Ford 350 chassis handling

That thread's a good one. As noted there, for openers:

What are the Coach's Length and Wheelbase?
What are the Front and Rear Axle Ratings (GAWR) and what are the actual weights per a truck scale?
What are your Tire Pressures?

Ford's position on this? Low REAR ride height? If it's new and low, I'd guess it's close to max axle rating on the rear. That might mean it's light in front, or at least that the front tire pressures could be too high. If you meant the REAR is low, that's more unusual than the rear being high. If the rear is low it might be too soft for the load. If it's too soft for the load, the REAR may wallow and sway. In a FORD chassis, rear sway or rolling causes an unwanted steering action in the front. Hence my questions...

As Bryan aptly mentions, excess front tire pressure can run from annoying to disastrous. Make sure all four rears are inflated to the door sticker pressure. That'd be max load and it's possible that's what's on the rear. The front tires shouldn't be over 60 or 65 and that's for max load. I'd be very surprised from what you're reporting that the front axle is anywhere near max load.

There is no reason it can't be aligned properly at the existing ride-height. In fact, most E450s ride tail-high, its just many MHs ride flat because they are so heavy.

But... before digging into alignment, have you made side the front tires are not over-inflated? They should NOT be at 80 PSI.

Actually, the rig is most comfortable on the back roads up to around 50 mph. It's highway speeds where it gets tedious and it can be a real challenge to keep it between the lines if it's windy enough.

This is my first RV of any kind and I assumed that this was normal. But the Ford dealer says he can't align it with the chassis tilted front to rear. Pleasure Way wants to provide Ford with alignment settings for this unit without dealing with the "ride height" as Ford calls it.

Is that plausible? Can alignment settings alone offset the effects caused by the ride height difference.

There's a ton of handling threads here-definitely read up..

Summary:

1. Try to load as much weight low and forward as possible
2. In the handling threads you'll find reference to Michelin tire inflation chart which is based on weight at the wheels. Weigh the vehicle and follow the recommendation. Particularly in regard to front tires. You don't want them to be overinflated.

3. Wheel alignment with emphasis on max positive caster. You'll see that in the threads.

4. I found the heavier sway bars and track bar to be beneficial, but you want to do that last after trying all the cheaper ideas.

5. After all is done, come to an acceptance of the handling. It aint no sports car or even close. Slow down, enjoy the ride, drive in the vehicle's comfort zone. You will not be able to keep up with auto traffic on winding roads, accept it and let them pass.

Thank you Pauldub, that was very informative.

Start by reading this link.