Community Forums

LeeB · 12-14-2020, 05:53 PM

My question is about SAFE-T-PLUS. Will it help with the constant having to move the steering wheel back an forth all the time?

I am not new to RV'ing by any stretch of means, by that I mean I have owned many RV's over the years. I bought this in April for a good price. Got Brake recall done replaced the H2O pump, installed the Amish Fridge Unit (works GREAT BTW) recovered the seats, replaced the 5,000lb TV with a 20lb Flat Screen and a whole bunch of other things.

Driving it here in the Central Valley Highway 99 it rides rough. It has Hankook Tires that are only 2yrs old (Please don't harp on me about putting Michelin on cause I ain't ready to do that yet). It does need shocks and that's in the works $$$$$ are holding me back right now.

I was quoted $985.00 installed at Quartzite and to me that seemed a LOT HIGH. I am going to check here local or this something I can do myself and do the adjusting driving the back roads til I get it centered.

edgray · 12-14-2020, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeB

My question is about SAFE-T-PLUS. Will it help with the constant having to move the steering wheel back an forth all the time?

I am not new to RV'ing by any stretch of means, by that I mean I have owned many RV's over the years. I bought this in April for a good price. Got Brake recall done replaced the H2O pump, installed the Amish Fridge Unit (works GREAT BTW) recovered the seats, replaced the 5,000lb TV with a 20lb Flat Screen and a whole bunch of other things.

Driving it here in the Central Valley Highway 99 it rides rough. It has Hankook Tires that are only 2yrs old (Please don't harp on me about putting Michelin on cause I ain't ready to do that yet). It does need shocks and that's in the works $$$$$ are holding me back right now.

I was quoted $985.00 installed at Quartzite and to me that seemed a LOT HIGH. I am going to check here local or this something I can do myself and do the adjusting driving the back roads til I get it centered.

A steering "stabilizer" MAY help some with that, but I think you will see noticable improvement if you have a alignment shop add some wedges to increase the castor to 5.5* to 6* of positive castor. There are several threads about that here that are not too old so should be easy to find. I think this may only apply if you have a W-series- not sure about caster if you have independent front suspension on the P32.

Unplanned Tourist · 12-14-2020, 06:32 PM

I second adding shims to get close to 6 degrees of castor.

You will likely be shocked at how much nicer it is to drive.

permitwriter · 12-14-2020, 06:52 PM

I used the Roadmaster steering stabilizer - https://www.amazon.com/Roadmaster-RS...s%2C183&sr=8-2

It's gone up in price a lot. I paid less than $320 in April of this year for both the stabilizer & mounting bracket kit. Now they are a total of $424.

It made a huge difference. I had knick-named our coach "The Wandermobile". But no more. It's not like driving a car but it's way better than before. The Safe-T-Plus will work just as well. At the time, all the posts I read here indicated both work well and the Roadmaster was $100s less expensive. Make sure you get the correct Safe-T-Plus for your chassis.

I installed it myself. It was simple but not very easy. I had to remove 2 leaf spring shackle bolts. They are what I call pinched bolts. They are super tight all the way off & I don't have a very good air compressor so my impact wrench was only of limited help. So it was a breaker bar & 6 foot pipe. Under the coach. Fun.

I took time to do the best I could to make sure the tires were pointing straight ahead. I guess I got it dead on because I have not had to adjust it since.

I highly recommend that you do this.

LeeB · 12-14-2020, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray

A steering "stabilizer" MAY help some with that, but I think you will see noticable improvement if you have a alignment shop add some wedges to increase the castor to 5.5* to 6* of positive castor. There are several threads about that here that are not too old so should be easy to find. I think this may only apply if you have a W-series- not sure about caster if you have independent front suspension on the P32.

Hi Ed; My Motor Home has a straight Axel.....vin.......5B4MP67G643391118 you ran my numbers right after I bought it and saw that the Brake recall had not been done

LeeB

dieselclacker · 12-14-2020, 08:47 PM

Front end alignment with at least 5 degrees of positive caster and 1/8 to 1/4 inch toe in total. And especially if you tow a toad, a rear trac bar to keep the rear axle from wandering.
I would do the front end first. Make sure front tires are properly inflated for the load that’s on them.

F4Gary · 12-14-2020, 09:06 PM

The SafeTPlus is $500 so the rest would be labor. Shouldn't take them more than 1 or 2 hours to put it on.
I did both. Installed a SafeTPlus (myself) and got the 5+ degrees of castor in an alignment. Steering control was much improved.

Arch Hoagland · 12-14-2020, 09:18 PM

Bud Eberwein

Talk to Zarkas at Bud Eberwein's in downtown Fresno. He is the owner. They are a Workhorse dealer.

I've been going there with my Workhorse W22 since 2005.

They do shocks, brakes and alignments. He will do your brake recall too.

He replaced my shocks a few years ago and it sure wasn't a $1,000.

I run up and down 99 all the time and find it fairly smooth. I run 22.5 Michelin's at 90lb in all tires.

What is your tire pressure set to?

LeeB · 12-14-2020, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Bud Eberwein

Talk to Zarkas at Bud Eberwein's in downtown Fresno. He is the owner. They are a Workhorse dealer.

I've been going there with my Workhorse W22 since 2005.

They do shocks, brakes and alignments. He will do your brake recall too.

He replaced my shocks a few years ago and it sure wasn't a $1,000.

I run up and down 99 all the time and find it fairly smooth. I run 22.5 Michelin's at 90lb in all tires.

What is your tire pressure set to?

Eberwein's is where I got the Brake recall done. At the time all I cared about was getting the recall done. We have a pretty good place I can get the alignment done here in Modesto (MaCoys). I have 19's and run them at 90lbs. Wish I could afford shocks and the alignment but right now is not a good time..

edgray · 12-15-2020, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeB

Eberwein's is where I got the Brake recall done. At the time all I cared about was getting the recall done. We have a pretty good place I can get the alignment done here in Modesto (MaCoys). I have 19's and run them at 90lbs. Wish I could afford shocks and the alignment but right now is not a good time..

LEE: I'm thinking the alignment and wedges should be less the the cost of a stabilizer, and may yield better results.
ALSO, please look for a PM from me.

rarebear.nm · 12-15-2020, 04:13 PM

We had both front and rear Hellwig anti sway bars plus a Roadmaster steering stabilizer all installed at the same time. Made a major improvement, but still some problems in crosswinds. Took it to a different shop and the caster adjusted to about 5 and reduced the toe value and adjusted the position of the steering stabilizer on the axle. That made all of the difference and the unit drives great now. Before it was white knuckle city with heavy traffic and any cross winds.

IMO- RV manufactures know in many/most cases the chassis from the factory is not up to the forces of an RV. I think these upgrades should be standard in all MHs. But of course the price-point game rules that out. Manufacture's money is mostly spent on the blitz which is what sells most RVs. I know a few makes do add at least some of this upgraded equipment, but most do not.

Unplanned Tourist · 12-15-2020, 05:27 PM

IMHO the first thing anyone with a solid axle front end should do is add caster to 6 degrees, and set toe-in. 1/8" on 22.5 tires, or 1/16" on 19 inch.

Then after a test drive see if you even need to add all the snake-oil.

CamJam1 · 12-22-2020, 06:01 PM

+1 on the Roadmaster Reflex stabilizer, and the DIY installation is easy if you have a 1/2" ratchet with a long handle and a deep well socket. All bets are off if the U-bolt nuts are rusted, of course.

Increasing caster sounds like a good thing to try, but the nearest truck alignment shop from me is about 100 miles away, so I tried the steering stabilizer first. It made a huge improvement for me, and I suspect the Safe-T-Plus would give you similar results.

I often wonder why the factory didn't increase the caster as it is a simple fix and seems to be universally liked by those who have tried it.

bruceh · 12-24-2020, 10:25 AM

A safety plus won't do anything for the ride, you really do need shocks. The install isn't difficult if you are at all handy.

I also drive that part of 99 all the time and the road is awful. I have Konis and all of the other stuff and the ride is still bad.

All of the alignment advice is right on.

I have also had good luck with Bud Eberwein for the stuff that I can't handle.