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sal avitabile · 08-22-2006, 04:23 PM

I have a W22 Fleetwood 34F Bounder 8.1 2005 Now 5000 Miles,handling problems from day one,went through Weighing $ points setting tire. Installed rear track bar. tire Pressure,Alignment ETC.I have to constantly work at steering this coach Just came back 3000 mile trip. I know you are going to think I,m Nuts,But in the right lane I have to constantly keep correcting,In the left lane It seems Better,And on a concrete Hyway I got out and checked my License PLate To see if I had the same coach, My Arms Hurt after 3-4 hours Can you reccomend A shrink?
Sal Avitabile
PS I tow a vue 4 down.

sal avitabile · 08-22-2006, 04:23 PM

I have a W22 Fleetwood 34F Bounder 8.1 2005 Now 5000 Miles,handling problems from day one,went through Weighing $ points setting tire. Installed rear track bar. tire Pressure,Alignment ETC.I have to constantly work at steering this coach Just came back 3000 mile trip. I know you are going to think I,m Nuts,But in the right lane I have to constantly keep correcting,In the left lane It seems Better,And on a concrete Hyway I got out and checked my License PLate To see if I had the same coach, My Arms Hurt after 3-4 hours Can you reccomend A shrink?
Sal Avitabile
PS I tow a vue 4 down.

FrontRangeRVer · 08-22-2006, 04:28 PM

We dont have any type of handling problem, and we sure didnt install all these aftermarket items all these guys talk about either...

Did the alignment work or help?....I hear that solves most of the problems...I would hate for you to throw more aftermarket nonsense at the problem without a solution...

LeeB · 08-22-2006, 05:39 PM

Could it have anythng to do with the crown of the road? I know sometimes it makes a differance... Just a thought...

BEBOP · 08-22-2006, 06:07 PM

I noticed at 5000 mile I had abnormal wear on the outside of the passenger side front tire.
I took it into the alignment shop and they found the toe in was 3/8 inch out of alignment. They fixed this and I just drove it to British Columbia and back and it drove like a totally different motorhome, tracking straight down the highways.
Incidently I got a minimum of 8 mpg and a max of 9.2 driving 55 mph towing a SC2 at 3400 pounds 4 down and going over mountains up to 4200 feet in both directions.
I am pleased. no breakdowns, no failures, no problems, just amazing.
Bebop

DriVer · 08-22-2006, 07:30 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by sal avitabile:
I have a W22 Fleetwood 34F Bounder 8.1 2005 Now 5000 Miles,handling problems from day one,went through Weighing $ points setting tire. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Sal, Call Armando at Turning Wheel RV in Ocala and ask him if the front end machine is back in service. They gave me an excellent front end alignment 2 years ago which is still holding great. They can provide you with a before and after computer printout so that's important. They are a WCC service center so they should be able to help you.

If you go there, find and say hello to Tony for me. He's a great guy!

Before I did anything else I would make 100% sure that my FEA was perfect.

BellaBo · 08-23-2006, 04:59 AM

Sal....
I had the exact same problems you describe and Armando at Turning Wheel fixed it. As DriVer has recommended.

Tincup · 08-23-2006, 03:29 PM

Sal,

I have a 2005 Bounder 36Z with 10K miles. I was also experiencing similar problems. While in Deming, NM last winter I stopped by Steer-Safe and had a set installed. This vertually eliminated the front end from wandering, my shoulders weren't soar after a long trip. When an 18 wheeler passes me now, the coach may sway a bit, but I feel nothing at the steering wheel. Now I can drive with my hands just laying on the wheel, I'm not really steering it. The MH tracks straight down the road.

The installation took about 20 minutes and the cost was $400.00 out the door. The shop is right there in Deming, a great bunch of guys and a very nice clean shop. I highly recommend that product.

Tincup

DriVer · 08-23-2006, 08:15 PM

I would like to recommend that you rule out the base items first such as front end alignment, air pressures and weight placement before you consider aftermarket products.

Most often we have seen where an adjustment has made a world of difference negating the need for add on suspension products.

About the Steer-Safe product, just about every mechanic that I have spoken with have concerns about these things because they don't fit on post lifts and they all observe that the mechanics of the device are in the open and subject to all manner of road debris and moisture.

I have a Safe-T-Plus which is a sealed self contained steering damper. It's up out of the way and it works really well however I only choose to install that device after having accumulated several thousand miles of seat time.

Concluding, rule out the baseline items first be reluctant to go after market. Only do so when you are confident with the solution as it applies to your situation is going to work.

The Godfather · 08-24-2006, 09:50 AM

Sal, I'm with Driver on the value of the Safe-T-Plus steering dampner. Brazel's installed mine and it made a huge difference in driving comfort. Once it is adjusted to track straight ahead it will resist any steering deviation caused by an external force or sudden input (like a blow out). It still requires the driver to make minor steering adjustments but they are greatly reduced as compared to stock.

Dick

JudyandJim · 08-28-2006, 12:41 PM

I second the vote for Safe-T-Plus. It solved our problems. The day I had it installed, I drove home with a 40mph cross wind and barely felt it.

Judy

09-05-2006, 08:26 PM

The biggest single improvement I experienced was after adding the rear trac bar. That greatly reduced "tail wag" and the tendency to constantly steer it. On my first long trip home from the factory in MI where I picked it up, my arms were sore.

Believe it or not, a lot of improvement came from upgrading the 14" steering wheel that GBM used, to an 18" steering wheel. This allowed greater control and smaller corrections which help to minimize over-steer on my part. I understand most other manufacturers used the 18" so this may not apply to you.

Lastly I added a Davis TruCenter front stabilizer that also made significant improvements.

The combination of the three add-ons make my unit a dream to drive.

I have also found that a poorly loaded or poorly aligned tow car can increase handling issues. Also, while I was within weight limits all around, by putting next to nothing in the rear most storage bins helps too. Mine are so far behind the rear axle that anything substantial back there seems to reduce the front axle steering contact with the ground.

Finally, driving at 60 MPH not only saves big on the fuel bill but also handling is much better compared to driving 70+ MPH. These things just weren't meant to go that fast and every bump, pitch or contortion in the road seems to get amplified exponentially with speed.

Like the others, I agree that a good alignment should be performed before "tweaking" on the chassis with add-ons.

Davel · 09-06-2006, 03:01 AM

I'd like to second Pushin40's recommendation of TruCenter stabilizer. After checking alignment, weights and tire pressure I installed a track bar and the TruCenter. The changes made the coach much more stable and comfortable to drive, plus giving a lot of confidence in the case of a blow out or sudden steering changes.

Dave

DriVer · 09-06-2006, 03:53 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pushin40:
Lastly I added a Davis TruCenter front stabilizer that also made significant improvements. The combination of the three add-ons make my unit a dream to drive. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Pushin40, Thank you for your comments regarding your suspension upgrades.

In order to add to this thread I just wanted to clarify some of the terminology that you are using mostly its a brand name type awareness thing.

Davis now Roadmaster makes a front track bar called a Tru-Track. That's what I have installed at the present time on my motorhome along with the Safe-T-Plus, Henderson rear track bar and the re-bar.

Tru-Center is a steering damper made my Blue Ox Corporation and it is a little marvel of a device. Electrically trimmable via dash board mounted switch, the Tru-Center will add "crabbing" characteristics to your wheels and this will help to more than offset those tangent winds that we get while running those open prairie Interstates like up in South Dakota. The Tru-Center also provides a comfort margin in the event of a blow-out similar in characteristics to the Safe-T-Plus. An excellent steering damper in its own right the Tru-Center will actually fit in the same mounting hardware as the Safe-T-Plus.

Currently the Tru-Center is not shipping and there was a recall on all of the units that were sold within a certain time period. From what I heard, the company principals said that the Tru-Center in it's latest iteration will begining shipping again in January 2007.

I hope to be one of the first to be on-board with the "new" Blue Ox Tru-Center.

Your follow on observations are inspirational and as you have observed, weight distribution, proper toad configuration and an excellent front end alignment are the recommended path to follow before allocating additional resources for suspension upgrades.