Henderson Rear Track Bar

[ghamblen]

Peekay wrote: Think about it this way, if a manufacturer made a gas tank that exploded upon impact, unless you got an aftermarket safety device, would this be acceptable? Of course not.

That is exactly what Ford did many years ago. They were experiencing fuel tank explosions on one model in thier line due to rear end collosions. They decided for quite some time that it was cheaper to pay the law suits instead of installing a relatively inexpensive part on each car to prevent the explosions. Finally, with mounting media exposure and rising costs due to law suits, they started installing the part to prevent the explosions. I owned one of those cars and was rather distrubed that Ford considered my wife and kids expendable, although I know Ford made that decision strictly from a business viewpoint. So it has happened in the past and it will probably happen in the future. Large companies must watch the bottom line to stay competitive and they make decisions based on that. These decisions sometimes make little sense to you and I as consumers. Most likely Winnebago decided to not install a track bar on every coach as a business decision. If they install a track bar at lets say $500 and the competition does not, Winnebago is less competitive. They will continue to make these business decisions to stay competitive unless the public demands in very large numbers that they do otherwise, which rarely happens. Even then, the track bar would probably be an available option instead of being installed on every coach.

[peekay]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ghamblen:
Peekay wrote: Think about it this way, if a manufacturer made a gas tank that exploded upon impact, unless you got an aftermarket safety device, would this be acceptable? Of course not.

That is exactly what Ford did many years ago. They were experiencing fuel tank explosions on one model in thier line due to rear end collosions. They decided for quite some time that it was cheaper to pay the law suits instead of installing a relatively inexpensive part on each car to prevent the explosions. Finally, with mounting media exposure and rising costs due to law suits, they started installing the part to prevent the explosions. I owned one of those cars and was rather distrubed that Ford considered my wife and kids expendable, although I know Ford made that decision strictly from a business viewpoint. So it has happened in the past and it will probably happen in the future. Large companies must watch the bottom line to stay competitive and they make decisions based on that. These decisions sometimes make little sense to you and I as consumers. Most likely Winnebago decided to not install a track bar on every coach as a business decision. If they install a track bar at lets say $500 and the competition does not, Winnebago is less competitive. They will continue to make these business decisions to stay competitive unless the public demands in very large numbers that they do otherwise, which rarely happens. Even then, the track bar would probably be an available option instead of being installed on every coach. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yes, I believe the Pinto is the vehicle, right? I guess my point is that perhaps on some coaches, a track bar may be a luxury item. But on my particular coach, with its particular characteristics, it should be considered a required safety item. Therefore, I am slightly irked that Winnie didn't include it on the 26P.

Regardless, I am now happy that I can drive it without having to worry about the next semi passing me, or rolling over in an emergency stop.

[ghamblen]

Peekay - I hear you. Been there myself. Our Windsong on the W22 is 36 feet with a wheel base of 228. Doesn't sound too bad but it was a handful when we first got it. A semi passing in the opposite direction would pull me into the next lane no matter what I did. Obviously a danger to us and everyone else on the road. Two track bars, new Koni shocks and a Trucenter steering stabilizer later, it drives like a dream. Yet I have driven the motorhomes of many friends with the same length and wheelbase and they handle just fine in stock condition. Go figure. I was lucky enough to get a problem child. I wish I understood more about suspension dynamics because I still don't understand why theirs handle just fine and mine was a nightmare. But like you, I am now a happy camper and it was much cheaper to do the modifications than trade for a new one. Although there were times while solving all the growing pains of any new motorhome, I would have sold it for 2 cents.

[NeilV]

While the track bars are great it has been mentioned here before that we still need to verify proper loading, weight distrubution, tire inflation and wheel allignment for the way we have outfitted/loaded our coaches before going with the trackbar solution. Winnegbago lists the allignment as one of the first things we need to bring our coaches in for after we have loaded them the way we will be using them in our travels. I don't know if these things were verified and taken care of first in the case of these recent postings but so many times I talk to people who have problems with their coaches handling who never got it alligned and never gave a thought to load, distrubution and tire pressures. Sometimes simply moving a few heavy items from the rearmost to one of the front bins and then getting a good wheel allignment is all it takes to tame the monster.

I was travelling with my inlaws in their station wagon some years back and at the end of the trip something was terrible wrong with the car it was all over the road and couldn't take the slightest bump or passing truck without swaying all over the place. It turned out that while we were not watching my mother-in-law purchased two 100 lb bags of fruit and a 50 lb bag of nuts and had the stock boy push the luggage a bit foward to fit these additional items at the tailgate. Putting one bag in the front passenger footwell and the other in the middle of the front seat solved the handling problem. I guess we could have added overload shocks and a pan bar and then complained to the manufacturer about the design of the vehicle but it was really our own fault. We should have just gotten rid of the items causing the overload but mom just would not hear of it.

[ghamblen]

I hear ya NeilV. With my Windsong I went to the trouble of getting all four corners weighed. Then I shifted things around and reweighed it, as advised in this forum. Then off to the alighment shop to have a four wheel alignment check up. Then I set my tire pressures according to the chart, again as recommended by this forum. I thought this would solve the problem but all of this made little difference where it counts, on the road with high winds or passing other large vehicles. Passing a semi in the opposite direction on a two lane road would still pull me into the other lane. NOT GOOD!!! Then I decided to try some of the options DriVer had tried. That rear track bar made a world of difference, solved about 75 to 80 percent of the problem. I couldn't believe that a small metal bar could make such a dramatic improvement in handling, but I wasn't about to argue with success. To make a long story shorter, I eventually added the works and the coach now handles like a dream, like it is on a rail, regardless of conditions. You can now drive it with one finger and feel completely comfortable and at ease. It would be nice if the coach handled correctly in stock condition as the coaches of some friends do. But this problem child does require the rear track bar as a minumum to get it out of the DANGEROUS category. It now handles as well or better than most of the semis I have driven with their air suspension, etc. And I gotta tell ya, some of those new semis are downright nice to drive. Hmmmmm! Maybe I should look into air ride seats.

[peekay]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by NeilV:
It turned out that while we were not watching my mother-in-law purchased two 100 lb bags of fruit and a 50 lb bag of nuts and had the stock boy push the luggage a bit foward to fit these additional items at the tailgate. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is a crazy amount of fruits and nuts!

I have tried different tire pressures, moving the weight around, alignment, etc. The problem with the 26P is pure physics. Ultra short wheelbase, long and HEAVY overhang, and relatively high center of gravity=unstable.

Nonetheless, I am happy I took the advice of the people on this board and bought the track bar. It made a world of difference. Like Ghamblen, I was shocked at how much of a difference something so simple could be.

Next on the list will be a custom front track bar (none exists yet for the W16) and possibly a STP.

[RamblinFever]

I have been following the rear track bar but am thoroughly confused by the manufacturers.

Henderson's web site lists the Davis TruTrac Bar.

The Roadmaster web site lists the Davis TruTrac bars, manufactured by Roadmaster Suspension Solutions.

Why would anyone buy from Henderson's if it is made by Roadmaster?

Also, from an engineering point of view I would prefer the bar that goes across to the other spring rather than to the differential banjo. Are both designs available or is only one available for the W22?

Can someone please help me sort out this info?

Thanks, Jim

[Ultra RV Products]

The Henderson bar(SUPER STEER) is now being made by Roadmaster.Although I dont believe you can buy it directly from Roadmaster.
I don't quite understand the idea of connecting both springs together with the trac bar.You have to have one end go to the axle or it wont do anything.

["007"]

I have the Henderson Trac-bar that was designed by Henderson. The bar is for the purpose of stabilizing the rear end so the chassis stays in place. The rear axel can not shift, under the frame, on the springs when its held in place to the frame.
The Davis Tru-TRAC will do the same thing for the front end suspension.
In other words no tail waging the dog.

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brazels RV Performance:
The Henderson bar(SUPER STEER) is now being made by Roadmaster.Although I dont believe you can buy it directly from Roadmaster.
I don't quite understand the idea of connecting both springs together with the trac bar.You have to have one end go to the axle or it wont do anything. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mike,

The ones I saw that went to a spring mounted to the frame on the other side of the chassis. Seemed like the longer bar would cause less side shift with the larger radius of its arc.

[peekay]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by NeilV:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brazels RV Performance:
The Henderson bar(SUPER STEER) is now being made by Roadmaster.Although I dont believe you can buy it directly from Roadmaster.
I don't quite understand the idea of connecting both springs together with the trac bar.You have to have one end go to the axle or it wont do anything. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mike,

The ones I saw that went to a spring mounted to the frame on the other side of the chassis. Seemed like the longer bar would cause less side shift with the larger radius of its arc. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

the one i have for the w-16 chassis, goes from the frame to a mount on other side of the differential pumpkin. the mount is secured by two enormous ubolts and is extremely well fabricated and engineered. in my opinion this is a better design than the mount that attaches to the differential bolts for the reason you mention and also because it eliminates the chances of shearing the diff bolts.

but the design that goes to the spring perch on the other spring is probably the best. on the w-16, this would be incredibly difficult since the shock appears to be in the way.

[RamblinFever]

Thanks for the replies. However they lead to more questions.

If you look at this web page:
http://hendersonslineup.com/uncatego...eer-trac-bars/
you will see illustrations of two types of rear track bars, the SS300 is attached from the frame to the opposite spring and the SS302 is attached from the frame to the differential. The SS300 has a longer bar and will have less side movement as the axle moves up and down. From what I can tell, only the SS302 is available for the W22. Is this true?

007,
If the Davis TruTrac bar is only for the front axle, then does Henderson make the only rear track bar for the W22?

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RamblinFever:
From what I can tell, only the SS302 is available for the W22. Is this true? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>The SS302 is the Henderson Pn# for the track bar on the WCC W22<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> If the Davis TruTrac bar is only for the front axle, then does Henderson make the only rear track bar for the W22? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>No they don't you may want to explore your options with the UltraTrack line of products from Brazel's RV Performance. Davis is no longer in the business and has sold to Roadmaster.

[Ultra RV Products]

Both bars connect the frame to the axle,stopping any side shift.The SS302 connects to the Differential only for ease of install,but they are doing the same thing.Niether axle moves up & down very far so the arc of the bar makes no difference.