Safe T Plus

[franklin]

I am considering adding Safe T Plus steering control to my 2004 Holiday Rambler Admiral to solve too much give in the steering. Anyone have experience with this item? Is this the way to go?

[TXiceman]

First, welcome to iRV2. You can add a signature letting folsk know what rig you have and what part of the country you call home.

Safe T Plus is a add on crutch which covers up other problems in my opinion and should be a last resort fix in my opinion. Start with the basics:
-weight the coach when loaded fro normal travel.
-adjust your tire pressure based on the weights and the tire pressure-load chart.
-get the front end alignment checked at a truck suspension shop.
-Install better shock absorbers.
-Up grade or install track bars, pan-hard rods or anti-roll bars.

Usually a handling problem is from any of the above items and once fixed, the problem goes away. The Safe T Plus is a spring loaded, return to center damper which does not really cure any of the handling issues.

Ken

[mikron]

I feel all the items TXiceman noted should be taken care of. I also feel a Safe T Plus type control is also a good item to help control the steering when you have wind, big trucke etc. all the items listed by TXiceman I feel don't help cross winds in the steering. Many veteran members have stated they have added this type control to big rigs and are very happy.

We own a 2008 class A 35 foot rig on a Ford F53 super duty frame. We are adding Koni schocks, a Safe T plus steering control and a sway bar in the rear, our fram has by ford a front sway bar. Very important to set tire air to your weight. Pilot truck stops have CAT scales for under ten dollars you get front and rear axles weighed.

[RickO]

If you use the search feature on the forum you'll find at least a week's worth of reading on this topic.

I installed the Safe T Plus, Henderson's Bell Crank and Motion Control Units on my rig which really helped the handling. I also had the steering gear adjusted.

The point about these things being a "crutch" is a good one and shouldn't be ignored. I made sure I had done the things Ken mentioned before making the mods. My dealer and two Freightliner Oasis dealers had taken a shot at stopping the road wander without success.

Good Luck and welcome to the forum.

Rick

[TXiceman]

My point is that Safety T Plus MAY help in some cases, but you need to find the under lying cause of the problem first. You may net need the crutch once you have everything set up correctly.

I went through handling issues with a 1999 31' class C on the E450 chassis. The Bilstein shock and Roadmaster (foremly IPD) anti-roll bars with urethane bushings helped a bunch and so did getting the alignment set correctly with the coach loaded. Once these things were corrected, the coach handled very well in cross winds, passing trucks, winding roads and the tire wear was much better. It also helped to put on Bridgestone commercial highway radials.

We new several folks that did not do corrections to the C's and added only the Safe T Plus. It helped, but it did not cure the problems.

Ken

[Smitty77]

I agree with the basics being done first, as mentioned. Four corner weight, tire PSI accordingly, good allignment.

The Safety T Plus is usually a large shock like dampener, not the Steer Safe spring activated one (of course, that's going off of memory - so could be wrong!). I hear good results from both owners of the Safety T Plus and Steer Safe, they just do it different ways. You mentioned 'loose' steering, be sure you have your steering box checked - they can sometimes be adjusted to take out slack.

We added the Safety T Plus for 'handling insurance' during emergency situations. Such as tire blow outs, dropping a tire of the side of the road. We found the 99 F53 Chassis required less steering correction too. So, for safety reasons, I do recommend the Sagety T Plus by itself.

On ours, we added bigger front/rear sway bars, urethane bushings, Koni's FSD's on front, adjustables on rear, Davis and front SS 400 bars, and Airtabs to help in shifting cross winds and truck blow by. (It was overkill, but the DW was nervous in our first rig - so I went overkill on the handling. Small little T28 Bounder, on a 18K Lbs Chassis - it sure handled well, and we always felt safe.)

Best of luck,
Smitty

[RickO]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

The Safety T Plus is usually a large shock like dampener, not the Steer Safe spring activated one (of course, that's going off of memory - so could be wrong!). Smitty

Actually Smitty, the Safe T Plus looks like a big shock but is actually a large spring instead of a dampener. Depending on the model, it applies up to 250 lbs of pressure to resist steering movement in either direction.

rick

[savitbound]

2005 bounder 34f I did 4 point weight ,correct tire pressure,alignment,frt trac bar rear track bar, the safe t plus was the last thing and made all the diffrence, I,m happy now!
Sal Avitabile

[davecampbell]

If its a Freightliner chassis, there are recalls on them for steering and steering box failures.

Definitely, no Band Aids. Steering problems can be dangerous.

[B Bob]

Franklin - You should find out what is causing the problem and not gloss over the problem by trying to fix the symptoms. Replace the worn or damaged steering parts first.

[Papa_Jim]

I'm not familiar with your particular coach, but I can tell you this. I spent a lot of money at two different highly recommended alignment shops to stop my coach from wandering all over the road. Finally, I got looking at things myself, and realized that my steering box had too much play. Upon further examination, I found that my steering box had an adjustment screw for establishing the end play in the box. With a bit of fooling around with it, I found the correct setting that removed all steering box play without having any binding.

That solved it. Since then, our coach now steers as it should. After that, we installed the Steer Safe, and it helped keep the wheels stay in the straight ahead position. This helps immensely in high wind situations, and those times when passing big trucks, or being passed by big trucks. Most times, we hardly notice the wind any more.

[johnsonjm209]

With no technical ability, I agree with "Jimkate". I had one on my '96,2000, and 2003. All with Fords.

[scenic route]

Seems that although there are many different manufacturers, this 'wandering steering' is a universal problem.

On ours, we had the constant steering corrections with crosswinds and passing trucks. We also had excessive porpoising at bridge and road section expansion joints. We added a Blue Ox Tiger Trac rear sway/track bar and installed some new Koni FDSs. Those two add ons did so well, we have forgone the other mentioned front end fixes and have been quite pleased with the results. YMMV.

[franklin]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will have the suggestions made by TXiceman done first then if that doesn't work move to other suggestions. Thank you for your help!
Franklin