Alignment and steering issue

[G&J]

Thanks for the info Chuck
My Rv is less than one year old, 14,000 miles (5,000 of which at least driving from repair shop to repair shop) Been repaired 6 times already and been out of action for at least 6 months (inc the latest due to be finished in Sept).

So who do I need to contact to start this process? Do I just make contact a lawyer?

I totally agree with you, we shouldn't have to put up with this, and the Spartan attitude is " This is really unusual and yours is the only one we know of" total BS. I have had so many Entegra owners write to me privately telling me that they have the exact same issue... So something needs to be done, and a lemon law case might be what it needs to make them sit up and do something positive rather than just lip service....
G

[rcarriere]

G, could not agree more with everything you just said.

Originally Posted by G&J

Thanks for the info Chuck
My Rv is less than one year old, 14,000 miles (5,000 of which at least driving from repair shop to repair shop) Been repaired 6 times already and been out of action for at least 6 months (inc the latest due to be finished in Sept).

So who do I need to contact to start this process? Do I just make contact a lawyer?

I totally agree with you, we shouldn't have to put up with this, and the Spartan attitude is " This is really unusual and yours is the only one we know of" total BS. I have had so many Entegra owners write to me privately telling me that they have the exact same issue... So something needs to be done, and a lemon law case might be what it needs to make them sit up and do something positive rather than just lip service....
G

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

This doesnt help a lot for those who are wrestling with the problem, but I am another owner of an Anthem who has NO steering or steering wheel or alignment problems. I am thankful. Had other problems, but none of those. My coach drives down the road like its supposed to. So, it is hard to figure why some have problems and some do not.

Gary

Ditto.

[rbr]

My experience...

On initial test drive both the sales rep and I noticed a definite pull in the steering so they sent it to a local truck shop for alignment before delivery. (this was before Entegra had an alignment system in the factory) It was much better but still pulled a little, steering wheel was significantly off center, and it seemed to me there was too much "dead zone" across the middle of the steering.

Went to Spartan a few months later for their Owner's Academy and while there they found that the ride heights were out of spec on the front - 1/4” low on left, 1/4” high on right. When those were corrected, the steering pull was gone.

They adjusted something on the steering to get the steering wheel closer to center (sorry - didn't get the details of what) and said that was as close as they could get it - one more "notch" of adjustment and it would be off the other way.

Re: the slack or "dead zone" gap across the middle of the steering, they told me "normal". I was happy about getting it to drive straight and went on down the road.

10-months later it's still driving straight but I'd really like to have the dead zone issue fixed - constant sawing back and forth on the wheel to drive a straight line. Been reading about folks getting real improvements in several front end areas by changing to Koni shocks and had decided to do that when back at Spartan this September. Then it dawned on me that where I'm traveling this summer I'm close enough to a shop that I have heard is a first class motorcoach suspension shop to get it done this summer.

I have an appointment for July 20 at Henderson's Lineup in Grants Pass OR to get the Koni shocks installed on the front.

In addition to the front shocks I'm going to get them to do their Road Performance Assessment and see if they can find the cause of the slack across center issue. Their sister company is SuperSteer and they also sell/install SafeTPlus, so it'll be interesting to see what their evaluation says. The following is a quote from their web site that I thought might be interesting to folks reading this thread:

Q: Why is there so much play in my steering wheel? Is there anything I can do to reduce it?

A: We call this “steering freeplay”, and it is probably the number one complaint we hear about from coach owners at our shop. Steering free play is when the steering wheel can be moved back in forth in your hands, but the vehicle is not steering—in other words, there is excessive “play” in the steering wheel. When you stop and consider how many different components are involved in the steering action on today’s motorhomes, it’s easy to understand why steering free play is such an issue. You have the steering wheel, coupler, two-three universal couplings, steering gear, sector shaft splines, the pitman arm, drag link, bell crank, tie rod ends and the tie rod end sleeves. While steering free play can be caused by one of these items, more often it is a cumulative effect, where several components contribute to the problem. In any case, yes, it can be reduced or even eliminated. We perform what we call a “dry park test,” where we put the coach on a rack with an inspection bay underneath. One technician is in the cab of the coach, moving the steering wheel back and forth and looking for play in the steering shaft, steering U-joint or coupler, sometimes even the steering wheel itself. At the same time, another technician is under the coach in the inspection bay. We systematically check each component, and adjust/repair or replace parts as necessary to restore accurate steering.


Anyway, there's my story fwiw...

Anyone here have experience with the Henderson's Line-Up shop?

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by rbr

Anyone here have experience with the Henderson's Line-Up shop?

Yep, we have. They are GOOD!!

[RogerBall]

We have owned our 2015 42DLQ now for about 2 months and have put about 1000 miles on it. Initially, I was so blown away by how quiet and smooth the ride was that I did not notice the wandering back and forth and how much dead band there was in the steering wheel. However, like others, as I put more miles on our Anthem, I became more aware of the wandering back and forth in the lane and that I had to constantly make fairly large corrections to counteract the wander. I soon became very annoyed at how much steering wheel movement was needed to do so, probably 3 to 4 inches of rotation, back and forth before there was any directional response. And yes, driving became tedious and tiring.


So, on the recommendation by AP on this forum as well as Cummins NW of Coburg, I took our rig to Kaiser Brake & Alignment in Eugene, Or. for a full 3 axle alignment. They worked on the MH for about 5 hours and found the "trackage off by 1.5" to the left", They also found the front axle alignment as:


Toe: -7/16",
Camber L -1.5 def, R -2.5 deg,
Caster L 2.75 deg R 3.125 d.
My steering box timing was off as well.

They corrected the front end alignment settings to:


Toe: +.125",
Camber L 0 deg, R -.125 d,
Caster L +2.75 deg, R +3.125 deg
Rear axle thrust to zero


When the tech gave us our MH back, he said I would probably have to relearn how to drive the rig. He was right.

When I hit the freeway, the looseness or deadband in the steering wheel was gone! Very slight movements of the wheel resulted in instant directional response. The wandering was also mostly gone. I say mostly because it was quite windy and there was still some coach drift probably due to the wind but only occasionally and not the constant back and forth as before. Time will tell.

Needless to say, I am quite pleased with the results and look forward to our next trip. I can also recommend KBA to anyone traveling through the Oregon area that needs a quality alignment. They are located in a semi residential area with not a lot of parking but they had a number of other MH's, Trucks and busses in their bays being worked on. Appearances aside, they were very professional and capable and the results speak for themselves.

Hope that helps.

[hogdriver]

Originally Posted by G&J

So who do I need to contact to start this process? Do I just make contact a lawyer?
G

My suggestion would be link up with another Entegra owner or two. Drive each other's coach and compare notes. Perhaps your RV is seriously screwed up. Perhaps other drivers don't notice.

[rbr]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Yep, we have. They are GOOD!!

Thanks!

[brobox]

Ron, excellent information and a good alignment shop referral. They are hard to find!! Perry Legends found about the same thing wrong with mine, but the rear end was not out that bad.

I am sorry, but building a coach on a chassis will not throw the alignment out that much, some yes, but not so drastic that it's almost dangerous to drive. I am glad Entegra started checking alignments. Maybe they can finally see what Spartan has been sending out the door.

It will be interesting to hear what Ron & Glenda find with their inspection.

For clarification, I am not bad mouthing Spartan, their CS has been great. I just hope someone their will take serious notice of the problem. Entegra has by installing an alignment machine

[raceday]

Been preaching this problem for 2 yrs, factory act as I was 1 of a very few which I knew was wrong. Know to many people same issue, going to Charlotte then to my attorney if not fixed. It's too dangerous to drive on long trips, love my coach but not the drive.

[Bama96]

Putting on Michelin steering tires today on the front of my Aspire and another alignment. Hope to heck this does it. These Good Years are not a good tire IMO.

[Mwoodofd]

Originally Posted by Bama96

Putting on Michelin steering tires today on the front of my Aspire and another alignment. Hope to heck this does it. These Good Years are not a good tire IMO.

Looking forward to your report. I am buying some tires in about a month, and I am not sold on putting the GY tires back on.

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by Bama96

Putting on Michelin steering tires today on the front of my Aspire and another alignment. Hope to heck this does it. These Good Years are not a good tire IMO.

Interesting. Why? Please elaborate.Explain.

[Bama96]

Good Year steering tires were out of round. Couldnt get the coach to drive right. Drove the coach this afternoon with the new tires and it's a huge improvement. And now I finally found a shop who could center the steering wheel!!!! They got the front end aligned and the rear axle thrust angle fixed. She's driving like she's suppose to now. Got a trip next week and will put about 1800 miles on it and will see if he holds.

Not sure why Entegra is using Good Years on the Aspire line but these tires were the issue with my coach.