P30 front end upgrades

[Octaneforce]

So we all know the dreaded p30 is like driving a wheel barrow down the road. It wanders and jumps around, especially when other trucks pass by. My rig is a 1993 fleetwood coronado class a 454. From my research it seems like these steering problems are fixable, but its not cheap. Ive been poking around on this website and have a few questions;

https://supersteerparts.com/shop/motorhome/class-a/gm-chevy-chasis-p30-32/page/3/

Id like to start with bell cranks, bell crank arms, and a steering stabilizer. My rig currently has 6 new sumihoto tires balanced with sandbags, new ball joints, coil springs, and airbags. However its all regular off the shelf parts.

1.Should i go for the heckthorne or bilstien steering stabilizer?

2. Theres obviously 2 crank bells on the front end. Are they both the same? I only see 1 part number on the site for crank bells. I know i need to measure the crank bell arms to decide which ones will work.

3. Anyone have any experience with the safe T plus steering control?

[mike_brez]

Bunch of P30 info

Here

Here

[enblethen]

The air bags were standard on most of the P-30 chassis in the early 90s.
Air pressure sounds about right for a 30 oot MH. Weighing the rig for proper pressure. Look in rig to find information on what capacity chassis it is. The air pressure is then determined off it. There is a chart in Chev owner's manual or you can check on line at Firestone or Airlift.

[Stim]

Octaneforce wrote:

Stim wrote:
I have owned 2 P-30 chassis motorhomes, a 1983 Winnebago and a 1989 Southwind.
Both were a dream to drive and never wandered. I drove semis for over 30 years so I know the difference.
The only thing I changed was bad air bags on the Southwind.
You might have too much weight behind the rear axle.

My rv always has something behind it. I either have my enclosed dirtbike trailer (approx 2700lbs) or my motorcycle carrier, which is about 500lbs “floating” on the hitch. Its definently a bit more squirelly when driving with the carrier but not that different than when nothing is behind it. What can i do to combat rear weight?

I towed a 23' Boat (5000 lb) with no problems up to 80 mph passing/keeping with traffic.
I always ran 35 lbs in my air bags.
You might have too much tongue weight and need an equalizer hitch for the trailer?

[mike_brez]

Another problem with the p30 is that the narrow front end the tires are about four foot on center apart.
The p30 was ment to be a potato chip delivery truck not a motorhome.

[wolfe10]

Octaneforce wrote:


Did these trucks come stock with airbags or are they an aftermarket thing? I dont really understand why they crammed an airbag in instead of just using stiffer springs. I run 70-80 psi in the airbags.

Yes, the front air bags inside the coil springs was OE. As others have suggested, a good ideal to weight it and go with the Henderson stronger springs that do not need an air bag.

[Octaneforce]

Stim wrote:
I have owned 2 P-30 chassis motorhomes, a 1983 Winnebago and a 1989 Southwind.
Both were a dream to drive and never wandered. I drove semis for over 30 years so I know the difference.
The only thing I changed was bad air bags on the Southwind.
You might have too much weight behind the rear axle.

My rv always has something behind it. I either have my enclosed dirtbike trailer (approx 2700lbs) or my motorcycle carrier, which is about 500lbs “floating” on the hitch. Its definently a bit more squirelly when driving with the carrier but not that different than when nothing is behind it. What can i do to combat rear weight?

[Octaneforce]

enblethen wrote:
Bell cranks are the same.
I switched to super coils and did away with air bags. What air pressure are you running in air bags?
A good quality steering stbilizer direct replacement.
I switched front itre to 245/-19.5. They keep the rig from following a lot of ruts in reoadway.

Did these trucks come stock with airbags or are they an aftermarket thing? I dont really understand why they crammed an airbag in instead of just using stiffer springs. I run 70-80 psi in the airbags.

I debated going with wider front tires but i went with 6 stockers. I was less educated at the time (2 months ago lol)

[Stim]

I have owned 2 P-30 chassis motorhomes, a 1983 Winnebago and a 1989 Southwind.
Both were a dream to drive and never wandered. I drove semis for over 30 years so I know the difference.
The only thing I changed was bad air bags on the Southwind.
You might have too much weight behind the rear axle.

[mike_brez]

Ok I'll bite.
Had a 1994 Fleetwood PaceArrow on the P30 with tbi 454
The thing wandered all over the place and changed lanes on its own.
A good front end alignment with some extra caster helps a lot.
I changed bell cranks to Henderson super steer,idler arm,steering dampener shock,larger ipd front sway bar with poly bushings front and rear,ditched the front coil spring bags and replaced with Henderson super steer coil springs,Henderson super steer rear trac bar,Koni shocks all around,Hankook tires,
After all that is still wandered. I finally fixed it.



by selling it and buying this

[enblethen]

Bell cranks are the same.
I switched to super coils and did away with air bags. What air pressure are you running in air bags?
A good quality steering stbilizer direct replacement.
I switched front itre to 245/-19.5. They keep the rig from following a lot of ruts in reoadway.

[eubank]

Start with a good set of shocks. That's what we did with our P30-based moho, and it made a tremendous difference. Do go with high quality shocks, either Bilsteins or Konis. One shock at each wheel; one for steering stabilizer.

We went with Bilsteins from shockwarehouse.com; I noticed a few weeks ago that Camping World carries both brands, too. Installing by yourself is not hard with moderate tools. It helps to use a shock squeezing tool to keep them "short" while doing the install; I used a simple and cheap long furniture clamp for the purpose.

🙂
Lynn