tall wag/sway bar

x2
70 in the front tires.

I already dropped it to 70 and the ride was MUCH improved over the 75 that was on my placard.

I have a 220" wheelbase. My front axle off the factory line w/ full fluids was 3950.

Not sure how to answer. E450's from 2008 and newer have a front axle weight rating (GAWR-F) of 5,000-lb. From the same chart you're using, 75-psi covers that weight, actually 5,120-lb. Could you have a 32-ft C with 4,800-5,000 on the front? Possible, relating to wheelbase and cargo/liquid loading. Longer the wheelbase, the more front axle weight. Our 31-ft with 218" has 4,550 on the front axle. Which is why I installed a late model 5,000-lb capacity axle, but to this issue, front pressure is still in the 65-psi inflation range.
Go 70-psi if it helps you feel better till you can get it weighed. Just not 80! With that much pressure, your tires have a contact patch the size of a boot print and your coach will wander on the road, darting side to side.

Are there any 32' C's that actually NEEDED more than 65psi in the front? Still haven't gotten it weighed (I need to I know), but I'm wondering if dropping the fronts to 65 will give me problems until I weigh it. I can't fathom how I'd hit the 4670 pounds allowed for that weight after I'm all loaded and that big back end starts to unload the front axle even when I'm sitting in the driver's seat.

Jop, I'm glad you did that upgrade. I agree:

1. RV should "drive OK" as delivered
2. Components, like springs, can deteriorate
3. Aftermarket products will not correct underlying problems
4. Alignment, weight distribution and tire pressure are essential

Still, even one that drives OK will drive better with things like upgraded sway bars, better shocks, etc. As an example, ours drove poorly, all over the road, when we bought it. Prev owners full timed in it for 3-yrs, 30,000 miles. I don't know how they stood it. Steering linkage was worn out. With new linkage and an alignment it "drove OK." We could have stopped at "OK" but sway bars made it much better. Track bar made it better still.

j-d wrote:

Neglected to mention earlier: JAYCO, to their credit, has addressed some of the OEM chassis deficiencies with their J-Ride enhancement. It's a Hellwig rear sway bar and Hellwig helper springs, along with rubber frame-to-chassis insulators. Our older Jayco has those isolators, thought they all did, but came with nothing else.

Maybe that's why I got such a good bang for the buck on that Hellwig rear sway bar install. I already have Firestone airbags; so swapping the rear sway got me a quasi J-Ride setup.

Both A's and C's can benefit from a Rear Track Bar. Also known as Panhard Rod (or Bar) it's common in cars, even minivans/SUV's. Not common as OEM equipment on trucks. Maybe box trucks don't need it as badly as RV's. RV's have stretched wheelbases and rear chassis overhang extensions.

Class A's with one-piece FRONT axles can benefit from a Front Track BAR. C's, like some A's, have Independent Front Suspension/IFS. IFS has Axles or A-Frames, Wishbones, etc. attached to the Chassis, so a Track Bar link to the Chassis isn't needed.

Neglected to mention earlier: JAYCO, to their credit, has addressed some of the OEM chassis deficiencies with their J-Ride enhancement. It's a Hellwig rear sway bar and Hellwig helper springs, along with rubber frame-to-chassis insulators. Our older Jayco has those isolators, thought they all did, but came with nothing else.

I've mentioned Henderson's in Grants Pass OR. They didn't invent the Track Bar, but they discovered the need for one on RV's when they noticed rubbed spots on the sides of the rear leaf springs on a Class A. They offer rear track bars in their Super-Steer line, but not front. Eric Davis (Eric's RV) in Sequim WA process the Davis Tru-Trak bar, only for the fronts of Class A's.

IMHO. JMHO.

All the aftermarket items are just a patch.

Correct tires
Proper inflation
Shocks and springs

Always amazes me if you buy a used RV it's given to put new shocks on the front but nobody ever replaces the leaf springs. :R

Leaf springs are metal and metal fatigues.

I learned this with my first USED MH. Instead of wasting my money on after market add on's, that if they were needed they would have been standard on all MH's from the factory.

I went to a truck frame shop and they SHOWED be the fatigue factor. If you can't afford a whole new set of leafs have an additional one added to offset. These are nothing more than a truck and should be maintained as such regarding the chassie.

All the C's I have owed new and used have driven and handled just fine. The A'? Everyone I have driven were all over the place given any slight wind or passing semi's. I got tired just driving them down the interstate!

While mine is a class A, and I bought new, I thought I could use some better sway bars. Turns out the thing I really needed was called a track bar. It keeps the center of the rear axle from being pushed left or right when the leaf springs bend, especially when a truck passes, or a crosswind gust. What I was feeling was the back or front being pushed to, or away from the truck.

I liked the ride when it was right off the lot, but after thousands of miles, I had the desire to try to improve it, just to see if I could. So, the track bar made a big difference, and the sway bars are to combat a rolling motion. Shocks just slow down and dampen the rebound of the springs, and steering stabilizers just force the front axle back to the center somewhat. Many people have done an adjustment to their existing sway bars to make them much less bendable, they call it the cheap handling fix. They mostly like the results, but I'm not sure that it doesn't pass some extra stress to the house built on top in some situations by being stiffer.

For what it's worth, I found that pulling a trailer also made the 'truck passing' push/pull much less, as well, since I experienced that change before I put on the track bar.

Many of us have Class C's that drive/handle/track well, just as they were built/delivered. Others don't. Sometimes there's a pattern but in other cases one owner's coach drives well and another's identical one doesn't.

As a design, Ford E-Series has more of these issues than the GM/Chevy/Workhorse. General consensus is the OEM sway bars from Ford are marginal at best. Sometimes the completed coach gets an alignment and sometimes not. We've found here (thanks, Harvard) that Caster angle isn't adequate at factory settings. All this can be corrected.

What can't be corrected relates to your remark about overhang. If the wheelbase isn't adequate, then aftermarket fixes won't fully solve handling and weight distribution issues. Get the Winnie brochure. Divide Wheelbase by Length in Inches. If it's not in the upper-50's percentage range, good chance it'll have poor handling. In your test drive, go to a truck stop and weigh the coach on their CAT scale. Make sure rear axle has capacity beyond its loading, and the front is at least 1/3 of total weight, or 78% of its rating. If the wheelbase/weight distribution aren't right it's all but impossible to correct.
While you're at the truck stop, make sure the front tires aren't over-inflated (look up a load/pressure chart like Michelin RV has) and the rear tires are equally inflated. THEN take an interpret your test drive.