Forum Discussion

JESTER7406's avatar
JESTER7406
Explorer
May 27, 2013

Coach wanders and sways

On a trip Down i-5 we are noticing the mh wanders significantly. Currently towing the 4 runner using a ready brute elite. I noticed a similar sway last trip but no too bad because i was in the mountians and not going over 50. The only thing recently changed was raising the hitch hieght 2" to align withtowing the wrangler. Have about 3-7mph quartering wind.

Wife says its better with less air in arbags. I thought it was worse.

Class c 31 foot

Any tips or help would be awesome.

9 Replies

  • Bigdog's avatar
    Bigdog
    Explorer
    Jun 15, 2013
    I was having the same problem with the tail wagging and so I have bought new Konis for the front end of my Class A as the fronts had 107 K on them. The other problem I had thought about was the same as the OP and that was that the tail was wagging the dog as the Trailblazer I was pulling had been in a front end wreck before I bought it and the RV dealer service man where I go said that the front end of it may be a bit loose and that would let the front end wander a bit.
    Well,before I could get that taken care of,I kinda bought me a '11 Jeep Liberty to take it's place. Hopefully,that takes care of the wander problem. We'll see on the next trip what it feels like.
    And yes,some of the ruts you'll find on any part of I-5 will tend to throw your toad around.
  • Harvard's avatar
    Harvard
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2013
    OP might benefit from having more front end caster. Search the Class C forum for "caster" or Google "Ford E450 Caster" for more info.
  • gotsmart's avatar
    gotsmart
    Explorer
    Jun 08, 2013
    lostdog wrote:
    gotsmart wrote:
    My smart car is a narrow width, short wheelbase car. On the logging truck rutted right lane of I-5 in WA the car tracks poorly when I'm driving it. I end up driving on the high spots of the lane (far right or far left). If I let the car drift into a rut I have to grab the steering wheel tightly because the rut will slingshot the car. My solution was to lash down the steering wheel when flat towing. This keeps the car from drifting in the ruts when towing it. Normally it is not recommended, but in my case forcing the car to track straight makes it tow much better.
    How does your toad turn corners without the front tires skidding? The front wheels need to "caster".

    There is a small amount of scuffing evident on the front tires from left/right turns, but it's nominal. Since 97% of the flat towing is highway driving, I'm OK with the scuffing marks. Tread wear is unaffected, as far as I can tell. The rubber bungee in the photo that I posted allows the steering wheel about +/- 5 inches of play. The front tires aren't locked in place. They just return to center a lot faster than a free-wheeling toad.

    BTW, I only use one bungee cord on the steering wheel. Specifically a rubber bungee, lashing the bottom of the steering wheel to the driver seat frame. The rubber bungee is non-slip - meaning it pulls back against the wheel when the front tires want to turn.
  • down_home's avatar
    down_home
    Explorer II
    Jun 08, 2013
    Don't wan to hijack the tread. Our Mh does a lot better when not towing. We tow a Edge with a Road Master Sterling setup and bug shield.
    It wanders quite a bit hooked up. the hitch up is level.
    Waiting to see what all might affect op's and possibly our towing wander.
  • lostdog's avatar
    lostdog
    Explorer
    Jun 07, 2013
    gotsmart wrote:
    My smart car is a narrow width, short wheelbase car. On the logging truck rutted right lane of I-5 in WA the car tracks poorly when I'm driving it. I end up driving on the high spots of the lane (far right or far left). If I let the car drift into a rut I have to grab the steering wheel tightly because the rut will slingshot the car. My solution was to lash down the steering wheel when flat towing. This keeps the car from drifting in the ruts when towing it. Normally it is not recommended, but in my case forcing the car to track straight makes it tow much better.

    How does your toad turn corners without the front tires skidding? The front wheels need to "caster".

  • gotsmart's avatar
    gotsmart
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    My smart car is a narrow width, short wheelbase car. On the logging truck rutted right lane of I-5 in WA the car tracks poorly when I'm driving it. I end up driving on the high spots of the lane (far right or far left). If I let the car drift into a rut I have to grab the steering wheel tightly because the rut will slingshot the car. My solution was to lash down the steering wheel when flat towing. This keeps the car from drifting in the ruts when towing it. Normally it is not recommended, but in my case forcing the car to track straight makes it tow much better.

  • JESTER7406's avatar
    JESTER7406
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    So on e we got south of stockton/ tracy things got waay better. I think it was lots of things happening.
    1. Road surface w seam. The toad was bouncing back and forth over the high spot. I went back and looked out the back window for awhile.
    2. Quartering / crosswind
    3. Too stiff rear suspension? Still undecided on this but it sure pulls better w 10 psi in the airbags then 100 psi. At 100 the rear bumper is raised almost 3/4". Surely over a 31' coach this is a negligible effect on steering alignmnet
  • JESTER7406's avatar
    JESTER7406
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    No "new" movement. I flipped the hitch bar over and boxed in the ends of the frame rails.
  • Beverley_Ken's avatar
    Beverley_Ken
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    When you raised the hitch, did you add a riser/drop extension?
    A few years ago, I added the drop receiver and could not drive the MH due to the sway. The problem was the play where the tow bar and then the extension went into the MH receiver. There was a bit of play, side to side where the tow bar went into the MH receiver, but at the end of the towbar this amounted to about an inch of movement at the end of the towbar. When the extension was added, the side to side play multiplied to 3 to 4 inches.
    The change to the CVR eliminated the need for the drop and improved the handling, but the cure was eliminating the 'side to side play' altogether.
    Accomplished by using the hitch quiet or similar item
    Hitch Quiet


    Beverley and Ken

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