Last week’s post on “Tail Wagging the Dog” drew quite a few comments, and I wanted to take the time to clarify a few of the statements that I made with regard to coach handling.
Under normal circumstances, our experiences have found that, if the rear of the coach is not responsive on lane changes, gets pushed by passing trucks or has excessive over hang, the rear track bar makes a big difference. The way we design our rear track bar cuts down a little on the body roll as well.
As some of you noted, if the front axle is moving side to side because of ruts or steering inputs the front track bar will do a lot of good, but it is not the only solution for solving handling issues.
As far as putting air bags or overloads on the rear, we found out some interesting facts years ago. We thought that we would see significant weight shift when we boosted the rear spring pack. What we discovered was, if the coach had a substantial overhang on the rear, we did not shift the weight as much as we thought we would. We merely raised the whole coach up because of the leverage factor of the overhang. One Class C that was low in the rear only came up 100 lbs on the front axle, even though we raised it around several inches in the rear. The more the overhang, the less weight gets transferred. The coach may handle better due to the stiffer spring pack in the rear, however.
Another point that is worth bringing up is that the more we improve the stability of a coach, the less the steering problems seem to bother us. This goes back to the point I like to bring up about the synergistic effect that is achieved when all the components of a steering and suspension systems are doing their proper job.
The Road Performance Assessment we perform allows us to evaluate the system and all the components as a whole and not just hoping we find the “magic bullet” that solves all the problems a coach may have. There are usually a lot of variables we need to consider. Most every coach and every driver have individual characteristics that we want to consider before we make a recommendation.
Larry Belcher
I have a Bounder with MC rack on the back. Is there an way to get the back up?? Have a lot overhang an would like to take some of theweight off the rack. Maybe add or install a tag axle or a sweivil wheel??
Robert
. Hello Gentlemen,
I just got back from the FMCA Rally in Brooksville Florida and the Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande AZ. I’ll need some help to answer your concerns. First it does help me a lot if I know what chassis your coaches are built on since they have their own idiosyncrasies.
When we do a Road Performance Assessment we put the coach through a series of test maneuvers to evaluate the suspension and its individual components. We feel the most important thing we owe the customer is an accurate assessment. This allows the RV owner to make an informed decision and to know what to expect if any changes are made.
Many times we take a coach owner out and we discover things they were not even aware of. For example in Casa Grande a lady came up to me after our seminar with a Class C Ford complaining of play in the steering based on what her son and son-in-law had told her. I inspected the steering on her coach and discovered that her steering gear and linkage was nice and tight. At that point I recommended that we take it out for a drive. Before we made it to the road I found out it had poor return to center on the left side only and that it had a lot of sway and generally poor handling. This was a 2004 Ford E350 with a lot of overhang. She did not have it heavily loaded. There was no sway bar on the rear and had original equipment shocks. We started out by installing a SuperSteer rear trac bar & a Safe-T-Plus Steering Control. The steering and tracking was greatly improved. We did not have a Road Master rear Sway bar with us and had already sold the Koni shocks that it took to another Class C owner. She is making arrangements to meet us later to finish the upgrades. Again the point I want to make is that her complaint was play in the steering. Without the Road Performance Assessment I could have sent her down the road telling her that there was nothing wrong with her coach. When we took it out again the coach responded very well to steering inputs and had a crisp center point without the poor return from the left. When I let the coach owner drive she immediately commented how much better the steering felt.
Please let me know what chassis your coach is riding on and I will give you some possible suggestions. Thank you & best wishes for “Safer & Happier Driving”
Robert
PS We will be in Perry GA for the FMCA March, Albuquerque, NM “The Rally” April, Sedalia, MO for the Escapade.
bob
I live in California, and yes the Main roads suck. Hyw 5 is the worst, I avoid it 90% of my travel, and yes a lot of the other roads are really bad. Hwy.80 near the new Camping world in Vacaville to the Bayarea is ever so bad. California roads are overall the worst I have driven in my RV. The car isn’t so bad but the RV really shows how bad they are. I stay out of the right lane if I can. I did put KONI shocks all around and they made a wonderfull change in the MH ride and control. Help a lot. Good luck driving in california. bob
Lynn E. Holland
I have a 98 Safari Sahara, 35′, and even with true track front and rear stabilizer bars it wags more than I would like. Any other fixes (hopefully moderate cost)? I have put on a steer safe, rubber donuts on the rear, and another pair of Bilsteins on the front. Maybe it’s just California roads. Some stretches of freeway I have a really nice ride. Most though, it is a bit choppy and wagging. Help!
Bruce Lantz
I have heard of the tail wagging problem. However after I installed SteerSafe on my Winnibago 2000 35U and new 38J Voyage, I haven’t noticed any steering or handling problems. Am I missing something??