Community Forums

DebbieMH · 06-23-2015, 03:01 PM

We bought our 2015 Anthem in January. Have 4500 miles on the odometer. The longest trip we have taken so far was to the rally in Kerrville then to Austin and Houston then back to Alabama. Felt like it had too much play in the steering and felt it wondered - especially when the road had a crown to them or decent wind. We are heading to Nashville, Tn then Monroe, MI then Petosky, MI then to Charlotte, MI for owners training starting next week. I was not looking forward to driving that distance. Ordered a Safe T Plus for the Anthem and had that put on today as well as the coach aligned. Took the alignment shop 5 hours to get it all done (I know I waited for the coach!). But, wow - what a difference. Instead of gripping the steering wheel tightly, I can now just relax and drive like normal. When on the Interstate - going in a straight line, I can actually take one hand off the wheel and get a drink, change the radio, etc. Amazing ....

Alignment shop said it really needed it. The Anthem was toeing out quite a bit and pulling to the right prior to the alignment. Said I had caught it in time and there wasn't any tire tread damage - so that is good.

Bottom line - if you have a fairly new Entegra, get it aligned. You will be happy you did. Now I can really enjoy the drive as much as "getting there"!

UTExplore · 06-23-2015, 03:35 PM

Great to hear you got it fixed.

I am really confused now. I thought Anthems and Cornerstones with IFS should not use a Safe T Plus? Cruzer commented yesterday that STP type devices were not needed on IFS coaches.

Cruzer, could you help me out here and explain? Is it a "should not" or just a "not really needed if things are properly adjusted"?

98Dynasty · 06-23-2015, 03:39 PM

Who did your alignment?

DebbieMH · 06-23-2015, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTExplore

Great to hear you got it fixed.

I am really confused now. I thought Anthems and Cornerstones with IFS should not use a Safe T Plus? Cruzer commented yesterday that STP type devices were not needed on IFS coaches.

Cruzer, could you help me out here and explain? Is it a "should not" or just a "not really needed if things are properly adjusted"?

I bought one prior to Cruzer saying that and it would have cost me close to $45 to send it back, so I just went ahead and had it installed. I had one installed on our Fleetwood before - can't hurt anyway. Might help in a blow out situation. All I know is that the coach handles much, much better now. I'm sure it was more because of the alignment than the STP, however.

DebbieMH · 06-23-2015, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98Dynasty

Who did your alignment?

Baughn Alignment in Pensacola. Very pleased. Actually was interesting seeing the owner whip the coach around and put it in a bay that I didn't think it would go into! He was a pro .. that's for sure. Said he's been doing this for 40+ years. Took it out of the bay after working on it 6 times to drive it around to make sure it was "perfect".

Gary.Jones · 06-23-2015, 05:14 PM

Lynn

I picked up delivery of my coach within a couple of weeks of delivery of your coach and mine drives beautifully!! No pull either left or right. No "play" in steering. I have always been able to drive easily with one hand but I ALWAYS have both my hands on the wheel. I think your problems were specific to your coach. Good that you got it fixed. Did either Spartan or Entegra pick up the tab?

Gary

DebbieMH · 06-23-2015, 05:21 PM

Entegra is going to reimburse me the cost of the alignment $225.

rbr · 06-23-2015, 05:33 PM

Apparently this was just a gap in the system prior to the new alignment bay in the new factory where they intend to check every coach. Spartan would align the bare chassis, but I don't think all coaches were being aligned after build-up by Entegra. Some ended up OK and some did not. Both my sales rep and I noticed issues on the test drive on our coach and the dealer sent it out for alignment before I took delivery.

Diesel Diva · 06-23-2015, 05:42 PM

We had to have our coach aligned after purchase as well, which Entegra reimbursed. Is it only the Anthem and Cornerstone that have IFS and shouldn't install Safe T Plus because we have been considering doing that to our Aspire. Thx, Deb

LVUS101 · 06-23-2015, 11:59 PM

Glad to hear your feeling better about the handling. See you guys up in Charlotte.

brobox · 06-24-2015, 06:24 AM

A lot of us have had alinement problems on the new Spartan Chassis, not just Lynn. I have had mine back to Spartan it still did not steer correctly.

I am pleased to report after Entegra's guy set the steering timing, we drove from Middlebuy to Des Moines yesterday very comfortably with no sudden lane changes. Nice to finally have a well handling coach again.

Entegra also thinks every new coach should have an alignment.....they are installing their own alighnement bay with all Hunter equipment.

Cruzer · 06-24-2015, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTExplore

Great to hear you got it fixed.

I am really confused now. I thought Anthems and Cornerstones with IFS should not use a Safe T Plus? Cruzer commented yesterday that STP type devices were not needed on IFS coaches.

Cruzer, could you help me out here and explain? Is it a "should not" or just a "not really needed if things are properly adjusted"?

It really won't help on an IFS chassis that I properly dialed in. The biggest benefit is on solid front I-beam axles. If you get a front tire blow-out on a solid axle it can be a real hand full to control. It really won't hurt to install on an IFS chassis. Realize that the Safe-T-Plus is a combination of a steering stabilizer (shock absorber) and a spring that applies pressure to center the steering. So, it is like an extra hand that relieves some of the pressure required by the driver to hold the steering. On the other hand it also wants to center itself so you will need to apply a bit more effort to turn the wheel in order to overcome the spring's self-centering action. Really, if everything is dialed in the coach should go down the road nice and straight with minimal effort without any add-on components, especially on an IFS chassis.

CoreyinWP · 06-24-2015, 07:31 AM

I have had my Anthem to Spartan factory twice. Both times made ride height adjustment and the last time full alignment. After the factory work done, it still had tremendous play in wheel and pull. I put the SafeTPlus on and that took most of the play and pull out. Then brought it to JoSam in Orlando. They aligned all three axles,,,two of which were way off spec. They asked where it had been aligned previously and then smirked when I told them.

Coach now tracks straight and true and there is no oversteer. Yes the wheel is slightly harder to pull when slow maneuvering. The steering on country rutted roads, tight construction areas, etc is worlds better than it was. Nice and firm with no oversteering or correction needed. I love the SafeTPlus.

There was no talk of the steering box adjustment and maybe that would have solved the steering looseness to begin with,,,but I am quite satisfied with how it drives now.

Unimpressed with the Spartan alignment and suspension work. YMMV

Cruzer · 06-24-2015, 07:45 AM

In your case the Safe-T-Plus masked the real issue and gave you a helping hand to overcome it but did not correct the problem. After that you had it aligned correctly and that was undoubtedly most, or at least part, of the problem. You may still have an issue with incorrect steering gearbox timing. It would be interesting to see if there was a difference in handling had the Safe-T-Plus been installed after a good alignment and steering box check had been done.

I've heard that Spartan's alignment jobs aren't always what they should be. Fortunately Entegra is now aligning every coach that comes off the line so that should stem any future issues from bad alignments. Unfortunately, this is a recent installation in the new factory so there are a ton of coaches out there that were aligned at Spartan before any coach was added to the chassis.