Road steering

Realistically I would imagine very few people are going to jump through all those hoops you mention. Maybe you will call me reckless and maybe even stupid but! I bought an 11 year old coach last year, my first. I had a hard time keeping it on the road, mostly drifting to the right. I almost went off the road a bunch of times when trucks past me and my steering wheel was going from side to side trying to stay in my lane. Someone on-line said all the things above about over steer and to just sit back and rest one hand on the wheel and it will be fine. 18 months later with none of that mechanical stuff done to the coach it rides and drives like a Limo (almost.) no more oscillating back and forth when a truck passes, I hardly notice. So some of us that are not as smart will continue to blunder along until we teach ourselves how to drive. We will come to Forums like this for advice that won't cost us 100s of dollars getting all that stuff checked until we follow all the good advice here and still have a problem. Then we will spends 100s cause you know were going to spend it on something!

Thanks to all who replied. The unit had 37,000 miles so i would think the front end was still in good shape and not worn out. I do not know whether I make the jump to motor home or not. I have been looking at Monico and Newmar.
Thanks again

Given enough time behind the wheel, most drivers will be able to keep their coach between the lines, no matter how bad the set up is. That is a given.
We have all driven a new vehicle and naturally it feels different. A self diagnosis that said "feels like I was over steering" may be factual, OR it may mean there is some slop in the steering box, idler arm, or tie rod ends. Which one it is depends on a complete inspection of an 11 year old vehicle with an unknown history.
ALL empty coaches will handle different than a fully loaded coach. The only right answer to this perspective buyer is to have a complete inspection of all aspects of the suspension, steering, alignment, loading, etc. Then, and only then, will he be able to get a true experience of how THIS vehicle handles.

Granted there could be a toe in/alignment problem BUT he pretty much summed it up when he said "It seamed that I was always over steering". At least I did not use "the nut behind the wheel" that I've been know to post.

I have helped several friends transition from pulling a trailer with a PU to a MH. I go for a ride with them and all three have started their turns too soon (sitting in front of the axle takes some getting used too) and they have fought the steering wheel... over steering it. By kneeling besides them and and stopping them from turning the steering wheel too much plus having them look 200-300' out front they get the hang of it fairly quickly.

Sometimes on a windy day I have to make myself stop fighting it as it's easy to start over steering it. I'm amazed how nice my MH handles... even when passing 18 wheelers on a windy day and it's a 04 with 70K miles. I've been tempted to have the DW that a video of how little movement it really takes to keep it straight... less than 1/4" and yes a tag axle coach helps too.

DSDP Don wrote:
"holstein13"....I know many of us looked at the OP's profile to see what he was currently driving. I know "Ivylog" looked best he noted that the OP was driving a GMC truck. When someone moves from a fifth wheel or TT to a motor home, the first thing they notice is that they have to steer constantly. There are hundreds of posts about this. The advice given by many was spot on. Either it's a suspension issue or the OP wasn't use to driving a motor home.

Your coach is 45' long, has a tag axle and Comfort Steer. It will steer like an SUV. It in no way steers like a 2003 Newmar, even if the 2003 had everything new under the front end.

You may be right. Perhaps he's just not used to it, but that should only be one part of our response to him. In virtually every post someone makes about handling and comfort, the usual first response is that this is a house on wheels, of course it won't handle comfortably. I think the original poster deserves more than this. BTW, my experience is not limited to my current coach. I know things can often be improved.

Yes, driving takes some getting used to, but there could also be (and in all likelihood should be) some mechanical issues on an '03 that can be fixed to make it a better ride. Let's give him all the knowledge we collectively have and not try and diagnose his problem on such little information -- especially if our advice comes off suggesting he's the problem.

"holstein13"....I know many of us looked at the OP's profile to see what he was currently driving. I know "Ivylog" looked because he noted that the OP was driving a GMC truck. When someone moves from a fifth wheel or TT to a motor home, the first thing they notice is that they have to steer constantly. There are hundreds of posts about this. The advice given by many was spot on. Either it's a suspension issue or the OP wasn't use to driving a motor home.

Your coach is 45' long, has a tag axle and Comfort Steer. It will steer like an SUV. It in no way steers like a 2003 Newmar, even if the 2003 had everything new under the front end.

The Spartan chassis on my '03 Dutch Star makes this thing drive very well. It has a long wheelbase with IFS, and the only Spartan complaint I have is that they used the Reyco Granning IFS unit which is great EXCEPT they thought was cute to NOT install grease fittings in the ball joints (bonehead idea IMO). I tried to install grease fittings, but the steel is TOO hard (couldn't drill into it).
It does have very good directional stability.

I'm a bit discouraged by the quality of the responses written above so I'll try my best to give you good information.

First, as someone has already mentioned, you are looking at an '03. Unless that coach was impeccably maintained, I'd be very surprised if you didn't have suspension issues that could be easily adjusted / fixed. How many miles were on the coach? How old were the tires?

All the posters telling you that you are wrong and don't know how to steer a coach are projecting and could be completely wrong. They may be right as well, but I wouldn't assume you are the problem. I would assume the coach is the problem.

Don't consider the road crown too much either. If the suspension is properly adjusted, it should take into account the road crown as well.

If you really like this coach and want to buy it, ask the seller if you can take it to a freightliner shop and have them look at it. There are dozens of adjustments and improvements they can make that will make a huge difference. Four corner alignment, fix loose connections, ride height, tire pressures, etc. All could be factors.

As far as Spartan vs. Freightliner is concerned, it really depends on the components on the chassis and not so much the frame manufacturer. Both bolt on other companies' suspensions to their frames. Spartan makes some very good chassis today in their higher end units. I can't speak for the lower end. I'd imagine that the upper end Freightliners are very good as well.

Finally, I can drive my coach with two fingers without wandering at all in most moderate wind conditions. Windy isn't much harder either. Unless you've driven a well adjusted coach, you just can't believe what's possible. Most folks have no frame of reference.

Hi, mine was pulling to the right and finally had the wheel alignment done. It still pulled a bit so I had the tire shop switch the two front tires around and now drives straight as an arrow.
Another thought is that most roads are crowned in the center and there is a slight lean to the right.

"bazdad"......Right after I read your post, I immediately went to your profile to see what you're driving. I see many of the veterans on here did the same thing.

It could be worn suspension, tire inflation, some wind push, etc. Next test drive, look farther down the road and steer focusing about 100'-200' ahead. You'll find that it will slow down your over steering. Try to set the chair arms so your elbows rest on and you lightly control the wheel.