How is the Ford (Class A) chassis supposed to handle?

With my 75 F-350 supercab, I needed to install a shock absorber on the steering rod, and that made handling much better. Still it had a lot of turnig the steering wheel before 'compliance'. As my brother puts it. Say you can turn the steering wheel 1/4" before it responds, and can turn it back 1/4" before it turns the other direction, it is 1/4" before 'compliance'.

My 75 F-350 had about 1" of steering wheel movement before compliance. My 97 Bounder has about 1/4". It is the older 460" engine, and 16" rims. You will be looking at 98+ model years with 19.5" rims and V10 engine, much better as far as GVWR and compliance too. Better brakes as well.

Try to avoid the 98 - 2003 models. THey only have three threads into the aluminum heads. If the spark plugs are ever removed (at 100,000 miles usually) and put back in by the owner, the can overtighten them. It only takes something like 37 inch pounds of torque. By 2003, they started making the heads with more threads in them, and the problem went away.

Fred.

I'll just add an opinion for when you are test-driving motor homes. I believe that a well-engineered and properly-maintained motor home should essentially handle and steer like a comfortable car. Even my HR still does, and you should expect that when you move into a class A.

Miles

I had a brand new Class B built on a 2005 E350 chassis. The steering was like trying to play a video game, there was no road feel and no feedback of any kind. That RV was totally destroyed by an 18-wheeler and was replaced by a brand new one also built on a 2005 E350 chassis. It steered and drove normal - there was a good road feel and great feedback.

I spoke with an engineer who used to work for Ford and he told me the system was basically a drive by wire system and the lack of road feel or feedback could be easily fixed with a software update or tweak at a Ford dealership. Never bothered to check that out because the replacement unit drove perfectly fine.

JMHO. I have had a 5er, a TT, 2 MHs and 4 TCs 2 goose neck stock trailers. I have found towing a 5er I never felt the cross winds or rocking and rolling that I felt in MHs, TTs, and TCs. Does that mean that my 5er never moved around like the others? NO! It just means I never felt the movement when in my PU towing it. I Still had to tie down my dining chairs and my recliners. I was just under a false illusion that my 5er wasn't moving around. I'm not saying one is better or worse than the other. I am saying any high profile object moves around in cross winds. Since I have driven Crown and MCI buses all I wanted is for my MH, on a Ford chassis to feel as close as possible to a bus. I realize that my Ford chassis MH will never drive that way but I did several mods to get the best feel possible. A rear trak bar, rear anti sway bar, rear air bags, rear CHF. On the front safe steer, and anti sway bar. I tried the front CHF. Wore out bushings in 3000 miles driving WY mountain roads and I didn't get the feel I was looking for. CHF on the front may work out great for others. That is great. Just not for me. I liked my 5er, TT, TCs and MHs. I just chose a MH this time.

I know there are some that don't handle well. My E450 handles OK or better. A lot has to do with tire pressure, alignment, and loading. You can't put a feather boa up front and the 500# monkey in the back and have the RV handle, drive well. There are also fix's like steering stabilizers, track bars, and air bags that claim to work,I have non. But have had the Safe-T-Plus installed on a DP and it made all the difference in the world.

LEN

Son of Norway wrote:
I'll just add an opinion for when you are test-driving motor homes. I believe that a well-engineered and properly-maintained motor home should essentially handle and steer like a comfortable car. Even my HR still does, and you should expect that when you move into a class A.

Miles

little bit of an over hang on that dude. do you need wheelie bars?

What was wheelbase in that 2000 F250? I had short base and it did handle like passenger car.
Now with my 2007 F350 on coil front I am racing BMW at green lights.
The main problem on MH is narrow tires requiring high pressure.
Years ago I bought wide rims from Carlise (?) and going from 80 psi tires to 50 psi tires made it day and night.
Technology those days change on weekly basis, so comparing experience from 10 years ago to today is like comparing dinosaur to horse racing.
Find RV show, dress nicely and ask for test drive.
I don't think real drive-by-wire technology come on the roads yet.
The throttle-by-wire went into 3rd decade on the roads and was ironed to be rock-solid, while brake-by-wire systems were eventually abounded.
Radar-adjusted cruise control is available only on top brands and seems to still have baby teeth.
Computer-controlled steering is called "driverless" and even those cars pass test, seems they have long legal road to go.

I switched from a F350 pulling a 35 ft 3 slide fifth wheel to our coach on a Ford.I do feel the side winds a little more. At this point that is the only gas choice you have in new coach. I have done the CHF and had the front end alined. It will not drive like your Audi or like a air ride pusher. I have driven in some real heavy cross winds and have not had a problem staying in my lane. I have read some of the negative posts regarding the high notice of the V10. I find if I back off just a little bit it shifts up a gear and it is not bad at all.

The f53 chassis is known to be all over the place when driving down the road. In stock form it sways side to side, bounces up and down, and if it's over 34' with swag in the rear when pushed by turbulence. I have poured thousands of dollars into my suspension with pretty much every upgrade available, sumo springs front and rear, koni shocks, 1 3/4 torsion bars front and rear, rear trac bar and a safety steer. It is an amazing driving machine with this setup, the only shortcoming is i still get some excessive play at the wheel. Up next is a banks system.

A reiteration of what you will find on other threads, but the F53 chassis - IMHO - is a poor platform for a MH. The problem is, it's been the only platform for years now. The F53 is manufactured by Ford for many purposes. And since Ford has no idea what purpose or how the chassis will be used, it has generic suspension and one that favors industrial use. The chassis and the MH are manufactured separately and married together. The MH manufacturers really don't do a thing to the chassis to make it ride or handle any better. Every MH - even the same brand and model will ride differently because of weight distribution and other factors. Think of it this way, if you gave 20 neighborhood kids the same skateboard you bought from Wal-Mart and told them to build a dog house on it to push down a hill, you'd get 20 different designs and all would ride like they are on a skateboard, but every single one will track differently. My personal experience after having 2 MH's from the same brand, same model but different floor plans is this; they both handled differently and one was louder than the other. My new 29.2 handles a lot better and is quieter, but frankly it's still horrible on anything but perfect roads. Concrete or anything but a surface smooth as glass and it sounds like the cabinets will be ripped from the walls. It tracks ok from doing the CHF but I can tell it's still too tall for the platform. By comparison, an OTR truck handles much more solid and it's taller. Why? because the platform was built for that purpose. Your pick up truck handles great. Why? because the chassis and suspension was designed and built specifically for it. Most gasser MH's are loud and handle horribly. Why? Because they all use a chassis designed for many completely different things. BTW, you don't hear this issue much from DP owners. Because they use a chassis better suited to a MH. There are a ton of "fixes" for the F53, which gives some indication of how bad it is. A lot of folks have disillusioned themselves into thinking it's acceptable or even pleasant. The F53 for MH's is - at best - tolerable if you get the right setup. I'm glad to see MH magazine finally doing some critical reviews on it. But if you want a newer gas MH, that's your only choice, which may be why many of us talk ourselves into thinking it's OK. If you didn't want a gas MH but were talked into driving one, you'd come away with the unbiased opinion that it can be a loud and scary ride.