2003 HR Scepter PBD Vibration

[bdmckenna]

I apologize for not posting earlier. I wanted to search a lot before bringing this issue up.

We have a 2003 Holiday Rambler that we purchased 2 years ago with 28,000 miles. It was owned by a retired marine and it was just too big for him to drive. We have always wanted a class A and do enjoy it. We have done a few upgrades and we like that there is no DEF to deal with.

Here’s the lingering problem. At 66 to 68 MPH we get a vibration. By 75 it’s like sitting on an out of balance washing machine. Here is what we have done so far.

Replaced all 6 tires
Verified the wheels are straight.
Re-balanced the tires 3 times, different Les Schwabs, even rotated the tires on the wheels.
Replaced the 4 drums on the brakes
Replaced all 8 shocks with Koni’s
Verified air bags are at the right height.
Bushing are all fine.

So… what else do I need to look for. We love the thing but I’m tired of this damn vibration.

[Skip426]

Have you confirmed the drive shaft is, not damaged or has bad U joints, and is in " phase "?

In all the parts replacement , has a mechanic driven the coach to confirm , the speed ( frequency ) of the vibration ?

Tire & drum vibrations are slower than engine , transmission and drive shaft vibrations .

[bdmckenna]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Have you confirmed the drive shaft is, not damaged or has bad U joints, and is in " phase "?

In all the parts replacement , has a mechanic driven the coach to confirm , the speed ( frequency ) of the vibration ?

Tire & drum vibrations are slower than engine , transmission and drive shaft vibrations .

I have had the driveshaft and u joints checked. They were fine. Yes, we have had three mechanics drive the coach. They are all stumped.

[DiplomatDon]

Slow down to 60 to 62 mph, get better fuel mileage and enjoy the scenery. The coach is telling you something. JMO

[bdmckenna]

Originally Posted by DiplomatDon

Slow down to 60 to 62 mph, get better fuel mileage and enjoy the scenery. The coach is telling you something. JMO

To be honest, I am not upset with 9.4 mpg Don. I usually set the cruise at 70. The two biggest jumps in mpg were the programmer and then the muffler.

We use this for both work and pleasure. Today, we will roll over 70,000. Will have driven it 48,000 since we bought it. And yes, for those 48,000 miles, we have tolerated this vibration thinking it was normal. It’s our first coach.

[jacwjames]

Strange, seems like you've checked all the potential areas that could cause the vibration.

So at highway speed, +66 mph it starts vibrating and gets progressively worse.
If it doesn't show up at high rpm lower speed that rules out engine/transmission.





Couple things I could suggest
Take it to a shop that can Dyno the engine and drive train, at least you would narrow it down between front and rear tires. They might have the equipment to identify the source of the vibration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFM-XS--KyQ

You could have your front tires balance checked while still on the rig, it would identify a bearing problem in the front.





FWIW, I had my rig towed. Tow truck driver removed the driveshaft and the Cummins shop put it back in. When I picked up my rig I quickly senses a slight vibration at highway speed. When I got home I found they installed the drive out of phase. Only caused a slight vibration but it was there.

[bdmckenna]

So the previous owner did have this vehicle towed at one time. In fact right before he sold it. I bet you anything the driveshaft is not a phase. I’ll have that check next.

Originally Posted by jacwjames

Strange, seems like you've checked all the potential areas that could cause the vibration.

So at highway speed, +66 mph it starts vibrating and gets progressively worse.
If it doesn't show up at high rpm lower speed that rules out engine/transmission.





Couple things I could suggest
Take it to a shop that can Dyno the engine and drive train, at least you would narrow it down between front and rear tires. They might have the equipment to identify the source of the vibration.

You could have your front tires balance checked while still on the rig, it would identify a bearing problem in the front.





FWIW, I had my rig towed. Tow truck driver removed the driveshaft and the Cummins shop put it back in. When I picked up my rig I quickly senses a slight vibration at highway speed. When I got home I found they installed the drive out of phase. Only caused a slight vibration but it was there.

[jacwjames]

If you've had into a shop checking on this specific issue I'd be surprised if they didn't at least look at the driveshaft.
But that being said a Cummins shop put mine in wrong so anything can happen.



If you do some research on drive shaft phasing you could check this yourself visually. Not rocket science!!


Keep us posted.

[RamiDav]

As Jim said above take a flashlight and look under the rear, you can see if it is in phase. Here are 2 threads that explain and show how it should look

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f26/vibr...ed-507196.html

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/cla...-413986-5.html

[shootist]

Torque converters can cause a vibration. I put 7 of them in a 68 mustang, finally bought a factory new one and it cured it. Can't even remember all the hell the car owner went through before coming my way. The man that told me, in no uncertain terms, it was the torque converter had put 11 in a porsche 928 learning this. Your coach may have had the vibration since new. And it is really hard on the driveline if that's where it originates from. The other thing to look at is the harmonic balancer on the motor. The outer weight ring can spin on the hub and throw the motor out of balance .I should add, because yours gets so much worse with road speed you make it sound more like a tire issue. Fronts shake the steering wheel, rears you feel in the floor and seat. But because you're dealing with such a large drive train it might act more violent than a car would.

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by shootist

Torque converters can cause a vibration. I put 7 of them in a 68 mustang, finally bought a factory new one and it cured it. Can't even remember all the hell the car owner went through before coming my way. The man that told me, in no uncertain terms, it was the torque converter had put 11 in a porsche 928 learning this. Your coach may have had the vibration since new. And it is really hard on the driveline if that's where it originates from. The other thing to look at is the harmonic balancer on the motor. The outer weight ring can spin on the hub and throw the motor out of balance .I should add, because yours gets so much worse with road speed you make it sound more like a tire issue. Fronts shake the steering wheel, rears you feel in the floor and seat. But because you're dealing with such a large drive train it might act more violent than a car would.

What's odd is that the vibration only happens at highway speed.

While driving lower speeds with higher RPM (steep grade climb), the symptom doesn't happen. I would thins rules out transmission/harmonic balance.

But I'm not an expert on this, just trying to think things through!

[RamiDav]

I'm sure we have all seen a car on the highway where one of the wheels is bouncing like an out-of-balance washing machine.
I always wonder what it must feel like in the car.
With that in mind, at 75 MPH one of your wheels may be bouncing enough
to see.
So can you get someone to drive alongside the coach and observe?
If you could narrow it down to one wheel it would certainly help.
After thinking it over I just don't believe the drive shaft could vibrate to that extent for 48 K miles without disintegrating.
It's probably something more in the rolling down the road area, like wheels, tires, drums, or axels.

You may have to isolate the problem yourself. I can see where most mechanics don't want to get involved. I have experienced the brush-off myself. I'm sure they feel that RVs are a headache

Ray & Marilyn
03 Windsor

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by RamiDav

I'm sure we have all seen a car on the highway where one of the wheels is bouncing like an out-of-balance washing machine.
I always wonder what it must feel like in the car.
With that in mind, at 75 MPH one of your wheels may be bouncing enough
to see.
So can you get someone to drive alongside the coach and observe?
If you could narrow it down to one wheel it would certainly help.
After thinking it over I just don't believe the drive shaft could vibrate to that extent for 48 K miles without disintegrating.
It's probably something more in the rolling down the road area, like wheels, tires, drums, or axels.

You may have to isolate the problem yourself. I can see where most mechanics don't want to get involved. I have experienced the brush-off myself. I'm sure they feel that RVs are a headache

Ray & Marilyn
03 Windsor

This is why I suggested a mounted balance on the front wheels. At least you'd take the front end out of the equation.



We had this happened to us, the front developed a really bad vibration. I pulled over multiple times looking for a problem. Finally the shock absorber failed and when they pulled off the front tire there was a huge bulge where the tire had failed. Had to have the tire and shock changed.

[RamiDav]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

This is why I suggested a mounted balance on the front wheels. At least you'd take the front end out of the equation.

Good idea but balancing would cost and may not accomplish anything.

Driving along and observing shouldn't cost much, just some fuel.
However, the cost of fuel nowadays is nothing to laugh about.

He has done just about everything a person would normally suspect. So if the vibration is as bad as it appears to be I'm beginning to suspect something is bent, an axel or wheel.

Here is his list of things replaced

Replaced all 6 tires
Verified the wheels are straight.
Re-balanced the tires 3 times, different Les Schwabs, even rotated the tires on the wheels.
Replaced the 4 drums on the brakes
Replaced all 8 shocks with Koni’s

Ray & Marilyn
03 Windsor