New to Workhorse; Steering & Tracking

[LouRobin]

I'm new to the Workhorse, and just purchased a new to me 2004 Winnebago Adventurer 33V, its in amazing shape with 36k miles. I drove it about 2 hours home yesterday. I'm thinking it could use a bit of help with steering and tracking, however my mechanical abilities are limited to getting the doors unlocked and the ignition on!
So I searched the treads and found an old post from DriVer that I cut and pasted below, I liked to get the 2017 opinions and input regarding the best for my Workhorse.

"My setup is exactly like the Safe-T-Plus picture. I have both the an STP +plus+ a front mounted track bar. Both devices work to influence the steering wheel to yield 0 effort while driving your rig. The STP eliminates most of the bump steer from the irregularities in the road and the track bar stabilizes any shifting in the leaf springs. I can drive my rig with one hand on the wheel and normally it's not a stressful day of driving at any time even under adverse conditions.

What makes all the stuff work as expected in the front of the coach is a track bar in the rear of the coach. When I did this mod some 7 years ago I did the rear track bar first and then the STP and front track bar."

Thoughts and comments please.

[ROAquaman]

I have a 2001 P32 Workhorse and spent time and money chasing same problem.
If I started over, I would install a rear track bar first. If that has not resolved your issue. Review all the post in the Chassis forum, Workhorse. Many days of reading there on chassis improvements.

Good luck and happy trails!

[LETMGROW]

Originally Posted by ROAquaman

I have a 2001 P32 Workhorse and spent time and money chasing same problem.
If I started over, I would install a rear track bar first. If that has not resolved your issue. Review all the post in the Chassis forum, Workhorse. Many days of reading there on chassis improvements.

Good luck and happy trails!

What brand track bar did you use?
Lynn

[Arch Hoagland]

What is your tire pressure set at?

Over inflated tires will cause handling problems.

[db71]

Originally Posted by LouRobin

I'm new to the Workhorse, and just purchased a new to me 2004 Winnebago Adventurer 33V, its in amazing shape with 36k miles. I drove it about 2 hours home yesterday. I'm thinking it could use a bit of help with steering and tracking, however my mechanical abilities are limited to getting the doors unlocked and the ignition on!
So I searched the treads and found an old post from DriVer that I cut and pasted below, I liked to get the 2017 opinions and input regarding the best for my Workhorse.

"My setup is exactly like the Safe-T-Plus picture. I have both the an STP +plus+ a front mounted track bar. Both devices work to influence the steering wheel to yield 0 effort while driving your rig. The STP eliminates most of the bump steer from the irregularities in the road and the track bar stabilizes any shifting in the leaf springs. I can drive my rig with one hand on the wheel and normally it's not a stressful day of driving at any time even under adverse conditions.

What makes all the stuff work as expected in the front of the coach is a track bar in the rear of the coach. When I did this mod some 7 years ago I did the rear track bar first and then the STP and front track bar."

Thoughts and comments please.

LouRobin,

Last February when we bought our Southwind, it had some very interesting handling characteristics( some white knuckle driving was involved )

The first thing I did was to check tire pressures. Either the previous owner or the dealer had run them up to 105 psi which was way to high. After adjusting pressure according to tire manufacture specs and Workhorse recommendation, the driving characteristics definitely improved.

The next thing I did was to put on the Koni FSD shocks. Holy crap, they improved the handling 110%. Now there is almost no body roll, what little porpoising it had is gone and the overall ride is great. I can now drive with one hand and not have a elevated heart rate. The Koni's are not cheap, but i defiantly think they are worth every penny.

Next month I'm going to install the rear track bar , so we will see how that makes more improvements. I'm doing one upgrade at a time for 2 reasons.

#1 to see how each upgrade changes/improves the handling
#2 because I cant afford to do it all at once

As far as the older posts from DriVer, I would have to believe they are still solid upgrades, the only changes being improved product quality over the years. My plan is doing the same stuff, just in baby steps. Hope this helps.

Dean

[garyre]

What manufacturer of rear stabilizers would be recommended for a W22 chassis? I plan to change the shocks out with the Koni recommendations and install the STP front steering system also in steps to feel how the upgrades perform.

[db71]

http://www.oemys-performance.com/diytracbar.htm#rogdiytb

This is the DIY rear track bar kit I'm gonna use

[MIKEBEQ]

I'd be reluctant to use a track bar that attaches using the differential cover bolts. I know there are a few designs that use that approach but there have been some cases where the bolts work loose or break. There can be a pretty high load on the connection due to the long moment arm on the vertical piece that the bar connects to. I made a track bar using a couple of plates that attached to the axle using the spring bolts (one at each spring). The plates extend rearward about 6". Between those two plates I bolted what is basically an upside-down T frame made from square tubing. The vertical leg is braced and extends up to roughly the same level as the one on Omey's site. I mounted tie-rod between the top of that frame and the chassis like Omey's. There's at least one commercially available track bars similar to mine. I think Ultra RV has one. I did have a few issues with my design. The plates I mounted below the springs needed to be reinforced (too flexible, which I suspect might also be a problem with Ultra RV's), and I had to make sure there was enough clearance for the brake hose going to the rear axle. And the frame blocks the differential cover, so that makes it a little tricky to check/change the grease. It does work well though and made a definite difference in the handling.


I think a better design than either mine or the one on Omey's site would clamp to the axle tube. I don't recall exactly why I didn't do it that way, but I'm sure I had a good reason.

[Oemtech]

[Blaster]

I think you need to drive it a while, before you start throwing money at it to make it drive like your car, its not going to, it is a big truck. After about two trips, short trips at that, it started feeling a lot better. I have never done anything but weigh 4 corners, and set air pressures, and mine drives great. Drive it a while and get use to the feel.

[70ChevelleSS]

Our W22 chassis has had no upgrades or add-ons. It does need new shocks but I usually drive 1 handed. Our previous MH was on a P32 chassis, compared to that this one drives like a sports car. I imagine it could be improved some but I'm pretty happy with the way it handles.

[boatman10]

weigh each axle at a truck stop and check the desert truck workhorse manual for the correct pressures.....weigh each corner if u can find someone to do that......then have it aligned by someone good [good luck with that].....if its a Pseries have them align it to supersteer's specs NOT the factories.


see:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f22/steer...er-331110.html

[AKIQPilot]

Lots of good replies here. I think the key is proper air pressure in the tires and just getting used to how a 20,000lb rig handles. Some upgrades may be in order but its best to drive it first and get a feel for what it does going down the road.

Several people mentioned weighing the axles and setting tire pressure according to the workhorse specifications chart. Ive looked all over for this chart with no luck. Can someone post a link or maybe more info on how to find the chart that specs tire pressure and chassis weight.

[edgray]

I doubt WCC ever produced a tire pressure chart. You can find tire pressure charts on most of the tire maker sites.