Class C driving issues and Caster

[shabti]

I have been so disappointed with the driving of our 31.5 ft class C. I had it aligned and had a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer placed about 1 year ago. When we had it aligned, the dh did not get an alignment report, so I don't know what the readings were. On our last trip, I was white-knuckeling it for the entire trop. I decided we needed to get it realigned to see what the report says. I took it to the alignment shop that does RVs. I was a bit disheartened by one of the service guys after I informed him of my concerns and indicated I would probably need more caster. His response was, "you don't want too much caster." I told him what my issues were, to include too much play in the steering wheel, being pushed all over the road by wind and semis. He said I was going to get pushed around by wind and semis. I can understand the physics of that, but from what I've read about adding positive caster of at least +5, I really think that is what we need. I will be talking to him in the morning. Is there anything I need to discuss with him? I really respect all of the forum's discussions, but I also respect the "pros" in this area. Thank you!!

[Arch Hoagland]

Year make and model would help a lot.

Friend of mine bought a Born Free class C and had handling issues. Turned out the Michelin tires on it were recalled and when they replaced them her problems went away.

Trucks are going to blow you around no matter what you do.

What do you have your tire pressures set to? What brand?

How fast are you driving?

Have you weighed it, and if so, what are the weights on the front and rear axles?

[shabti]

I have a 2016 E450 Chassis. I am very diligent about the weight, as it is pretty much maxed out on the rear axle and have the tire pressures at the recommended pressures. We have Michelin tires and check the pressures before each venture...75 front and 80 rear. I'm concerned about the alignment folks saying we don't want too much caster....I'm going to tell them I want at least +5.5 on the right wheel...a question I have is do the rest of the measurements fall into place based on this measurement -- left front, toe?

[Mich F]

I'd suggest lowering the tire pressure on your front tires. Assuming you have 225 x 75 tires, 75# psi is good for a 5,120# load. Your front axle is rated for 5,000# and chances are you're at least a few hundred pounds under that.

[Harvard]

Here is a link to a very recent testimonial by a handle named "2kGeorgieBoy". I suggest you print it off and take it with you.


Wandering at highway speeds

START QUOTE
Jeff.. Although we have a 2000 Georgie Boy 31' Maverick "C" on a Ford E450 chassis, I can fully agree on the caster effects, at least for us. When we got the unit in Jan 2014, the dealer had us take into a truck shop for an alignment. It turned out OK....A trip to Moab shortly there after brought out the problems. I then started reading the threads and comments here about the caster settings....esp., from Harvard. I checked the data from the first alignment and found that it was set at about 3 1/2 degrees positive...about in the middle of Ford's recommended range. Shortly before a cross country trip to Maryland in fall of 2016, I returned to the shop where the first alignment was done. I talked to the service manager and he knew of the problems with the E450's and was happy to increase the caster as I asked. The alignment tech was also familiar with it and ended up with settings close to 5.5 degrees positive. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! The unit tracked straight down the road, passing semis no longer caused a white knuckle hold on the wheel, and overall it was just a lot more enjoyable. It did however increase steering effort a little but not anything to worry about. But, be sure that the shop you go to is willing to "think outside of the box". Our first alignment was "plain vanilla", right in the middle like it was always done. Second time out, they were very willing to increase settings beyond what normally would be done, and still stay with in Ford's guidelines (0-7 degrees, I believe). I realize that our E450 chassis is an entirely different animal than yours, but I was trying to add support to the caster increase thinking and how it helped us......if you go down that road.
END QUOTE

[avfordguy]

Most maxed out e450 will cover 65 osi front and 80 rear, chech the door sticker. As far as caster settings the upper spec by ford is -3.5, you want to be at least thst number or closer to 5.0, mine was at -3.0 i jad it set to as clse to 5 as the could get it with the adjustable slugs, ended up with -4.7 combimed, made a big difference in syraight line feel, I can drive with one hand on the wheel, and pasdind semis only give me a nudge to the right, but still one handed.

[Harvard]

Please let us know how this turns out.

[JackHD]

You're on the right track. More caster is exactly what you need.

Three degrees is probably great for an urban delivery vehicle, which is what the E-series vans were originally intended for. For long-distance highway travel, extra caster is great for stability.

I increased the caster on my (previous) E-350 Pleasure-Way van. Major improvement. Going to the max specified by Ford certainly won't hurt anything. Maybe even a degree or so more.

Jack the Machinist

[Mich F]

I just have a few more thoughts and comments. I was looking at some of your other threads and you mentioned flat towing a CRV. Does your handling improve when you're not towing ? My 32 1/' E 450 with a 220" wheelbase and about an 11 1/2' overhang behind the rear axle, has over 1,700# more OCCC than yours but I had no handling issues while not towing anything or while towing a Mazda CX 5 on a tow dolly. When I started towing an F150 (more weight) I could occasionally feel a little tail wagging the dog. On a trip driving across Texas where it was fairly windy, it turned into a white knuckle driving experience. I had a rear trac bar added, which unfortunately made no noticeable difference. I have a 4" drop receiver (I see from another post, you have a 4" riser). On my last trip after realizing my trac bar didn't help at all, I added 2 Roadmaster quiet hitch gadgets, which did seem to help quite a bit with the tail wagging. As I wrote in an earlier post I really think your tire pressures are too high in your front tires. Depending on the weight you're carrying you could probably try 70# or maybe even 65#.
I hope you get your handling issues resolved

[pauldub]

The Ford factory service manual for my 2003 E-450 specifies:

Right Caster 4.5+/-2.75

Left Caster 4.0+/-2.75

I don't know if these specs have changed for later model years but I'd guess they are the same since the suspension geometry hasn't changed. I have mine set near 5 degrees.

[twinboat]

I fought the steering on my 2000 E450 30 ft. MH for the first 6 months of owning it.

After a trip to FL and then back to NY, I replaced the rear anti-swaybar with a Hellwig heavy duty one, and then replaced the front rubber sway bar bushings with the poly type.

The difference in handling was noticeably improved. So much that I didn't do anything else.

I went from 2 hand steering and staring in the side mirror, watching for approaching trucks, to a one hand relaxed driving.

We still get a bit of a push from passing trucks, but not enough to blow us onto the shoulder as before.

[shabti]

Thanks to all who commented and made suggestions. Just as an update, I'm more than frustrated with the alignment folks. The technician said he put on as much caster as he possibly could. He seemed very frustrated with me asking him to do this. He also said he was not able to re-center our Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer and that I needed to go back to the place where we had it installed. I have a feeling he was just fed-up and didn't want to bother with me any longer. When my hubby and I went to pick it up the next day, the technician who worked on it was no where around. I asked someone else to assist me in reading the alignment report since I was not sure which was the right side reading and which was the left. From what he told me, it seems the L caster is +5.08 and the R is +4.87. From everything I have read on this and other forums, the R reading should be more than the L and I should have at least +5.5 on the R. I asked this person about this and he said there was so little difference that it will not make a difference. (Hey, for all I know, he showed me wrong.) I'm attaching the report for your review. This alignment shop is supposed to be "the" place to have RVs aligned in my area, but I have my doubts. We have not had the opportunity to have the steering stabilizer re-centered yet, but we did drive it to a campsite about an hour away pulling our toad. To me, it seemed to handle a bit better, (I was the passenger), but I did notice some wagging and the winds were not half as bad as the last time we took it out. I need to contact the alignment shop owner and speak with him/her about my experience and my concerns. I will let you know. Please feel free to send me any other thoughts, comments, suggestions! Thanks.

[avfordguy]

I could be wrong looks as it needs more negative toe ( toe in), maybe trinboat will chime in

[twinboat]

Found this from this site.

Set Toe to Toe In. Run out to max Toe In of .130 Inch. If using tape measure, I set to .125 or 1/8 Inch.

Increase Caster using adjustable bushings. (> than 5 Degree Plus.)

https://www.quicktrickalignment.com/...ignment-tools/