2014 Winnebago Vista 26 HE - Handling Improvements

[sonny]

Originally Posted by bunny2448

We had a 26-ft Vista but sold it after 8 months of continuous steering trouble. Sometimes felt as if it was possessed by a demon and was handling itself in a dangerous fashion. Hoping your probs can be solved but please be careful.

How many miles where on that Vista ? Was it a brand new unit? What did you replace it with? - Hard to believe that these RV manufacturers allow their product to leave the factory knowing that their units have basically unsafe to drive

[sonny]

Originally Posted by Minnesota51

We put on a rear track bar on our 2015 Itasca SunStar 26HE (Same as the Winnie).

It now handles like a dream.

Before the track bar it was terrible at jumping out of the lane when a truck passed us. Or if the road was bumpy. My shoulders and my wife's shoulders were constantly tired from the tension of keeping the thing in the lane. Crosswinds were a nightmare.

Now, when a semi comes up from the left, it is a much less strong, much slower, soft gentle pushing that we can easily correct for without needing a split second adjustment on the steering wheel like before. Our shoulders are no longer sore and tense!

We got our track bar from a big RV dealer in California (Brazos or something? The name escapes me at the moment), and shipped to Minnesota.

Did you install the track bar ? Cost of bar ? What side does it attach to - passenger or driver?

[Minnesota51]

I had the trackbar installed at Camping World in Rogers, MN outside of Minneapolis. Took about an hour and a half. It was $499, as I recall.

I don't know what side it is mounted on. It keeps the rear axle tracking straight even if the rear part of the RV body is pushed sideways.


We got it from Brazels RV.


sonny, call and talk to them by phone to make sure you get the right bar for your chassis.

We got this one: UTF53V8R - Rear UltraTrac Trac Bar Ford F53 14-18K GVW Chassis (Fits V10 & V8)

https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/RV-S...-(Fits-V10-V8)

[Neila]

I own a 2016 Class C Minnie Winnie. I have issues with lots of sway too. I read thru the threads. Could someone please explain what "CHF" is, or what the initials stand for. I'd like to talk intelligently with the mechanic. THANKS!

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Neila

I own a 2016 Class C Minnie Winnie. I have issues with lots of sway too. I read thru the threads. Could someone please explain what "CHF" is, or what the initials stand for. I'd like to talk intelligently with the mechanic. THANKS!

Cheap Handling Fix is when you use one of the alternate sets of mounting holes for the front sway bar links on the Ford F53 Chassis however if you have not already had your coach weighed at the 4 corners after you have it loaded for travel, inflated the tires to the pressure indicated on the tire manufacturers load chart to match those weights and then had the coach aligned when its loaded the way it will be when you travel then you could just be wasting time, effort and money pursuing add-ons and/or modifications/fixes.

The CHF is simply to set the sway bar links to one of the holes closer to the bars chassis mounts instead of using the ones at the very end which will make the sway bars action stiffer so the front of the coach follows the road more closely however this also can put more stress on the chassis such as when traveling on uneven roads when the front sway bar tries to stop the front springs from acting independently and pitches the coach to the opposite side while the rear wheels are still pitched the other way.

Motor homes come from the factory with the tire pressures set and the front end aligned so the delivery driver can get the empty coaches to the dealership and its up to the owner to load their stuff into them, get them weighed, tires inflated properly and aligned so they will handle correctly.

Many folks find out when they weigh their coaches that they have too much weight in the back of the coach and no handling fix is going to correct that since with the back of the coach overweight there will not be enough weight on the front tires to keep the coach going straight down the road.

Once I got my 2001 Adventurer 35U on the Ford F53 load balanced so its not too heavy in the back, the tires properly inflated and then aligned to match how I load it I have not required anything else to make it drive better.

[tzensen]

Put 4 sumo springs on. And front stabilizer No CHF. Along with michelin tires at 100lbs. Drives almost as good as my 2017 truck. Went from hate to now love driving it. In fact everytime I get behind wheel Im amazed at how well it drives and how quiet it is. Former chev service manager.

[sonny]

Originally Posted by tzensen

Put 4 sumo springs on. And front stabilizer No CHF. Along with michelin tires at 100lbs. Drives almost as good as my 2017 truck. Went from hate to now love driving it. In fact everytime I get behind wheel Im amazed at how well it drives and how quiet it is. Former chev service manager.

Installing Michelin tires is on my list, them Goodyears are like concrete on a rim. Is your tire size 245 R70 19.5 , if so what did you pay and where did you buy?

[creativepart]

Sounds like you're on the right track.

I seem to remember people having ride/handling issues with Goodyear RV Tires. Of course, the only way to know is to spend a ton o' money and no one wants to do that.

I have a larger, heavier RV than yours. We've done a Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer, Sumo Springs all around, Roadmaster Rear Anti-Roll Bar and next week will install Koni FSD shocks all around.

These changes have made driving much better - vastly better - but it's still harsh on bumps and bridges, hence the Koni's going on next week.

What was the biggest improvement? All of them. But the Steering Stabilizer and Sumo Springs were by far the biggest improvement, so far.

[Reniram]

Originally Posted by sonny

so the key is to keep the sway bar relatively in its same position and to do that add approx 2 inches to the front bars



the rear bars are just fine as is , when you install them to the other hole? Did you have to change any bolts, washers , or poly bushings? Did you use locktite ?


Any pictures ?

Sorry no pics, but yes you are correct by maintaining the same position of the sway bar...some have simply just moved the arm to the second hole apparently with no problems but it seems to me that takes away the bar bending movement and there would be lots of stress on the sway bar mounts so by extending them retains the factory position for the bar to work correctly.All the hardware nuts bolts and washers are re used and yes I did put a little Loctite on the threads...total cost was minimal..I had the 1/2" pipe in the shed and an hour or two with the welder and grinder is what it takes..fwiw I was in the fabricating business before retirement so this was a no brainer for me..

[YGoHom]

Originally Posted by Reniram

Sorry no pics, but yes you are correct by maintaining the same position of the sway bar...some have simply just moved the arm to the second hole apparently with no problems but it seems to me that takes away the bar bending movement and there would be lots of stress on the sway bar mounts so by extending them retains the factory position for the bar to work correctly.All the hardware nuts bolts and washers are re used and yes I did put a little Loctite on the threads...total cost was minimal..I had the 1/2" pipe in the shed and an hour or two with the welder and grinder is what it takes..fwiw I was in the fabricating business before retirement so this was a no brainer for me..

Here's my similar experience...

I have a 2018 INTENT 26m that has the same handling issues. We probably would have a MUCH better ride if they had used the available 178" wheelbase instead of the 158" that we have.

I started with Safety Steer and the full CHF , then extended the front links because the ride became very harsh. Extending the links also lessened the benefit of moving the links to the inner holes, so I bought a big fat sway bar and used the long links in the inner hole. Much better!

I also have an additional rear-facing big fat sway bar on the rear, as well as a rear trac-bar.

I tried Bilstein shocks but they wanted to beat the Winnie apart so I sent them back. The stock oil shocks ride much better. Haven't tried KONI.

I had the front axle bent to get the camber much closer to 0*, as well as adding caster shims to reduce my caster from 10* down to 7*. I think it's at 1/16 to 1/8 toe in now. 82 psi all around.

All of this doesn't do much until you move as much weight as possible as far forward as possible. ALL of the weight of these damn 26'ers is on or behind the rear axle. That leaves no weight on the front end. I don't drive with any more than 1/4 tank of fresh water anymore - especially with a full tank of gas.

I have done a lot to get this thing to handle safely down the road and every single thing that I have done has played an important role. I even added 350 lbs. of steel above the transmission, across the frame rails just to help even the load. I also have 4 full bottles of propane in place.

The goal is to have the same percentage of the max weight on the front and rear. I was just shy of max weight in the rear, but only about 60% in front. I even tried rear air bags to lift the rear and shift the momentum forward, but it didn't work right and I sent the bags back.

I haven't had a chance to get the RV weighed again since I did all the weight shifting, but I'm guessing that my percentages are much more in sync now.

Another note, I was towing my 2 door Jeep Wrangler, but that really increased the size of the tail wagging the dog.
I just got everything together to start towing my old 1999 Saturn wagon and the improvement was drastic. Absolutely NO tail wag last weekend, and no getting pushed around by passing big rigs.


I hope this helps.

[Reniram]

Holy cow! Methinks you you have almost rebuilt and revised the entire geography of the F53 chassis..and hope you will reap the benefits for many miles to come...I came from the 26 HE Vista and really had a lot of fun times and good memories with that rig..but now we have moved on to the 29V..mainly because we spend 3-4 months in the Fl panhandle during the winter and the extra space is appreciated...

[Tricolor]

Originally Posted by YGoHom

Here's my similar experience...

I have a 2018 INTENT 26m that has the same handling issues. We probably would have a MUCH better ride if they had used the available 178" wheelbase instead of the 158" that we have.

ALL of the weight of these damn 26'ers is on or behind the rear axle. That leaves no weight on the front end. I don't drive with any more than 1/4 tank of fresh water anymore - especially with a full tank of gas.

I have done a lot to get this thing to handle safely down the road and every single thing that I have done has played an important role. I even added 350 lbs. of steel above the transmission, across the frame rails just to help even the load.

The goal is to have the same percentage of the max weight on the front and rear. I was just shy of max weight in the rear, but only about 60% in front. I even tried rear air bags to lift the rear and shift the momentum forward, but it didn't work right and I sent the bags back.

I hope this helps.

I have 300lbs of steel plates bolted under the front cross member (between the swaybar links) and it helps tracking. The professional shop charged $300 for the job. If I keep this MH for a few more years, I will have an additional 100lbs added.

[Reniram]

Finally got outside to take a pic of the extended front sway bar link..

[sonny]

Originally Posted by Reniram

Finally got outside to take a pic of the extended front sway bar link..

that weld looks mighty strong , how much of an extension did you add ? Do you have the Vista 26HE ?



Extending the links probably keeps the sway bar in correct position ? Did you have to extend the rear links also?


Ride in improvement was improved greatly ? No ill effects ?

[Reniram]

No we swapped out our 26HE for a 29VE and the chf is pretty much the same for both chassis F53.. The eye to eye length is 14 1/4 "..this only applies to the front sway bar links..the rear can simply be moved to the other set of holes with no modification..This relatively simple revision greatly reduces side to side sway and makes the drive much less stressful. There are kits out there $$$$..which provide larger diameter sway bars and I would have to imagine they would further improve the handling..so say the various forum reviews..I like to do incremental revisions and take note of the performance good or bad... but by just doing this chf I am very pleased with the results and do not feel the need to go any further..even my dw relieves me at the wheel when we do our long trips and she is loving it...

[sonny]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

I have 300lbs of steel plates bolted under the front cross member (between the swaybar links) and it helps tracking. The professional shop charged $300 for the job. If I keep this MH for a few more years, I will have an additional 100lbs added.

Wondering if rear airbags might help with the front overloading ? Anyone try it on the Vista 26HE?

[DryCreek]

Originally Posted by Reniram

No we swapped out our 26HE for a 29VE and the chf is pretty much the same for both chassis F53.. The eye to eye length is 14 1/4 "..this only applies to the front sway bar links..the rear can simply be moved to the other set of holes with no modification..This relatively simple revision greatly reduces side to side sway and makes the drive much less stressful. There are kits out there $$$$..which provide larger diameter sway bars and I would have to imagine they would further improve the handling..so say the various forum reviews..I like to do incremental revisions and take note of the performance good or bad... but by just doing this chf I am very pleased with the results and do not feel the need to go any further..even my dw relieves me at the wheel when we do our long trips and she is loving it...

If you replaced the front links with longer or adjustable ones (Hellwig), then it doesn't hurt to take the front links and use them on the rear. It will give added clearance to be sure that the VSS is not crushed if you have one of the axles with that sensor mounted at the top of the differential case.

[Rossi6998]

I have a 2013 Sunstar 26HE. Since owning it new, I have added Hellwig front and rear anti-sway bars, Firestone Airbags, Ultra TracBar, and Safe-T Plus steering stabilizer. In my opinion, all improved the vehicle's performance in one way or another. Although my tires only had about 12,000 miles, they were almost 7 years old, so I replaced them with the same Goodyear 670 tires.

Good luck!

[Tricolor]

Originally Posted by Rossi6998

I have a 2013 Sunstar 26HE. Since owning it new, I have added Hellwig front and rear anti-sway bars, Firestone Airbags, Ultra TracBar, and Safe-T Plus steering stabilizer. In my opinion, all improved the vehicle's performance in one way or another. Although my tires only had about 12,000 miles, they were almost 7 years old, so I replaced them with the same Goodyear 670 tires.

Good luck!

Rossi, you too still enjoy the convenience of the 26HE:
What is the biggest contribution of the airbags... stability or comfort?
In my case, the Sumo Maxim helped both.

Recently, I noted an rear sway increased. The swaybar bushing are worn or the leaf spring have softened. Or I may need a harder swaybar like yours.

[Rossi6998]

Yes... To me, the airbags helped with comfort. Without the airbags, I would drive down the road and it would bottom out when I hit rough road.