Do I have an Issue? 2022 Thor ACE 29.5

[befoe1958]

2022 Thor ACE 29.5 after 350 miles (mostly from delivery to dealer). This unit handles terribly on the road which I understand is pretty common until alignment and any upgrades. Have to fight to keep it in the lane. Took a look underneath and the front sway bar has the e-coat worn off about 3-4" inboard of the drivers side isolator and the same the outboard side of the passenger isolator. It's apparent the sway bar is moving side to side through the isolator to a degree I would have never expected. Anyone seen this issue before?
Do I have a larger problem waiting to happen?

[triplewide]

Here's my 2 cents worth and with inflation worth about 1/3 of that.


Maybe the axle assembly was painted before it was installed on the chassis and the sway bar was moved when installing?


It seems like the axle would have to shift sideways for the SB to move.
Are the links on the SB horizontal or are they angled?



If the spring shackles have not moved on the axle and nothing is bent I doubt there is anything major wrong. If you put a straight edge horizontally on the coach body across the wheel wells and measure the distance from the straight edge to the center of the axle cap or wheel cover, they should be "about" the same. If they are off 1 1/2" something is not right.


My 29.3 (new) drove the same on the way home from the dealership. White knuckles from Florida to North Carolina. What I found:


Dealer had pumped the tires to 100 PSI, proper inflation was 80 PSI. Correcting this made a major difference in handling. I had the alignment checked and it was right on the money. Rear track bar was a major improvement to reduce push from passing traffic. Steering stabilizer stopped the "sawing" back and forth of the steering wheel. Did the cheap handling fix, didn't use new links but would recommend that. Never changed the shocks but suspect that may have softened the ride some.


If you seek more info and expert assistance regarding your chassis than

you find on this thread, try posting your situation here (IRV2/Chassis Club/Ford Chassis):


https://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/


Welcome to the forum and enjoy your new coach!

[befoe1958]

Triplewide, thanks for the info and ideas. I have the unit now going in to Ford to have everything checked out and aligned. Cant get me in until April 19th but I'm in no rush. I appreciate your info. Gived me some thing to check until then.

[triplewide]

Sounds good. Please post what you/they find, it may help someone else in a similar situation.

[vsheetz]

Tire pressure by weight.

Ensure all suspension and steering components are as they should be. To include Alignment.

Only then aftermarket items:

1) SafetyPlus steering stabilizer. Highway straight line tracking and turning return to center improvements - big help in windy conditions - and of course safety in case of catastrophic tire failure.

2) Rear Track bar. Fixes tail wag the dog problem. Via Blue Ox, Super Steer, others.

3) Koni shocks - ride and handling improvement.

Rear track bar positively affixes the rear axle laterally to the chassis. In the F53 there is not a rear track bar - allowing the rear of the coach to continually shift to either side. When the rear shifts to one side, the front must shift the other way. Then steering correction is needed. This goes on repeatedly...

Imho. Ymmv.

[DavidEM]

I am a little surprised as there are many reports of the new Ford F53 chassis handling well. Maybe you got a bum alignment from the factory.

David

[2cyber71]

In my opinion, that wheelbase on an RV like your's is a setup for poor handling.
I hate to say it, but the wheelbase of that chassis is too short for the unit.

[wolfe10]

Side to side movement on your chassis should be controlled by the front TRACK BAR= PANHARD ROD.


It connects chassis rail on one side to axle on the other. Verify it is properly installed.


And, yes, there will be a little side to side movement as suspension goes up and down-- look at the geometry of the track bar with vertical suspension movement.

[befoe1958]

have never heard anything good about the handling on these new F53 units.

[TXiceman]

First things to get done are to load the RV as for a trip and get it weighed and adjust tire pressures per the tire manufacturers load pressure chart. Go about 5 psig over the table rating, but do not go over the maximum sidewall rated pressure when cold.

Next thing to do is to have the front-end alignment checked and adjusted with the RV loaded for travel. Find a good truck alignment shop, not a Ford shop.

Generally, the shocks from Ford are JUNK. Replace them with Bilstein or Koni shocks for that chassis.

Ken