Forum Discussion

Bea_PA's avatar
Bea_PA
Explorer
Jun 04, 2016

Update on E 350 handling problems.

Finally took the rig and had it weighed, set the front at 55 lb and the back at 60, could have gone a little lower but the rig wasn't packed for a trip so went for the higher air. It was still wandering so we had an alignment done. The caster was only 3 so he bumped it up and the front wheels were way off, apparently it wasn't aligned when they put the new tires on. Now it is driving great, not so much correction.

2 Replies

  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Bea, I remember your original post and I'm glad you've got your coach settled in. If you weighed it, consulted a load/pressure chart, and adjusted pressure accordingly (taking into account that Single and Dual have different charted numbers)... Then your tire pressures are correct.
    Harvard will likely look at this and be glad you had the Caster set higher.
    CG, the tire sidewalls, and the sticker Ford/GM or the coach builder put in the door jamb are no help till we know the load on the tires. If you have a 32 with a long wheelbase, chances are that your front axle is close to max rating (GAWR). It's hard to get much weight onto the front axle of shorter Class C's. If their tire pressure isn't set to the actual weight, but to sidewall or sticker numbers, the tires' contact patch with the road becomes so small that it isn't enough to properly steer or track. Steering is touchy and it wanders.
    I know from memory that with 225/75R16E like most of us have, 65 is full GAWR (4600) for E-Series up to 2007 and 80 for the full GAWR (5000) for 2008 and newer. Entirely possible to need all 80 in the rears of the larger Class C's. Some have so much rear overhang that they're at or over GAWR Rear. More pressure in rears than what's actually required by weight doesn't affect steering/tracking. And probably not ride, either. Already terrible back there...
  • I am not an expert on tire pressures, but those tire pressures seem kind of low to me. I keep my front tires at 72-73 psi, and rear at 80, loaded or not. It rides and tracks the best with those tire pressures. I have a 32 foot Class C, so I don't know if that makes a difference. What do the sidewalls say about pressures?