What should my steering feel like.

[justrich44]

As a relatively new owner of a 2008 KSDP 3916, I'm not sure what the steering should be like. I don't have a lot of road experience in this coach so I don't know if the steering is what it should be. This past weekend we traveled several hundred miles. I noticed that it took a lot of concentration to keep the coach centered in the lane. Minor adjustments in steering would result in over corrections. I did my best not to make any changes in the steering wheel unless absolutely needed or else I felt like I was chasing a ball.

I recently had the coach into a Spartan authorized repair center for replacement of the front leveling valve. I didn't have enough behind the wheel time before that to know if there was a problem. I don't even know if there is a problem now. Would low or over inflated tires cause this squirrely handling?

Anyone have any thoughts?

Rich Reno
2008 Kountry Star 3916

[Skip426]

Welcome to iRV2 .


Yes proper tire inflation for your coaches weight and tire brand, is very important . So the first thing to do is get your : loaded for travel : corner weights if possible . Corner weights , because you inflate all tires on the axle to the correct inflation for the heaviest loaded tire(s).
Setting tire weights to 1/2 the loaded axle weight can led to one side tire (s) over inflated and one side under.
With inflation correct then you can look to other possible causes , shocks, alignment , etc.
One big thing I had to correct on my coach , was the drivers seat was not centered behind the steering wheel , and that gave me shoulder pain after a long drive , had to move the seat 1" to the right, to correct.

[F4Gary]

The mistake many new class A drivers make is looking down at the road right in front of them. With a car, since it has a hood, you end up looking farther down the road. Do that with your motorhome and it will be easier than looking at the two lane stripes 20 ft in front of you and trying to make corrections.

That's all I got.

[owr]

Hi l
All of the above and there were problems with the ball joint boots for a few years in that range... When I picked up my 2004 KSDP a few years back I had a similar experience ...took it to Josams in Orlando had the ball joints replaced and some super steer motion control devices installed and the difference was night and day !

You may want to have it checked out. If you are near a Josam seems to me to put it on the machine and check it out was only about 125.00


Just my 2 cents

Good luck!

[justrich44]

Originally Posted by owr

Hi l
All of the above and there were problems with the ball joint boots for a few years in that range... When I picked up my 2004 KSDP a few years back I had a similar experience ...took it to Josams in Orlando had the ball joints replaced and some super steer motion control devices installed and the difference was night and day !

You may want to have it checked out. If you are near a Josam seems to me to put it on the machine and check it out was only about 125.00


Just my 2 cents

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the quick responses.

Funny you should mention the ball joint issue. When I had the coach in for replacement of the leveling valve the inspector mentioned that the ball joint boots were deteriorated and that they (the ball joints) would need to be replaced in the near future. Could be connected...I may have to go back to the service center and have them checked out.