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Old 12-21-2012, 09:57 PM   #15
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I think I must have been lucky. Mine steers very well. I feel as though I could drive with one hand (although I don't). What is a "bump steer in the wheel"?
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Old 12-22-2012, 11:48 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom65 View Post
I think I must have been lucky. Mine steers very well. I feel as though I could drive with one hand (although I don't). What is a "bump steer in the wheel"?
Bump steer is when you hit a bump, pothole or rut in the road and it makes the steering wheel twitch or jerk. It happens most often or is most noticeable at highway speeds.

Now that mine is properly adjusted, I too can drive it on good roads with one hand. But I still get a twitch or jerk in the wheel when hitting irregularities in the lane. It's not like you're making a huge effort fighting the wheel, but on a long drive it can add fatigue.

I've driven OTR trucks in the past and this is my second motorhome. I've used the Roadmaster steering stablizers in the past and they work really well. The stabilizer is basically a massive shock absorber (and with the Roadmaster 2 bid coil springs) that mounts horizontally on your front axle and attaches to the drag link that connets your two front wheels together. Just like a shock absorber on your suspension, it smoothes out the bumps to the steering so they dont get transmitted up to you via the steering wheel. There are other benefits too. The coil springs help the steering wheel return to center easier on it's own when completing a turn. Also, when you get passed by a semi, it will minimize the effort you have to put into the steering to offset the "push" or "drift" caused by the air from the semi hitting you. It really helps the same way if you're driving with a strong, constant crosswind.

It looks like this will be a very straight forward install on the Palazzo, no drilling or welding, just a straight bolt-on. I'll snap some pictures and provide a write up on the install and the impact on steering when its done.
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Old 12-22-2012, 02:19 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by RVRandy View Post

Bump steer is when you hit a bump, pothole or rut in the road and it makes the steering wheel twitch or jerk. It happens most often or is most noticeable at highway speeds.

Now that mine is properly adjusted, I too can drive it on good roads with one hand. But I still get a twitch or jerk in the wheel when hitting irregularities in the lane. It's not like you're making a huge effort fighting the wheel, but on a long drive it can add fatigue.

I've driven OTR trucks in the past and this is my second motorhome. I've used the Roadmaster steering stablizers in the past and they work really well. The stabilizer is basically a massive shock absorber (and with the Roadmaster 2 bid coil springs) that mounts horizontally on your front axle and attaches to the drag link that connets your two front wheels together. Just like a shock absorber on your suspension, it smoothes out the bumps to the steering so they dont get transmitted up to you via the steering wheel. There are other benefits too. The coil springs help the steering wheel return to center easier on it's own when completing a turn. Also, when you get passed by a semi, it will minimize the effort you have to put into the steering to offset the "push" or "drift" caused by the air from the semi hitting you. It really helps the same way if you're driving with a strong, constant crosswind.

It looks like this will be a very straight forward install on the Palazzo, no drilling or welding, just a straight bolt-on. I'll snap some pictures and provide a write up on the install and the impact on steering when its done.
Is there a standard one size fits all or a particular version for the Palazzo?

Where would one go to have it installed ?
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Old 12-22-2012, 05:12 PM   #18
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Is there a standard one size fits all or a particular version for the Palazzo?

Where would one go to have it installed ?

For our Palazzo's the Roadmaster stabilizer part number is: RSSA and the mounting kit is : BRK-18

Camping World sells and installs these as do many other RV service centers. I can tell you that the least expensive place to purchase the kit above is etrailer.com. They are $356 with free shipping. No one should charge you more than 1 hour at their basic labor rate for this install.
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Old 12-30-2012, 03:02 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by RVRandy View Post

For our Palazzo's the Roadmaster stabilizer part number is: RSSA and the mounting kit is : BRK-18

Camping World sells and installs these as do many other RV service centers. I can tell you that the least expensive place to purchase the kit above is etrailer.com. They are $356 with free shipping. No one should charge you more than 1 hour at their basic labor rate for this install.
Thanks. Let us know how much difference you get.
On normal days I feel just fine but when the wind is gusting at 20 I am uncomfortable with lack of stability.
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Old 12-31-2012, 10:39 AM   #20
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I drove through Palm Springs, home of about 2000 wind turbines so you know it gets windy there. I didn't notice it was windy until I got out at a rest stop and almost got blown away. Wind was primarily from behind so maybe a cross wind would be more noticeable.
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Old 01-02-2013, 06:50 PM   #21
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OK, today was a crappy day to do the install (20 degrees, windy and snow on the ground) but a perfect day for a test drive so I put my Carharts on and got er' done.

I put 6" wood blocks under the front jacks and lowered the air suspension down. Then I lowered the front jacks in manual mode about half way, then aired the suspension back up and that raised the front tires off of the ground a few inches. I put 6 ton jack stands under the front axle and raised the jacks so all of the front end weight was back on the front axle. This gave me enough room to work safely under the rig while ensuring the suspension was at normal ride height, important for the install.

Included is a picture of everything that comes in the complete kit. Basically just a humongous shock absorber with a HD coil spring on it and the mounting brackets. This shock is about 3' long and 4" in diameter, so it is beefy. As far as tools you will need a big 1-1/8" box wrench (a big crescent wont work) and a 1/2" drive socket of the same size. You will also need a 3/4" wrench and socket along with a 9/16" deep well socket. A torque wrench is good if you have it but not mandatory.

The install, from the time I started putting the wood blocks under it until I took them back out again, was just under 1 hour. So pretty easy. I did have a 1/2" air impact though that I used on the two big bolts. You can do these by hand but breaking them loose (140 ft lbs) is a bear so use a cheater and breaker bar to get them started.

The instructions that come with the kit are easy to follow and include pictures. Basically there is a large shock mount on the drivers side that extends behind the front axle. You take two big nuts off of the bottom of this bracket, place the kit bracket on these bolts and bolt it back up tightly. You use a bolt from the kit to attach one end of the big shock to this bracket. There is another bracket that attaches to the tie rod using two U bolts. The other end of the shock attaches to this bracket. You then make sure it is all level and not twisted, then tighten everything up and you are done.

The most important thing to make this install easy is to make sure your steering wheel is perfectly straight when you install the tie rod bracket. Before I did the install, I went to the WalMart parking lot, picked out a landmark, and drove slowly towards it until I was certain I was going as straight as I could make it. I stopped and made a little mark on the steering wheel and on the steering column so that when they are lined up my wheels are straight. That way when it was in the air I could have my wife make sure the marks were lined up when I tightened the bracket that attaches to the tie rod. This aligns the stabilizer in the steering neutral position. If you get it off by too much, the steering might pull slightly one direction or the other. If so, just readjust the bracket slightly and you're good to go.

The good news is, in my opinion, it dramatically improved the steering over the stock setup even though the coach is brand new. We had a good solid 25-30 mph wind coming out of the East today. I drove about 20 miles due South down a fairly rutted and bumpy two lane road, so I had a bad crosswind coming from my left. You could feel the coach leaning but the steering wheel hardly budged either from the cross wind or because of tracking in the ruts. I drove the whole distance at 65 to 70 mph using one hand. Then I went over to I-25 and drove North over Monument Hill so the wind was really strong and coming from my right. Again, I put it in cruise at 70-75 and it was solid as a rock. I passed several semis and you could feel it when I hit their "bow wave" of air but the steering wheel hardly moved. I slowed down and let several pass me with the same results. At this point the crosswind was so strong the box trailer semis were really leaning left and the rigs were moving around quite a bit in their lanes. I had to put a little right wheel into mine but it was a steady, gentle pressure with no weaving in the lane and the steering wheel was steady. Best of all, there are several bridges on this stretch of road with really bad seams that run at an angle to the lane. When I hit them I could feel the bump in the suspension but there was no "twitch" or "jerk" in the steering wheel.

This thing now drives exactly the way I hoped it would. The steering wheel has a tighter feel now yet the wheel returns to center even easier now when in tight, slow speed turns. If you think about it, most cars and pickups come with a steering stabilizer from the factory, it makes sense that these rigs can benefit from them too. Note to THOR:You should install these on every coach you sell or at least offer it as an option.

If you decide to have one installed, don't let the shop charge you more than 1 hour labor for the install. If they do then they are ripping you off or they don't know what they are doing. Hopefully this write up is helpful. Feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover something.
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Old 01-02-2013, 08:08 PM   #22
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Great info, thanks.
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Old 01-03-2013, 10:23 PM   #23
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Drove from Lake Havasu to LA yesterday along I-40 thru the Mojave desert. Really strong cross wind (30 to 40 mph) and I certainly noticed it this time.
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Old 01-04-2013, 04:39 AM   #24
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Thanks for the detailed instructions!
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Old 01-14-2013, 09:26 PM   #25
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At the FMCA rally in Indio, I bought the Steer Safe steering stabilizer system and have had it installed on our Palazzo. Haven't tried it out yet so don't know if it will make a difference or not.
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