Windy Driving

[kemer]

Just bought a new Winnebago Sightseer 35G and have noticed that when driving, you really feel the bumps and rattles. Now I expect that because it rides high, I would expect some bumps and not a totally smooth ride. Also, when driving in any windy conditions(i.e. GT 15mph), it can feel like driving on ice at times. Any suggestions on how to handle this, other than "don't drive in wind"....I thought I read somewhere about some sort of stabilizer bar? Is it effective? Cost?

Thanks

[holstein13]

Go to IRV2 and look up "Cheap Handling Fix" It will improve your ride drastically and it's free.

I'd also do an alignment and add a rear track bar.

[Busskipper]

J-Rooster wrote:
Slow Down

If the tires are right, alignment is correct, if the wind becomes a problem and the driver is smart, the SMART solution is to just drive a little slower!

Just Slow down.

JMHO,

BOL,

[Dale_Traveling]

kemer wrote:
My unit is a 2014 Winnebago Sightseer 35G. It has the Ford F53 chassis. Am I reading that there is a front track/sway bar?

Yes you will have a front sway bar. Became a standard item several years back. As mentioned start with the low cost items first. Weight checked (with the coach loaded for an outing) followed by correct tire pressure and load balancing. Have the front end alignment, ride height and sway bar hardware checked. If you're still not happy then try a rear track bar.

Take the coach to a truck service center rather than RV service center. Use the people who focus in on the chassis and have the equipment/tools to correctly do the work. Save the RV service center for stuff above the floor.

[cjd10]

If this is a new MH I would have the alignment checked also. Don't know about Winnebago but Forest River will reimburse the new owner to take it in and have the alignment done. Along with adjusting the sway bars I have found that keeping my water tanks full helps to stabilize the MH if I know I will be traveling in windy conditions. I highly recommend the CHF, it works wonders.

[J-Rooster]

Slow Down

[kemer]

wildmanbaker wrote:
If it is indeed new, it is a Ford chassis. You have a front track bar already. You can either buy a rear track bar, or make one with a Ag. top link bar, and some 3/8" flat stock. If you cannot weld, or have no friends that can, you can lay everything out using hard cardboard. There are holes on the frame for the frame mount. Use the third member mounting bolts for mounting the plate for the rear end mount. Using scissors to rough cut the cardboard, making the mound as close to center as possible, on the rear end. Once you have a rear track bar, move the end links for the sway bars to the inside holes. This done, you can fine tune with tire pressures, and the like.

My unit is a 2014 Winnebago Sightseer 35G. It has the Ford F53 chassis. Am I reading that there is a front track/sway bar?

[wildmanbaker]

If it is indeed new, it is a Ford chassis. You have a front track bar already. You can either buy a rear track bar, or make one with a Ag. top link bar, and some 3/8" flat stock. If you cannot weld, or have no friends that can, you can lay everything out using hard cardboard. There are holes on the frame for the frame mount. Use the third member mounting bolts for mounting the plate for the rear end mount. Using scissors to rough cut the cardboard, making the mound as close to center as possible, on the rear end. Once you have a rear track bar, move the end links for the sway bars to the inside holes. This done, you can fine tune with tire pressures, and the like.

[Passin_Thru]

And never look back!

[We_Cant_Wait]

Having drove truck for 20+ years I found one thing that helped me was to "not fight the wheel" by that I mean don't over react to every twinge/sway/wiggle of the coach. Use a lighter touch on the wheel. So what if it wiggles around a bit in your lane.

[DSDP_Don]

Typically, the manufacturer or even the dealer overinflates the tire upon delivery. As stated above, check your pressure first. There are many add on products, but they can cost you a fortune by the time you're done.

When you drive, it feels like the front of the coach is requiring a lot of steering input. It's actually the rear end moving around on the springs, side to side. If you read through threads here, you'll find that many have the most success with a rear track bar.

I would suggest that you start with the free stuff, such as weight and tire pressure before adding any aftermarket products. If you decide to buy something like the rear track bar, buy one item at a time and see how it works.

[mowdoc]

I've had my new Jayco Precept 35UN for two weeks now. Jayco did a nice job adding some really huge bars on it but it was driving where it wanted to go when I brought it home.

The DOT sticker says 90psi front and rear but when I checked tire pressure I found 86 psi with two high quality gauges that agreed. I brought the tire pressure up to 95 psi in all tires and it is a new machine!! I will run it at those pressures but your rig may differ - remember Jayco did some work on the suspension already.

Mine is not driving like a car but is much improved with corrected air pressure in the tires. I would start there and see if you get improvement like I did.

[ksg5000]

Your driving a big sail and while hardware can help it's not going to eliminate the problem. RV's tend to wander with the breeze - some of your gitters are natural and you will adjust ... when I encounter wind I tend to slow down .. when I encounter WIND I might even pull over.

[Effy]

wolfe10 wrote:
Good advice, but there is one FREE ONE.

Have you weighted your axles? Set tire pressure accordingly? If way over or under inflated, it will be squirrelly. As a begin point, how does your tire pressure compare to that on the GVWR sticker (which is based on each axle being loaded to its GAWR)?

Agree on rear track bar and then (i.e. next step) larger sway bars.

x2 on PSI set properly. Weigh your coach 4 corners or at least the axles.

Also another free mod is the cheap handling fix. CHF - do a search on here for it for instructions, but basically you adjust the stock sway bars to another set of holes to tighten it up. Makes a world of difference.

[wolfe10]

Good advice, but there is one FREE ONE.

Have you weighted your axles? Set tire pressure accordingly? If way over or under inflated, it will be squirrelly. As a begin point, how does your tire pressure compare to that on the GVWR sticker (which is based on each axle being loaded to its GAWR)?

Agree on rear track bar and then (i.e. next step) larger sway bars.

[rgatijnet1]

I added four corner air bags to my chassis. When the winds are high I just pump them up with a dash switch to around 80psi. When the winds subside, I lower the pressure to retain the smooth ride. Since we travel a lot in the Great Plains, high winds are very common and our choice was to deal with it or stay parked on the windy days. I already had a front and rear anti-sway bar from the factory and the air bag install only took a few hours to correct the situation. I now have close to 70,000 miles with the air bags and don't need anything else.