Winnebago Vista handling

[two_travelers]

Recently purchased a new to us 2015 Winnebago Vista 26HE. Seems to be very sensitive to wind and trucks. Alignment appears good -no uneven tire wear and previous owner had a Safety steer plus installed. Are there any other mods I might consider to improve handling? Thanks to all who share their knowledge.

[Jim]

When I bought this '02 Winnie last year, it drove better than my previous '94 Bounder, both DP's on Freightliner chassis, but with this one, I'd only have to grip the steering wheel with two hands instead of GRIP it. Both are 35', but the '02 has 22.5 tires the '94 had 19.5. Quartering winds were pretty bad, causing a quick steering adjustment, as were semi's passing me on two lane roads. Either rig. Lots of rocking and sway. Difficult to maintain centering. Both rigs have air cushioning (air bags), the '94 passive, the '02 active. I always have my tires at high pressure to reduce under inflation wear.

With that in mind, I added those plastic V-spoiler things on the back of the RV. They cause the slipstream behind the RV to be spoiled so that there's less suction back there. And another effect is that you're more stable in the wind, or when a truck passes. Before installation, I would need to fight a quartering wind, afterwards, nice and steady, one handed steering.

Here's what they look like. I got my set free because the company wanted some exposure on my blogsite. They got that so we're even.

I like what they do for stability. Especially during wind events.

[fortytwo]

Wheel base to OAL is absolutely the key to handling. My old 35 foot Rexhall had a factory stretch of the standard 228 inch wheelbase to 242. With a front track bar and Safe-T-Steer I could drive hands off for 200 yards or more. Sadly, flashy paint jobs and interior fluff are more important to the marketing staff than handling. Interior utility is equally unimportant.

The fact that the previous President of Winnebago never owned, or even used, one of his products during his tenure is "nuff said".

[shuffster]

After about 5 motorhomes, I have some comments about wheelbase and handling. My previous coach was a Vista 30W (earlier version of 30T). It was somewhat squirrely. Did the CHF, helped some. Played with CHF and air pressure. I then became interested in the 30T to pick up on some of the new features. Along the way I found a Sightseer 33c. More room, 22.5 tires and a better wheelbase to OAL ratio. It drives amazing and I had a real test on the I-40 between Amarillo and Flagstaff. In checking the chassis, it appears stock. My conclusion: weight, wheelbase, and the heavier chassis make a difference. And I found a 2016 model priced under any 2017 Vista 30T's that I had researched.

[Dog_Trainer]

" I have done everything except adding the trac bar" The trac bar and or sway bar is what helps the problem you are speaking to. I had a terrible problem with mine ine the wind. I opted to put a Helwig rear anti sway. This really cured the problem I suppose a Trac bar would also tame it down. My problem was sway on quartering winds so I put the sway bar on. I also added the safety steer and the CHF. I am quite pleased now with the performance. My coach has a heavier Chasis and a longer 228" wheel base. If you have had you have had it I hope you don't lose your shirt on getting rid of it.

[geerhed]

Dale Traveling : Somehow my reply to the post did not make it here thanks to IE.I got the old "Page Cannot be displayed" and the reply was gone.

I have done everything you had mentioned other than adding the rear track bar. The tires were at about 87lbs each, I am sure the tires could be at a lower pressure depending on the load. I did the CHF and tire pressure prior to the last test drive in the wind,(no liquid's or load in the storage and it was some help but not enough to justify going through all that stress fighting the road in the wind. I cant justify the expense of spending more money on this to "maybe" help a little bit because a little bit is not enough. Halloween is over so I am not in need of a scary ride. lol. We are going to look at the possibility of a smaller more low profile 5th wheel. The one thing I really don't like about the class A's is all of the noise, shaking and rattling. We had a 34ft Sportscoach and it wasn't quite as bad in the wind but we did not want something of that length again. I think the coach mfg's have all done a huge disservice to customers by building rigs that handle poorly and are noisy going down the road. They really don't care as long as they go out to the customer, Then its the customers problem to get them to handle better. If anyone wants an interesting Read called the "RV Industry Death Spiral" by Greg Gerber, Editor of the RV Daily Report. Its long but details many actual accounts of the horrors of buying New RVs.

[irishtom29]

My class A gasser is 34' 3" long and is on a 24,000 pound chassis and has the longest wheelbase available at its size, 228" (20" longer than some) and other than the factory option Sumo springs has no suspension or chassis modifications. Fully loaded for the road and full time living there is still a 1500 pound payload cushion, about equally split between front and rear axles.

It goes down the road very nicely, leading me to the conclusion many gassers need a stouter chassis and a longer wheelbase.

[Dale_Traveling]

Do the low or no cost checks first.

Is the tire inflation set to the weight of the coach? Pressure shouldn't be higher than what is listed on DOT sticker. I ran my pressures up once playing around and at 10 or so PSI over I couldn't hold lane position.

Also as part of the weight check you want to balance as much as possible front/rear weights. Limited front axle weight may reduce steering authority.

Have the alignment check, in particular the tow set up. Have the tech set the tow as far IN as possible but stay within the Ford specs. If the front end is on the edge of tow out the steering can get twitchy and want a high degree of attention.

The cheap handling fix (CHF) will help, cost nothing but time.

A Safe-T-Plus or such may help but the problem is the rear end and as such you'll be chasing a symptom not the problem.

A rear track bar at the end of the cost range will tame tail pust from passing trucks and weather.

My coach is 32' built on a 18K lbs GVWR, 190" wheelbase chassis. 1/3 of the house is behind the rear axle along with all my liquid loading and my largest storage area. Wind push was a factor to the extent that I had to input as much as 45 deg of steering offset once to maintain a straight line in heavy sustained winds. CHP helped but the addition of a rear trac bar pretty much tamed the coach. Wind push is still there but hardly noticeable. The dynamics are too much to eliminate completely but a trac bar really make any movement very manageable.

[geerhed]

We are giving it up on this Accident waiting to happen, Its up for sale. Drove 2000 miserable miles with the Safe-T-Plus steering control, and in the wind I really did not feel like it was much benefit, still fighting the wheel constantly. I don't need that kind of stress when on vacation. It drives decent under normal conditions but you don't always have that luxury to drive in perfect conditions. After we arrived back home I did the CHF (cheap handling fix) on the sway bars then took it out and drove on a windy day and still fought the side winds without the Jeep being towed behind it. It Aint worth it.

[fortytwo]

geerhed, Any slab sided RV will be effected by wind, from nature or passing vehicles - more so if trucks. The "rule of thumb" when I first investigated control 20 years ago was that any MH with a wheelbase to length ratio less than 55% would have handling issues.

Couple of years ago, in a three coach downsizing process we bought an Itasca 30T, as wife fell in love with the floor plan. Like yours, my ratio was near 50%, and it required maximum attention to keep between the white lines. I added upgraded billstien shocks, and Safe-T-Plus steering. Minimum improvement. Next was to install a heavy duty rear sway bar. Much better. Still a bear in extreme conditions, but not white knuckle in regular driving. Still requires full attention but as "super seniors" our travel days are shorter and stays longer -- and the wife loves the floor plan.

You may have a greater challenge than I as I suspect your chassis is 16,000 pound rating. Mine is 18,000, and a bit stiffer suspension.

Sadly, marketing drives the decisions and everything is least expensive component possible until you get to the premium priced coaches. Was that way when we bought our "retirement" coach 18 years ago, and hasn't changed. Given that handling is not even a consideration it's amazing that the accident rate is as low as it is.

[Ricklightfoot]

I am looking at the Thor Miramar 37.1. We like the floor plan and storage. My questions are about the overall quality especially the indoor cabinets and appliances. We currently have a Winnebago Sightseer and are used to a good ride and good quality of the Winnebago. We are looking because we need to sleep up to 10 people comfortably. Also we need the refrigerator to keep cold for a day or two while remote camping. Will the inverter on the Miramar do this? Thanks, any insight will help.

[geerhed]

My wife and I recently purchased a pre owned 2013 Winnebago Vista 26he with 29000 miles in near mint condition that had been immaculately taken care of by two ladies in their 60's. They were very particular and diligent in making sure all maintenance was regularly done. We drove it from Lincoln Ne to Albuquerque NM to the Balloon Festival on our first trip with it towing our new 2017 Jeep Cherokee. I installed a Safe-T-Plus steering control stabilizer before we left. All I can say is this is the most horrible handling vehicle I have ever driven in the wind. It was a white knuckle drive anytime the wind was coming from the side and especially on rough roads. The tires are good and they had the chassis serviced two days before we bought it. I thought possibly the alignment was off. I took it to a reputable shop in Albuquerque to be checked. He said that often they do a poor job of camber alignment at the factory. My records showed it had been aligned at 17000 miles and shims added to correct the caster. After checking it, he said the alignment was spot on.

All I can say is. I am selling this thing because it was like driving a billboard in the wind and I am not taking it on another trip. I can't imagine that any further work on the chassis would help this short and tall RV enough to matter, and I would bet it is the nature of this type of RV. It is not quite as bad without the Toad behind it but to put it mildly. It scared the hell our of both of us. I did not notice that the Safe-t-Plus Steering control was of much benefit either.. Has anyone had any experience with these short tall RVs of any Mfg. I did not see the trailers or 5th wheels being blown around as we were. Thanks All.

[garyemunson]

I'll reiterate my post on toe-in. A rear wheel drive vehicle tends to 'spread' the front wheels going down the road due to forward thrust from the rear drive. Most rear wheel drive vehicles are adjusted to slight toe in to counteract any slop in the tie rod ends (front wheel drive vehicles are usually set to 0 degrees toe in since they do not produce that spreading force). Incorrect adjustment or worn tie rod ends will yield a toe-out condition that make constant steering corrections necessary. Alignment is something that very few mechanics seem to be good at. If you get an alignment and the vehicle still seems 'darty', make the mechanic drive it then have him increase the toe in a little. That's the most likely cause of poor handling truck chassis.

[ThomBoles]

vjstangelo wrote:
CHF for sure. We did the rear on our 32k Vista and the improvement was all that was needed. We also have the safety steer.

We have the Safe Steer on our 32K as well. I just replaced the rear sway bar bushings along with the CHF. I also did the front sway bar. If there is still some slop I'll consider a rear stabilizer and/or some new shocks. We're not unhappy with the last changes made to ours as it did tighten things up a bit.

[drwwicks]

I briefly had a Vista 36Y and it handled like junk. Too much house for the chassis and could barley pull itself and toad up a south Alabama mountain. Note, we don't have mountains here.

Took it in the financial shorts and got rid of it. VERY expensive mistake. That said the house part was very nice, too bad it was "under chassied".