27N drifting

[mike2015]

Hi all,
I have a question re my 2015 Vista 27N. I seem to experience excessive drifting in wind & passing trucks. Maybe it is my lack of confidence but my speeds stay at 55mph. Tires are good, pressure is correct.
Is it because I am light & high?
Has anyone used the Safe T Plus & would it help?
Thanks in advance,
Mike

[twinboat]

Check out the post named " CHF" the Cheap Handling Fix.

It takes a few minutes to do, is easily undone and FREE.

Many have been very happy with it.

[kevin1959]

Mike2015, I have a 2013 Adventurer 32H and was experiencing the same thing when I first bought it. I can only say GOOD things about the Cheap Handling Fix. I'm one handed now rolling down the road regardless of passing trucks ! Wind still catches me every once in awhile but the CHF did amazing things for getting pushed around. Took me about an hour to do both front and back. You'll learn a bunch of good stuff here !!

[OLYLEN]

First have an alignment done by a shop that knows RVs. About $200 or under, there are several threads on this. Then if still not holding the way you want start other items. I did the alignment and then added the front stabilizer as mine was shot.

LEN

[reinerka]

Dito to Kevin. On our Brave 27B - same size as your - alignment was off (and a few other issues). Once they got resolved all is good now and I drive it like an oversized SUV. HoweverI do not expect car like handling from any RV. They are tall and winds of any kind will push them to some degree.

When dealing with suspensions you cannot make physical laws disapear. You can either show them early with a gradual increase or rather late with little warning before total loss of traction. I prefer the early feedback route.

Reiner

[Sweetbriar]

CHF will help a lot but a rear track bar will help even more. 1/3 of my coach over all length is behind the rear axle which makes for a really big lever against the rear axle fulcrum. CHF didn't completely eliminate the "tail wag" but did tame it a lot. With the addition of a track bar pretty much gone. If I not watching my side view mirror I don't know there's a truck beside me until it pops into my eye sight field of view. Track bars are a bit hard of the RV budget for what you get but it will tame the wag.


Since your coach is relatively new check if an alignment might be covered by the chassis warranty. If not try the CHF first, then have the alignment check then spend the money for a track bar. Try something and spend some time evaluating if you need to move to the next and more costly fix. If you can get the coach comfortable at a low or no cost, bonus.

[mike2015]

thanks everyone
I appreciate it

[powercat_ras]

Originally Posted by mike2015

Hi all,
I have a question re my 2015 Vista 27N. I seem to experience excessive drifting in wind & passing trucks. Maybe it is my lack of confidence but my speeds stay at 55mph. Tires are good, pressure is correct.
Is it because I am light & high?
Has anyone used the Safe T Plus & would it help?
Thanks in advance,
Mike

All Winnebago Ford F53 Chassis Class As start out as you describe, that is the way they all leave Ford and Winnebago. This is not a Winnebago Bash, Thor, and all the others are the same. They leave the chassis as Ford provides it to them.

It is up to us to make a few changes to make it good enough to our satisfaction, in a suggested order of doing changes:

1. Always have tire pressures at or slightly above the RV maker tire pressure sticker

2. Make sure the wheel alignment matches the vehicle spec, sometimes they don't get set right leaving the factory or delivery trip hitting curb or pot holes throws it out.

3. Do the CHF (Cheap Handling Fix) on the front sway bar

4. Do the CHF on the rear sway bar.

5. Add a steering stabilizer such as Safe-T-Steer

6. Add Air Tabs to the rear edge of side walls and roof.

7. Rear Track Bar. It has a benefit for sure but it's pretty expensive if you buy one professionally made such as the one from Blue Ox and have it installed.

[TravelinMike]

I added the Safe-T-Plus to my 2013 27N mostly to help in the event of a blowout. However, it really changed the handling and makes for a more pleasant trip. I highly recommend it although it is a bit pricey. Word of caution - I had CW put mine on and when I picked up the MH it was horribly out of alignment. I made CW pay for the alignment. I talked to the mfg of the Safe-T-Plus and they said that CW must have had the wheels turned instead of straight during the installation.


Mike

[MattTaylor]

Ours is a 2004 Sightseer that we bought in 2013, it had 28,213 miles on it, less than 100 hours on the generator. We had the same issues mentioned by the OP of this thread.

I am a BIG advocate for the Safe-T-Plus.

After alignment, Big Rig blow by was so bad that it would knock us out of our lane. Cross winds were a constant battle, especially across places like Wyoming, wow! Even after alignment we found ourselves using the steering wheel as if we kinda didn't have power steering, constantly turning the wheel back and forth to keep the RV centered in the lane. By the time we got 4 hours down the road we were wore out, her from driving and me from holding on with white knuckles, it was terrible!!

Installing the Safe-T-Plus took every bit of it out of our RV. All of it! Now my 5'1" 120 pound wife can drive this monster with one hand, and my anxiety prescriptions last longer, ha!! Here's a video I made about it if you care to watch. I try to be as honest and sincere as I know how to be, but for as much as it helped us I admit, I'm probably a little bias. We love it and wouldn't want to be without it. Great company!!!

https://youtu.be/kBezXJkB9s0

[RVRon]

Originally Posted by Sweetbriar

CHF will help a lot but a rear track bar will help even more. 1/3 of my coach over all length is behind the rear axle which makes for a really big lever against the rear axle fulcrum. CHF didn't completely eliminate the "tail wag" but did tame it a lot. With the addition of a track bar pretty much gone. If I not watching my side view mirror I don't know there's a truck beside me until it pops into my eye sight field of view. Track bars are a bit hard of the RV budget for what you get but it will tame the wag.


Since your coach is relatively new check if an alignment might be covered by the chassis warranty. If not try the CHF first, then have the alignment check then spend the money for a track bar. Try something and spend some time evaluating if you need to move to the next and more costly fix. If you can get the coach comfortable at a low or no cost, bonus.

I vote trac-bar. Been there, done that! Believe it!
-Ron

[George Schweikle]

Agree. Once all chassis components, alignment and tire presure is correct, a rear track bar is the first line of defense against tail wagging. My opinion is that the various steering stabilizer products are for fine-tuning, not gross corrective measures. However, if something like this solves someone's handling problem, great.

Originally Posted by RVRon

I vote trac-bar. Been there, done that! Believe it!
-Ron