Community Forums

georgebonord · 02-26-2019, 04:36 AM

We have a 34' 2003 Holiday Rambler Vacationer with 24,000 miles. Yep the coach is gasoline powered on a Workhorse Chassis. Our problem is the steering. It's like sawing a log. It just wears you out driving the thing. The steering is good, rubbers bushings are like new, front end like new. The shocks are good. Mechanically no problem, but the play in the steering makes driving it tiring and challenging.

I know this isn't an isolated problem or condition with gas powered motor homes. What have other owners with this condition done to correct/lessen/eliminate it? I'm considering a steering stabilizer to tame the steering for a starting point.

Please give me your suggestions.

Podivin · 02-26-2019, 05:03 AM

George, it almost seems like you've contradicted yourself there.
You say that everything is mechanically sound, but then you say that there is play in the steering. To me, those two things contradict each other.

MY understanding of 'play in the steering' is that when you turn the steering wheel there is a certain amount of 'arc' in the turn where nothing happens. For instance you have to turn the steering wheel 1/4 of of a turn before the front wheels start to respond. (1/4 of a turn would be a HUGE amount of play, just using that as an example) If you have play in the steering then I submit that things are not mechanically sound. I've had a '96 on the P30 chassis and now have a 2013 on the F53, neither of them had play in the steering - turn the steering wheel and the front wheels followed.

Now, if you're saying that you're constantly having to steer left to right to keep between the lines, but the rig consistently responds to the left/right steering then there may be a different issue.
If this is the problem then I would start by asking how far down the road do you look when you're driving? If you're looking right in front of the RV then that's a near sure recipe to go wobbling down the road. If you look farther out you'll tend to track straighter because you're not over steering as you go down the road.

Or, does the rig pull to once side and you need to keep bringing it back? (perhaps an alignment is in order).

Can you be just a bit more specific about what's going wrong?

Trksr · 02-26-2019, 05:26 AM

My new class C did the same thing when I brought it home.

First thing I did was have it aligned and had them put as much positive caster as possible keeping it in factory specs. (Positive Caster is like the front wheels on a shopping cart)

I then added safety plus steering stabilizer .

It's now a joy to drive, even with one hand.

twinboat · 02-26-2019, 05:42 AM

I've read about your issue and some have replaced the idler arm with this style.
https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Super...97BF1D2125FD6C

Ivylog · 02-26-2019, 05:52 AM

Your steering gear box should have an adjusting screw to tighten it up...take the slop out of it. My ”new” rig had 2” of slop and it took a half turn to tighten it up after the first 3 hours of driving it. It also had a steering stabilizer added to it and I probably should not comment further but a steering stabilizer works by making it harder to over steer your rig...tries to keep the tires straight ahead. I found it made driving tiring unlike the 14 years behind the wheel of my Dynasty with the same chassis.

Yes, in perfect conditions (flat road and no cross wind) it seems to help. If you have to hold the wheel off center it’s fighting you as it wants the steering wheel centered and it adds 200 lbs of resistance whenever you move the steering wheel from center. Tightening the nut behind the steering wheel is easier and cheaper. I’ve disconnected the stabilizer and until I build an adjustable mount so I can adjust where center is, on the fly, it will stay unhooked.

Increasing the positive caster makes it harder to steer...same as tightening the nut. Adding a rear track bar is probably the best money you can spend.

JDT · 02-26-2019, 06:14 AM

We bought a new 03 35' HR Vacationer in 03. I only kept it 2 years just because of the issue you are having. I was worn out after the first hundred miles just trying to keep it between the lines. I had the dealer check it, who, of course, found nothing wrong, had it aligned and bought a Blue Ox TruCenter, which did help a little, enough to let me sell it. We then bought an 05 39' HR Ambassador diesel pusher and it had similar but not as severe issues. Over the 7 years we owned it I changed the shocks to Koni's, added another TruCenter and front and rear stabilizer bars. It was a pretty decent drive after that. Just had to throw enough money at it.

gvette85 · 02-26-2019, 06:35 AM

I agree with Ivylog.check the steering box for excessive play.Then take it to a good front end shop and have the alignment set.

Isaac-1 · 02-26-2019, 09:07 AM

Another vote for steering box play, I had it on mine and a 1/4 turn adjustment of the screw made a night and day difference in the feel while driving. Just be very careful in adjusting the steering box, as if you over tighten the adjust as it can cause gear binding, and possible breakage of the steering gear.

ClassAboater · 02-26-2019, 09:29 AM

On our Fleetwood Terra LX 32K (Ford workhorse with V-10 gas engine), I had much the same issue. Here is what I did that helped a huge amount:

1) Made sure the tire inflation was correct and equal on both sides.

2) I did the cheap handling fix both front and back. Along with making sure all the components were in good order and tight. (this only took me 30 minutes total to do, which surprised me)

3) I moved weight from the back end of the rig to the front. This was mainly done with heavy items in the basement. (tools and such) But, also with a few items from the back cabinets. We were not using most of the space in front cabinets. I also moved heavy items down from higher cabinets to lower storage areas.

Of the three items above, moving the weight made the big difference. We have no issues with the steering as we had before. The tire pressure was not that far off. The cheep handling fix helped with cornering more than anything else. But, moving the movable weight forward and down REALLY helped with the steering issue I was having.

I did/do not have any slop in the steering wheel. So, that was not an issue I looked into.

Before you spend any money on added items/parts, I suggest doing the above items and see if that helps your steering issue. All they took was a little of my time and no money to do.

ThePowells · 02-26-2019, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClassAboater

On our Fleetwood Terra LX 32K (Ford workhorse with V-10 gas engine), I had much the same issue. Here is what I did that helped a huge amount:

1) Made sure the tire inflation was correct and equal on both sides.

2) I did the cheap handling fix both front and back. Along with making sure all the components were in good order and tight. (this only took me 30 minutes total to do, which surprised me)

3) I moved weight from the back end of the rig to the front. This was mainly done with heavy items in the basement. (tools and such) But, also with a few items from the back cabinets. We were not using most of the space in front cabinets. I also moved heavy items down from higher cabinets to lower storage areas.

Of the three items above, moving the weight made the big difference. We have no issues with the steering as we had before. The tire pressure was not that far off. The cheep handling fix helped with cornering more than anything else. But, moving the movable weight forward and down REALLY helped with the steering issue I was having.

I did/do not have any slop in the steering wheel. So, that was not an issue I looked into.

Before you spend any money on added items/parts, I suggest doing the above items and see if that helps your steering issue. All they took was a little of my time and no money to do.

When did Ford produce a workhorse chassis? I thought the Workhorse was a direct competitor?

georgebonord · 02-27-2019, 04:37 AM

[QUOTE=Podivin;4652820]George, it almost seems like you've contradicted yourself there.
You say that everything is mechanically sound, but then you say that there is play in the steering. To me, those two things contradict each other.

MY understanding of 'play in the steering' is that when you turn the steering wheel there is a certain amount of 'arc' in the turn where nothing happens. For instance you have to turn the steering wheel 1/4 of of a turn before the front wheels start to respond. (1/4 of a turn would be a HUGE amount of play, just using that as an example) If you have play in the steering then I submit that things are not mechanically sound. I've had a '96 on the P30 chassis and now have a 2013 on the F53, neither of them had play in the steering - turn the steering wheel and the front wheels followed.

Now, if you're saying that you're constantly having to steer left to right to keep between the lines, but the rig consistently responds to the left/right steering then there may be a different issue.
If this is the problem then I would start by asking how far down the road do you look when you're driving? If you're looking right in front of the RV then that's a near sure recipe to go wobbling down the road. If you look farther out you'll tend to track straighter because you're not over steering as you go down the road.

Or, does the rig pull to once side and you need to keep bringing it back? (perhaps an alignment is in order)

Driving down the road, you are constantly correcting the steering left to right and right to left. It wears out the driver. And, on a narrow road it takes every bit of effort to stay in your lane. The problem is this simple!

Now, ours is not an isolated case. I have read other Workhorse owners have the same problem. I went out yesterday with the MH setting in our driveway and checked the the slack in the steering (motor not running). There was less than 2".

So, it's time to start from the beginning. First, I will get the thing weighed, Next I'll balance the load. Finally, I'll calculate and inflate the tires per tire manufacturer recommendation. If this doesn't help, then an alignment.

Isaac-1 · 02-27-2019, 06:02 AM

2 inches of slack can feel like a lot compared to being adjusted for 1 inch of slack. Of course slack can come from both worn steering components as well as steering gear box being out of adjustment.

edgray · 02-27-2019, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgebonord

We have a 34' 2003 Holiday Rambler Vacationer with 24,000 miles. Yep the coach is gasoline powered on a Workhorse Chassis. Our problem is the steering......
Please give me your suggestions.

Hi George:
IMO, you will get more precise answers/opinions if you will tell us which Workhorse chassis you have. Is it the P32 chassis with IFS, or is it a W series with solid front axle?

alank · 02-27-2019, 11:23 AM

Two comments have been made above about alignment settings. I set my caster according to how much “trail” I want to run with. My goal is 1”. To get this on my Freightliner, my setting is about 2 1\4* of caster that gave about 3/4” of trail. This is the third chassis I’ve set up this way, 2-F53’s and the Freightliner. Freightliner’s specs for caster is 4 1/2 to 6degrees. Makes the beast easier to steer and the wind won’t blow you around as much.
We’re currently going I40 across Oklahoma and New Mexico, the wind in this area can just simply push so hard it will scrub the tires sideways as they rotate, and take more than the normal amount of steering, but with a good caster setting, it isn’t terribly tiring. Only good thing I can say about this year is, it wasn’t as bad as last year.
My opinion of max. caster setting is exactly the wrong thing to do, and I can demonstrate the advantages of my opinions on alignment.
You also need all the components of the steering to be in good condition.