Community Forums

poddville · 06-29-2021, 08:16 PM

Just an fyi. We had a 2013 monaco knight. Fought the the driving too. After several upgrades to no avail it was the henderson steering box techs said had the normal inch on play in it from henderson. With just 30k on it. It was no fun driving. Have no more

John Kaehms · 06-30-2021, 02:00 PM

We own a 2007 Cayman. When we bought the unit the steering play was an inch and one half either side of center. The unit was built with a Shepard M100 steering box. We took the coach to Henderson’s and changed to a TRW steering box and did everything you seem to have done. However we also did a couple of extra items. We installed a heavy duty rear sway bar with poly bushings. We installed poly bushings on the front sway bar drop links. Our coach had the Source Engineering Ride Enhancement Kit with Billstein shocks. The shocks were up graded to Koni heavy duty.

One item you should check is the steering column. Our steering column is built with three universal joints. The joints need regular greasing. If they are not greased they could be worn and sloppy. Check the connector between the column and the steering box for a secure fit. Also check the power steering fluid and hoses for leaks.

Another item to consider is weight over the front axle. If you have a CRT TV mounted between the driver and passenger seat such a TV can add huge amount of torque to the axle. The typical TV and mount weigh roughly 100 pounds. The center of mass is about 10 feet above the axle. If the coach rocks only 6 inches side to side then roughly 1000 lbs of torque is being applied to the axle. I was amazed by how much better our coach handled after changing to an LED TV that only weighs 7 pounds.

There are many other steering parts that can impact steering. After much checking and tweaking our coach drives nearly hands off on a smooth road. We easily pass semi trucks and can handle some heavy cross winds. However, the coach will never handle like a sports car.

Good luck with your project.
JK
One other note...we tow a 3500 lb Subaru Outback which helps minimize tail wag.

My garage · 06-30-2021, 04:31 PM

Almost forgot doing ride height make sure your site is level I put boards down and set them using a laxer then put coach on and used a large wood compass to set them it works great no tape measure and back and forth so try that compass trick it works great

rmcb · 06-30-2021, 09:07 PM

Scot,
I have the exact same coach as you. Mine was road wild as Van describes it. After prodding from Craig French I installed a TRW steering gear, put on rear cross braces and front and rear watts links. These changes made my coach drive like it’s on rails. I did the installations sequentially and I noticed an improvement from each one.
I also put on front and rear anti-sway bars. I saw almost no change from this.
A couple years ago I noticed my coach starting to wander slightly. After talking to Craig, I tightened the TRW and the wandering went away.
I think if you install the front and rear watts links and rear cross braces and make sure your TRW is adjusted you will be happy. Also, maybe verify your front toe-in is set properly. If toed out, you might have some wandering from that.
Unless you have a bunch of miles on your coach I doubt you have wirn bushings, tie rod ends or king pin bushings.
Bob Nodine did a great job explaining this. He is 100% right.
Roy

Relaxinrvr · 07-13-2021, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shootist

Koni fsd shocks are considered a better ride. Don't know if they would help your problem at all. It sounds as if you are oversteering at each correction . Try and slow your arm movement down and if possible look a little further ahead. I notice I have more of the same struggles the more tired I am.

I had Koni shocks on my 08 Cayman 39pbt. Until I changed them to the Bilstein's my coach handled like crap! I know there are may Koni lovers out there but after my experience with them I will never spend a dime for a set of them.

twinboat · 07-13-2021, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relaxinrvr

I had Koni shocks on my 08 Cayman 39pbt. Until I changed them to the Bilstein's my coach handled like crap! I know there are may Koni lovers out there but after my experience with them I will never spend a dime for a set of them.

Did you change out new Konis, or old worn out old Konis. Most folks change old shocks.
Hard to compare old with new.

Scot B. · 07-13-2021, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xdieselbob

As a retired diesel mechanic and fifty years working on class 6,7 &8 trucks, I have found several units, and owners having similar problems with steering and control. Remember you have two axles that control the forward handling. Have you had the drive axle trailing arms, bushings and torsion supports checked? Remember if the rear axle moves you have to steer to correct. For the tail wag/sway I would highly recomend installing AirTabs, $230.00 investment to eliminate sway/wag from passing trucks. I believe you have the Roadmaster R4R chassis. I am sure you have had the Monaco rear trailing arms checked for the federal safty recall.

RR8R chassis

Mit12 · 07-14-2021, 09:40 PM

One thing to check is if your coach is sitting level / plumb to the road. These coaches have the side to side level set at the rear. My coach leaned to the right 1 1/8 inch to the right when I checked the front it was about half that. I placed the coach on level ground in my garage. I used a level and adjusted up on the right and down on the left until the coach was perfectly level / plumb with the floor. When I was on my last trip the coach drove much better. Far less corrections and less effected by big rigs and side winds.

oh no · 07-16-2021, 02:03 PM

What was the TRW steering numbers im wanting to change

John Kaehms · 07-17-2021, 09:38 AM

Call Henderson’s RV in Grants Pass Oregon. Ask for John Henderson. He runs “Super Steer” and Henderson’s parts department. He can tell you the correct TRW steering box for your coach. You may also need other parts besides just the box. If you have push lock connectors on the power steering fluid hoses, I suggest those connectors get changed to quality clamp fittings. Once our steering box was changed we had fluid leak problems until the fittings were changed.
Good luck with your project. The TRW box is far better than the original Shepard steering box.
JK

mak1 · 07-17-2021, 11:22 PM

John Kaehms...I spoke with a person at hendersons a month ago about a box and they were going to get back to me and never did. I wonder why.

Biljol · 07-18-2021, 07:25 AM

They are extremely busy I wanted to get my coach in for some work when I called 3 weeks ago and was told September was the first available dates.

John Kaehms · 07-19-2021, 10:13 AM

Henderson’s is a very busy place. People come from all over the country to have their coaches serviced. On our trips to Henderson’s we have met people from the East Coast, Southern States, Canada, Mid West, Southern California the Central US and all over. The facility for such work is relatively small. Only about 6 large RV sized bays. They have a receptionist who answers the phone and a couple of service advisors who schedule work. The number of mechanics vary but usually about 6. Across the street is a vacant lot with parking for customers awaiting service. At the end of the street is Super Steer the parts department which has a waiting room for customers. John Henderson can be found there with the parts department crew.

I would be surprised if they did not call you back. Perhaps you spoke to the receptionist who may have lost your message. Ask for John Henderson but expect a wait because he is very busy. John, Robert and Barbara Henderson are some of the nicest people we have ever met when it comes to servicing our coach. The entire staff goes out of their way to be helpful. But because they are so good they are also very busy.

Be patient...the wait is worth it...
When you are there go over to the restaurant “Tap Rock” A high quality place over looking the Rogue River.

Relax and enjoy a trip to Grants Pass.
JK