[Richard]

Mike your column is different but the attachment between the steering column and the steering gear box still uses an intermediate shaft with two universal joints. The majority of my play was at the upper attachment.

Remove the skirt around the steering column. Turn the wheel back and forth and look carefully at the upper junction. It will be right at floor level. Put your hand on it, while working the steering wheel, and see if you feel any slop.

[kyleb]

http://www.safe-t-plus.com/

Has anybody installed one of this on a 80's model or newer? Will it help?

I'm kind of paranoic about a tire blow out and loosing control, will this unit help?

Any thoughts are more than welcome.

I think it is a band aid for a poorly designed/ overloaded suspension - your Newell is neither of those. The real FIX is to properly repair/ maintain what you have.

If you are concerned about a front blow-out, put higher load rated tires on. ( I'm going with load range H next time.}

My '87 steers very well with everything tight & properly adjusted.
--When I put new tires on the front, the difference from 95 to 100 psi was like night & day.
--A worn bearing seat on the spindle caused some steering issues.
--Tag axle air bag pressure can have a big influence on stability.

I have been on narrow roads & been forced over the edge of the pavement onto the low shoulder. Not a big deal -IF- you don't try to correct too quickly.

As for blow-outs, the real trick to success has more to luck than anything else.
That said, preventive maintenance & certain reactions require less luck than others. . . .

[kyleb]

Thank you for the video. I've read some people here in the forum having blow outs and they said that it was really scary, not sure if it'll work out to keep it calm in that situation while you have your family up there and remember to speed up when your brain is sending stop signals, I've also seen this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LkLeljt4t0 and from his stop lights he didn't apply the break but still lost control.

I don't have a TPMS system yet and I think that it will be a great start as long as I can get a good system that works reliably, thanks for the pointer.

Looked to me like the driver over corrected the RV - But who knows what damage was done after he left the pavement.

I've had several blowouts ( This was before I realized the importance of tire age. EACH one was a tire over 6 years old !)
Never scary, but I was annoyed! & sometimes really mad
My method was to 'chase' the direction the vehicle wanted to go & to make small changes & see what happened before making another. Time seemed to slow down - from blow out to stopped was 15 seconds or less, but seemed like 15 minutes.

[Guy]

A great source for RV tire information is Roger Marble , rvtiresafety.net, or he will respond direcly at [email protected].
He was a tire engineer for 40 years.

[encantotom]

there is another post i made this past summer about my tire experience on our trip to alabama and back. I will never go longer than 5 years on tires again. no matter what they look like.

i had 3 different times i had to replace tires that trip, including once where we had to rent a pickup and dirve hundreds of miles to go pick up the 365's for the front.

i was very fortunate and i believe blessed that we didnt have a blowout because i was going to have one very soon.

tom

[Floridian]

You definitely have a straight (solid) front axle rather than independent suspension. The first two Newells with Independent Front Suspension that I am aware of were #416 and #423, both 1996 models.

Thanks for confirming that, for some reason I like to know those details.

---

You might also check Youtube for videos on rebuilding GM steering columns.  Ours had 4 screws that had loosened way down inside the column. Tightened them with Loctite as per videos and it made a tremendous difference in "loose" steering wheel.

 I'll search for those videos, thanks!!

[Floridian]

You mentioned play in the steering. That leads me to recommend a trip to a GOOD shop that inspects and aligns suspension. I would talk to local bus or trucking companys and find out who they use. Tell them that you have play in the steering. If you ask for a DOT inspection they will use a thorough checklist that might uncover other items that you would want repaired for safety ( brakes, lights, air lines etc.) A steering stabilizer (like safe-t-plus) can mask wear and improve the feel. My Dodge has exhibited "death wobble" when the stabilizer was wore out and other steering joints needed attention.
I too, noticed no brake lights on the MH in the video. There are too many unknowns there to determine the actual cause of loss of control. With due respect to the driver he may not have had the "wits" to brake OR steer. In fact if he didn't have his seat belt fastened he could have been on the floor.  Additionally keep good tires that are not out of date and properly inflated and you will greatly minimize the possibility of a tire problem.

That is something I haven't thought about, masking issues with that steering stabilizer, it is a very good point.

It is very true we might never know what happened to the driver in this case.

I'm thinking in changing the tires as they are Dec 2012 so They are due for a change and still looking at TPMS systems that are reliable (or they convinced me as such).

Thanks for your thoughts, they are really welcome.

---

In regards to why remove it if it helped a little.   It did not help a little. It didn't change the need to correct, but it did make driving in a crosswind more difficult. manuevering in a campground more difficult, and increased the steering effort.

I am a big fan of fixing what is causing the loose steering instead of putting a device on that masks the issue. That's my .02.

Very good points, I don't want to deal with more effort while parking, that is for sure!

Yeah, it didn't occur to me that a steering stabilizer will mask another issue.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Floridian]

http://www.safe-t-plus.com/

Has anybody installed one of this on a 80's model or newer? Will it help?

I'm kind of paranoic about a tire blow out and loosing control, will this unit help?

Any thoughts are more than welcome.

I think it is a band aid for a poorly designed/ overloaded suspension - your Newell is neither of those. The real FIX is to properly repair/ maintain what you have.

If you are concerned about a front blow-out, put higher load rated tires on. ( I'm going with load range H next time.}

My '87 steers very well with everything tight & properly adjusted.
--When I put new tires on the front, the difference from 95 to 100 psi was like night & day.
--A worn bearing seat on the spindle caused some steering issues.
--Tag axle air bag pressure can have a big influence on stability.

I have been on narrow roads & been forced over the edge of the pavement onto the low shoulder. Not a big deal -IF- you don't try to correct too quickly.

As for blow-outs, the real trick to success has more to luck than anything else.
That said, preventive maintenance & certain reactions require less luck than others. . . .  

Yeah, I'm getting that feeling as well now, it never occurred to me that I was masking the issue with the steering stabilizer, I'm glad I asked before!!!

[Floridian]

Thank you for the video. I've read some people here in the forum having blow outs and they said that it was really scary, not sure if it'll work out to keep it calm in that situation while you have your family up there and remember to speed up when your brain is sending stop signals, I've also seen this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LkLeljt4t0 and from his stop lights he didn't apply the break but still lost control.

I don't have a TPMS system yet and I think that it will be a great start as long as I can get a good system that works reliably, thanks for the pointer.

Looked to me like the driver over corrected the RV - But who knows what damage was done after he left the pavement.

I've had several blowouts ( This was before I realized the importance of tire age. EACH one was a tire over 6 years old !)
Never scary, but I was annoyed!    & sometimes really mad  
My method was to 'chase' the direction the vehicle wanted to go & to make small changes & see what happened before making another. Time seemed to slow down - from blow out to stopped was 15 seconds or less, but seemed like 15 minutes.  

Several? I can't stand the thought of one!

---

A great source for RV tire information is Roger Marble ,  rvtiresafety.net, or he will respond direcly at [email protected].
He was a tire engineer for 40 years.

That is really helpful! Thank you so much for sharing that information

[Floridian]

there is another post i made this past summer about my tire experience on our trip to alabama and back.  I will never go longer than 5 years on tires again.  no matter what they look like.  

i had 3 different times i had to replace tires that trip, including once where we had to rent a pickup and dirve hundreds of miles to go pick up the 365's for the front.

i was very fortunate and i believe blessed that we didnt have a blowout because i was going to have one very soon.  

tom

This is my first Coach/MotorHome/put_your_name_there so the looks of the tires is definitely not something to go by because mines are close to the 5 year mark and they look BRAND NEW, so started to look for new tires all around.

I'll search for your experience on your past summer trip and read what happened to you but to change tires on 3 different times for a trip from AZ to AL sounds like a lot.