Steering 1999 Dutch Star

[Ron & Kerrie]

Originally Posted by Capt. Bill

Ron - having had coaches for 34 years and a 1999 Newmar DS, here are a few things to check & do- 1) Insure your tire pressure is correct for your actual wheel weight via weighing each wheel & adding 10% for safety factor. 2) Check your tie rod couplings- Spartan had issue with the boot covers on 1999 through 2005 chassis. The boot covers would get brittle ,crack & allow water into the ball joint & cause them to rust & become sloppy thereby causing 'steering drift'. 3) Change your shocks from Beilsten to Koni- there's are ajustable - I used the middle setting & it really helped as well as smoothed out the ride. 4) Being new to the coach driving scene - when steering - look down the road 35-50 yards as your aim point- this will prevent you from over-steering as one has a tendency to do with the larger steering wheel & gear box ratio on coaches compared to cars.
Hope this helps and Happy Trails

Capt. Bill The previous owners said there was an issue with the ball joints, and had them changed. When I took it in to be serviced and asked the mechanic to check the ball joints, they said they were fine. But I appreciate your advice of looking further down the road. I think I am currently looking as I did in my car and truck Thanks alot

[Rotten-Red]

Originally Posted by Ron & Kerrie

Honestly Skip not sure why the different sizes. That is the size that was on it when I bought it. ( last fall) The date on the tires were 2004. So I thought it must be set up for that size, so I decided to stick with it.

That's the size it came out of the factory with.

[Skip426]

I thought this tire size sounded familiar.
Digging through a ton of paper that both previous owners had kept in my coach I found the answer.
Originally Newmar had spec'd the chassis ( I had thought they had only done it with Freightliner, but it seems the problem was with Spartan chassis too ) with the 255/80R22.5 Michelin XRV tires.
The tires proved under rated for the front axle load , and in Jan. 2004 Newmar recalled the coaches and replaced only the front tires with the 275/70R22.5s.
Recall notice I found says 1997 to 2000 Dutch Star and 2001 & 2002 Kountry Stars with 255/80R22.5s
Seems the owner at the time , replaced all the tires on my coach with the 275/70R22.5s current rears are dated 2004, tire store estimate attached to the recall paper work. Next owner replaced the fronts again in 2008.
Because the two tire sizes are so close in height , there is no problem using
them together on the coach.
HOWEVER. the 255s cant be used on the front axle , and when checking the inflation charts be sure you use the chart for the tire size your checking.
In the recall letter Newmar rec-commends 105 PSI in the rear.

The 255/80Rs have given me the traction tread pattern option I was looking for. But I don't think I can get them for the $ 954.00 for 4 that the original owner paid.

["007"]

Ron, just been posting this thread in a few place's this morning it may not be your problem because as people have been saying and I agree your coach weights and tire pressures will effect your driving also.
The link problem, ball joints, was happening in early 2000's so it may not be a problem for you but just wanted you to be aware of the possibility.

[Ron & Kerrie]

Thanks 007 when I took in for service they said the alignment was off, but that the ball joints were ok. I had them do the alignment. I did adjust the air in the tires I just have not had time to take it out and try it yet to see if it makes a difference. They tires that were on it. Did show some wear on the edge, that is why I took it in to be aligned. When I had the new tires put on about a month ago they put 110 lbs in the front and 115 in the rear. They are now at 100 front and 95 rear. Thanks for all the help

[Ron & Kerrie]

Best place to buy Koni shocks?

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by Ron & Kerrie

Best place to buy Koni shocks?

I bought from Shox.com last fall. Good service, competitive pricing.

[Ron & Kerrie]

Have our motorhome at a Spartan shop. Had them check the steering, they told me there was quite a bit of play in the steering wheel. They also said the rear was 1" to high and the front 3" to high so they are doing all the adjusting. Will those things make a lot of difference in the steering? I won't know til I get it back next week

[Ron & Kerrie]

STEERING UPDATE : Just got our motorhome back from Spartan shop. They said there was 2" free play, they adjusted the steering box. And the front height was 3" to high and the rear 1 " to high. It steered sooooooooo much better on the way home. They also said the brakes were dragging and they adjusted the brakes also. Also check out our update under cracked manifold.