Mirada Select Steering

[choudrantpd]

I have a 2017 Mirada Select 37TB with app. 8,000 miles. It seems to drift as if the steering has slack when driving. It also has the Safety Plus steering stabilizer installed. The recommended tire pressure on the 22.5 tires is 110 psi and I usually run around 100 psi. I was curious if any others with a gasoline motorhome on the Ford F-53 chassis has this problem. I am contemplating taking it in to check the steering and alignment. If it is just an inherent characteristic of the Ford chassis, I will save my time and money rather than taking it to have the steering checked.

Thanks for any input or information

[dodge_guy]

When I bought my 2012 it was all over the road. The previous owner did every possible suspension upgrade there is! What I found was the toe was out 3/8”. I did a tape measure alignment and brought it in to 3/16” toe in. Dramatic improvement. The other was to lower the tire pressure. They were at 95 when I got it. They are now set at 86psi and the MH drives and handles incredible!

Now with that said it’s possible the steering stabilizer wasn’t installed correctly and it’s not centered resulting in the slight drift you are experiencing?

[Sandia_Man]

Steering stabilizers if not correctly positioned will cause the very same issue, even a quarter inch can produce constant drifting to whatever side happens to be off. They can and do come off calibration as well if they are not torqued to specs, this happens frequently since it takes a few attempts to get them dialed in at time of installation.

Many instances steering stabilizers are adjusted by tech alongside roadway or parking lot and they don't always get them torqued properly. Other suggestions above are truly valid as well, but with a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer that is where I would start as it is common issue, they work great when properly dialed in.

[CC38EL]

I also recommend the alignment and the check out of the SafTSteer.

Also, your tire pressures seem high for your 22k chassis. I would also recommend weighing your coach so you know your axle weights under load.

You may find that you can lower your tire pressure to still carry the load safely, but also more comfortably. Here's the load inflation table from Michelin for your tires. I think you have the same chassis as I do.

https://www.michelinrvtires.com/reference-materials/load-and-inflation-tables/#/

[donkeydew]

is this your first large m.h.? if it is you may be over driving it.
you need to relax your grip on the wheel and look farther down the road.
this will help on the sawing of the steering wheel.

[way2roll]

RLS7201 wrote:

Nodaker wrote:
Since the only dumb question is the one not asked; What is 'CHF'?

Cheap Handling Fix...........It is the relocating of the sway bar links to make the sway bar appear shorter to the chassis. Controls sway better.

Richard

The F53 chassis comes with 2 sets of holes for the sway bars. From the factory they are set to the longer holes which allows for more sway. Moving them to the shorter holes tightens it up. This does nothing to the suspension travel but rather firms up the handling and sway. Biggest improvement I ever had on my gasser MH's and the best part, it's free and takes about 20 minutes.

[RLS7201]

Nodaker wrote:
Since the only dumb question is the one not asked; What is 'CHF'?

Cheap Handling Fix...........It is the relocating of the sway bar links to make the sway bar appear shorter to the chassis. Controls sway better.

Richard

[Nodaker]

Since the only dumb question is the one not asked; What is 'CHF'?

[chuckftboy]

You should first check that your Safe-T-Plus is installed correctly and has been adjusted to drive straight.

[georgelesley]

Add some caster when alignment is done. We added 2* with Ford hotline and truck shop manager approval over 30000 miles ago, no problems. Also did CHF on both ends and added rear trac bar. Wander and tail wag are gone.

For front end wander, caster solved that. For sway, CHF, for tail wag, rear trac bar

[wolfe10]

Toe and caster both affect tracking.

[RLS7201]

The most prominent reason for what you're feeling in the steering wheel is improper toe-in setting.
The toe-in can be set with a tape measure and 2 straight pins. Never had a tape measure get out of calibration, GRIN. About 3/16" toe-in is correct.
If you are interested in doing this yourself, let me know and I'll explain further.
The CHF costs nothing for the rear axle but the front axle should have longer links added when doing the CHF.
Do the above mentioned items before throwing $$ at the issue.

Richard

[way2roll]

A few thoughts; there is no alignment done once the MH is built and the recommended pressure is often wrong. The best way to know what PSI you should be running is to weigh your rig as loaded for travel (either 4 corners or at least axle weights) and adjust PSI based on the tire manufacturer's guide.

I did all that and my gassers still rode like I was trying to steer a greased elephant on a muddy hill. The best remedy for this that I found was doing the CHF.