Community Forums

RWeigant · 04-19-2013, 10:06 AM

Took the RV to have the Alinement looked after. They found it a little out and took me on a test drive. They noticed some play in the steering wheel. Checking that they seem to think I need a new steering gear box. They didn't have one and I thought I would look around for a better one. The one on my Knight is non adjustable. After $300 I drove back to home and found very little difference from the alinement only. Just thinking about a steering unit called (Safe-T-plus) steering stabilizer. ?? Don't know at this point.
Any ideas on a better gear box?

Doggy Daddy · 04-19-2013, 04:03 PM

I cast my vote to the Safe T Plus. Had it on past and now on current RV. Makes a big difference. Mine was installed by the folks at Hendersons RV and Truck Parts and Service - Henderson's Line-Up in Grants Pass.

Mike Canter · 04-19-2013, 05:05 PM

Adding a Safe-T-Plus is not fixing the loose steering box. I recommend taking the motorhome into a truck repair facility such as Freightliner and get a second opinion. Don't believe I have ever seen a non adjustable worm and gear steering box. Might be but I have never seen one. There are other things that can cause loose steering such as bad tie rod ends. $300 is a little steep for a front end alignment. I have had them done for under $150.

chawkins99 · 04-19-2013, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

Adding a Safe-T-Plus is not fixing the loose steering box. I recommend taking the motorhome into a truck repair facility such as Freightliner and get a second opinion. Don't believe I have ever seen a non adjustable worm and gear steering box. Might be but I have never seen one. There are other things that can cause loose steering such as bad tie rod ends. $300 is a little steep for a front end alignment. I have had them done for under $150.

My Beaver has a Sheppard steering gear which is not adjustable (confirmed from the Sheppard service manual). Consequently, this week I tried locating a replacement.
I found a local shop that had the same one as mine on the shelf for $475 exchange.
However, he said he had never seen a Sheppard box wear out as I described and they are designed to run 1,000,000 miles or more.
In his words: "I'd be happy to take your money but it won't fix your problem".
I've got some more investigating to do this weekend.

Mike Canter · 04-19-2013, 06:37 PM

That's interesting. Thanks. I wonder if they used that steering on a Monaco. I doubt that the steering box is bad also and that's why somebody else should look at it.

crah · 04-19-2013, 06:54 PM

My two cents. There was a period where Monaco used Shepard steering boxes and switched back and forth with TRW and it is true they are non adjustable. A can't speak for every model of Shepard. I've seen posts on problem with the sheppards if you search hard enough. A Monaco roadmaster chassis tester told me they had problems and complaints on the Shepard boxes. Apparently they didn't like to stay in the center position either. I would highly suspect the Shepard box of that era are problematic and the miles are irrelevant. I would personally investigate if a swap to a TRW is possible. Is read some info in some shop that specialized in the Shepard box rebuilding. I'm not sure if they revalved it or to the extent of what they did to improve it. I don't recall the name of the place but it could quite possibly be Redland?

nodine · 04-19-2013, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

That's interesting. Thanks. I wonder if they used that steering on a Monaco. I doubt that the steering box is bad also and that's why somebody else should look at it.

I agree with Mike and the others that you should not jump to the conclusion that the steering box is worn and causing play. Get someone to drive your coach who has a lot of experience with a Class A motorhome. You don't mention how much experience you have or how long you have owned this coach. Did it drive with less steering correction when new? Remember that the steer axle is behind the driver on a Class A and it handles very different from vehicles with the steer axle ahead of the driver. New comers to the Class A motorhome have a tendency to over steer setting up a reaction from the vehicle that ends in an endless back and forth reaction between the driver and the vehicle. The most common causes of wander in a Class A diesel usually originate in the rear of the coach. It just seems like the problem is in the front. Anything that cause approximately a 1/4 of an inch of lateral movement of the rear of the motorhome will cause a corresponding 3/4 of an inch or more of lateral movement at the front.

Bob

walt2137 · 04-19-2013, 07:11 PM

Our 2000 Dyn has a Shepard gear box M100 and our 99 dip had a M80 and both were non adjustable.

chawkins99 · 04-19-2013, 07:32 PM

A previous post on this topic (which Mike also chimed in on):

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/stee...ues-62441.html

Check out post #12. Interesting read. The fact that a new box failed to fix the problem is what's putting me off just buying another.

Mine is a Sheppard M100 but that is just the line number. There are dozens of different models in the M100 line. Mine is an M100PMN31.

walt2137 · 04-19-2013, 07:41 PM

Mine is a Shepard M100PLG3

chawkins99 · 04-19-2013, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nodine

You don't mention how much experience you have or how long you have owned this coach.
New comers to the Class A motorhome have a tendency to over steer setting up a reaction from the vehicle that ends in an endless back and forth reaction between the driver and the vehicle. The most common causes of wander in a Class A diesel usually originate in the rear of the coach. It just seems like the problem is in the front. Anything that cause approximately a 1/4 of an inch of lateral movement of the rear of the motorhome will cause a corresponding 3/4 of an inch or more of lateral movement at the front.

Bob

Bob, I can't speak for the OP but this is my first class A. Bought it last August. I have pulled TTs for many years but these are a completely different beast.
When cruising the interstate, it does require constant adjustment. I have got used to it but my wife tried it for about 20 miles and could not keep it between the lines.
When big rigs pass me, I don't feel them at all until they are almost fully alongside me. Then their bow wave pushes me off line. This convinces me it is a front-end problem rather than back-end.
I have added a Trucenter which improved it some, but certainly no cure.

walt2137 · 04-19-2013, 08:00 PM

Chris there is a good thread on the wandering you might want to look at especially the post by Van, as bob has said it could be your rear causing the problem.

Papa_Jim · 04-19-2013, 11:19 PM

You may want to read the posts in this thread:

Wandering, sway bars, alignment, ride height, oh my!!

Mike Canter · 04-20-2013, 01:09 AM

I think we are maybe getting two things mixed up. I guess the OP needs to chime in here before we go off on wandering. Yes, steering box play or worn tie rods can cause wandering but the OP never mentioned he had that problem (yet). It was the guy doing the alignment that said the steering box had play in it.