Wandering Meridian

bsellers · 09-18-2007, 07:15 AM

We have a new 34' Meridian and this is our first MH. It seems at cruising speed on the freeway it wanders a bit. Is this normal? Everyone else makes it look so easy as they drive and I feel a need to pay constant attention to keep it in my lane.

Has anyone else experience this problem and is there anything to be done?

bsellers · 09-18-2007, 07:15 AM

We have a new 34' Meridian and this is our first MH. It seems at cruising speed on the freeway it wanders a bit. Is this normal? Everyone else makes it look so easy as they drive and I feel a need to pay constant attention to keep it in my lane.

Has anyone else experience this problem and is there anything to be done?

John_Canfield · 09-18-2007, 08:48 AM

Our coach is also our first one and I was surprised at the differences in how different the road or steering feel is compared to light vehicles.

Apparently due to the way the steering geometry is designed for heavy vehicles, there is no center feel or center return. Hence the need to provide constant steering corrections or at least more driver input that a car requires.

You will find the road and wind conditions will have a bearing on how much work you need to do with the steering wheel and as you gain more experience you will probably find the job getting easier.

Just to be sure your coach doesn't have a problem causing you unnecessary steering troubles, have the ride height checked and get the coach weighed and inflate your tires according to the tire manufacturer's inflation chart. Be sure your weight is distributed appropriately at each wheel position or at least per axle.

There are after market products designed to address steering issues. We bought a Howard Power Center Steering system which has really cut our driving effort and made crosswinds much easier to deal with. It is a wonderful product (and also expensive) but unfortunately Dee Howard is trying to sell the company so they aren't doing any new installs.

TXiceman · 09-18-2007, 08:57 AM

Welcome to the forum.com and hope you enjoy the new coach. One of the things that you need to do to help anew coach is to go ahead and load it up as for travel. Next get it weighed and adjust your tire pressures based on the actual travel weight. The tire manufacturers have charts for tire load and pressure.

Next thing is to get a front end alignment while at travel weight.

This should help a bunch. If it is still not driving properly, you may need to start looking at after-market items for the suspension such as track bars, anti-roll bars and better shock absorbers.

Over all it will not drive like a car, after all you are more like a truck, but it should drive without a fight.

Ken

SargeW · 09-18-2007, 10:03 AM

John and Ken are right on with their advice regarding tire inflation. My Meridian was inflated up to the max tire weight on the certification label. When I got a four corner weight I found that I was WAY over inflated. This contributed to wander, rough ride, and fatigue on my part. I weighed mine while being "camping ready". That is loaded with food, chothes, fuel, propane, and about 25% full water tank.

I now run 95# in the front tires, and 85# in the rear duals. And that is still a good safety margin. I am much happier with the ride and the rig tracks way better. It's an inexpensive fix, and one you will feel right away.

Sarge

smlranger · 09-18-2007, 03:47 PM

Agree with the other folks. It may be as simple as adjusting air pressure in your tires. Load it for travel, get it weighed, have it aligned and check ride height.

If you decide to add a 'steering aid,' IMO great alternatives to the Howard system (probably not available as John indicated) is the Blue Ox Tru Center or the Safe-T-Steer. Either will help 'center' the steering and help eliminate rut wandering.

Pusherman · 09-18-2007, 03:48 PM

bsellers, Welcome to the forum.com. I too had some challenges on my new coach relative to wandering on the road. I found, as others have noted above, that tire pressure has a HUGE impact on how the MH tracks (and ride quality). I also had a problem with my front tires being out of round from the factory. Replaced under warranty.

I also went thru the process of checking front end alignment, etc. Once I adjusted tire pressure as a function of the weight of the coach (acutal measurement) and changed the 2 front tires for new, the coach now behaves as it should.

I have owned DP's for 7 years now, and they do drive differently from your car. The crown of the road will make it pull right. To check this, simply pull into the left lane. If the pull goes away, or goes left, then it is the crown of the road.

If you choose to follow my prior plight, search on 'Pusherman' to see my prior posts on my new coach driveability issues.

I am now satisfied that my coach drives as it should.

SCVJeff · 09-18-2007, 05:30 PM

They definitely like to find the ruts and aberrations in the road don't they? Just to be on the safe side, and after looking at tire pressures, etc. you should have someone familiar with driving these things take it out and give you his/ her opinion on how it handles.

Scratch & Goose · 09-18-2007, 05:45 PM

Hello
Ours was like driving in a box. Banging off the sides, had the front end aligined, drives like our SUV

Scratch

lthrnk · 09-19-2007, 03:14 AM

As all above have said it takes some adjustments and modifications to get these hogs to behave. After a few additions to help the ride and handling I have found that finding the proper tire pressure is probably the most important thing you can do. When we first got the coach numerous techs, coach and tire people, told me to go with the manufacturers recommended tire pressure. Too much for an empty coach. Finally got to the point of running 10# less on fronts and 15# less on duals works out great. I will finally be weighing the coach this weekend and getting it right as far as the tire charts, then adjust for the ride from there. Mike

THutch · 09-19-2007, 01:12 PM

bsellers,

I agree with all the above. We have the same model. Tire pressure is important. I had been running 100 psi all around, but based on my actual weight, I dropped to 90 in the front and 95 in the rear and ride and handling improved. I also did the 3-T's upgrades. This made a big difference in the ride and handling. Try all the "free" stuff first. This was about $1K last year, but I have no regrets.

Gary CA · 09-20-2007, 06:33 PM

Bsellers: Congratulations on the Meridian purchase, we have enjoyed our 34H for three years now. I agree with Thutch and the 3Ts solution. Give John or Tina at 3Ts a call or send me a message for additional information.
It's not that we had a wandering problem, it is simply now passing or being passed or driving in wind is no longer an issue.....

rv rick · 09-23-2007, 04:08 PM

We have a 2004 Meridian and I had the same wandering problem. I adjusted the tire pressures, and had it aligned which certainly helped, but it was still wandering. I decided to have the Steer Safe unit installed at The Rally at Redmond and wow - what a difference. The coach is now a pleasure to drive. Mad the 1,200 mile drive home much more enjoyable.

I do not have any experience with the other steering systems and choose the Steer Safe since there was a money back warranty and I figured I would give it a try.

Good luck.

Dan Bowman · 11-25-2007, 06:19 PM

I have the same Wandering issue with my 2003 Journey. LazyDays inflated the tires according to the certification tag but told me that I might want to adjust the pressure. This is also my first motor home so I was clueless on what to adjust the pressure to.

Based on the advice of this forum, I plan to weigh my travel ready Journey, adjust the tire pressure accordingly, and have the alignment done.

I see that RV RICK had the Steer Safe product installed and seems to really like it. Anyone else have any experience with it? That looks like a good solution at a reasonable price.

Thanks,
Dan Bowman
2003 Journey

bsellers · 11-26-2007, 04:09 AM

We just returned from our latest outting and before leaving I reduced the tire pressure to 100 psi in the front and 90 psi in the rear and it made all the difference in the world. It drove like I believe it should and it also rode much better. Thanks to all for your advice and comments.

FloridaNative49 · 11-26-2007, 06:01 AM

Where can I get info on how much to adjust the tire pressure? That's the first I've heard about it. Have been running fully aired up as per what Michelin says on the sidewall?

THutch · 11-26-2007, 12:47 PM

On A Tour,

First, you need to load it up like you are going to use it, and take it and get it weighed. Best to do a 4-corner weigh (each wheel position). Then, as another poster said, you should adjust your load as possible to even things up.

Using this info, go to:
Michelin Tables
and by tire size, model and position, look up the recommended inflation for the load you are actually carrying. Use the higher weight on each axle, and some folks like to add a few psi, but I don't. The theory is that it is better to be over-inflated than under. However, over-inflation causes rougher ride and wandering. We usually don't have to worry about wear, as aging normally will ruin a tire before wear will.

The values on the side of the tire are for max load of the tire and the values in the coach are for the max load of the coach. Neither of which you are probably at.

Hope this helps!

CHIPPYSGT · 11-30-2007, 02:59 AM

I had a Steer-Safe put on a badly wandering class C I owned. Made a world of difference.