Better handling

[wjschill]

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but we are new to the class A experience, so here goes.

We just bought a Tiffin 36LA, and although it rides pretty good, I'm always interested in better safety and performance.

Looking at adding the Safe T Plus (stabilizer) and changing the sway bars (front and rear) to the CHF.

For those that have tried it, how do you like it?

Thanks,

Skip

[AllegroD]

There are a few threads on this @ Tiffin RV Network

[Lancslad]

Find a good truck shop to do an alignment. Then do the CHF. Then if you need to open your wallet. I did the first 2 and can drive with 1 hand!!

[Alex_and_Tee]

While driving cross country and also being a first timer I was able to anticipate the “push” from passing big rigs and steer slightly into it as the front of their vehicle approached mine. I had more issues with the surprise gusts of crosswinds that were occasionally encountered. That said, I agonized when we first purchased whether or not to add a Safety Plus or not and decided to see how it handled first before dropping $800-$1000. As of now I’m happy I kept the money in my pocket.

[way2roll]

MountainAir05 wrote:
Might want to read this on the Chf. Have run across some that did this and the cost for repair was not nice. If you are having an issue then fix it the right way and enjoy it far longer and a nicer ride. front end alignment and correct air pressure will make a big difference. You might add that tires can and do cause a lot of handing issues.


CHF fix

Not what I would consider a reliable article considering it's from a company selling their own trac bars. LOTS of people have done the CHF with amazing results and zero issues. I did it on both my previous MH's and it almost totally eliminated truck push and wander. You also want to start with proper PSI which requires loading your rig for travel and setting PSI to the tire manufacturer's chart. OP - you said you are new to the Class A world, so you may want to have some realistic expectations on how Class A's - especially gassers - ride and handle. Not to say there aren't things you can do to improve ride, but I would start with free things before I'd throw a bunch of money at it. Alignment and proper psi should be done regardless of your issues.

[donkeydew]

try relaxing your grip on the wheel and look a little farther ahead and it may solve your problem. it is quite common for first time owners to over react just relaxing and not fighting it helps a lot.

[RLS7201]

Before you start thrashing around spend $$, check the toe-in. It should be set about 5/32".(Strong 1/8"). Then do the cheap handling fix. Note the angle of the front sway bar with the CHF. Longer links need to be added. While in the rear, check the sway bar bushings. A noted F53 failing. Skuterdude on eBay has some of the best replacements.

Richard

[haste_maker]

I have 2007 Tiffin 32BA on a FORD chassis & I have 39,000 miles on it using the stock suspension & have no problems with handling.

[wa8yxm]

What I did with my Workhorse was both a stabilizer (Today I'd likely go with the Safe-T-Steer with the optional remote adjuster. back then only Blue Ox had a remote adjuster.

And a Trac Bar
What's a Trac Bar (Also known as pan-hard bar)

As you know the springs allow the axle to move up/down relative to the body (or the other way around) But LEAF springs (Common on Motor homes) also allow some side to side movement.. So if the front moves say to the right as the rear to the left... You think you are headed into the ditch and thus adjust.. then they swap and you think you are headed into the oncoming lane (2-lane) or the other lane (4-or more lane) and you adjust, then they swap and you .. Well that's where we started .. So you are actually weaving down the road. but not the way you think.

The Trac Bar LOCKS the body, side to side, over the axle so this simply does NOT happen... two of them (Front and rear) stop "Wag" 100 Percent one is often enough (Was for me)

how much difference
Trip Detroit to Las Vegas in 2006 (jan) was a relief to park RV and drive towed
2nd trip. Nov same year.. That towed (Same towed) Was much harder to drive when I got there. Way way harder (Same towed exactly I'd gotten used to the RV)

[Sandia_Man]

We have the W24 workhorse chassis and it rides quite well overall, only thing we added was a steering stabilizer for sudden gusts of wind that we experience often in our neck of the woods. With all the mountains, valleys, canyons, and arroyos we must traverse to get anywhere, on windy days gusts are intensified as they are funneled across the roadways making for sudden and dramatic shifts of balance to our coach while going down the interstate.

The steering stabilizer helps to give me more time to react to such violent gusts, plus they are known to help with front tire blowouts by assisting to control your rig as it pulls to the side where blowout occurred. Other than those features based on safety, I have had the steering stabilizer both installed and not installed (takes 5 minutes to remove) and found that I did not experience any significant difference in overall drivability, at least on our rig.

[Dutch_12078]

The link above is from a vendor pushing their own expensive product. The CHF can and does work well, but longer or adjustable links may be needed in some cases to make sure there's enough clearance. The links should have no pre-load on them when installed with the RV level. It's the working arm length of the sway bar that determines the handling change, not the angle of the arms.

[Alex_and_Tee]

We have a brand new 2022 36 LA with liquid springs on the rear. Having never driven a gasser without liquid springs I have nothing to compare it to but, we just drove cross country from FL to AZ and it handled very well. No mods were done to the front end.

On good roads it drives like a dream. On bad roads like I-10, prepare to have your brains rattled a bit. This would be the only reason a DP would be better in terms of ride quality. Otherwise, still couldn’t justify the $70K extra cost.

[wildtoad]

Had the CHF front and rear done 5 years ago and all is good with the links, how much it helps would be a good question.

I’m always a bit leery of ads such as the one in the above link when they use terms such as “More often than not” cause ‘X’ to happen. How often have the links broken when compared to the number of CHF fixes performed? They don’t know (no way for them to know) and have no basis for the assertion.

[dodge_guy]

The CHR works great, but I would replace the front sway bar links with longer ones. When switching the holes they become shorter and can limit suspension travel. Did it on my buddys and so far so good with the stick links.

We also installed a Safe T Plus which he also said was an improvement. I believe Safe T Plus now makes one with a solenoid so you can reset the center position (for wind or road conditions). I have the True Center which does the same thing and I love it.

[MountainAir05]

Might want to read this on the Chf. Have run across some that did this and the cost for repair was not nice. If you are having an issue then fix it the right way and enjoy it far longer and a nicer ride. front end alignment and correct air pressure will make a big difference. You might add that tires can and do cause a lot of handing issues.


CHF fix