2018 24K F53 Handling Issues?

[HappiPappa]

Hello,

I have a 2018 24K F53 Chassis and the rear axle is almost at max GAWR. I have almost 2K pounds of wiggle room on the front GAWR. There is significant body roll when cornering or entering/exiting gas stations. I would like to take a phased approach to correcting the handling issues.

Should I start with the front or rear sway bars?

Or should I try sumosprings (front or rear)?

Any advice you provide is much appreciated.

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by HappiPappa

Hello,

I have a 2018 24K F53 Chassis and the rear axle is almost at max GAWR. I have almost 2K pounds of wiggle room on the front GAWR. There is significant body roll when cornering or entering/exiting gas stations. I would like to take a phased approach to correcting the handling issues.

Should I start with the front or rear sway bars?

Or should I try sumosprings (front or rear)?

Any advice you provide is much appreciated.

There are pages and pages and pages and .... well, you get the picture .... of info on making he F53 chassis handle better. Search "CHF" or "Cheap Handling Fix" to begin.

For me that solved the body roll problem. I also installed a Blue Ox Tiger Track on the rear axle to handle tail wag.

I do, however, have a lighter chassis than you do.

[Sweetbriar]

You can go no cost or high cost. No cost is the Cheap Handling Fix, aka CHF, which changes the geometry of the Ford bars with the end effect of stiffer bars. The thread is the top one in the Ford Forum. Arguments both for and against but heavily on the side of supporting the idea. Made a big difference with my coach.

The cost side you can go two directions, replace the current bars or as you were thinking go with sumos at least on the rear axle initially.

Sumos will help with sway but sway control is its more of a secondary benefit of sumos rather than a primary, but I could be wrong since I went with airbags. For me I think the additional benefits of sumos would have me going in that direction over sway bar replacement if the CHF is not something you wish to try.

I have a front/rear track bar, airbags, koni shocks and CHF. Back to back eight hour days behind the wheel in less than optimal weather is not a problem. Coach is very stable.

[macnut]

I put on Sumos last week and it has almost eliminated roll when cornering or entering/exiting gas stations. It has also helped with bouncing when the pavement abruptly drops. It just feels overall more sure footed, if that makes sense. I think it drives a tad stiffer, but not very noticeable. I have a 24,000 pound chassis on my 2017 Winnebago Adventurer.

[Betr2Trvl]

First thing I would do, is try to move weight forward as much as possible, and try get more onto the front axle. Even taking weight out of the far back bay and moving heavier stuff to the more forward back bay may help a lot. You might be surprised how a better balanced weight distribution makes your coach more comfortable to drive.

I just checked the Nexus Maybach out on line, and it looks to be a very nice coach!

[edge68474]

I just installed my safe t plus steering stabilizer today, much improved.
But for you, and if I was to do the stabilizing over again I would do it in this order.
CHF, Cheap Handling Fix. Drive it and see the difference.
Rear Trac Bar. Drive it again.
Then the steering stabilizer. Drive it again.
Then shocks if needed.
I still need the rear trac bar. Then chase the sun.
Maybe some kind of air bag later.
I haven't put enough miles on my new shocks yet to tell if it got rid, for the most part, the Bang at the bridges. I think there will always be a bad spot in the road that we can't tame. Unless we have a cushion of air under us. Now that is what I would call Air Ride.

[Bsqrd]

Originally Posted by edge68474

I just installed my safe t plus steering stabilizer today, much improved.
But for you, and if I was to do the stabilizing over again I would do it in this order.
CHF, Cheap Handling Fix. Drive it and see the difference.
Rear Trac Bar. Drive it again.
Then the steering stabilizer. Drive it again.
Then shocks if needed.
I still need the rear trac bar. Then chase the sun.
Maybe some kind of air bag later.
I haven't put enough miles on my new shocks yet to tell if it got rid, for the most part, the Bang at the bridges. I think there will always be a bad spot in the road that we can't tame. Unless we have a cushion of air under us. Now that is what I would call Air Ride.

I've done the first three. I would also add in a front alignment. My F53 now drives better than my '96 F150. They are both trucks! Very little push from passing trucks and cross winds. ALL the manufacturers should do these things in the name of safety.

[SuperGewl]

Before you start spending a bunch of money for nothing, there are some things you need to do. Did you weigh the MH full of fuel, water, propane and one or two passengers prior to putting your junk in it? IF not then you may have a big problem.
Did you weigh the MH after you put your junk in it? Have you shifted you r stuff around to help with the front to back issues? Have you cleaned out some of your stuff to help with the weight issues?
These things should be done before wasting money on after market stuff to fix a problem that you created. Have you verified the tire pressure according to the MH MFG, NOT the tire MFG? Remember the tires fit many different vehicles and can be used a different pressures.
A full tank of potable water can make the world of difference in handling in these things. You use it as ballast, because it is normally sitting on or just in front of the rear axle, thus causing it sit down better and keep the springs flexed.
If what you said is correct, 2klbs available on the front and nothing on the rear then you are not loaded correctly, so as I said fix your load first, test drive and then see you need anything added or fixed.

[hohenwald48]

Originally Posted by HappiPappa

I have a 2018 24K F53 Chassis and the rear axle is almost at max GAWR. I have almost 2K pounds of wiggle room on the front GAWR.

Moving some weight from the rear toward the front will help distribute your load a little better and may have an impact on the body roll issue. Additionally, the CHF will help a lot if you do it on both the front and rear axles. Ford sent some chassis out with loose bushing bolts. You might want to check that too.

I'd try the cheap and easy's before moving on to the the expensive stuff.