Just got our 84 Newel home today. 1000 miles and I had never even driven a class A before. It was a blast, but as I told Tom on the phone I felt like it wandered a bit. I was constantly figiting to keep in where I wanted. I had new 16 ply Goodyears put on before we left Texas. So wondering guys what I should have checked and what after market things I could do to tighten it as much as possible. Don't get me wrong I loved driving it, but I would never park it if it were tighter. It does need front shocks I was told. Assume I needs to be aligned as well.
Hi Todd....glad you made it home safe. Newells are a blast to drive. I am sure someone will chime in soon with some recommendations on the loose handling and what to have checked. The shocks could have something to do with it, but I'm thinking something needs to be tightened up. Mine tracks pretty good, and is easy to keep where I want it.
What kind of condition were the tires in that you took off?
What air pressure are you running in the front? You should have it weighed front & rear and use the tables provided by your tire manufacturer. I run 116# in front and 110# in rear.
Glad you made it home safely, now enjoy!
The three best things you can do to arrest wandering are: 1) check for equal air pressure in the front tires, 2) made sure the alignment is good with a little toe-in (a little more than the factory usually recommends), and 3) adjust the steering box to take out the slop that is created from wear.
Just to add to Michaels comments. Tire pressure, ride height, 1/8 toe in on straight axle coaches, check for looseness in tie rod ends and in both panhard links front and back. Add on devices like safet steer are bandaids
Do not allow an alignment shop to set the front end with neutral toe, you can't keep it in the road.
Easy way to check for play is with dial indicator on magnetic base. Mount base on one side of joint and dial against something on other side of joint. Apply pry bar to joint. Anything over. .005 will give you slop
I drove on US 90 between Morgan City, LA and Houma, LA on an elevated stretch of concrete 4 lane hiway. My coach has 158,000 miles and the road had some "whoop-t-dos". I noticed other cars and trucks bouncing slightly, but my coach seemed to be bouncing more than normal.
Has anyone changed shocks lately? If so, what brand did you use?
One of the things I found when working the same issue was
That the bolts that mount the steering box
Was loose. You could see where the box moved. I retorqued the
Bolts and thus the fix. Something to look at
While your checking.
Tuga, I drove that section of 90 between Avery Island and Thibodaux, and my coach and trailer bounced a lot! So much so, that the T'Bird moved 6 inches to the right inside the trailer! It is just a bad stretch of road.....nothing wrong with my front end....something very wrong with the road.
Clarke,
Thanks for the post. You saved me some money
I kind of thought that when I saw the other vehicles bouncing. It's nice to have confirmation
Tuga, I find it's worth it to go through Baton Rouge and hit I-10 to avoid that bad section.