Top Heavy Sway

[basqueoju]

My wife and I just purchase our first motor home, 2001 Fleetwood Bounder 32' Class A only 14K miles, drives straight, rides well but has top heavy sway on curves and over bumps that I would like to minimize. I checked the sway bars & bushings and they look like new. I'm wondering if I should install air bags, replace the shocks(they look like new still) or what?? Don't want to just through money at something that won't help. If anyone has had this experience with a similar motor home and found a good solution I would much appreciate your feedback.

Thanks
John

[frankdamp]

I think most F53's have the FW tank in the back corner of the bedroom, on the floor. Our 32' Georgetown did. Because of the high quality water in Anacortes (#5 nationwide) we always went out with it full.

Our rig swayed more than I expected, as my previous experience was with a Class C. I looked into the cost of all the suggestions on this forum and a couple of others. I decided that, since it looked like a spiffed-up U-Haul box truck, I shouldn't have been surprised that it rode like one!

We jointly decided we'd rather spend the money it would take to improve the ride on CG fees and gas. Since we ended up leaving the lifestyle permanently after four years, that turned out to be a sensible choice.

Just my six-pennies' worth.

[Loren_Ross]

If you're up for one more suggestion, I have a 32' Southwind and found it to be top heavy also. On the highways, passing trucks would cause me to rock back and forth as well. My only difference is that I'm on a workhorse chassis with the 8.1L V8...

I started travelling with a full fresh water tank. In my rig, the tank is perfectly centered front to back and side to side, and that extra 320 pounds of low weight has really changed the ride. It's much more stable, and rocks much less. The extra weight hasn't dropped my gas mileage, and most importantly, my wife is much happier!

Best of all, it isn't expensive.

[basqueoju]

Thanks Everyone! You've given me lot's of stuff the look at! I'll report back with my findings and results.
Merry Christmas!!

[jergeod]

I had the same problem, did the CHF and it helped but the coach still needed help so I decided to spend some money on it. First I changed the shocks (Koni fsd) and it was better but not there so I installed Sumo maxis and now very very happy with ride and handling. Cost was $600 for shocks and $1178 for the Sumo's, cheap for the results I received.

[cwit]

Do the CHF and then check out front and rear track bars on IRV2 homemade is the way to go and a lot cheaper. Made my 04 handle grEat. I travel 1500 miles to FL. Every winter and these changes made mine a lot easier to drive for hours at a time.

[bigred1cav]

Slow down

[Dale_Traveling]

Go after the poly sway bar bushings as 10forty2 posted. Very easy to replace.

Do a web search for "CHF" or Cheap Handling Fix. There's a very long discussion on IRV2.com. Not sure if your coach has the correct sway bar to move the end links. There are images posted on IRV2 so give you an idea what to look for.

You could install new heavier sway bars. Not too expensive but air bags will cost you more. Something else to check is if the leaf springs are worn out. Doesn't matter the mileage gravity works 24/7/365. What I don't know how to check. I would think measuring frame height once you know your weight but I don't know what the measurements should be. Maths is hard sometimes.

I do have airbags on my coach and they really didn't do a whole lot with regards to sway and such. They work great for leveling and such just not much concerning ride or sway control. Moving the sway bar end links had a very dramatic effect.

[10forty2]

First thing to consider is the tire pressures. Get your coach weighed and set the pressures according to the tire manufacturer's pressure chart.

My coach did the same thing when I got it. After considering and checking everything, I found that my sway bar bushings were mostly gone. Replaced them and the sway issue was gone. My suggestion would be to replace your sway bar bushings...even though they "look" new, they could be hard or deteriorated under the strap. Go with these:

Poly Sway Bar Bushings

Be sure to clean the sway bar really good of any of the old bushing material that may be melted onto it and use the included lube packets inside the new ones before closing everything up.

Next thing to check are shocks. Unless they are leaking, you can't tell by looking at them if they are bad. Bad shocks usually cause a really bouncy ride overall. Their sole purpose is to dampen the bouncing that occurs when you run over uneven surfaces and bumps. Shocks could well be the problem, but if sway is your only complaint, then start with the sway bar bushings and tire pressures.

Let us know what you find!

[rgatijnet1]

At 14 years old, it is possible that the shock seals have dried out. The originals were not gas charged so the best way to check them is to take them loose and manually see if they offer the proper resistance to compression and extension.

[Ivylog]

At 14K miles doubt it's shocks or bushings. If it already has air bags, make sure they have separate air fills, not tied together. Tied together they do not help as much as they equalize the pressure in a turn negating the increase in pressure in the one on the outside of the turn.

[rgatijnet1]

Worn shocks, sway bar bushings worn, tire pressure too low, or you are just not used to the way most motor homes sway compared to automobiles or pick-ups.

[RayChez]

Ford chassis is the F-53. I had a 2002 36' on a F-53 chassis and it come with the firestone airlifts on the rear. It used to drag on most dips until I found out that the airlifts took 90 lbs and it stabilized the motor home. It also lifted the rear so that it would not drag anymore.

[basqueoju]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
What chassis is the coach built on?

Ford chassis, not sure what the official number is. it's Gas V10

[wolfe10]

Please tell us what chassis you have, or answers will be all over the board.