Forum Discussion
Solo
Jun 05, 2017Explorer
We purchased a new Class C (Winnebago Aspect 23D on a E450) in 2005 and started trying to sort out the driveability that you mentioned. I started systematically going through all of the great suggestions you have received. A brief chronology and the results of what I did: 1. Weighed rig adjusted tire pressure. Result-Tires way over-inflated, adjusted and noticed small change-less pounding by rear suspesion. 2. Added HD Bilsteins. Result-Nice improvement to the side-to-side rocking motion. Smooth ride, not harsh like some have reported. Increased resistance to effects of wind-very nice gain in handling. 3. Alignment. Way too much + camber, too much + toe and not enough + caster as it was delivered by the Winnebago dealer. You've been given suggested specs already but, I kept adding just a tad bit more + toe than has been suggested and I felt it made the steering feel slightly "firmer" 4. Helwig Bars front and rear. Even though our 450 had them from the factory, the Helwig bars helped with the swaying. Small gain here, but noticeable. 5. Bilstein steering stablizer-did not like it. I thought it made the steering feel almost "notchy". 6. Added Roadmaster Reflex Stabilizer-nice improvement on steering feel and keeping the coach in my lane with wind issue. 7. Added Firestone air bags to rear (ours did not have any)-NICE! I ran about 50psi in them and really liked the anti-rocking effect and an added benefit that I did not expect, it took most of the pounding feeling I got from the heavy 450 rear springs on expansion joints. 8. Trac bar. No noticeable improvement at all. I had started to tow a Jeep TJ and we picked up a lot of "tail wagging the dog" feeling. What it ended up being was the short wheel base motorhome coupled with the short wheel base toad, the toad was making too quick of steering adjustments. Not to go into great detail here because I've done that already on other posts, after going through the entire suspension on the Jeep and not finding anything abnormal, I added dual aftermarket steering stabilizers on the Jeep and it solved the problem.
Result: Each step added more and more improvement to the ride and drive quality. In the end, a very manageable coach in moderate winds (and we do have winds in the mid-west!). I could still feel the bow wake of larger vehicles but, a huge improvement from the beginning.
Final word, I found no "silver bullet" to ride improvement. It was a progression on my part but in the end, I could at least drive the coach without exhausting myself with constant steering corrections like I experienced in the beginning.
Result: Each step added more and more improvement to the ride and drive quality. In the end, a very manageable coach in moderate winds (and we do have winds in the mid-west!). I could still feel the bow wake of larger vehicles but, a huge improvement from the beginning.
Final word, I found no "silver bullet" to ride improvement. It was a progression on my part but in the end, I could at least drive the coach without exhausting myself with constant steering corrections like I experienced in the beginning.
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