Handling Problems

wheeler412 wrote:
I am new to the motor home life style and have just purchased a new gas 28' 2014 motorhome. Love the motor home, but as I am now learning they handle extremely bad on the Inter State highways when being passed by a large vehicle, not totally unexpected but was much greater then anticipated. The first time that this happened the motor home was pushed to the shoulder of the inter state and I almost went over an embankment. I contacted the dealer and was told "OH, you need to add a front steering stabilizer." So, I sprung for the $800.00 addition and believed I would now be safer to drive the vehicle. NOT the case! The problem has not been cured and now I am told that a rear anti sway bar is the fix.

I have seen a lot of discussion on this forum about fixes, causes etc. concerning this problem and it all leads to the fact that the manufactures of the chassis have not produced a safe product. I question why the problem and the fix our known but nothing has been done to correct the problem. I seems to me that if the problem can be alleviated with the addition of a front and rear stabilize/anti-sway device that the cost would be less than the lives endangered by selling a new vehicle as road worthy and then expecting the buyer to then spend another thousand or two to make the motor home safe. When one considers that we are all not professional stunt drivers and lives are at stake a few hundred dollar increase in the cost of the motor home would be worth the additional cost.

I would appreciate anyone who may know of any class action suits that may be pending against any of the major motor home or drive train manufactures?
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Morning Dennis,

I'm going to address your statement above with a statement of my own, as follows:

First off, the motorhome is safe! Millions of folks drive millions of miles every year and our safety record is outstanding.

You are driving a vehicle that is a big, square box that pushes a lot of air out of the way as you go happily down the road. As long as the air flow over your motorhome is smooth and equal on all sides it shows little effect on the handling. Now introduce a much larger box (a semi) passing you at a speed 10 MPH faster than you. All of a sudden your balanced air around your coach is disturbed and YOU WILL BE MOVED. It just the nature of the beast. It is on you how you handle it, not the motorhome.
Now...there are a few things that can be done to help. You never stated what chassis you have but it is assumed that it is a Ford F53. Search CHP for Cheap Handling Fix and do it or have it done. Ensure your tire pressures are correct for the weight on each corner of your rig. If still necessary spend the bucks to have additional suspension hardware installed. And probably the biggest improvement will be your experience and confidence building with more miles under your belt. Don't drive down the road by watching the center line and judging where you are in the lane because that will force you to over correct. Rather look a 1/4 or 1/2 mile down the road and you will experience a much more relaxing ride, perhaps only two fingers on the wheel. This was taught to me by an Over the Road trucker with a million miles of experience. Just understand this is a truck with a big box on it and it will drive like a truck, not like a sedan or a SUV or a station wagon or a PORSCH.