My ongoing handling/suspension problem

Well for a fact I didn't learn if the vehicle LEANS excessively or not when going around curves. Or if it bounces up and down hard when it goes over bumps. So I admit I do not have the talent ti pursue this further - adios -

Naio wrote:

As I have stated many times, I am female, have an online stalker who has made an attempt on my life in person,

And YOU need to realize that new members of the community don't know that......and some "old" ones might have forgotten or not made the connection with this thread.

The simple truth of the matter IS that you won't get good answers about your vehicle without disclosing WHAT VEHICLE IT IS.

If personal circumstances make it uncomfortable to do that, then you need to accept that the discussion probably will be mostly unproductive and pointless.......and that some people will ALWAYS comment on the unusual lack of details.

And often the ONLY way to properly convey the problem to a "mechanic" is to have HIM drive it with YOU in the passenger's seat. If the company under consideration won't allow that to happen, find a different company.

NOW.....having said that, armed with the information given in this thread, which probably doesn't help you any, I went to a "truck shop" today and asked if they knew about the design flaw with the alignment on class C units on a Ford E450 chassis. To my surprise, they said YES. I hope they weren't lying just to get me in the door. We will see in a couple of weeks.

If this is the F250 4x4 is it still stock?
Raising the vehicle often changes all the alignment geometry and towing anything
also makes changes.

I had a F150 4x4 aligned once and the mechanic called me over to show me his
laser - computerized system. Everything was set perfect. He then turned the shop
fan on the front and all the numbers changed! He said that Fords were very touchy. He pointed out that as speed increases there would be changes as air made the front end lift.

He also said that a Ford truck was the ONLY vehicle he could show these changes on on his computerized system.

Naio wrote:
You folks on this page are behaving childishly. This surprises me from westend in particular, who I have admired.

As I have stated many times, I am female, have an online stalker who has made an attempt on my life in person, and am happy to relay my vehicle information privately to anyone who needs to know but I will not be posting it publicly.

And, of course, the topic of the thread is what the alignment and suspension shop said when they inspected the van and asking knowledgeable people here what type of shop I should try next.

As for the chassis and cargo capacity, you are free to disbelieve me.

You say that the responders to your questions about these vehicle problems are "behaving childishly"? I would say that I have answered your questions in a straight forward manner. That is probably true for all other answers or suggestions you've received.
Your questions haven't been directed toward what type of shop to use but centered on what the problem can be, along with past history of what's been already repaired or serviced.

I have no knowledge that you or anyone else has an "online stalker". How that relates to seeking vehicle repair advice I don't have a clue. I guess if you are fearful that someone will trace you through your posts on message boards, don't post. If an online situation resulted in an attempt on my life, I'd throw away my PC until that person was behind bars.

Without knowing what vehicle you have, this thread is going nowhere (as others have assessed). I'm out.

There are lots of reasons for an ill handling vehicle and if you want each member of the group to offer one, there are not enough members to enumerate all the possibilities. Not knowing the vehicle and the actual problem makes it a game of chance. If you have lots of money, try them all. Otherwise find a competent garage.

Update: I am now two for two for friends who drive it and say, 'I definitely know what you mean, and yes it feels unsafe, and yes it is hard to describe.'

So at least I know I am not a van hypochondriac or aphasic ;).

Thanks, Phil :). A kind word helps, and I have learned so much from your posts this past year.

Chris, what I am asking about here is interactions with shops -- what questions I should ask them, what type of shop I should seek out, what I should ask them to check, etc. I have not asked for long distance diagnosis -- that's silly.

My van is out now, being driven by another friend before it goes to the tire shop. So far I feel the best I can do is collect more people's perceptions of the problem and hope someone will hit in a word or phrase that works for the alignment shop guy.

You are missing the point. You cannot get meaningful advice without giving out more information. It's like throwing darts blindfolded. These vehicles are not generic, a Dodge van is quite different from a Ford, which is different from a Chevy, et. al. That is ignoring the huge differences between years.

Bottom line, a good shop is what you need, and they need to drive it and tell you if that's normal or not and if they can fix it.

Trying to diagnose like this is pointless.

Naio,

Your profile - if it's current - mentions a "DIY minivan conversion":

If you used the term "minivan" as I interpret it, your conversion is NOT built on a 2500 or 3500 or 4500 standard Chevy delivery van chassis .... or a E250 or E350 or E450 standard Ford delivery van chassis .... or a B250 or B350 standard Dodge delivery van chassis.

If the above is the situation regarding your DIY rig, then help on this Class C forum is going to be spotty at best.

There is much knowledge here regarding steering problems when going down the road with the various standard size van chassis I mentioned above. I've read nothing in these forums about handling issues regarding a minivan based RV.

By the way, I admire your courage, determination, sense of adventure, etc. as a lone lady out there in the RV world! Keep on posting here. :)

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Put a BIG sway bar on the rear and it'll stop the lean around curves. The Dodge K cars of my toad's genre were pigs in the handling dept. If the vehicle wanders it's the steering. If it bobs and sags it's the springs. But if it wallows around curves you can bet your butt a REAR sway bar is the answer to your prayers.

Thank you, Mex.

I do think that a large part of the problem I am having is that I do not have the right vocabulary to tell shops what I am experiencing. I don't know whether 'wanders' or 'wallows' is the correct word.

(I have the same problem at the human-mechanic. What the heck is the difference between a stabbing pain and a shooting one? Maybe I am just bad at words.)