Steering Wheel Tilt

[jerryd13]

Hello, I am a tall man, so my issue or question should be one that many of you have. My 2012 Tiffin Phaeton, the Freightliner supplied steering wheel has a release pedal that allows a tilting of the wheel.
In my case, I would have a much improved view of the dash gauges if the steering tilted a bit more.

Question:
Does anyone know of an adjustment or mod that will allow for a safe adjustment to allow a bit more downward tilt of this wheel.

Thank you

[Skip426]

I don't know how many changes there have been over the years ; but after spending a lot of time under my dash ( steering column was not centered to the seat ), if I needed any adjustments to the whole column angle , I could add a shim and longer bolts to the main mount to move the column slightly closer to the seat .
I would be hesitant to shim more than 3/8" and depending on the dash construction it may not be possible .

[weighit]

I feel the same way, wish the tilt was about 2 or 3 inches farther down from where it stops. Ii looked to see what I could do to get that added tilt but found no way to easily do that.

[jerryd13]

I have found on my 2012 phaeton, being a tall man and having the seat adjusted a bit further back, the steering wheel restricts my view. I have found no adjustments for additional tilting of steering wheel, I have received (2) comments from past owners that a new dash cutout had been available at no charge by Tiffin, but no one so far at Tiffin, has found any such device, same for Freightliner, I am sure the item for dash once existed but as years and people come and go, like our history it gets erased from the books. Too bad.

[Chief6722]

Jerry, being a Short man but needing to run the operators seat as high-up as possible causes the identical problem, it Sucks!

I’ve tried a few things to make it more easy to keep an eye on my gauges but nothing works so I’m jumping to the extreme this Winter and redesigning the layout of the entire dash because it’s both hard to see but also poorly laid out! I guess with both of us being on the opposite extents of height plus out of adjustment with the 1/2” of movement we get from “Tilt” puts us both with not being able to view the dash properly. Mine is a 2010 42QBH and I’ve looked at several models that have little differences that helped.

This won’t be an easy task for me due to the rat-net of wires from the gauges and accessory items, but after replacing the radio last Spring, I did a lot of cleanup and re-taping of required wires and removal of old equipment that wasn’t being used. Plus the verification & labeling of the hundreds of “Yellow Wires” that had nothing labeled.

I’m laying it all out in CAD since I’ll be doing cutting with various CNC machines and planning to raise the dash a bit but also create some wraparound so that I can actually see my gauges and screens because it’s actually not safe the way I'm having to look around the wheel at the vital gauges.

I can keep you updated with what I’m doing since
I’m about to get started. Also I’ll be creating templates for the different dash panels. If you happen to find s better way, Along the Way let us know!

[jerryd13]

Chief,

Thank you for your comments, and I would like to be copied on your progress.
if I could just get more downward tilt To make my view unobstructed that would suffice, but what you are planning msy have to take place.

Thank you

[jerryd13]

Friends,

I found on YouTube some videos on truckers who have the same issue with a limited downward movement of steering wheel, now I realize they are in trucks, Freight liner Trucks, and I
Am seeking a service manual that might detail the tilt mechanism . In the video, they remove a steel pin ,that seems to be a mechanical limit/stop. Is this the same on our Freight Liner Custom Chassis Tilt Steering, Hope to find out.

[RV Driver]

In addition to tilting, that steering wheel will also move up and down when you step on the release. Have you tried that?

[KTMBUZZ]

Originally Posted by Chief6722

Jerry, being a Short man but needing to run the operators seat as high-up as possible causes the identical problem, it Sucks!

I’ve tried a few things to make it more easy to keep an eye on my gauges but nothing works so I’m jumping to the extreme this Winter and redesigning the layout of the entire dash because it’s both hard to see but also poorly laid out! I guess with both of us being on the opposite extents of height plus out of adjustment with the 1/2” of movement we get from “Tilt” puts us both with not being able to view the dash properly. Mine is a 2010 42QBH and I’ve looked at several models that have little differences that helped.

This won’t be an easy task for me due to the rat-net of wires from the gauges and accessory items, but after replacing the radio last Spring, I did a lot of cleanup and re-taping of required wires and removal of old equipment that wasn’t being used. Plus the verification & labeling of the hundreds of “Yellow Wires” that had nothing labeled.

I’m laying it all out in CAD since I’ll be doing cutting with various CNC machines and planning to raise the dash a bit but also create some wraparound so that I can actually see my gauges and screens because it’s actually not safe the way I'm having to look around the wheel at the vital gauges.

I can keep you updated with what I’m doing since
I’m about to get started. Also I’ll be creating templates for the different dash panels. If you happen to find s better way, Along the Way let us know!

Thanks Chief
Please post pics of your new dash layout.
I'm going to re-do mine and put the Gauges and display panel in a more user friendly position.
Thanks
KTMBUZZ

[jerryd13]

I have not been able to move my wheel up and down, only the tilt is operable, you may have a different steering wheel feature.
Thank you for sharing

[jerryd13]

RV DRIVER, you are 100% correct. After trying once to get the telescope function I assumed it did not have such feature.
I have obtained a service bulletin and tried several movements, and yes, it moved up and down just as you stated. So I was incorrect.

[tebeall]

Back in 2015 when I had a Tiffin Breeze 28, I was not pleased with the small window in the dash that gave me coach conditions. All the manipulations that were required to just see status was annoying as well as possibly dangerous if you do that during driving. So I ended up purchasing a Glass Dash from Silver Leaf Electronics, in Albany, OR. They design the same type of displays that you see in modern aircraft, and can display an incredible amount of information about all aspects of your coach. I realize this is not directly the subject of your issue, but I'm thinking that when a glass dash in used to replace your existing instrument cluster, it can provide you a much improved view.

I'm considering doing this again for my 2016 Phaeton, although I don't have the view issues you do, but simply because I still have that crappy view window that I frankly ignore except to look at the mileage and generator hours.

silverleafelectronics.com

Yeah, it's all the way out here in Oregon, but you wanted to come here anyway, right?

[Piros1]

Originally Posted by jerryd13

Hello, I am a tall man, so my issue or question should be one that many of you have. My 2012 Tiffin Phaeton, the Freightliner supplied steering wheel has a release pedal that allows a tilting of the wheel.
In my case, I would have a much improved view of the dash gauges if the steering tilted a bit more.

Question:
Does anyone know of an adjustment or mod that will allow for a safe adjustment to allow a bit more downward tilt of this wheel.

Thank you

You might check with Freightliner or maybe Tiffen to see if there is a different steering column you can get as a replacement. I am not familiar with your coach but my Newmar Essex is on a Freightliner chassis, it has the smart wheel with power tilt and height. It maybe possible to swap something like this into your rig since the chassis are both built by Freightliner. I a little under 5’8” and I have plenty of adjustment up or down. I have more issues with getting the seat position correct than the wheel. I can tilt the wheel almost against my legs or to a point it is almost flat like a table top but. Plus it will move vertical up or down several inches. Just a thought you could look into.

[jerryd13]

Piros1,

Thank you for your suggestions, While I would have hoped that the TRW built Tilt Wheel would have had move range to lower the wheel and allow for better view of dash instruments, I have concluded that, "yeah" I can live with this. I sometimes forget how well we all today have such wonderfully designed and built vehicles, I think of my fathers generation and what he and others had available as far as vehicles and what equipment they had to deal with, so then
I say, we have it good, so I will be happy with my unit as designed. Thank you for your suggestions.