Community Forums

Bama96 · 06-15-2016, 03:10 PM

Finally had my coach aligned in hopes of getting rid of the constant quarter turn to the left I am having to hold on the wheel going down the interstate. The shop that completed the work was able to align the coach but it appears the steering wheel is off center. The shop seems to think it was put on off centered. Anyone experienced this? Is the shop telling me a load of bull? Thanks.

brobox · 06-15-2016, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama96

Finally had my coach aligned in hopes of getting rid of the constant quarter turn to the left I am having to hold on the wheel going down the interstate. The shop that completed the work was able to align the coach but it appears the steering wheel is off center. The shop seems to think it was put on off centered. Anyone experienced this? Is the shop telling me a load of bull? Thanks.

I have fought the same problem for 2 years and 4 alignment shops including Entegra and Spartan, it's still not 100%. Here is what has been corrected on mine, I hope to have it finally trued at our PDI or I will spend the summer in Middlebury until it is fixed.

Here is what has been done and from what shops.
Spartan did the steering modification in May of 14 and supposedly aligned the front end....the steering wheel was way off center to the left. Ted Cook and I removed the steering wheel in Entegra's parking lot trying to center it.

Entegra last summer, said the steering timing was 180 degrees out. Corrected that and we drove it to CA where it rounded off the right front tire.

Perry Legends in Columbia MO aligned the front end again, got rid of the darting left to right, but the steering wheel was still off center. They also removed the steering wheel trying to center it.

Lazy Days in Tampa through the coaching of Spartan adjusted the drag links and got rid of 90% of the off centered steering wheel.

I cannot tell you how many times the steering wheel has been removed and re-centered, even by Ted Cook. So far the closest fix has been adjusting the drag links.

I know exactly what you are going through and it is maddening. I had the same problem on the Travel Supreme and it was fixed by the first front end shop I took it to by adjusting the drag links. That was FL Spring and Axle in Ft. Myers.

Hopefully ending the sloppy front end feel, I just changed the shock to Koni's. I'll know if that helps on our trip to Entegra in a couple of weeks.

Bama96 · 06-15-2016, 04:00 PM

I had the steering recall done by a spartan shop 18 months ago but I assumed the steering slop and pulling was all in the alignment. Wrong!

I love my coach but the money I spent on it it shouldn't drive like a dump truck.

jb4545 · 06-15-2016, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama96

Finally had my coach aligned in hopes of getting rid of the constant quarter turn to the left I am having to hold on the wheel going down the interstate. The shop that completed the work was able to align the coach but it appears the steering wheel is off center. The shop seems to think it was put on off centered. Anyone experienced this? Is the shop telling me a load of bull? Thanks.

I didn't have an alignment problem but my steering wheel was slightly off center at delivery. The dealer corrected the problem with no ill effects.

1 spline = 10 degrees according to Spartan.

johnnyreno · 06-15-2016, 06:57 PM

You are supposed to A 40 oz beer on it that evens it out.

DeeGee · 06-16-2016, 12:07 AM

Mine is off to the left such that when I drive straight the wheel is at 10:30 or 11:00. I have to push on it because the coach drifts to the right. There is no dealer nearby and all of the Spartan shops say they don't do alignments.

brobox · 06-16-2016, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeeGee

Mine is off to the left such that when I drive straight the wheel is at 10:30 or 11:00. I have to push on it because the coach drifts to the right. There is no dealer nearby and all of the Spartan shops say they don't do alignments.

Is there a truck alignment shop in the area? That is the type of shop that fixed my Travel Supreme in 10 minutes. It's been two years with Spartan shops, except one, and it's still not 100%, but I am finally close.

Even after my MH spent two weeks at Spartan Factory for the front end problems, you should have seen the computer print out from Perry Legends how far the front end was out of alignment after being at Spartan. I finally don't dart right and left like it did after leaving Spartan.

For those that received perfect steering at delivery, you are blessed. When these things don't steer right, they are very tiring to drive.

hikndog · 06-16-2016, 05:45 AM

Service at Spartan both in Charlotte and on the phone has become a pain. I found a local Feightliner service center here in Knoxville that does an excellent job. Coach drives great after their alingment.

rcarriere · 06-16-2016, 06:34 AM

This seams to be a common occurrence.

Mine has been brought to Josams in Orlando 2X to try and get the coach to stop pulling right. NO GO. Was told by the techs that this coach will never drive straight.

Was told to bring it to Entegra as they have Spartan techs there and they would get it fixed. NO GO. Was told that it is within specs. Shop Manager admitted that the coach still pulled to the right.

Was asked to bring it to Spartan itself and they would definitely get it fixed. NO GO. Was told once again that it is within specs. Was told that minor adjustments were made and I should see a difference.

Entegra suggested new front tires as the original tires sometimes would cause the coach to veer off course. NO GO. Actually, like the ride better with the old tires.

Brought back to Spartan again as they were bringing in the axle mgfr and suspension mgfr. NO GO. Was told once again that the coach was within specs and that since the coach is not IFS that the coach will pull depending on the crown of the road. That they did not experience the pull to the right.

My steering wheel was also off center, not only from the standpoint of the wheel being turned, but also off center from the drivers seat itself. They have been able to correct this for the most part.

I owned another coach that had the front I-Beam and I did not have this much trouble trying to get the coach to drive straight.

Needless to say

I will say, that it appears every attempt has been made to have this coach go straight down the road by Entegra. It is my humble opinion that this Spartan Chassis is not all it is cracked up to be.

I still watch the air pressure drop as I am driving down the road. I turn off the coach for two days and the air pressure is gone. But, after 3 attempts to have it fixed, it is within Spartan specs.

Just for the record. I am picky, I expect when I pay for something that it performs as advertised. I absolutely do not buy into the industry standard comment "it like having your house in an earthquake every time your drive your rv down the road" BS. I have owned boats big and small that have gone through much worse that these coaches go through and never had the amount of issues as this coach. It cannot go on the road even one time without something failing, falling off, or just plain stop working. Does Entegra step up and fix all this things? To the best of their ability I believe, however, the time and effort to have all these things fixed every time is exhausting.

I have made some bonehead purchases in my time but this coach is turning out the be the worst so far.

Sorry for the rant. It is just frustrating when I see others having the same issues yet I am being led to believe that my coach is the exception and I must be over exaggerating on the issues.

Have a great day.

brobox · 06-16-2016, 07:11 AM

Russell, Perry Legends also switched tires from left to right on the fronts. I have heard the "crown in the road" so many times, it must be the text book answer for we can't fix it. We have driven on the wrong side of a 2 lane highway and it still pulled to the right away from the crown. I don't know why a bad Spartan front end is so hard to get corrected when it's out.

Bama96 · 06-16-2016, 08:42 AM

Mine is worse between 60-70 mph. My wheel still has a lot of slop or loose feel to it as well. The steering recall fixed the growling at low speed turns but not the loose feeling.

brobox · 06-16-2016, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama96

Mine is worse between 60-70 mph. My wheel still has a lot of slop or loose feel to it as well. The steering recall fixed the growling at low speed turns but not the loose feeling.

It was Perry Ledgends that finally got rid of most of the loose feeling on mine. It was toe in and toe out that were fight each other causing my steering problem.

All the steering recall did was the growling noise, but nothing for our steering problems. The shop I found on my last MH that correct the problem was the shop that does all of the Fire Engines in my area. I ask a fireman who did their alignments and he told me.

If the drag links that were adjust 125 miles ago and the new shocks did not correct the problem, then I will try that shop after our visit to Entegra. However I am almost there. I hope my input helps you short cut the problem.

Alsdas88 · 06-16-2016, 10:23 AM

Had the same problem on a Freightliner chassis on one of our company trucks. Wasn't chewing tires up or anything, but after a couple years of the steering wheel being 90degrees out, and multiple times to the alignment shop, we were told the steering wheel had to be removed and reset. Bull. We took the truck to an alignment shop in Colorado during an assignment there and a good alignment tech told us the previous techs were being lazy and didn't want to do the work required to set everything back to factory original positions. It took 3 hours on the alignment jig. But in the end, the two rear axles and the front axle were all aligned together, correctly, the steering wheel was now centered without being removed and "reset".
THink about this...did your coach get delivered new with the steering wheel off center? Probably not.

Find a respectable and good shop and get it done right. It might take a bit more money and time, but the end result will be exactly what you are looking for.

Bama96 · 06-16-2016, 10:40 AM

I'm in Alabama and that's the issue finding a good shop. I was told by one shop he couldn't do it because he had to have a pit to drive over so he can get underneath. Anyone had anything done around The south? I'm in Birmingham, AL.

Thanks for everyone's input.