I'm adding this because of just discovering it. Just a word to the wise. And do not think setting the ride height will make a difference in it pulling.
Long long ago I had set my ride height and even made some templates so it only took seconds to check. From the factory my ride height was way off in the rear. I believe the front was as well.
At some point in time I had an alignment done. Didn't help with the handling but made some improvements overall. It was not the resolution but did make some noticeable improvement.
Now to the point: I cannot remember checking the ride height after that. I don't know or remember if they shimmed the front end.
With it still handling like crap I had Brazels in Oregon do an alignment. This time for sure it received shims. I added their check valves and just noticed it would corner a bit more level. No major improvement with the alignment etc.
On we go. Changed steering box. That was a magic bullet. Wanted more handling performance. Added front watts link. Then the rear. Can't add more stuff now because I have it all. Alignment, check valves, sway bars, shocks, (safe-t-Plus), the t-plus now lives in the dump. Even built an electric trim for the safe-t-plus. New tires of course.
Once all of this was done. (notice I did not mention setting ride height, nor even checking it)....
Well, once all this was done I decided to remove the shims under the axel to take out the extra caster etc.
Removing the shims was a mistake for sure. It then stiffened up the turning effort and made no improvement on the (pulling to the right) . So I had to fight heavier steering input as well as being bugged by the pull.
I experimented with using ten pounds of pressure on the right side (front and back), and that actually worked a treat in solving the pull to the right.
Getting itchy to get out and travel again I wanted the coach to be in top shape and to not fight steering fatigue after a long day.
Having the engine UpRate HP to 450 was easy enough once I could get a Cummins place to talk to me. I had a DigiCR chip some time back and while having the coach aligned and serviced at Brazils I had them put i on the dyno. The chip was nice but had issues so it was removed.
The 450 hp uprate is so worth the money. $250-$400 depending on things of course
Back to the story. Took the RV to the famous Josams in Orlando. I will return there for sure for anything in the future.
Shims added back and the thing seemed to track beautifully but I cannot report a complete success yet until a decent trip is made.
Wow, you can see the shims easily and see a difference in the height of the shims from the right to the left. You can see the shims from the back side of the axel. It is apparent they have more caster on one side versus the other.
My steering effort has decreased tremendously and the wheel wants to return to center after a turn. Much much better. Note that the road test was never at highway speeds. Only up to about 45.
Now back to the heart of the story. (ride height), if I haven't lost you yet.
Grabbing my trusty ride height templates I set to work. The front seemed a bit lower at first glance and I double checked that the system was fully aired.
The wheel well clearance did not appear to be very high and it concerned me that during a turn on a bumpy road it might make contact.
Looking further inside behind the curtain (hula skirts), the bags looked very uninflated. Squished far too much. Using the template immediately told the story and it indeed was far underinflated????
Getting to the front valve to adjust is easy enough but having two people would sure make those difficult trips easier.
As I loosened the one adjusting nut I noticed the telltale sign of where it had been tightened before. The imprint of a washer that is. Moving the adjustment I found it was at the end of its travel and could not raise the front to the desired height. It was way off. Pulling the adjustment arm loose it then was free to move as needed. It had to be moved up beyond any adjustment holes in the tall tab it was connected to. Wow, that far off. Scratching my head and looking at the shims the light came on. (
), the long tab with holes in it is connected to the axel of course and the axel is now almost 1/2 of an inch further down/away from the frame of the rv. This pulls the arm down and the adjustment for the valve became out of reach.
Grabbing a flat piece of aluminum a simple extension was added to the adjusting tab that is connected to the axel. . The new hole is close to 1 1/4 inches higher than it was. This put me into the center of the adjustment and raised the front to the proper height.
Wow, what a difference looking over the front wheels and seeing the clearance it is giving me once again.
So the moral is that an alignment might throw off your ride height enormously. I did not say anything about the handling of course. Not nearly enough road time and none since setting the height
I'm disappointed that Josams did not either notice it or maybe just ignored it when it ran out of travel. Nor did they tell me if they had checked it.
Checking the rear ride height after this found them a bit too high. In the original ride height check many many years ago I ran out of travel on them right from the factory and had to drill new holes in the bracket they are attached to. I did not give it my best effort on the rears at this time do to being very very tired and sore from four or five days of primping the beautiful machine. Wax on, wax off. Sure is shining now again.
I needed to drive it up on my heavy duty blocks to feel safer while making adjustments and another person to check the measurements. It is really difficult to wiggle under there . Disconnecting the X bars would have helped a lot. But I was just out of steam. Jack stands were in place of course. These things can drop like a rock under certain conditions.
So the moral of the story is to check your ride height and especially if you have an alignment done. The alignment was worth the money to be able to report back to this group about its effects. Getting the steering input force down, alone was worth the price. And after literally burning two front tires off experimenting with things I needed to make sure the toe was correct and I can sleep well now.
Thanks for listening and hope you enjoyed the bed time story.
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