the east coast.
Neil

Was in the same place when we got our MH-If I looked away from the road no telling were it was headed when I looked back it was a bear to drive.Took it to a Freightliner BODY SHOP where they did a four wheel alignment check. There was some out of alinement with the front wheels but the rear wheel were cut loose from the frame and re aligned and welded back in place. Drives like BMW and has since Sept 2006. It was done under warranty by Freightliner.

My Coach is now 8 years old and took it back to the same shop after new tires were installed and no adjustment was needed. So may be that you need all four wheels checked by a shop that can perform the alignment that may be needed.

Jroan