2011 Fleetwood Discovery

Mojo13 · 11-10-2011, 10:16 AM

Moved up to my first DP RV - very happy with the package as a whole. Picked the RV up from La Mesa RV in Phoenix in early October. We pulled off the lot and drove the RV back to Southern California.

I immediately noticed some rotational noises and clunking in the front end, we drove home and I made an appointment with the local Freightliner repair shop to check things out.

What they found on the first go around is that both front shocks were loose and a trackbar was loose. They also performed an alignment that found the driver side rear axle pointing out towards the street about 5/8" of an inch.

A few days later we took our first family trip to the local racetrack for the weekend. I noticed things were better, but the RV would change lanes by itself in about 50 yards.

Took it back to the local Freightliner shop and they determined that one of the Goodyear tires on the front was coming apart. They replaced the one tire and now the RV tracks pretty good. The old tire had about 3,300 miles on it.

Now I notice that the front end still has some looseness in the steering, and a little bit of clunking noise and feel when steering is in a neutral position. Is this normal?

My old gas RV on the Ford chassis had a better front end. Is this something I live with, or do you guys think there is still something wrong?

thx

gaugeguy · 11-10-2011, 11:05 AM

Take it back to the dealer. Make them stand by the warranty and do some thorough diagnostics and repair. That all may involve the factory.
I don't mean to alarm you, but I believe you have some serious safety issues with you coach's suspension.

Poptop · 11-10-2011, 07:37 PM

I agree with the idea you have something wrong that needs to be addressed. As for the Freightliner design/quality I'd say it is rather good overall. My 2005 with about 22,000 works like it is supposed to and has been trouble free.

Mojo13 · 11-11-2011, 10:49 AM

Right now the RV is at the dealership working on other items. This is giving me some time to think about the chassis problem. The dealers don't do any work on the Freightliner chassis and refer me off to someone who is.

gaugeguy · 11-12-2011, 10:06 AM

Does it not have some kind of warranty?

FineProperty · 11-14-2011, 09:11 AM

I'm on a 5 year old version of that chassis and have to say, there is a little bit of 'vagueness' in the steering while going straight down the road. There is a lot of linkage gear from the steering to the tires, and the tires themselves have flex in the sidewall.

I've had clunking sounds in the past, and a chassis lube each year makes them go away. The kingpins need to be lubed with the tires off the ground preferably, but that is unreasonable to do in many cases. Have them re-lube the front end suspension.

Also, check all the bays for something loose. I had a clunk once that turned out to be a piece of wood under the sofa resting on a bolt.

And, back to the vagueness...I'm doing a few bits from Hendersons line up next summer, motion control units, bilsteins, possibly the bell crank if business is good.

Mojo13 · 11-16-2011, 03:27 PM

Rich, I would be really interested in the work you get done from Henderson's. I sent a email over to Keith at Redlands RV Performance, but think I scared him away.

Pusherman · 11-16-2011, 05:53 PM

Talk to Robert or John at Henderson's. They will treat you well and be able to recommend the proper upgrades to make your coach handle better than new.

I added Koni FSD shocks, SS MCU's, and the SS bell crank, and it handles like a (really big) BMW now.