Forum Discussion

Nevadastars's avatar
Nevadastars
Explorer
Apr 22, 2015

Play in steering wheel = nerve wracking!

We took our MH out into the desert with our Liberty in tow last weekend. It is only the 2nd time I have driven it any distance, but it seems to have an excess amount of play in the wheel. I am constantly correcting to keep it straight. It's not a lot of play, but enough that you cannot relax much.

Our coach is an 06 E450 31ft Tioga, but only has 12k miles on it and always kept under cover. It also has brand new Michelin's. We plan on taking a long trip here in a couple of months and hopefully it won't be a 2500 mile white knuckle trip.

While searching the forum, I read a post that said adding a couple of degrees of caster can help. But only one poster had said that. I know in the old days, you could tighten the worm gear in the steering box. Anyone have any suggestions that may help. Thanks in advance.
Class C
  • jhlady's avatar
    jhlady
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2015
    Does this feeling only happen when you are towing the toad? If so, it might be a result of the toad not tracking on the road the same as your motorhome and that will sometime cause a feeling of poor handling. Might try driving without the toad to see if it feels better.

    Just a thought.
  • Mich_F's avatar
    Mich_F
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2015
    The first thing I'd do, is load it up as close to what you would have for people, gear and what not for a trip, and get the motor home weighed. Then use the Michelin tire inflation guide and adjust your tire pressures accordingly. If the your front tire pressures are too high you can get some handling issues.
    It doesn't make sense to not start with what could be the cheapest solution first. ;)
  • gotsmart's avatar
    gotsmart
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2015
    Nevadastars wrote:
    I have crawled underneath and everything looked fine.
    ....

    'Looking fine' and 'being fine' are two different things. I had to have the upper and lower ball joints replaced. I posted about it here. It made a big improvement in the steering.
  • Nevadastars's avatar
    Nevadastars
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2015
    I have crawled underneath and everything looked fine. I will make an appointment to get it aligned and checked out. The biggest problem with that, is the nearest reputable alignment shop for RV's is 70 miles away in Reno and they need the rig the entire day. But looks like I will have to do it, at least for peace of mind. Thanks for the replies.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Apr 22, 2015
    I would inspect the front end for bad components and then get it aligned.
    When the chassis is built it's aligned but adding all the weight of the house changes it. It should be re-aligned after the build but is rarely done.
  • exioum's avatar
    exioum
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2015
    You need to check that out asap, there should not be any "play" in your steering. Let a qualified mechanic check your steering system and front end.

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