chassis sway workhorse

[yeoman]

Hi everyone, this is my first posting and I am happy to be new to this organization. My name is Alan, have a 2003 Damon 37 ft workhorse chassis with Chevy vortec, have been rving with this unit for 4 years. was wondering if anyone had had experience with Davis trac bars and or sway bars? I dont have a roll problem but seem to have a little sway left and right, thought maybe this would improve the situation somewhat but before spending the money woulld appreciate any comments from any of you that might have used this system! Best to everyone in 2012 and Thank You Alan

[Gary RVRoamer]

Is it "sway", which is a leaning or sideways rolling motion, or "wandering", which is a tendency of the wheels to move right and left without any steering wheel change? The Davis Tru Trac bar will be a fine job correcting wandering (as will the Henderson Super Steer rear track bar), but nothing for sway. For excessive sway you probably want a stiifer anti-sway (anti-roll) bar in the front end.

[Bob and Inga]

Alan,

I have seen on the Yahoo Bounder forum where some folks have replaced the 2" square stablilizer bar with the newer 2.5" bar with good results. In 2004 Workhorse went to a 2.5" bar so its a fairly straight forward change. You might also find more info here on the Workhorse Chassis forum.

Bob

[Clay L]

Please note that some 2003 chassis (W20 and W22) had a 2 inch front stabilizer shaft. Often called an anti sway bar. In September of 2003 WH changed to a 2.5 inch bar. If your chassis has the 2 inch bar I would strongly recommend that you have the 2.5 inch bar installed. I did and it made a huge improvement in roll or side to side sway. This is from an email I got from WH in 2005: The part number for the Front Stabilizer Bar with Brackets is: W0005643. This bar was found to have an advantage over the original 2" bar, and was put into regular production on 9/2/2003. The installation is very straightforward. Remove 4 retaining nuts while supporting bar, remove bar, hold new bar in position, reinstall 4 retaining nuts, and torque to specification. This procedure is NOT meant to replace the service manual, but is a generalized procedure. The upgraded stabilizer bar has been shown to provide the following benefits: 1. Reduced Body Roll when cornering. 2. Reduced rocking when passed by or passing large vehicles. 3. Reduced rocking when traversing bumps on an angle. The installation procedure is below - I did not raise the coach, just crawled under it: Stabilizer Shaft Replacement (Front) (W20/W22) Removal Procedure 1. Raise the vehicle on a hoist 2. Remove the nuts and washers from the stabilizer shaft clamp and the right front leaf spring. 3. Remove the nuts and washers from the stabilizer shaft clamp and the left front leaf spring, and remove the stabilizer shaft from the vehicle. 4. Remove the clamps from the stabilizer shaft. 5. Remove the insulators from the stabilizer shaft. Installation Procedure 1. Install the insulators to the stabilizer shaft. 2. Install the clamps to the stabilizer shaft. Notice: Refer to Fastener Notice in Cautions and Notices in the WCC Service Manual. 3. Install the washers and nuts to the stabilizer shaft clamp and the left front leaf spring. 4. Install the washers and nuts to the stabilizer shaft clamp and the right front leaf spring. Tighten Tighten the stabilizer shaft clamp nuts to 373 N·m (275 lb ft). 5. Lower the vehicle.

[Dwight]

Yeoman
Your description of "sway" meaning left & right is accurate if you are referring to "The Tail Wagging The Dog" found on motor homes with a long overhang behind the rear axle. Installing a "Rear Track Bar" will address this problem.
Check out "Super Steer", a division of Henderson's Line-up. You will also find pictures of a do it your self project on the Workhorse Forum under W20 DIY Trac Bar 12-28-11.

As noted by Gary RVroamer, the "Davis TruTrac Bar" does reduce road wander but with a 37 foot Damon, my first concern would be the rear axle.
Dwight