Thor ACE question

[triplewide]

Originally Posted by Sweetbriar

Not an Ace owner but have a 2006 Hurricane on an 18,000 Lbs. chassis in the driveway. Koni's help with general ride comfort on less than optom roads. Koni's are a bit softer than the gas charged Bilstein so the ride is a bit softer. Did the Cheap Handling Fix (CHF) along with replaced the rear sway bar bushings which had very good results improving body roll and sway. Adding a rear trac bar pretty much stopped tail wag or rear push from passing vehicles and moderate weather. Can pretty much drive with one hand if I choose too and doing 400 mile drives are not as tiring as it was before.

I also have air bags at each wheel. Not much in terms of improving overall ride for the cost. Some reduction in rear suspension bottoming. My coach does have a lot of house behind the rear axle (1/3 of the overall length), all the liquid load and my largest storage area so the bags do help regain designed ride height. Load rebalancing after a weight check also helped. If I get the pressure too high the coach can get pretty bouncy.

If an owner wants to get in the chase of improving the ride of an F53 set your priorities based on cost of the change. Make one change and then drive the coach for a 1000 miles or so and determine if you need to move to the next item on your list. Could be all you need is to set tire pressures correctly and the CHF to get the coach were you like it.

x2

Good tip, doing one change at a time.

[EricGT]

I honestly feel you are trying to polish a turd. I don't mean that in a negative way as I like my ACE.
However, it is what it is.
From talking to people who have moved from a gasser to a diesel they say the ride is the biggest improvement.
I did the CHF on mine and although it made a difference it was not a night and day changed the entire feel of the ACE improvement. I am not sure the other improvements would justify the cost.
For me, I have just learned how to drive the ACE differently and how to adjust for it's handling. When I see an right approaching in my drivers mirror I double grip and slowly turn the wheel to the right. And then adjust back after it passes.
Not trying to be negative but just saying, 'It is what it is'.

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by EricGT

I honestly feel you are trying to polish a turd. I don't mean that in a negative way as I like my ACE.
However, it is what it is.
From talking to people who have moved from a gasser to a diesel they say the ride is the biggest improvement.
I did the CHF on mine and although it made a difference it was not a night and day changed the entire feel of the ACE improvement. I am not sure the other improvements would justify the cost.
For me, I have just learned how to drive the ACE differently and how to adjust for it's handling. When I see an right approaching in my drivers mirror I double grip and slowly turn the wheel to the right. And then adjust back after it passes.
Not trying to be negative but just saying, 'It is what it is'.

Well, as long as you're not trying to be negative.

After installing the track bar, when I see something approaching in the driver's mirror I just keep on driving with the palm of my left hand on the cross bar.

And, I don't worry about my wife and her 81-year-old mother leaving in it by themselves while I'm out touring on the bike. If I can make it easier for either of us to drive for way less than 1% of the purchase price, I'm on it.

[EricGT]

Originally Posted by EdInArk

Well, as long as you're not trying to be negative.

I've heard ACE's called far worse by their owners.

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by EricGT

I've heard ACE's called far worse by their owners.

Come to think of it, I've heard Mercedes called much worse by their owners as well.

We're happy with ours so far. We know it's not as luxurious as some we could have spent way more for, but we've done `12,000 miles in our first year of ownership and are quite satisfied.

[EricGT]

Originally Posted by EdInArk

Come to think of it, I've heard Mercedes called much worse by their owners as well.

We're happy with ours so far. We know it's not as luxurious as some we could have spent way more for, but we've done `12,000 miles in our first year of ownership and are quite satisfied.

Same here actually.

[saddlesore]

It is so disheartening to see RV customers having to deal with handling issues on their new coaches that are not cheap to purchase or maintain.
Our neighbor has a new ('17) Minnie-Winnie 30 footer on the Ford chassis.They have spent a exorbitant amount of money trying to get it drive able, And that's not counting the continual returns to the dealer for warranty work.... .
They asked me to drive it and tell them what I thought...In a nutshell... EricGT is correct..Just polishing a turd...
But it seems that the chassis & the coach builders are not taking the time ( and R & D $$) to correct the poor designs & engineering misnomers ...

[Shifty103]

Looking forward to your findings Triplewide.

[triplewide]

Originally Posted by Shifty103

Looking forward to your findings Triplewide.

In Savannah now, should be able to post something Sunday.

[triplewide]

Originally Posted by EricGT

I honestly feel you are trying to polish a turd. I don't mean that in a negative way as I like my ACE.
However, it is what it is.
From talking to people who have moved from a gasser to a diesel they say the ride is the biggest improvement.
I did the CHF on mine and although it made a difference it was not a night and day changed the entire feel of the ACE improvement. I am not sure the other improvements would justify the cost.
For me, I have just learned how to drive the ACE differently and how to adjust for it's handling. When I see an right approaching in my drivers mirror I double grip and slowly turn the wheel to the right. And then adjust back after it passes.
Not trying to be negative but just saying, 'It is what it is'.

I did the opposite, moved from a DP to a gasser. Purchased a Winny 2000 Journey in 2001. Hated the handling, one of the reasons I sold it. The ride was soft and quiet. So soft it was like steering a boat. Required continuos correction to stay in line. Quiet in the cab, because all the noise was moved to the rear under the bed. Even with the soft ride it would bang when rolling over transitions like at bridges. The push from passing trucks was almost as bad as the ACE before adding rear track bar. The worst thing was the Journey's acceleration, it had none.

I have polished the current rig to the point I can see myself in it. Not sure that is a good thing.

Rigs passing now are a non issue.

[Shifty103]

I don't think of it as "polishing my turd" just making it much easier to drive and thereby more pleasant to use. Having the steering stabilizer installed helped tremendously. That along with properly insulating the doghouse has made it much more pleasant. The only thing that bothers me now is the sway on some turns. Once I get the sway reduced I will be a happy camper. There are other things that I wish were different about the coach, but I knew I didn't purchase a Prevost so I can live with that very nicely. We do love our floorplan.

[triplewide]

Originally Posted by Shifty103

I don't think of it as "polishing my turd" just making it much easier to drive and thereby more pleasant to use. Having the steering stabilizer installed helped tremendously. That along with properly insulating the doghouse has made it much more pleasant. The only thing that bothers me now is the sway on some turns. Once I get the sway reduced I will be a happy camper. There are other things that I wish were different about the coach, but I knew I didn't purchase a Prevost so I can live with that very nicely. We do love our floorplan.

I insulated the cockpit floor on the bottom side as well as the dog house and it made a huge difference on heat and noise transfer. Can listen to radio and/or have a conversation at 65 MPH now. Probably one of the top 3 mods I've done. I am thinking about doing more farther back above exhast components and around the stair well. Track bar and CHF controlled the roll for me.

[triplewide]

Originally Posted by Shifty103

Looking forward to your findings Triplewide.

No grease on the jounce bumpers. About an 800 mile round trip. Hit lots of transitions and pot holes on Interstate 95.

Don't think I'll do the Sumos or the Konis now. Will do the Konis when the Bilsteins fade. Think I'm about done polishing this one.

Doing the CHF fixed my sway issues in turns.

[Shifty103]

Originally Posted by triplewide

No grease on the jounce bumpers. About an 800 mile round trip. Hit lots of transitions and pot holes on Interstate 95.

Don't think I'll do the Sumos or the Konis now. Will do the Konis when the Bilsteins fade. Think I'm about done polishing this one.

Doing the CHF fixed my sway issues in turns.

Did you add an anti-sway bar to the rear or just the CHF?