Steering Pulling To Right

[Roadyacht1]

I have the same issue with my car, my DSDP motorhome and my motorcycle!
The crown of the road or lean of the road downward for drainage to the right causes my vehicles to pull right. What I do the test eliminate that as the problem is to cross the crown (when it’s safe). If you cross all the way over you should experience pull to the left. It you straddle the crown it should approximately eliminate pull. Just a thought.

[drwyatt]

Swapping will cost about a hundred $$ or more??
Swap front around. Check tire surface to see if level wear . Does it pull in both lanes on freeway.
Where are you in country . Some areas they crown the roads higher in middle for drainage.. That will make it pull.

[bobniel349]

Most common cause is radial pull. Rotate tire to back. 90% of the time this will fix the problem. 50 + years as a mechanic and garage owner. Seen it many times. Good luck.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by JOE248

I have a 2005 Tiffin Allegro Bus 38 DP Diesel Pusher. Actually it pulls to the right while normal driving and I need to hold pressure on steering wheel to compensate for the pull.. I have an after market Super Steer Bell Crank. I recently bought still working out bugs. Mechanic checked out and didn't see any issues with suspension and air brakes. Recommended tire & alignment shop and I had them check the alignment. Minor Adjustments on alignment and still pulls. Tire shop did recommend to rotate tires and/or replace tires if continue to pull. I was looking for proper tire rotation pattern just to make sure it's done right? The Toyo tires are 2017.

If you have a I beam front suspension, as I do, I recommend the Blue Ox TruCenter steering assist. It allows the pull to be neutralized with the touch of a switch. If you are handy at all you should be able to install the unit yourself. I have had 3 coaches on Freightliner chassis' and they all seem to pull. Part of the pull is the radial tires on the crown of the road. This is the only one I have put the TruCenter on and it really makes the drive much better.
Happy trails... Rick

[PCMike]

I had an 09 Phaeton and it did the same thing. I took it to Freightliner Service Center in Gaffney. They said the the alignment was set for a truck, not a motorhome. They aligned front and rear axles which helped some. Then they moved one of the rear auto levelers to the right front. That fixed it.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by JOE248

My Class A Motorhomes steering is pulling to right. I had alignment but in specs. What is proper tire rotation for a motorhome? Trying to get a couple more years out of tires since less than 5 years old.

Thanks
Joe

Year, make, model and chassis information in your signature would be a good idea and very helpful going forward.


It could be anything from a wheel bearing, dragging brake to the alignment shop not centering the steering wheel correctly when they did the alignment. Many here have had to deal with alignment shops not centering the steering wheel even after multiple attempts. At that though some pull to the right on a crowned road is to be expected on a large heavy vehicle and more noticeable than with the family car.

Basically though you do not rotate tires on a vehicle with dual rear wheels because

1 - The rear tires must be kept as a matched pair as they have worn in together so if you rotate a front tire to the back you will have tires of mismatched wear and diameter on the same hub making it so they the smaller one will drag and the larger one will have a much greater load on it which is not good.

2 - Many times the front wheels and rear wheels may be a different tread pattern and load rating and you do not want to be rotating a tire with a lighter load rating to the axle requiring one with a higher load rating.

Aside from that most people will be changing RV tires due to age and not being worn because in 5 years UV light and such will have aged the tires out well before they are worn out so rotating them is a bit of a moot point.

A motor home is not like the family car especially when dealing with dual rear wheels and the heavy loads they carry.

[islandboy54]

I think the possibilities are covered fairly well above. Crown in the road can be corrected by having the alignment shop add 1 degree additional caster to the right front wheel. We used Josam’s in Orlando. I don’t think it gets any better than them.

[Wwdnet]

Originally Posted by Domo

Do you have a safe-T-Plus (or similar device) installed that may simply be out of adjustment?

We have a steering stabilizer that was installed and have the same problem. I'm guessing the installer didnt have a clue based on some other work he did. Once the virus crisis subsides, we'll take it in for adjustment.

[Dave9]

As far as the brake pull is concerned I had a pull on my Journey with a workhorse chassis, but it was OK while driving down the road.
My experience was when I applied the brakes there was a clunk from the front end proceeded by the pull.
It turned out to be a roller on the front brake shoe was sticking then it would release
Remedy was to service the front shoes removing the rollers clean them up with a wire brush Then LIGHTLY add anti seize to the rollers.
Do not use grease!.
This may not apply to your unit but it may help some Winnie guy's out here.

[padillab]

Hello JOE248'
Just saw this thread while holed up during the corona crisis.
Here is what Airstream recommends for my 2005 Airstream Land Yacht Gas 30 SO.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1584712332

This answers your original question.

[sonofcy]

Originally Posted by JOE248

My Class A Motorhomes steering is pulling to right. I had alignment but in specs. What is proper tire rotation for a motorhome? Trying to get a couple more years out of tires since less than 5 years old.

Thanks
Joe

No idea about pulling, but commercial tires don't normally get rotated other than the single axle tires. You will age out those tires long before wear out. They should last 6 or 7 years but get them inspected every 6 months starting at the 60 month mark.

[Tarheel 62]

A lot of highways are crowned. This will cause your RV to pull to right.

[DanaDurango]

When our 1999 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser exhibited the same issues, I pretty went down your agonizing long list of potential solutions. I saw one previous reply regarding frame alignment, and I encourage you to really consider that great advice. JOSAM in Orlando not only sells large equipment alignment systems and trains tech's how to use them...they have their own retail shop as well. I've never seen such a professional shop. Clean, experienced, fast...and not cheap.
After the GS had its "chiropractic adjustment", all issues were resolved...and even the mpg improved. They are also on the FMCA tire discount program, and their installation crew excellent.
My only wish is that I started two years of tire rotation and "alignment" drills with JOSAM...would have saved two grand. Most of the JOSAM crew has been there for years, call Barry at 407.438.7020.
Good Luck!

[Cloud Dancer]

Exactly what is the force that "pulls" it to the right? NOBODY has been able to explain it,....because there is NO such force.
Next question: Why does it have a tendency to self-steer to the right? I'll first explain the one where the "crown" in the road is the culprit. Due to the "crown", the motorhome TILTS to the right. This causes a weight transfer from left to right. This means that now the right steer tire is carrying a heavier load than the left steer tire. This causes the rolling resistance of the right steer tire to be higher than the rolling resistance of the left steer tire. This causes a RESISTIVE force to push straight back on the right steering spindle. This causes BOTH steer tires to turn to the right. And this is the reason the driver has to counter with an opposite steering force.
When the MH tilts to the right why is there a weight transfer to the right? It's because there is a difference between center of gravity and center of mass.
In this case the center of mass has a height dimension, a lateral dimension, and a fore/aft dimension. On a motorhome, the center of mass is quite HIGH. This means that if the MH tilts to the right, the center of mass will displace to the right. GRAVITY pulls straight down THROUGH the center of mass.
There can be OTHER reasons why a MH might have a tendency to self steer to one side or the other.