Frustrated with the way our 2003 30 ft. Class C; Ford E-450 chassis drives(65000 miles). We flat tow a Ford Focus. With little wind on a smooth highway I would rate it a C for the steering, handling feel. My Ford Focus and a 2007 Chevy half-ton I had would rate an A or B in comparison. On narrow winding roads or with a wind it would be an F. Dangerous and tiring. The MH wanders, requires constant steering input and feels like there's lots of play(moving the steering wheel with no response). I've tried having some sort of front shock devise added, and found the front wheels were poorly balanced and over inflated by 15 lbs. Seemed better at 1st but not really. Been advised it might be the long overhang behind rear axle. Don't know where to go for a solution. If the steering gear needs replaced, how much$$ ? I'm thinking nothing will do it until the slack/play is removed??Also wondering how close to "normal" mine is? Must be thousands of these on the road. HELP.

Look up topics regarding front axle alignment then shock absorbers. I had both done to my 2009 Cambria and it steers and tracks fine. I installed Koni's. Basic shocks that come with the coach stink. Mine also has heavy duty stabilizers front and rear. The shock absorber upgrade will eliminate that banging, teeth chattering slamming that occurs on RR tracks and other road imperfections. You know the sound, you ask yourself are these tires or wooden wagon wheels? I have towed my JK Wrangler and I did not feel it at all.

When I read your description it at first sounds like a trailer with too much tail weight. But you are flat towing so that shouldn't be a problem. However if your coach is extremely tail heavy it might be exaggerated when trying to pull. Have you noticed if the handling feel changes depending on if you are accelerating or coasting? How about the tow bar, is it fairly level, nose up or nose down? How does the MH handle when not towing? would you put handling back up to an A or a B? I would try an alignment shop as there might be a worn part or parts that is contributing to the wandering feel.

It seems that the E350/450 chassis comes from the factory with an alignment that is NOT good for a motorhome application.AND....in my experience, almost NO RV dealerships are equipped to handle the alignment, even though some will claim that they are.So....before you spend a lot of money on throwing parts at it, find a truck service shop that can do a proper alignment. It did WONDERS for the stability on my C.NOTE: Even though it had only ~30K miles on it, the first place I went tried to tell me that it needed close to $1000 in new parts in the front end before they could do an alignment. The second and third places I went said no such thing. Be careful of scams.

That era Class C tended to be very front-light, because that was just before the motorhome makers started using the 220"+ wheelbases common now on 30' coaches. I recommend getting axle weights (loaded, ready for travel) before doing anything else. Ford requires a minimum of 32% of the coach's weight to be on the front axle, but 35% is even better.

I need to know about power steering affect with the rack or pinion. if anyone hv knowledge please with me your idea. thanks in advance.

Handling/steering. | Good Sam Community

Harvard
Explorer
Aug 08, 2019
Yes, I think a change in caster is a logical explanation.
camperdave
Explorer
Aug 08, 2019
Harvard wrote:

Here is my theory about 4.5 Degrees:

"If the final RV build is nose level then the runtime caster will be about +4.5 degrees. These units are probably indifferent."

Sounds about right. I sit about 1" high in back (over 30') and have ~32% of my weight on the front axle with plenty of extra capacity on both axles.

Related note, I also own a 1998 E350 van. It used to be my tow vehicle in our TT days. I've long noticed that it handles way better with a load. Empty it sits stink bug and is a bit squirrely. Load up a few motorcycles and/or put the trailer on the back and it squats down a few inches and tracks way better on the freeway. Bet it's the caster change, right?
Harvard
Explorer
Aug 07, 2019
camperdave wrote:
I'm not the OP, but just tossing in my followup post. I got an alignment today and asked about the caster. Here are my before/after numbers, as you can see I was ok on caster already. Just a little tweak to the tow in, and they swapped the front tires left-right. The pull is gone, so I'm happy.

The tech did say he'd be happy to add in more caster if I wanted, but it would require a different bushing. So at least it seems like he knew what he was doing? Since I'm already almost at 5 degrees and it drives fine, I'm not messing.

Here is my theory about 4.5 Degrees:

"If the final RV build is nose level then the runtime caster will be about +4.5 degrees. These units are probably indifferent."
camperdave
Explorer
Aug 07, 2019
I'm not the OP, but just tossing in my followup post. I got an alignment today and asked about the caster. Here are my before/after numbers, as you can see I was ok on caster already. Just a little tweak to the tow in, and they swapped the front tires left-right. The pull is gone, so I'm happy.

The tech did say he'd be happy to add in more caster if I wanted, but it would require a different bushing. So at least it seems like he knew what he was doing? Since I'm already almost at 5 degrees and it drives fine, I'm not messing.
camperdave
Explorer
Aug 05, 2019
I'm heading in on Wednesday for an alignment on my 2004 E450 chassis (29 foot with no slides). I don't currently have any handling complaints, but it pulls to the right so I'm going to have it checked out before a big trip next week.

I'm not optimistic about getting them to set it to 5 degrees caster, but will ask. I had a difficult time finding someone local that would even do an alignment on a motorhome, no one seems to want to touch it. The shop doing the work does fleet maintenance for larger trucks, I'm hopeful they will know what they are doing. We'll see...
dennyida
Explorer
Aug 05, 2019
Hi Jayco, I just wanted to see how you got along with your class c drop us a line and let us know.
Sam_Spade
Explorer
Aug 03, 2019
CharlesinGA wrote:
The +5° caster settings will require a special aftermarket eccentric bushing. These are readily available from a number of companies. I think Moog carries them, not sure who else.

Yes. Forgot about that.

Any competent shop that is familiar with the problem should be able to get the part.

AND....this makes about 5 owners with previous experience suggesting that a "proper" alignment is the first thing to do.
If you add in the recommendations from previous threads, it might be close to 100 !!

I hope the person making the original post pays attention to this advice.
CharlesinGA
Explorer
Aug 03, 2019
The +5° caster settings will require a special aftermarket eccentric bushing. These are readily available from a number of companies. I think Moog carries them, not sure who else.

Charles
Road_Dog
Explorer
Aug 03, 2019
Ditto on the caster settings! At least 5 degrees positive when you get a front end alignment. The next thing you should do is get a track bar for the rear end also known as a Panhard bar. Do these first before you spend a bunch of money. I learned the hard way after owning 4 class C coaches. You can add shocks and other stuff later,but try this first. You will be amazed. Good luck!
Cruisineasy
Explorer
Aug 02, 2019
You also might try changing the air pressure in the tires.
I have a 31' Jayco Greyhawk and pull a 2008 Ford Focus on a dolly. Did the same thing. I checked the tag on the drivers door. Recommended 80psi on the 4 rear tires and 75psi on the front. Made a world of difference and cost nothing..