Hard to stay in lane on highway?
We picked up our used 2018 class C last weekend with 12k miles, and on the drive back we noticed it was significantly harder than a car to keep in the lane. I've had experience towing a heavy trailer...
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Harder than a car to keep in a lane? Always, because a car is using 5 to 6 1/2 feet of the lane, your RV 7 1/2 feet, and car drivers drift to lane edges and beyond all the time.
Constant corrections, all driving is constant corrections. On a larger vehicle the corrections might be more forceful, more steering wheel movement against greater force at the wheel. My Class C RV is a lot of work compared to the full size van, mid-size sedan, compact pickup I've driven during my years with the C, but not as bad as the subcompact hatchback with zero-feedback electric power steering. Most unstable vehicle I've ever driven was the little VW bug, even compared to the Renault R-8 I briefly owned.
But you've towed with a HD pickup, so you know different vehicles handle differently. While a motorhome will sometimes respond to side winds opposite those felt on a truck pulling a high-sided tow (which is somewhat stablizing compared to a single big box with a long overhang) it shouldn't be that much more work compared to a heavy pickup.
Something is not right with the setup, and I would start with tire pressures. Pressures need to be adjusted to actual (or at least approximate) axle loads. Heavier Class C RVs come with tires that are max rated for rear axle loads, and usually tires on front axle need 60-75% of the tire's max load air pressure. Fill the fronts to the number on the sidewall (meant to carry maximum load on the rear) and you reduce contact patch by 1/4 to more than 1/3, and steering gets really loose at speed.
If it is still loose after getting tire pressures right, get the alignment checked. For less front wandering (trading against more effort for steering), get the caster adjusted to the maximum end of the allowable range.
Wind is always going to be a problem, but there are aftermarket centering devices that fight against off-center forces that help to some extent, until the amount of steering correction needed for the wind gets you into fighting the centering device.
Constant corrections, all driving is constant corrections. On a larger vehicle the corrections might be more forceful, more steering wheel movement against greater force at the wheel. My Class C RV is a lot of work compared to the full size van, mid-size sedan, compact pickup I've driven during my years with the C, but not as bad as the subcompact hatchback with zero-feedback electric power steering. Most unstable vehicle I've ever driven was the little VW bug, even compared to the Renault R-8 I briefly owned.
But you've towed with a HD pickup, so you know different vehicles handle differently. While a motorhome will sometimes respond to side winds opposite those felt on a truck pulling a high-sided tow (which is somewhat stablizing compared to a single big box with a long overhang) it shouldn't be that much more work compared to a heavy pickup.
Something is not right with the setup, and I would start with tire pressures. Pressures need to be adjusted to actual (or at least approximate) axle loads. Heavier Class C RVs come with tires that are max rated for rear axle loads, and usually tires on front axle need 60-75% of the tire's max load air pressure. Fill the fronts to the number on the sidewall (meant to carry maximum load on the rear) and you reduce contact patch by 1/4 to more than 1/3, and steering gets really loose at speed.
If it is still loose after getting tire pressures right, get the alignment checked. For less front wandering (trading against more effort for steering), get the caster adjusted to the maximum end of the allowable range.
Wind is always going to be a problem, but there are aftermarket centering devices that fight against off-center forces that help to some extent, until the amount of steering correction needed for the wind gets you into fighting the centering device.
