Wandering Steering

[Fiesta48]

I just drove my 2020 24' Class C 600 miles. Yes it wanders if I oversteer it. 1/8" or less corrections is all that is needed. It's got sensitive quick steering and you've got to get used to it. Probably no fixes are necessary on newer Ford chassis.

[Capt Steve]

Get it weighed and then check your tire pressures. The most common cause of wandering are overinflated {for the load they actually carry} front tires. Alignment can also be an issue, especially with a Ford chassis but the increased caster discussion has been covered many times here.

Address these two issues and your coach should ride and handle just fine... mine still does after nearly 10 years and 72,000 miles.

[Ron Dittmer]

A 24 foot long rig built on a Ford E350 chassis with a standard 158", will have a lot of rear over-hang to increase the wandering effect. The rear sags lower and the front lifts higher.

Our 2007 E350 chassis Phoenix Cruiser fits that description. Back in the day, a 2007 and older E350 had "NO" rear stabilizer bar of any kind. In the end, I did many upgrades to improve stability, quality of ride, and control.

I agree with Capt Steve. First, weigh your rig during a trip, then adjust the tire pressure accordingly. For reference, our rig's weight distribution requires 47 PSI in the front tires, and 63 psi in the rear tires.

Also per Capt Steve, a front wheel alignment is also essential. With your rig fully loaded for a trip including water and fuel, minus occupants, make a reasonable good effort to add weight in the appropriate seating positions to represent the people you typically accommodate, and represent perishable food as water in containers. The better you simulate your trip condition, the better your wheel alignment.

Once complete, you will notice improvement. If still not satisfied, the list goes on and on. I made the following list of changes.

- added a heavy duty rear stabilizer bar
- replaced the stock front stabilizer bar with a heavy duty version
- replaced the stock shocks absorbers with heavy duty Bilstein RV shocks
- replaced the stock steering stabilizer with a heavy duty Safe-T-Plus
- added a rear trac bar
- replaced the front coil springs with a pair that are one rating lower.

It is a scary long list, but if you do most of the work yourself, and shop wisely, it will set you back a couple of thousand dollars. I considered most to be fairly easy for a do-it-yourselfer.

The last item on the list draws many questions. CLICK HERE for my write-up (with many pictures) on that one.

Being the "picky" guy that I am, I am still chasing down a very minor steering wander that I have a plan of attack to address, hopefully done soon. It involves a reinforcement plate where the steering stabilizer attaches to the frame.

[Ron Dittmer]

I should mention that back in 2007, the Super Duty E350 DRW cut-away motorhome chassis......

The front stabilizer bar was the same installed on an E150 van. It was severely under-rated for a motorhome application.

Again worth mentioning that there was NO rear stabilizer bar of any kind.

The shock absorbers were the same ones installed on an E250 van. They too were severely under-rated for the application.

So much for "Super Duty".

In 2008, Ford made some changes to the chassis including stabilizer bar strength and stabilizer bar design. Also, the E350 motorhome chassis got a rear stabilizer bar. So everyone with a 2008 (or newer) E350 chassis is at a better starting point than those with a 2007 E350 and older chassis.

We got to a very good place with our 2007 E350 chassis. Now it lives up to it's "Super Duty" badge. We only had a longer journey in getting there. If I never get that tiny bit of wander taken out, I am still very well pleased with the chassis today.

[Unplanned Tourist]

Before blowing a bunch of money, add 1 1/2 to 2 degrees of castor. Then go for a drive.

Simple and cheap fix if you already have had an alignment done.

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by Unplanned Tourist

Before blowing a bunch of money, add 1 1/2 to 2 degrees of castor. Then go for a drive.

Simple and cheap fix if you already have had an alignment done.

That is much easier said than done. My 2007 E350 could not increase caster without going out of spec on camber. There are serious limitations with the upper ball joint offset bushings. And alignment shops refuse to work with the adjustable bushings.

[FloridaBill]

Originally Posted by Ron Dittmer

For reference, our rig's weight distribution requires 47 PSI in the front tires and 63 psi in the rear tires.

My 2005 Winnebago Aspect 23D on the E450 weighs the same as yours. After adding Bilstein Comfort shocks, Bilstein steering stabilizer, and Hellwig sway bars front and back, it handles great. But still jolts pretty hard on ruts. I'm running 63psi front and back on new Firestone Transforce tires. The chart shows I could lower the front to around 45 and rears to under 60. Based on your comment, I'll start by lowering the front by 5 psi and see what happens.

Just completed a 3000-mile trip on some of the roughest roads in the country and other than the jolts, it is a pleasure to drive.

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by FloridaBill

I'm running 63psi front and back on new Firestone Transforce tires. The chart shows I could lower the front to around 45 and rears to under 60. Based on your comment, I'll start by lowering the front by 5 psi and see what happens.

Just completed a 3000-mile trip on some of the roughest roads in the country and other than the jolts, it is a pleasure to drive.

Yes indeed for the need to reduce front tire pressure. I add only a few extra PSI for mental comfort to accommodate for variation in tire pressure gauges and environmental factors.

As I mentioned before, I also changed out the front coil springs to one rating lower. That helped with the rough ride up front along with leveling the rig which increased the height in back by about 3/4".