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Idleup · 10-29-2018, 05:41 PM

Hello IRV2 Forum Members!

I have another In-Depth article for your guys on Comfort Drive. This extensive article will help owners understand the operation and use to help steer owners through facts and fiction regarding the use of this steering assist system.

The information compiled for this article is an eight month study for over 7,000 miles on my New Aire and other Comfort Drive RV's. During this period, I completed countless tests using every conceivable road design, surface and condition to provide an un-biased report on the true abilities and non-abilities of this steering assist system. I hope you guys enjoy this article!

Drive Safely - Mike Mas

Click the link below for the full article:

http://rotory.com/coach/comfort/

tom chelbana · 10-29-2018, 07:31 PM

We have owned 3 Newmar's coaches (2 LA and an Essex) the 2nd London Aire a 18 on a Spartan K3 chassis. Maybe because our new LA only has 10K miles on and the other Newmar's had over 100K miles, that we put on, after a full day of driving we found the CD a easier and more enjoyable drive. CD isn't the end all for steering improvement but from our experience it's better to have it rather then not.
Newmar Man

turbopilot · 10-29-2018, 07:32 PM

Great write up. Comfort Drive has always been black box for me. Even more so since it is so poorly documented by Newmar. After 11,000 miles I have always found myself at 4/5 on the dial and now I know why.

RHoop · 10-29-2018, 07:37 PM

On one of my first trips, I had CD set on 6, and was still fighting the wheel when passing a truck. I tried turning it down to 1 and felt the oversteer (scary) that you describe. I seem to be most comfortable with it on 6 as you recommended. Good article. Thanks

Dutch Star Don · 10-29-2018, 08:15 PM

Personally, I think your post is way off base and full of conclusions, by you, that are incorrect. I also think the overly short wheelbase and length of the New Aire is not the best coach to use as an example of how the Comfort Steer works.

I owned a 2005 Monaco Diplomat that I installed a system called "True Steer". The system basically did what Comfort Steer does, but manually. As I got pulled by road crown, I set the True Steer, with a manual switch, that powered the solenoid and held the steering against the crown of the road. When the wind blew, I could also set the True Steer to hold against the wind. It worked great and I could subconsciously set the unit every time conditions changed. It made for a very relaxing drive.

I find the Comfort Steer does the same thing, but automatically. I can feel my DS initially get pulled by road crown and then feel the Comfort Steer take over and correct. I can also see other rigs being pushed all over the road by wind, but the DS holding true. I drove my DS 41K miles all over the country and mostly out west in high wind areas. I could drive in 30 mph cross winds and not feel the wind push. Maybe you just never drove in adverse conditions. There were days where we stopped to get fuel and didn't realize how hard the wind was blowing until we stepped outside.

I think it's great that someone takes the time to write an article, but I found your article more about you explaining technical terms, then about real life experience. I guess Newell was also sold a bill of goods regarding the Comfort Steer system.

rlott2k · 10-29-2018, 08:18 PM

I believe you offered that my 08 KSDP is preset at #3? I find it great for low speed back up and parking. My only negative is digging in while self centering on gravel.

TJ · 10-29-2018, 08:43 PM

I concur with DS Don. The short wheelbase of the NA is hardly the best test platform for CD. And, many of the author's observations do not square with my experience in two coaches with CD. YMMV.

I'm waiting for Ken Sherwin's take on this article.

TJ

FLJOE · 10-29-2018, 08:48 PM

Interesting article Mike, I actually read the whole thing.

I think before I could say that CD is "fluff" and just more or less a marketing ploy I would have to drive an exact coach like mine, loaded the same, without the feature. In other words, since I don't have anything to compare it to I'm not drinking your cool aid.

Keep in mind that your 7,000 miles summer test was probably duplicated by hundreds of Newmar owners throughout the country this year, they just didn't document or publish it formally. There are many of us out here that travel full time all year long and put more than 7,000 miles on these rigs.

We are heading out tomorrow for a run from Savannah to the Mobile area, well over 500 miles. Before getting my Newmar with CD I would have never considered a regular daily run of that distance. This year my runs can be between 300 and 600 miles with no consideration for wind conditions. I firmly believe, based on my limited experience, that CD keeps me from getting fatigued on these runs.

Did I purchase my Newmar based on the fact it had CD? No, I didn't even know what CD was until I asked the salesman what that knob on the dash was for. Would I purchase another coach without it? No I would not.

Ernie. · 10-29-2018, 08:59 PM

I'll think I'll go with Ken Sherwin's article.

Ann n Gene · 10-29-2018, 09:17 PM

Actually I think the New Aire is a great platform to test the CD. I have only had my New Aire a little over a month but I just completed a 3500 mile trip out west, many of those miles with 20-30 mph crosswinds and this baby coach handled like a charm. Show me another 34’ coach that you don’t fight the wind or passing trucks to keep it from moving around on the highway, I don’t think they exist. I know Freightliner and Newmar teamed up to make a great little coach that handles like a big one and there are many reasons why it rides and drives great but CD is definitely part of that. I admit that I don’t have much CD experience with any other coach but I have owned 4 Entegra 45’ coaches that drove and rode great and this little coach is close to those. All JMHO

Winepress · 10-29-2018, 09:23 PM

Having two DP’s one with comfort steer and one without, I can say there is quite a difference. However, high profile vehicle, short wheelbase with no tag will probably create some driving challenges for those with less experience, comfort steer may be beyond its capabilities. Newmar is no longer exclusive as American Coach now offers the same system.

Dav L · 10-29-2018, 09:43 PM

Thanx Mike for the article. I gotta admit I was curious on how CD fought cross winds. I was wondering if they had lane sensing (I seem to remember there was a sentence in Ken's CD description that said something about lane sensing...I will have to double check...) I was also wondering if it had an accelerometer built in to detect the wind push.

Would love to drive a 43' CD equipped Newmar as comparison to my non CD equipped vehicle - that I think drives the highways great! Not so much navigating parking lots (due to the size) but those are the drawbacks.

On my last cross country trip, ran into a surprise wind storm that took us off a 1/4 of a lane on the first gust. After correcting, my mind did go to a "would CD have helped there?" So, would be great for Ken to provide some insights into how it fights cross winds, other than additional power steering applied to make it "easier" to fight the cross wind (the driver is still the one having to react).

redbaron73 · 10-29-2018, 09:46 PM

Adjusting the kbob to 5 or 6 does not turn off comfort drive. It is still doing the same job as if it is in 1 or 2.

To test what it is like without comfort drive, unplug the fuses you identified and do all the tests you documented again.

I have very little experience with comfort drive without active air. I have out over 60k miles on the combined package, and have never had a truck blow me around when lashing, never had a wind gust move me out of my lane, and never felt the least bit of stress over controlling the coach.

During our recent factory delivery of our 2019 dsdp, both my wife and I were amazed at how well the coach handled without the active air. The steering and tag are all part of that.

I have appreciated your past articles, but this one has me scratching my head.

RJ51 · 10-30-2018, 12:42 AM

After driving a semi for many years and comparing it with comfort drive there's no way I would set it to 1 or 2. It almost feels like I'm driving on ice. I have it set to 3 or 4 all the time. I like to feel the road at highway speeds. As far as cross winds go 1 or 2 setting would seem far too easy to over correct and that could be disastrous. I agree the test results may be different on a tag axle coach which is more stable in high winds. Overall I think Mike's write-up is informative.