Our 15 year old Itasca 30 footer gradually became a real chore and dangerous to drive down the road straight. First tried alignment, balance, new tires and change in tire pressure. No improvement. Finally a front end/alignment shop replaced the obviously worn bushings and recommended a "suspension upgrade" and we did replacement all sway bars and added a rear track bar. I'm not sure if this was regarded as a total or just a partial upgrade but the claims were pretty lofty. Now, after 1000 miles I'm somewhat disappointed and still find it hard on my old shoulders to steer all of the time. I think it is better and probably needed done but I don't think it can be even better until the play is taken out of the wheel and no one has addressed that. Have already spent around 5K and really don't want to spend another $1000 or more. Comments?

Vehicles are complicated. There are a lot of parts that wear out over time. It is that one last bushing or control arm that needs to be replaced that makes all of the difference. Do not give up. YOu are almost there.

how are the ball joints? tie rod ends?Length to wheel base ratio is?

Are you saying it used to drive better and has now gotten worse? If so, I would look at items that have worn out, instead of adding new parts such as sway bars and track bars. What is the condition of the shocks and other suspension components as Don mentioned?

Jayco-noslide wrote:after 1000 miles I'm somewhat disappointed and still find it hard on my old shoulders to steer all of the time. I think it is better and probably needed done but I don't think it can be even better until the play is taken out of the wheel and no one has addressed that. Have already spent around 5K and really don't want to spend another $1000 or more. Comments?If the steering wheel has too much "play", the steering gears/box might be worth a look. My old Roadtrek (on the 2002 Chevy 3500 Express van) steering wheel had a lot of play in it, but I just got used to it. The other reason I didn't bother fixing it was the parts were obsolete. I could have gotten an after market steering box replacement, but I didn't think it was worth the effort for a bit of extra steering wheel play. I had the wheel bearings replaced, and put new tires on it, and eventually Bilstein shocks, all of which helped the tracking, but I never bothered to get the steering parts replaced. Maybe you could/should get yours checked?

Definitely check the tie rod ends and ball joints; my first guess would be the tie rod ends. If you have a steering damper (I think that may just be on the E450 from the factory), see if it is worn also--or if it looks worn or leaky, just replace it as they are not all that expensive or hard to replace. When I replaced mine I discovered that it seemed to have an air bubble in it, presumably from having some of the fluid leak out over time, which caused it to be elastic for small movements rather than damping them out...and replacing it had a noticeable positive impact on the steering feel.

Suspension upgrade disappointment. | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

MDKMDK
Explorer
Oct 04, 2019
Jayco-noslide wrote:
after 1000 miles I'm somewhat disappointed and still find it hard on my old shoulders to steer all of the time. I think it is better and probably needed done but I don't think it can be even better until the play is taken out of the wheel and no one has addressed that. Have already spent around 5K and really don't want to spend another $1000 or more. Comments?

If the steering wheel has too much "play", the steering gears/box might be worth a look. My old Roadtrek (on the 2002 Chevy 3500 Express van) steering wheel had a lot of play in it, but I just got used to it. The other reason I didn't bother fixing it was the parts were obsolete. I could have gotten an after market steering box replacement, but I didn't think it was worth the effort for a bit of extra steering wheel play. I had the wheel bearings replaced, and put new tires on it, and eventually Bilstein shocks, all of which helped the tracking, but I never bothered to get the steering parts replaced.
Maybe you could/should get yours checked?
egrove
Explorer
Oct 04, 2019
Are you saying it used to drive better and has now gotten worse? If so, I would look at items that have worn out, instead of adding new parts such as sway bars and track bars. What is the condition of the shocks and other suspension components as Don mentioned?
pianotuna
Nomad III
Oct 04, 2019
how are the ball joints? tie rod ends?

Length to wheel base ratio is?
ppine
Explorer III
Oct 04, 2019
Vehicles are complicated. There are a lot of parts that wear out over time. It is that one last bushing or control arm that needs to be replaced that makes all of the difference. Do not give up. YOu are almost there.

Forum Discussion

Suspension upgrade disappointment.

24 Replies

About Motorhome Group

Related Content

New suspension upgrades

F53 suspension upgrades

Suspension Upgrades

Suspension upgrade

Suspension upgrade??