First Drive....Questions!

[memtb]

We brought our '06 unit (only 22 I miles) last night,after a 700 mile drive. First impressions...It ain't no Mustang Cobra! This our first experience driving something other than a truck/5er.

First question/comment: It is on a Ford E 450 chassis, has new Bilstein shocks and brand new tires! The steering was "nervous" or "twichy"! A small input from steering wheel caused a rather significant movement. This improved considerably as we drove. Was it caused by the New tires breaking in, or did I just get used to it?

Also, it seems to have excessive "body roll". I increased air bag pressure,which seemed to help. But, still seems excessive! Can I add a anti -roll bar or increase the rating of the existing one (if it even has one....I haven't crawled under it yet!)?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[frankdamp]

Class A or Class C? The "E" chassis suggests it's a "C".

We started out with a 26' Class C and found it too "top heavy" for driving comfort. It was also a really "thirsty" beast, as it was at the tail end of the "carburator and anti-smog gear" era. It got about 6 mpg close to sea level, but only about 4.5 at altitude. We have quite a lot of altitude around here.

We sold it and later bought a 32' Class A with a fuel-injected V-10. What a difference - no lying down on its door handles on turns and fairly decent gas mileage (about 8.5 on average). Unfortunately, we bought it in 2009, while gas was still very expensive. We saw consistent $4.50/gallon prices on the Oregon coast.

When we realised we were breaking into our IRA's to feed the beast, we opted out. Living across the street from a salt-water marina, with beaches less than a half-mile away and the State Ferry dock only 3/4 mile, we don't really miss it.

[Incessant]

For my 2017 e450 i did the following:

1. Do not over inflate front tires. Check door jam, weigh your rig - seperate weights for each axle, and then check tire mfg recommendations for pressure based on weight.

2. Get the front end aligned and have the caster set to at least -5. Search this forum for the recommendations.

3. Upgrade front and rear sway bars to hellwigs.

4. Only after all the above are done, consider a rear traction bar and a steering stabilizer.

[n-e-d]

Take it slow. Follow thru on Incessants recommendations 1 and 2. I would add bring up your air bags to around 60 lbs and increase from there depending on feel. Be careful doesnt take much to get to pressure. happy trails

[OFDPOS]

Originally Posted by Incessant

For my 2017 e450 i did the following:

1. Do not over inflate front tires. Check door jam, weigh your rig - seperate weights for each axle, and then check tire mfg recommendations for pressure based on weight.

2. Get the front end aligned and have the caster set to at least -5. Search this forum for the recommendations.

3. Upgrade front and rear sway bars to hellwigs.

4. Only after all the above are done, consider a rear traction bar and a steering stabilizer.

#2 believe its +5 on the caster ? !