Hi ... looking for opinions from experienced Class C users on this one. My old Class C had a tag axle and did not sway a bit. Traded it for a 2006 32 ft Class A, which wandered all over the place until I put a hefty sway bar on the rear end.I'm looking again at Class C's since they fit my needs for camping with grandchildren better, but I'm concerned about that long rear end sticking out past the axle, and worried that the tail is gonna wag the dog badly. On a new 31 foot Minnie Winnie, will I get thrown around by wind, passing trucks, etc?Tom

If the front end is out of alignment and you don't have hefty Anti-sway bars, the motorhome will wander. Our 32' Jayco Greyhawk handles great and has since the day we bought it new and drove it 800 miles home a few weeks shy of 6 years ago. It came with aftermarket Anti-sway bars (I want to say Hellwig, but I'd have to confirm that) and Hellwig helper springs on the leaf spring pack.The manufacturer should do an alignment after they build the house on the chassis. If they don't, with the added weight, the alignment can be off. Make sure when you test drive, the dealer lets you take it on the highway. I would expect Winnebago to align their Motorhomes after they build the house.-Michael

twmonroe wrote:Hi ... looking for opinions from experienced Class C users on this one. My old Class C had a tag axle and did not sway a bit. Traded it for a 2006 32 ft Class A, which wandered all over the place until I put a hefty sway bar on the rear end.I'm looking again at Class C's since they fit my needs for camping with grandchildren better, but I'm concerned about that long rear end sticking out past the axle, and worried that the tail is gonna wag the dog badly. On a new 31 foot Minnie Winnie, will I get thrown around by wind, passing trucks, etc?TomTest drive it thoroughly (as in, in the wind, on the interstate, around town in heavy traffic and if the dealer balks, run - do not walk to the nearest exit as they obviously are hiding a defective unit). If it does not drive well don't buy it! :SThe nonsense of folks buying new motorhomes and then having to spend thousands of dollars to make them "drivable" is absurd! Keep in mind that on any test drive the coach will be far lighter than it would be in a real world situation. Any coach you test drive should have the proper tire pressures and a decent alignment before you set foot in it. While these issues can be addressed why would you buy from any dealer who cannot properly set up a safe functional coach??? :h A new motorhome should need NOTHING, right off of the dealers lot to make it drive and handle well (safely). If yours doesn't you bought the wrong one. :RAs always.... opinions and YMMV.:C

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.

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.

IMHO. JMHO.All the aftermarket items are just a patch.Correct tiresProper inflationShocks and springsAlways 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. :RLeaf 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!

tall wag/sway bar | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Apr 10, 2015
twmonroe wrote:
Hi ... looking for opinions from experienced Class C users on this one. My old Class C had a tag axle and did not sway a bit. Traded it for a 2006 32 ft Class A, which wandered all over the place until I put a hefty sway bar on the rear end.

I'm looking again at Class C's since they fit my needs for camping with grandchildren better, but I'm concerned about that long rear end sticking out past the axle, and worried that the tail is gonna wag the dog badly.

On a new 31 foot Minnie Winnie, will I get thrown around by wind, passing trucks, etc?

Tom

Test drive it thoroughly (as in, in the wind, on the interstate, around town in heavy traffic and if the dealer balks, run - do not walk to the nearest exit as they obviously are hiding a defective unit). If it does not drive well don't buy it! :S

The nonsense of folks buying new motorhomes and then having to spend thousands of dollars to make them "drivable" is absurd! Keep in mind that on any test drive the coach will be far lighter than it would be in a real world situation. Any coach you test drive should have the proper tire pressures and a decent alignment before you set foot in it. While these issues can be addressed why would you buy from any dealer who cannot properly set up a safe functional coach??? :h

A new motorhome should need NOTHING, right off of the dealers lot to make it drive and handle well (safely). If yours doesn't you bought the wrong one. :R

As always.... opinions and YMMV.

:C
mgirardo
Explorer
Apr 10, 2015
If the front end is out of alignment and you don't have hefty Anti-sway bars, the motorhome will wander. Our 32' Jayco Greyhawk handles great and has since the day we bought it new and drove it 800 miles home a few weeks shy of 6 years ago. It came with aftermarket Anti-sway bars (I want to say Hellwig, but I'd have to confirm that) and Hellwig helper springs on the leaf spring pack.

The manufacturer should do an alignment after they build the house on the chassis. If they don't, with the added weight, the alignment can be off. Make sure when you test drive, the dealer lets you take it on the highway.

I would expect Winnebago to align their Motorhomes after they build the house.

-Michael

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tall wag/sway bar

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