Class C

[handlinranch]

We just bought a new Fleetwood Jamboree 30U. If anyone else has these, what do you do for power and tracking. The tracking on the highway is poor and the power is awful towing a jeep. Any suggestions? Thanks

[rockhillmanor]

A little ot but did you go to Maine East HS?

[ron_dittmer]

Bordercollie wrote:
Claims of Class C's handling like SUV's are usually exaggerated.

Uh....that would be me.

There is no way our rig handles the same as an SUV, but after the suspension upgrades, our rig went from handling like a drunken sailor to "more like" an SUV.

Keep in-mind that our rig is lower profiled (9'-10" to the tippy-top of the a/c unit) and only 23'-8" long.

[Bordercollie]

As you describe it, your rig has normal power and handling for a stock class C 30 footer. Put 65 psi in fronts and 75 psi in rear tires. Sounds like this is the first class C you have driven. It is not surprising that you are going 40-45mph pulling a toad up a grade. Use the lower gears for climbing and to save brakes from overheating on downgrades and accept slower speeds for driving in hilly country. Class C's are heavy and top heavy and have slab sides. Big rigs passing on the left will suck your rig to the left, you'll develop reflexes to control that. Take frequent rest breaks, get feet on solid ground for 10 minutes. Try to enjoy the scenery at 55 to 60mph instead of trying to keep up with car and truck traffic, and do 500 miles per day. Don't let yokels push you to take curves too fast for safety. Make lane changes with great care to avoid side swiping cars and motorcycles in your blind spots. Interstates often have cupped concrete sections which give a rough ride. Secondary blacktop roads are often smoother and scenery is better.

After you get familiar with suspension and steering upgrades, and talk to other class C owners about their efficacy, decide on what you need. Claims of Class C's handling like SUV's are usually exaggerated.

[Jayco-noslide]

Not sure but doesn't sound right. We have a 2003 Itasca 30 footer with 2 slides with the Ford V-10 and tow a 2700 lb. Chevy Sonic. It sure doesn't drive and track like a car and I need both hands on the wheel all the time. But then it is really a big truck with a top heavy box. It has air bags on the suspension but I don't know if that helps or not. I've been told that the feel is pretty typical for a Class C. It pulls the little Chevy pretty well but I certainly know it's there. How much does your Jeep weigh? Probably hundreds of pounds more than my Sonic? When I had a failing spark coil replaced that helped a lot with power.

[Desert_Captain]

If you encounter a dealer who will not let you thoroughly test drive the motorhome... {and this is the first time I ever heard of such a policy. :h}
"Run Forrest Run!"

I can see them objecting to hooking up a Toad, lots of gear that needs to be in place. If the test drive {that did not happen}, had gone fine you would have no problems towing your Jeep. Perhaps a little tweaking to get your TOAD set up dialed in but everyone goes through that.

Not surprised the dealer is "willing" to talk about trading up. :S

[ron_dittmer]

handlinranch,

The topic of "Handling Issues" is extremely popular. You are not alone. There are things that can be done to improve the handling by replacing some inferior Ford suspension components with heavy duty versions.
- front & rear stabilizer bars
- shock aborbers
- rear trac bar (this is added item, not replacing an inferior one)
- front steering stabilizer
- have a wheel alignment done with the rig as loaded on a trip with a full tank of gasoline, propane, fresh water, empty waste tanks, gear, clothing, food&drink, tow bar, and weight to represent the people who are typically in the rig in specific locations while in-motion. What you carry and where it is, affects the alignment. Our rig was so out of wack that the truck suspension shop doing the front wheel alignment had to use offset bushings to get it corrected.

[handlinranch]

NO....We were not allowed to test drive the Jamboree. We drove a friend's Forrest river 31', and the best we could tell, it drove fine. This test drive took place in Odessa, Texas in flat country. Our new Jamboree drives fine (in flat country), but the problems come when in hilly areas. Bought the unit @ Ancira RV in Boerne, Tx where it was displayed on the leveling jacks. When we drove the 300 miles back to the dealership (in our Jeep) to pick it up, it was on jack stands in their RV park. We spent the night there and in the morning hooked up the jeep and headed home on IH10. On flat country, it tows OK once you're up to speed. BUT....the hills west of there, trying to running 60 on Interstate, was where the troubles stated. On several long grades, the Jamboree was down to 40 mph and the engine RPM was near 5,000 in 2nd gear. I thought the engine was going to blow.
My mistake for taking the advise and assurances that the unit, although not as powerful as our old Class A, would handle our jeep.....No Problem. If we had been allowed to drive the unit, you really think they would allow us to drive it 100 miles and strap our jeep on the back ?? In talking with other salesmen on the Seneca.....NO, we can't test drive a new unit, and no way can we tie our Jeep on the back.
Ancira is willing to trade up to something else, but they don't handle Super C's ???? Only diesels are Class A's and we've been there-done that. I'm not anxious to buy a Super C due to their size. They all seem to be 37-40 feet long. That's why we sold our Class A. We wanted to downsize, but still have decent power and having poor luck finding something. It seems you can choose between a small Mercedes 188 HP van that won't tow our Jeep or a 38 foot Super C.

[Desert_Captain]

handlinranch wrote:
We just bought a new Fleetwood Jamboree 30U. If anyone else has these, what do you do for power and tracking. The tracking on the highway is poor and the power is awful towing a jeep. Any suggestions? Thanks

Why did you buy a Class C that has these issues? Did you not do a thorough test drive? The V-10 in your rig is more than capable of towing a Jeep so there must be drive/powertrain issues {that should/would}, have shown up on the test drive. If that is the case they should be 100 per cent covered by your warranty. Who did the towing set up for your Jeep? It sounds like whoever did it needs to take another crack at it.

The good news is that getting the coach weighed {properly loaded for the way you will use it}, and then providing the proper PSI to the tires should go a long way towards correcting the tracking issues. Worst case scenario it may need a proper alignment{which it should have come with}. Had you raised these issues following the test drive you would have had the option of negotiating the costs involved or walking away.

It is not too late to go back to the dealer and ask them to step up and solve your issues especially if that request comes from your attorney accompanied by a copy of your warranty with the appropriate passages highlighted. Keep us posted and good luck!

:C

[rockhillmanor]

Check your tow bar.

I started having problems with the steering and it turned out (after MANY stops at repair shops) it was the tow bar on the toad. It appeared locked in But with closer inspection you could see that it wasn't staying locked. When you went forward to do your check, it looked locked but get on the road and it was going in and out. Was a new tow bar also.

Causing my MH to have steering problems when that lock moved back and forth on the tow bar.

[Harvard]

It is not enough to check the front end alignment "to be correct". The acceptable range of caster is about +1.5 to +7.0 degrees. Ford usually ships the E Series at about +3.5 degrees which is OK for city driving but you want to have at least +5.5 degrees for highway driving.

E350/E450 Caster and Handling

From Popular Mechanics May 1973.

START QUOTE:"If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave, thus necessitating constant corrections in steering."END QUOTE.

[photobug]

How are you comparing the tracking and towing power? It's not going to handle like a sports car, nor pull like a turbo diesel pickup, but it shouldn't be "awful" Assuming it's working per manufacture spec, there are ways to improve both. What Shocks are installed? A lot of people are happy with the High performance aftermarket ones. They're expensive but usually worth it. Check sway bars, are they the small weak factory ones? There are aftermarket companies that sell big heavy ones. 30' is probably close to max weight as well. Airbags on rears may help. Make sure the front end alignment is correct as well as tire pressures.
For power, there's not a lot of options, since that's the biggest engine ford makes that will fit in there. Banks power systems makes intake and exhaust systems that claim to add power. Previous owner installed those on mine, so I can't tell the difference, although it does do pretty well through the mountains along the west coast. Towing for class c is traditionally an issue since the hitch is mounted so far behind the rear axle. Usually only about 3500lbs unless you do some modification to the set up.