Truck camper wondering

[gbsb]

We are the proud new owners of a Ford F450 with a Artic Fox 990S slide in. Truck is a 2003 model with a custom made all aluminum flat bed. The camper is a 2008 unit and every thing works and is really clean. On our first trip with the unit and are very happy except for the fact the truck seems to wonder all over the road and is a little scary to drive over 55mph. Every thing is stock and original except the tires ( 225 70 R 19.5 ). Any help as what to do to cure this problem, tires, shocks, anything can't make any long trips like this.

[SNAPON66]

gbsb
Pay attention to the piman arm for looseness if you have over 50k just replace it I replaced mine at 62k because it did not pass state insp FOMOCO OEM
Lost that one in AK 20k Repl w/oem At next yr 18k Called MOOG and they sent me the latest updated arm. Looks like the best yet Only 4k but I grese it and look real close. The only thing I can do on my F550 is toe-in. An easy way to see if front end is out is to rub your hand in and out on the tire. If one way is sharp the other smooth then you have an alignment problem toe-in If you feel sharp going in excess toe-out sharp comming out excesstoe in. A very slight sharp comming out is ok. Tire wear affected by pressure alignment driver habits
Some shops can balance these tires find one
Good luck
Ray

[Bedlam]

gbsb wrote:
The tires are old I don't know how many miles are on them. Front tires are wearing funny. I am going to take to a front end shop have alignment checked along with all components. I will price new tires and shocks, both will have to be replaced. Any particular brand better than the other. Tires are 225 70 R 19.5 any reason not to go with a 245 70 R 19.5. Thanks for the responce and info.

I am running DynaTrac PD890 tires with an all-season tread. I only have about 10K miles on them and will have about 15K by mid July, so I can not give you a wear report yet. They do great handling my loads and work well in mud and snow. Sand use is fine if it is packed, but the loose sand or sand/ash mix I drove through at Moses Lake, WA was challenging.

Depending on your rim width and offset, the sidewalls of a 245 width tire may rub on themselves in a dual configuration when under load which would cause premature wear. You can put spacers between them to stop the rubbing, but in some states this not allowed due to the additional stress put on the lugs.

[gbsb]

it is Hot in the summer but it is Texas.

[lonetow]

Mt Pleasant Texas
East Texas is great, had a place at Lake Fork for years, born in Abilene, raised in Duncanville in the 70s ? 80s but never coming back 2 dam hott

[gbsb]

The tires are old I don't know how many miles are on them. Front tires are wearing funny. I am going to take to a front end shop have alignment checked along with all components. I will price new tires and shocks, both will have to be replaced. Any particular brand better than the other. Tires are 225 70 R 19.5 any reason not to go with a 245 70 R 19.5. Thanks for the responce and info.

[msiminoff]

How many miles are on your 19.5's and what brand/model are they??
Most 19.5" drive tires have a lot of tread squirm when they're new.
Cheers,
-Mark

[sleepy]

I think that any of the above might be correct... but which one?

I would leave the camper on the truck... ask my alignment mechanic to do a test drive. Then I'd take the camper of the truck... at his shop or drop it off at home. Thene I'd trust the alignment guys to do whatever is necessary... it will be well within their skill and abilities.

I'm fortunate:
I know my alignment shop and the people that work there ( Troy or John at A1 Alignment in Oak Ridge). I have them do all of my vehicles... an alignment from them is about $50.00 )

When they get through... the front end tracks true, the steering wheel is oriented correctly, and the tires will wear evenly.

In the end your alignment shop will prevent you from making unnecessay repairs and missing something that could cause a real problem sometime when you least expect it... The guy that sold it may have had the problem... and didn't know what to do.

Good luck... I'll be watching for your solution.

Sleepy

[jimh406]

I think it's very likely it's the 19.5s especially if they are new. I think your tire pressure in the front is the biggest factor for wandering. You probably don't need more than 65-70 in the front although I run as much as 80-85 in my fronts at times.

[Bedlam]

Over inflating the front tires will cause it float and make the steering vague. I am now running 110 psi in the rear and 80 psi in the front with my 245/70R19.5's. My truck is a SRW, so I do not expect you will be running as high a rear pressure as mine.

[wcjeep]

19.5's can do this. What age are the tires? What pressure are you running? There are a few ways to balance the tires. As previously stated, have the front end looked at for worn/loose components. At work we had a couple of F450's that had the front sway bar brackets break.

[wintersun]

The ball joints and tie-rods are probably in need of replacement. If this is the case it should show up with the camper off the truck and be particularly noticeable when turning. If this is the case the truck should not be driven at all until it can be fixed. I have had American trucks and SUV's that needed this work done over as little as 50k miles.

I would also expect the shocks to be shot on any used truck or car. Bilstein 5100's are a good choice.

If you rotate the tires and the problem goes away then you have a tire with a bead problem and this too is a real hazard and the tire should be replaced.

[MTRhino]

I would lean toward front end parts as well. Maybe take it to a good alignment shop, they will find any steering component issues, and also have them put a new set of shocks on it. If is still has the original shocks at 10 years old they would definately need replaced.

[Gripnriprod]

Sounds like a problem with the center of gravity of the camper. Take the truck to a scale empty and weigh the front and rear axles separately and also the total weight. Load the camper and reweigh in the same manner. This will tell you if the camper is "lifting" the front plus give you some good numbers for future loading/towing options.
Check the front end hard parts and steering parts for wear.
Check the tire inflation.