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Old 04-22-2016, 10:11 AM   #1933
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Originally Posted by Treefarmer View Post
crah, fellow members,

I e-mailed Douglas Auto Tech and received this reply.

Thank you very much for your inquiry.

Douglas Autotech manufactures and sells steering columns for OEM customers. Please contact your nearest dealer for nearest New Flyer, MCI, OshKosh or Pierce

Thanks

Justin Lundstrum
Sales and Business Development
Looks like you need to buy from Monaco as they are the OEM for your coach. Monaco just purchases from Douglass auto tech. Have you figured out how much play you have in the slip joint? That is pretty hard to determine without having it on your workbench. I opened up my floor where the shafts goes through the chassis to determine mine. Ultimately either though I had slight play at the joint, I discovered most of my play came from a bad TRW steering gear. I replaced my OEM TRW with a new rebuilt one from Weller. Let me know if I can help in any ways. If you have a video of the problem you have, they may help determine the issues you may be having.
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Old 04-25-2016, 08:55 PM   #1934
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Just returned home a few hours ago from a 2600 mile round trip to Southwestern Texas and back to northern Utah. The coach handled phenomenally. We departed @ O'dark thirty in the morning a week and a half ago in a full blown blizzard with crosswinds and drove through winds most of the way down to Texas and back over the past three days in wind and more snow. I couldn't ask for a better handling coach.

Fabbing and installing the Watts link was one of the best mods I have done to our coach. It truly is a driver's coach. Long 650 mile days were not a problem, although I don't like driving that many miles in a day very often, it is nice to know that when I need to the coach will be a relaxing and effortless driving vehicle.

Mike.
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Old 04-25-2016, 11:21 PM   #1935
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Well that settles the question of does the Watts Links help larger coaches with tag axles as well as they do for the smaller size Monaco RVs. YES they do.........ENJOY. Sanford
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Old 04-26-2016, 09:06 AM   #1936
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Yes...a new item on my want list.
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Old 04-26-2016, 09:12 AM   #1937
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Just returned home a few hours ago from a 2600 mile round trip to Southwestern Texas and back to northern Utah. The coach handled phenomenally. We departed @ O'dark thirty in the morning a week and a half ago in a full blown blizzard with crosswinds and drove through winds most of the way down to Texas and back over the past three days in wind and more snow. I couldn't ask for a better handling coach.

Fabbing and installing the Watts link was one of the best mods I have done to our coach. It truly is a driver's coach. Long 650 mile days were not a problem, although I don't like driving that many miles in a day very often, it is nice to know that when I need to the coach will be a relaxing and effortless driving vehicle.

Mike.
Wow, the continued testing of the infamous Watts Link is phenomenal...I can't wait to get mine installed when Van returns later this fall. This group is great to want to better their coaches and all others who show interest. I just want to enjoy my coach and have less worried driving experiences. They drive good with no outside added weather but it seems everytime I get behind the wheel the wind kicks up. Keep up good mod work Mike...
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Old 04-28-2016, 10:27 AM   #1938
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Well, all I have is the X-braces I installed after finding this thread. Our first time driving after the purchase was 2 months ago (2004 Camelot PBDD) and it was a PITA to drive. We just made our first real trip about 350 miles (Still here now). We left yesterday during a rain storm with gusty conditions so it was rough the first 80 miles or so. However after the rain cleared it was at least 75% to 80% better handling. One other thing I did was lower the air pressure. It originally had 115 in all the tires. Went to 85 in the front tires and 95 in the rear. The ride was remarkably better. I can only imagine how it will ride with new shocks. I believe we still have the original Monroe's from the factory. All in all I am sure a watts set up front and back would only make it better but it was much easier to drive so I think I will hold off and spend money else where (shocks and residential fridge). Big trucks passing had little to no affects. Only one time was it bad as we were behind one and one passed us at a pretty fast pace. I greatly appreciate all who contributed to this thread. Thanks a bunch.
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Old 04-28-2016, 05:50 PM   #1939
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Well, all I have is the X-braces I installed after finding this thread. Our first time driving after the purchase was 2 months ago (2004 Camelot PBDD) and it was a PITA to drive. We just made our first real trip about 350 miles (Still here now). We left yesterday during a rain storm with gusty conditions so it was rough the first 80 miles or so. However after the rain cleared it was at least 75% to 80% better handling. One other thing I did was lower the air pressure. It originally had 115 in all the tires. Went to 85 in the front tires and 95 in the rear. The ride was remarkably better. I can only imagine how it will ride with new shocks. I believe we still have the original Monroe's from the factory. All in all I am sure a watts set up front and back would only make it better but it was much easier to drive so I think I will hold off and spend money else where (shocks and residential fridge). Big trucks passing had little to no affects. Only one time was it bad as we were behind one and one passed us at a pretty fast pace. I greatly appreciate all who contributed to this thread. Thanks a bunch.

Have you had your coach weighed? 85 psi in the steer tires will support a total steer axle weight of about 10,000 pounds. Your steer axle has a GAWR of 13,000 pounds and the tires would need to be at 120 psi to support that weight. This is based on the OEM tire size of 275/70R 22.5.

Under inflation and the resultant heat build up is a killer of tires.
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Old 04-28-2016, 05:58 PM   #1940
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Yes. Front is just a little under 10K. After driving for a couple hundred miles I stopped and checked everything. Tires were barely warm to the touch and about 10 psi over from the driving.
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Old 05-06-2016, 04:08 PM   #1941
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Just got back from a Good Sam Hams campout in Lancaster, Calif. Of course I had to drive there to get back from there, but the point of all this wordage is that with all the "extras" I have on the bottom side of my coach the rig handles "PHENOMENALLY". Yes that is what others have said about their coaches after installing all the "extras". I'm coming down I 14 from Lancaster with stormy winds (rain further down the road) doing 65-70 miles an hour on cruise control (foot helicoptering over the brake pedal) with unbelievable control. This coach doesn't lean just goes where it is pointed. While at Lancaster Elks Lodge in Lancaster camping Mike Hughes did a remarkable job putting the newest improved addition to the back Watts Link (that he previously installed way back in this thread). Afterwords Mike and his DW Wanda and I went out to our favorite Mexican Restaurant for lunch. Afterwards Mike showed me his new business location, and it is a WINNER. He is very smart and can do most anything he sets his mind too. He designed his new office and electronic systems beyond anyone's imagination. Not only can he build the finest Watts links and X bars that I've seen, but he can design microwave systems that operate mountain to mountain peaks all around the valley. Sorry I can't go into any more detail than that, but if you are out that way maybe he can tell you more. Several shops are now handling his products, but he will still sell direct to members of this iRV2 bloggers site. All of my improvements are mentioned somewhere on this thread for those who want the BEST handling available ( like a Prevost without the up and down soft air bag ride). I took some pictures of Mike's latest work on the rear Watts Link, but my son isn't here to upload it. Mike said he has about 20 kits left and when they are gone they are gone. Sanford (thanks to all the GREAT guys who have made my RV handle beyond my expectations). PS several of them are on their trip to Alaska. Maybe when they have internet capability they will let us all know how their trip is going.
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Old 05-06-2016, 11:14 PM   #1942
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Sanford, I too visited Mike and his lovely wife last weekend, only to discover that my Beaver with the Magnum chassis is built so tough that there wasn't any room to install any fixes. Mike pointed out what may be a problem with the front end that I will need to look into. I had my TRW steering box tightened just before my round trip to his house. I will say that it was 80% better, just with that adjustment. But all wasn't lost, Mike asked if I had a "to do" list, and I did. We repaired and added some stuff, that turned out great. If I lived closer to Mike I would bring more projects since he genuinely likes to work on the motorhomes as a hobby.
I really enjoyed meeting Mike and his wife.
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Old 05-10-2016, 12:38 PM   #1943
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I just ordered a front Watts Link for my 08 Endeavor from Mike... Can't wait to get it and get it installed on my rig. I'm a little concerned about the install but I looked at Mike's instructions (very detailed with good photos) and I'm pretty sure I can get it done. Looks like I have all the tools... Just not the best mechanic.
I can tell anyone that has not had the pleasure of dealing with Mike, that he makes TOP QUALITY products for our rigs.
Last year I bought Mike's X Bars and the made a big improvement to the handling of my rig.... Can't wait to see what the Watts Link will do for me!

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Old 05-11-2016, 10:02 PM   #1944
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Weller Info

I know both this and the TRW SWAP thread run together at times so I thought I would pass along some VERY IMPORTANT information from Weller in both the TRW and Wandering Thread's.

Brent, of Weller Truck Parts, sent me this email today.

"I was looking over some stuff and I seen that there have been a couple of RV gears sold without emailing me first. This concerns me a little bit because I want to make sure they are getting the right parts. We have about 10 salesman that work up front. Only about 2 or 3 are really familiar what we are doing with these RV gears. The reason they all don’t know is it is way to hard trying to get three people to remember let alone 10. So when we have an RV gear sold I try and keep it between these three guys so that everything stays consistent. When an RV customer cold calls and gets a salesman that isn’t familiar with what we are doing I’m afraid they could be putting themselves at risk. The salesman may not be familiar with the bolt we send for the pitman arm and they are not familiar with the pricing. I noticed the couple of guys that cold called ended up paying more than what they would have if they would have contacted me. We have given the RV guys a pricing special and if I’m unaware of them getting a gearbox they will end up paying more. The salesman may not know we only want to sell new pitman arms to eliminate any play that could occur in a used pitman arm. A salesman who is not familiar and takes a cold call may end up selling a used arm simply because they do not know the process. Like I said we have kept it limited to 2-3 salesmen to try and keep everything as consistent as we can. As a company we are not complaining about the extra money but I just want to be fair to everyone. Our salesmen are not paid commission so it does not matter who takes the call we just want to ensure everything is handled properly and fairly. From a safety stand point I do not like a customer cold calling without consulting the steering department first. We are putting together custom units that were not originally installed on these RV’s. We are unintentionally put at a larger risk if a customer cold calls and doesn’t consult us first. The salesman may be unaware of what’s going on and they may just be fulfilling the customer’s request. So if you could please have those that are interested in the swap please contact me or our steering department before just to make sure all information is correct. We as a company just want to make sure all information is correct and that we are offering a safe alternative to a problem gearbox. We are offering custom gearbox’s and the customer may unintentionally be putting themselves and us at risk by cold calling. If you have any questions about please let me know. Otherwise if you could let everyone know to just give us in the steering department a heads up when placing an order. Thank you"

Brent Hofstra
Steering Department
1500 Gezon Parkway SW
Grand Rapids MI 49508

PLEASE email Brent BEFORE you order TRW steering gears so you can receive the BEST information, parts and pricing.

THANKS TEAM !

Craig
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Old 05-12-2016, 08:06 AM   #1945
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I know both this and the TRW SWAP thread run together at times so I thought I would pass along some VERY IMPORTANT information from Weller in both the TRW and Wandering Thread's.

Brent, of Weller Truck Parts, sent me this email today.

"I was looking over some stuff and I seen that there have been a couple of RV gears sold without emailing me first. This concerns me a little bit because I want to make sure they are getting the right parts. We have about 10 salesman that work up front. Only about 2 or 3 are really familiar what we are doing with these RV gears. The reason they all don’t know is it is way to hard trying to get three people to remember let alone 10. So when we have an RV gear sold I try and keep it between these three guys so that everything stays consistent. When an RV customer cold calls and gets a salesman that isn’t familiar with what we are doing I’m afraid they could be putting themselves at risk. The salesman may not be familiar with the bolt we send for the pitman arm and they are not familiar with the pricing. I noticed the couple of guys that cold called ended up paying more than what they would have if they would have contacted me. We have given the RV guys a pricing special and if I’m unaware of them getting a gearbox they will end up paying more. The salesman may not know we only want to sell new pitman arms to eliminate any play that could occur in a used pitman arm. A salesman who is not familiar and takes a cold call may end up selling a used arm simply because they do not know the process. Like I said we have kept it limited to 2-3 salesmen to try and keep everything as consistent as we can. As a company we are not complaining about the extra money but I just want to be fair to everyone. Our salesmen are not paid commission so it does not matter who takes the call we just want to ensure everything is handled properly and fairly. From a safety stand point I do not like a customer cold calling without consulting the steering department first. We are putting together custom units that were not originally installed on these RV’s. We are unintentionally put at a larger risk if a customer cold calls and doesn’t consult us first. The salesman may be unaware of what’s going on and they may just be fulfilling the customer’s request. So if you could please have those that are interested in the swap please contact me or our steering department before just to make sure all information is correct. We as a company just want to make sure all information is correct and that we are offering a safe alternative to a problem gearbox. We are offering custom gearbox’s and the customer may unintentionally be putting themselves and us at risk by cold calling. If you have any questions about please let me know. Otherwise if you could let everyone know to just give us in the steering department a heads up when placing an order. Thank you"

Brent Hofstra
Steering Department
1500 Gezon Parkway SW
Grand Rapids MI 49508

PLEASE email Brent BEFORE you order TRW steering gears so you can receive the BEST information, parts and pricing.

THANKS TEAM !

Craig
Brent and Craig are doing a great job of helping everyone. Please comply with their requests to make sure your installation goes smoothly and you get the best price.
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Old 05-12-2016, 08:55 PM   #1946
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Forgot one thing ( I put it in the TRW SWAP thread)

Brent Hofstra Weller Truck contact.

bhofstra@wellertruck.com

Cheers....off to Minnesota in the morning.

THANKS VAN !
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