mike brez
milford ct
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Joined: 09/27/2002
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Rear trac bar should help a lot
I got tired of my gasser getting sucked in and pushed out and purchased a DP
I have drove it 14 hours straight got to campground unhooked towed and out for dinner and drinks. I love driving this thing and no more getting pushed around by trucks
1998 36 foot Country Coach Magna #5499 Single slide
Gillig chassis with a series 40
02 Ford F250 7.3 with a few mods
2015 Wrangler JKU
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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Ok I drive a Workhore 8.1L Chevy Vortec.. I normally do 55-60 on the freeway Any faster and the MPG goes down faster than the Speedometer goes up.
Handling.. First trip to Las Vegas (From Detroit) it was a real pleasure to park the Motor home and drive the car.. I mean it was EXhAUSTING with that big rig.
Returned home. added a TRAC BAR and a Steering Stablizer (Blue Ox Tru-Center in my case but you might also consider a Safe-t-Steer with optional remote device)
Second trip to LV.. That same towed was actually HARD TO DRIVE for the first day or two.
WHY: Well steering stablizers do some of the work for you.. THey Claim they are of help when a front tire goes BANG but.. I can not say yea or nay on that.
Trac Bars.. Leaf Spring suspension lets the body move a bit side to side over the axle. if the rear moves right while the front left, then they sway You think you are zig-zagging down the road. SO you compensate.. This means you really ARE Zig-Zagging down the road. Trac bars LOCK the body in position over the axles. No side to side movement allowed.
Last. The Factory SWAY bar was a good one. this controls Side to Side rocking, might not be teh case on your motor home may need one a bit heaftier.
Home is where I park it.
Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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FloridaRosebud
Melbourne
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Joined: 05/27/2018
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wa8yxm wrote:Ok I drive a Workhore 8.1L Chevy Vortec.. I normally do 55-60 on the freeway Any faster and the MPG goes down faster than the Speedometer goes up.
Handling.. First trip to Las Vegas (From Detroit) it was a real pleasure to park the Motor home and drive the car.. I mean it was EXhAUSTING with that big rig.
Returned home. added a TRAC BAR and a Steering Stablizer (Blue Ox Tru-Center in my case but you might also consider a Safe-t-Steer with optional remote device)
Second trip to LV.. That same towed was actually HARD TO DRIVE for the first day or two.
WHY: Well steering stablizers do some of the work for you.. THey Claim they are of help when a front tire goes BANG but.. I can not say yea or nay on that.
Trac Bars.. Leaf Spring suspension lets the body move a bit side to side over the axle. if the rear moves right while the front left, then they sway You think you are zig-zagging down the road. SO you compensate.. This means you really ARE Zig-Zagging down the road. Trac bars LOCK the body in position over the axles. No side to side movement allowed.
Last. The Factory SWAY bar was a good one. this controls Side to Side rocking, might not be teh case on your motor home may need one a bit heaftier.
I've got a Bilstein steering stabilizer going on in about a week. The Sate-T-steer is what started binding. The other thing I learned is it's very very important to make sure the front end on a Ford F53 chassis is lubricated. I had the RV in a chassis/frame shop, and the owner spent 2 hours with me going through the suspension of the RV. It's a kingpin type of front end, and we took it out for a 5 mile drive, got back to the shop, he lubricated it (and showed me how to do it as well), we did donuts in the parking lot to help the lube work it's way around the pins, and wow, what a difference. Steered and handled much better. He told me it looked like the previous owner had not lubed it in a few years, and told me each time I took it out to do a quick one pump lube on each of the 3 fittings on each side.
Am looking forward to getting the Hellwig rear bar......stock one is about 1" diameter, Hellwig is 1 5/8" and is in addition to the stock bar.
Al
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doxiemom11
Arizona
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Joined: 01/09/2013
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We drive 57 - 62 in our gasser. Did the cheap handling fix both front and rear and it helped. We also had it aligned after putting new tires on and added the saf-t-plus steering stabalizer. All combined a much better ride.
We also are not in a hurry and drive about 200 miles a day. But hey, we have also driven only 70 miles to the next place. We also don't drive the interstates unless we have to.
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jerseyjim
New Jersey
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Joined: 09/02/2005
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2001 Dolphin V-10 gasser.Over the years...Coast to coast 4 times. NJ-Fl 6 times plus weekend trips. Interstates. 60-65 on cruise control. 7.3 mpg pulling a toad 4 down. 7.5 NOT pulling anything.
300 mile days, average. DPs get better mileage, but pay 50 cents more for a gallon of fuel. So...maybe it evens out.
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23hotrodr
Iowa
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Joined: 05/14/2008
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Floridarosebud- I think the Safe-T-steer you reference and the Bilstein stabilizer are not the same type devices at all. The Bilstein is simply a dampner that helps you control sudden movements. The Safe-T-Steer is most likely a self centering dampner that tries to help you hold the steering in the center "neutral" position along with dampning. It sounds like the Safe-T-Steer is not centered and needs to be adjusted by getting it "centered again on your steering components. Just make very small adjustments until it is centered again. The self centering is much better than the simple dampner.
I have the Safe-T-Plus and it does take a few trial and error adjustments of the attaching bracket on the tie rod to get it centered, but once adjusted, makes a big difference. Good luck-- Mickey
2007 Itasca Suncruiser 35L
2000 Jeep Wrangler
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FloridaRosebud
Melbourne
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Joined: 05/27/2018
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23hotrodr wrote:Floridarosebud- I think the Safe-T-steer you reference and the Bilstein stabilizer are not the same type devices at all. The Bilstein is simply a dampner that helps you control sudden movements. The Safe-T-Steer is most likely a self centering dampner that tries to help you hold the steering in the center "neutral" position along with dampning. It sounds like the Safe-T-Steer is not centered and needs to be adjusted by getting it "centered again on your steering components. Just make very small adjustments until it is centered again. The self centering is much better than the simple dampner.
I have the Safe-T-Plus and it does take a few trial and error adjustments of the attaching bracket on the tie rod to get it centered, but once adjusted, makes a big difference. Good luck-- Mickey
OK, I will look into that. The old Safe-T-steer was popping as you turned the wheels back and forth, so it was removed and trashed. (was very rusty and the end bushings were worn out as well) I'll see how the Bilstein works out and how much it helps. If it still wanders too much then maybe I'll need to buy a new Safe-T-Plus.
Thanks!!
Al
Edit: I forgot to mention I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Bilstein tech-support discussing their stabilizer, and from our discussion I felt like it would do the same thing. I'll report back after it's installed and I see how well it works.
* This post was
edited 06/24/18 11:47am by FloridaRosebud *
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3 dog nights
Central, Virginia USA
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Joined: 09/25/2003
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Please do, I'm following this thread to keep up with what I need to do for mine.
Bob & Lynn
2 Chihuahua's, Ozzy & Dobby
was-2013 Open Range 424RLS,06' Chevy 3500, dually, Duramax/Allison
now-2015 Winnebago Adventurer 37F, towing 2003 Jeep Wrangler
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Happytraveler
Capistrano Beach, Ca. USA
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Joined: 07/16/2003
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My husband tries not to go over 60 miles an hour pulling a car or not on the road. We have a 35 ft. gas engine (V8.1 Vortex with an Allison Transmission & Workhorse Chassie or what ever, LOL). We get around 11 to 12 miles per gallon going 60 or below.
* This post was
edited 06/24/18 06:29pm by Happytraveler *
Charlie, a male Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
Katie, a female Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
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ACDNate
Biloxi
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Apparently i drive like a maniac. cummins dp run 70-75 depending on traffic. Average 8-9.5mpg
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