Community Forums

Trekman · 10-08-2021, 10:24 AM

I'm new to this site and hope I'm posting in the right location. I recently purchased a 2002 Monaco (Safari) Trek 2430 with a workhorse 8.1L engine. The steering on this rig is dicey and wanders constantly. I've replaced tires, had front end aligned, replaced shocks, etc and still continues to drift. The suspension is different than any coach I've ever owned. The slightest wind or passing of other vehicles rocks this coach and gets scary occasionally. Anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences?

wolfe10 · 10-08-2021, 10:30 AM

With the P chassis, have you verified that there is no play in the steering components.

Check bell cranks, particularly left one.

Also, what PSI are you carrying in the air bags and what tire pressure.

If you know front end weight, please post that as well.

Skip426 · 10-08-2021, 10:38 AM

Well your posting in the right forum .

Just a couple of questions .
Do you know the Workhorse chassis designation ? P32 or W-18/20 ?
Have you had the coach weighed loaded for travel , and set your tire pressures accordingly , with an inflation chart from your tire manufacturer?

This serial number decoder could help , determine the chassis type.

CamJam1 · 10-08-2021, 10:51 AM

2002 Treks were on a P-Series chassis.

Apparently, some P-Series had problems with steering bell cranks wearing prematurely. There are quite a few previous threads about this. Here's one of them:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f22/p32-...ng-403272.html

Isaac-1 · 10-08-2021, 12:30 PM

The Trek is going to be twitching no matter the suspension upgrades, though upgrades do help, you have a coach with a 154 inch wheel base, with a relatively long rear overhang, and a lot of weight up high, as well as a lot of weight behind the rear axle due to the placement of the fresh and waste water tanks, and the nearly 300 pound bed in the ceiling, and plus a substantially framed ceiling and Aluminum roof on the 2002 model.

Proper weight distribution goes a long way on these coaches, so I would suggest getting 4 corner weights, and adjusting your tire pressure per tire manufacturers inflation charts, I run 75 psi front and 80 psi rear on my 2002 2830, which is on 17,000 GVWR chassis with 178 inch wheel base, your 2430 is probably going to need closer to 75 psi front and rear as you have a lighter rear axle.

Beyond that I would suggest checking the front bell cranks, SuperSteer makes an improved design Bell Crank, (these were changed out on my coach by a previous owner), also check for play in your steering box. A small adjustment on my steering box after buying the coach made a night and day difference in highway driving when being passed by large trucks. Also if you don't have one strongly consider adding a rear track bar.

p.s. also check your front sway bar bushings, and brackets, and consider adding a front spreader bar which fixes the geometry mismatch for the front sway bar that happened when Workhorse introduced the wide track front end without changing the sway bar mounting points in 2001, without one the wide track front end P32 coaches are prone to breaking sway bar brackets.

moisheh · 10-08-2021, 12:49 PM

You have one of the worst chassis ever built. The front end is very weak. The autopark brake is a disaster. They can be modified to improve the handling but count on spending up to $5000 plus front end repairs
I am a GM guy but not the p30 for me!

moisheh · 10-08-2021, 12:51 PM

You should go over to the gm chassis forum on this website. Lots of good info on the p30 pos.

Isaac-1 · 10-08-2021, 12:58 PM

I have to somewhat disagree with Moisheh here, the P30 is an ok chassis as long as you don't overload it, most of the problems happened when RV manufacturers tried making 34-36 ft coaches with tag axles 22,000 gvwr ratings on the P30 chassis. For a 25-29 ft coach the P30 chassis can do just fine, also your 2430 on the 15,400 ? GVWR chassis probably does not have the problematic J71 automatic parking brake, most 2430's don't unless they were custom ordered on the 16,500 or 17,000 GVWR heavier chassis option.

CamJam1 · 10-08-2021, 07:55 PM

I have to agree with Isaac-1. In the 90s I had a 26' Winnebago Brave on the P30 chassis and it was fine for its time. I always thought the narrow front track looked goofy though and thought it was good that Workhorse later fixed that.

donr103 · 10-08-2021, 09:46 PM

Have you checked front wheel bearings for run out? Easily missed.. there are many things you can do.. yes.. it's not a 2 million dollar coach, bet you already know that.. but great ideas here to make it better.. are you doing your own work ? Have you gone online at ULTRA/ BRAZELS .. ? great source for parts to make it better.. the auto park system is good if properly maintained.. great upgrades.. good luck and let us know what you did and maybe better members then me will help you

moisheh · 10-09-2021, 09:23 AM

A 2002 Trek is built on the regular p30 chassis with the infamous auto park. The front suspension has ball joints that wear out in 50 000 miles. A weak steering center link and air bags that leak. Short wb requires lots of expensive add on to improve handling. Lots of parts are obsolete or are available at ridiculous prices. I owned one of these. Never again.

Isaac-1 · 10-09-2021, 12:39 PM

I own one now, and while finding some parts is starting to get difficult most are still available new if you dig, SuperSteer makes a number of improved suspension components, and thankfully at least in the case of mine, previous owners had already invested in some of these upgrades (ie Super Steer Bell cranks, Track bar, Safe-T Plus stabilizer). Though I do admit I did have the original ball joints on mine replaced at about 85,000 miles, while at it I had Super Steer No air bag front springs installed at a total cost of about $1,400 by a local shop (disassembling and reassembling the ball joints is 90% of the labor in changing the front springs).

Also Yes the Automatic parking brake can be an issue, though the Brazel's /Ultra RV improved switches, and a 3 light genie light system to monitor it, and routine inspection of the system, checking fluid level when doing oil changes, go a long ways to making it more reliable. This is a likely moot point for the OP though has he has Trek 2430 so should be built on a sub 16,000 GVWR chassis which does not have the Automatic Parking Brake

George Schweikle · 10-16-2021, 05:01 AM

Hi Trekman and welcome to iRV2.

I agree with Isaac-1 and disagree with moisheh. You have a good motorhome and handling issues can be addressed. If you replace the ball joints, be especially wary that the correct parts are used. The earlier GM P series chassis with only front disc brakes used a different part than the later ones like yours with 4 wheel disc brakes.

Good luck, and post here with your experiences

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekman

I'm new to this site and hope I'm posting in the right location. I recently purchased a 2002 Monaco (Safari) Trek 2430 with a workhorse 8.1L engine. The steering on this rig is dicey and wanders constantly. I've replaced tires, had front end aligned, replaced shocks, etc and still continues to drift. The suspension is different than any coach I've ever owned. The slightest wind or passing of other vehicles rocks this coach and gets scary occasionally. Anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences?

AF Nomad · 10-16-2021, 12:49 PM

Does your rig have a TRW or Weller brand steering box?

I ask because my 1998 Sahara has a Weller and Weller boxes are intentionally built with a lot of play in them.

The result is that it likes to wander all over the place.

You can reference this long thread for more detail.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/ste...rw-210152.html

If it isn't a Weller steering box you could check/adjust the play in your steering box, and eliminate this as a possibility.

I have the same stability issues with passing trucks and crosswinds. Unfortunately, there is no bolt on TRW solution for my rig. However, I did install Air Tabs on the back of my rig and it seems to have have helped some with the stability. It still wanders, but is not as sensitive to the passing trucks and crosswinds.

Alex