Community Forums

Dixieray53 · 04-06-2011, 06:58 PM

I have seen many people, and threads, that have suggested adding stuff. Track bars, stabilizers, stocks and other stuff to pretty (very) NEW motorhomes...Is this stuff really necessary or are people just selling their companies stuff. New MH ? After market stuff?...What about the factory warranties? What am I missing? Is there MH nirvana to be found?
Please let me know...My DP wobbles too....Peace...D

W4MBG · 04-06-2011, 08:54 PM

everything is built to a price point. if the vast majority is happy with their motorhome purchase, the company is selling it with the right stuff, at the right price. if the vast majority is unhappy, either the company will have to beef it up and charge more, beef it up and make less money, or lose sales. somewhere in the middle, folks buy them anyway and beef them up themselves.

B Bob · 04-06-2011, 09:18 PM

The key problem is figuring out what add ons will work for your particular coach and which ones will do nothing or make things worse. My guess is that it is very hard to figure this out. By far the easiest solution is to buy a coach that does not "wobble". But since you own one that does you don't have that solution easily available.

I am not sure what you mean by "wobble" or I would make a suggestion.

B Bob · 04-06-2011, 09:25 PM

Dixieray - I did look up your coach. You have a nice long Workhorse chassis of 276". That gives you a 55% chassis to house length. Your CCC is 4174 lbs. What that means in general is that if you don't overload you coach with way too much stuff it should handle great as is from the factory. I would make sure all the stuff your coach came with is to the correct specs before doing any add ons. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Too little air can cause mushy handling.

You do have a big coach. 41' 9" long. Steer with a light touch and don't over correct to start with.

UFO Pilot · 04-06-2011, 11:30 PM

My 1st MH was built on a W24 Workhorse Chassis. I had "drive" it all of time because it wondered all over the road. I thought it was normal. I traded it in for a MH on a Workhorse UFO chassis and discovered how a MH should really handle. If I had kept the 1st MH I would have eventually added whatever it took to make it handle better. I don't know whether to blame the chassis maker or the MH builder for poor handling.

frankdamp · 04-07-2011, 12:16 PM

On a fairly tight budget, I don't plan to do any major mods. It rides like the 11-ton truck it is (underneath) so why should I expect Rolls Royce level of ride comfort? I'd rather spend the money on gas an cmpground fees rather than striving for ride perfection. JMO from my viewpoint.

B Bob · 04-07-2011, 01:55 PM

Frankdamp - I rented several motor homes on the F53 chassis. They drive like the trucks they are. On the other hand Dixieray53 drives a long wheelbase air ride dp and his should ride and handle beautifully. If not something is wrong with parts of it. It should not need anything to handle well.

Dixieray53 · 04-07-2011, 06:05 PM

Thanks for the answers...the DP handles pretty good. Better than my gas A.
So I will just drive smarter, slower, and enjoy....Peace D

Tha_Rooster · 04-07-2011, 06:22 PM

The best advise I could anyone would be do your home work and test drive in every road condition, highway,side roads, so you want have any surprises. You can throw all the money you want to at it, but it is what it is.

scotts_rv · 04-30-2011, 08:01 PM

While taking a test drive is mandatory, RV's often drive differently when loaded for travel. My previous RV was a 24' Class C with a rear corner bed. It drove OK when empty but when loaded it was all over the road. The problem was that the fresh water tank was below the bed and just below that was the main storage compartment causing the front axle to become unloaded. It only had one other very small external storage compartment so there was few options for moving things around to rebalance. Carrying any water would negatively impact drivability and yes, I did get it weighed and set the tire pressure accordingly. It was just the nature of the beast. A 2.5 hour drive in it would leave me more exhausted then the longest drive (4.5 hrs) I have taken so far in my current MH.

The link below describes various MH handling problems and the root cause and fix.

Common RV Problems

I don't have any baseline to tell whether the aftermarket components listed in my signature make that much difference since I bought it that way.

-Scott