EZ Steer problem after turning

[zman62]

Originally Posted by brobox

Exactly. Especially if someone has never spent some hours behind the wheel. I have not, so I am no expert and I will need to get use to it, but I am sure that won't take long. I had no problem driving the 600 miles from NIRVC.

Yeah I think some feel it will be a moment like your first car with AC. It’s more subtle. You hear wind noise so you think a window is open or door not tight. Then you notice tumble weeds and dust blowing. The ah ha moment when it’s blowing 40 mph and you didn’t know it. That’s how it works and it’s like magic..lol

[MuggsnMe]

Good evening all
We have the power assist steering in our transit buses at work. All the drivers love it, some days they need to be behind the wheel 10-12 hrs a day.
It s a good system & doesn't take much to get use to it.
But.... as far as myself goes I prefer not to have it, and these are my reasons.
We have 26 buses with it on, 2 of them, the electric motor in the column has gone out, (around $4000 to replace), after an alignment you need to hook up the lap top to the j1939 connector & reset steering wheel center. We have had some new drivers oversteer until they have gotten use to the system. Just me but I prefer to have a little larger steering wheel than the small one that we have on the transit buses. Now don’t get me wrong I am in no way saying the system is bad, it’s just a personal opinion of mine.
I have driven our other coach (gas) 12-14 hrs in a day (not that I want to do it everyday) & have been ok at the end of the day. Now as I get older I will not be doing that unless in an emergency, I will be retiring in a week so I will have all the time to just take it easy.
This is why I prefer not to have it.
Thanks
Bob

[Butte64]

Originally Posted by brobox

Did Josams drive it? What did they think of the steering?

They did not. All they did was the Spartan recall

[brobox]

Originally Posted by zman62

I am guessing you haven’t driven with it? If you have this would be the first I have heard anyone say that. I always thought it was a sales gimmick. I bought my LA with it and boy was I wrong. Big winds are a non event. 13 hrs of driving is a non event. Even the steer blowout is minimized. This is why newmar and Newell fought so hard for an exclusive as others didn’t have it.

Thinking about this post, and my lack of seat time with the EZ steer which might be part the OP situation. What setting on the EZ steer have you found to be the most usable? I currently have mine turned all the way down. The trip to Vegas should present plenty of situations for the EZ steer.

[Tim Fox]

A bit off topic from the op, but I’ve got about 4000 miles with the ez steer. I love to drive and have no problem with 500 mile days. My shoulders and neck used to get tight with our previous MH’s, even our 16 Anthem. Not so with the ez steer. It is a subtle improvement, but it pays large dividends. To Chucks question, I set mine just over half way for driving and dial it down when parking. To the OP, I have found that the steering may pull for a very short time on occasion, but it corrects quickly.

[Gary.Jones]

Well, to you it may be silly, but to me it is very serious.

Yes, I have driven a coach with it, and both of my coaches without it. And my point is that I see no need to have it. My coaches without it drive just fine. Do I need to do some correction when I have 40 mph broadside winds, Yes. Is that a problem, No.

This, to me, falls into the same category as steerable tag axles. They are a solution to a problem that either does not need to be solved, or its a solution to a problem that does not exist. This is similar to the "steerable tag" concept. If a steerable tag made dollar sense, why the hell hasn't the trucking industry equipped all their trucks with this feature????.... it should save each company millions of dollars in early tire replacement??? What it does, IMO, is add $15,000 to the cost of your coach when you buy it whether it does anywhere near $15,000 worth of advantage or justification or not. One can buy a whole lot of tag axle tires for that $15,000. IMO, its a gimmick. To me this is the same situation.

This is a product, in my opinion, that was invented by some engineer and put into production. One coach company decides to add it as a feature that might attract some buyers and give them an advantage to others without it, and then some other designer feels they need to add to "stay competitive". My point is that there are some things that just don't need to be improved, and in my opinion, this is one of those. My statement was that I would not buy another coach with it on, and I'm sticking to it. Can any of you guys who own or manage trucking companies tell me what percentage of new semi tractors come with this feature? I have not found that I need it to drive my coach safely, and it appears to be really difficult for some owners to get used to and deal with. I can do without. Your opinion may differ. If my opinion makes you laugh, fine. There were some very reputable companies that do front end work that would remove it and not agree to put it back on (reported by some). Apparently, my opinion was shared by some very respected companies.

Gary

[zman62]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Well, to you it may be silly, but to me it is very serious.

Yes, I have driven a coach with it, and both of my coaches without it. And my point is that I see no need to have it. My coaches without it drive just fine. Do I need to do some correction when I have 40 mph broadside winds, Yes. Is that a problem, No.

This, to me, falls into the same category as steerable tag axles. They are a solution to a problem that either does not need to be solved, or its a solution to a problem that does not exist. This is similar to the "steerable tag" concept. If a steerable tag made dollar sense, why the hell hasn't the trucking industry equipped all their trucks with this feature????.... it should save each company millions of dollars in early tire replacement??? What it does, IMO, is add $15,000 to the cost of your coach when you buy it whether it does anywhere near $15,000 worth of advantage or justification or not. One can buy a whole lot of tag axle tires for that $15,000. IMO, its a gimmick. To me this is the same situation.

This is a product, in my opinion, that was invented by some engineer and put into production. One coach company decides to add it as a feature that might attract some buyers and give them an advantage to others without it, and then some other designer feels they need to add to "stay competitive". My point is that there are some things that just don't need to be improved, and in my opinion, this is one of those. My statement was that I would not buy another coach with it on, and I'm sticking to it. Can any of you guys who own or manage trucking companies tell me what percentage of new semi tractors come with this feature? I have not found that I need it to drive my coach safely, and it appears to be really difficult for some owners to get used to and deal with. I can do without. Your opinion may differ. If my opinion makes you laugh, fine. There were some very reputable companies that do front end work that would remove it and not agree to put it back on (reported by some). Apparently, my opinion was shared by some very respected companies.

Gary

As with any new innovation it usually solves a problem. Heat, running water, power steering, AC and so on. We all got along fine without them but boy are they nice? We’re you one of the last ones to use a microwave? Forget retrobands as there have been tons of blowouts that were a non event....you get the idea

Just messin with you. It’s all good

[Butte64]

Originally Posted by brobox

Thinking about this post, and my lack of seat time with the EZ steer which might be part the OP situation. What setting on the EZ steer have you found to be the most usable? I currently have mine turned all the way down. The trip to Vegas should present plenty of situations for the EZ steer.

When driving at highway speed it feels most comfortable at the high setting. Low feels too loose. Low setting feels fine for parking and low speed maneuvering.

[jeff.herren]

So, reading with interest and have no opinion on the need or usability but a common theme has emerged.

Those that like it and those that have not gotten used to it all tend to think the same thing.
When at low speed turn the system to its lowest setting and when at highway speeds turn it up to take advantage of the 'assist'
Here's the query. Does the system turn itself down at lower speeds similar to volume speeds adjust?
I think the answer is no, but certainly since its a software driven I would think that 'feature' could be added to improve upon the everyday usability.

[hpykmpr47]

Originally Posted by Butte64

After making a turn the EZSteer keeps pulling the steering wheel in the direction of the turn so it is necessary to hold reverse pressure to go straight.**Depending on speed and sharpness of the turn, the time it takes for steering to return to normal varies. The problem seems to be worse when turn is made without a stop.***No change with this issue after getting the service advisory on possible loose steering bolts done.

Recently I spoke to a Spartan tech who said they never heard of the problem with EZSteer.**I have an appointment with the factory service on June 3rd so I would like to know:

-How many have experienced this problem with EZSteer?
-Who has reported it to Spartan?
-Has anyone had it worked on at factory service?
-Has anyone had it fixed and if so what was done.

Feel free to PM me if you want to remain anonymous or provide details on who at Spartan knows about the issues or worked on it.

Thanks in advance and I will report my results

Take my word for it Spartan heard about this kind of problem because I brought it up with them last August after we picked up our 21 Anthem in Vegas. We left there and went north to I 70 and drove it from Utah to Denver and I hated the Ezy Steer more with every mile. I called Spartan and asked if there was any way that I could unhook it. They told me that there was not but I could dial it back. They asked what my problem was and I told them that I had to fight it on every sharp corner to keep it from taking me right off the highway. After that I dialed it back and got along good the rest of the way. Since that I have learned to drive with it turned up and have learned the benefits of having it on a windy day, but if I get on a crooked highway with a lot of fairly high speed turns I turn it back to zero.

[pasdad1]

Originally Posted by hpykmpr47

Take my word for it Spartan heard about this kind of problem because I brought it up with them last August after we picked up our 21 Anthem in Vegas. We left there and went north to I 70 and drove it from Utah to Denver and I hated the Ezy Steer more with every mile. I called Spartan and asked if there was any way that I could unhook it. They told me that there was not but I could dial it back. They asked what my problem was and I told them that I had to fight it on every sharp corner to keep it from taking me right off the highway. After that I dialed it back and got along good the rest of the way. Since that I have learned to drive with it turned up and have learned the benefits of having it on a windy day, but if I get on a crooked highway with a lot of fairly high speed turns I turn it back to zero.

I believe there is a fuse you can pull that will cut power to the system.....but as you found, it has more positives than negatives

[Gary.Jones]

OK, I'll try one more time..... and then put it away for the next 6 months....

So, now just to drive normally down a road, I am supposed to turn some knob up if I am driving on roads with high winds or slight curves, but if I am driving through a city or on a curvy road through a national park, then I need to turn some control down, and if I am alternating between a road with slow curves and high speeds and slow speed curvy roads, I just need to turn it up on long or high speed runs and down on slow and curvy roads..... Seriously?

I am currently able to drive my Cornerstone on high speed straight roads, in high winds and no winds, in cities and around corners and on small roads and relatively large roads, and I DONT HAVE TO ADJUST ANY CONTROLS? Just like every driver has had to deal with since the invention of the automobile? I can see that is a real, needed improvement! Won;t talk about this improvement again for 6 months....


Gary

[pasdad1]

I have the same system on my Newmar, and I don’t need to monkey with the control....not sure where this idea came from ?

I leave it in the medium setting all the time. All it adjusts is how much pressure is required to turn the steering wheel. Everything else is automatic. I have never had ANY concerns while making turns or other maneuvers with it.

[edgray]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

OK, I'll try one more time..... and then put it away for the next 6 months....

Gary: maybe things will change by then, but for now, according to the EC website the Aspire, Anthem, and CS all include EZ Steer as "standard equipment" on those chassis. I don't think Newmar offered it as optional on those coaches that included their "Comfort Steer" version of the TRW-made enhancement.

I'm thinking that IF Newmar, known for their willingness to build semi-custom coaches to order, won't delete it, then EC surely won't either. But I've been wrong before, often on the same subject.