Scary Driving... Wandering 2000 Minnie Minnie

[mg2000]

I’ve got a 2000 Minnie winnie30’,450 chassis.13,000 miles.
This is our first camping adventure as we are nearing retirement,and thought that a C class would fit our needs. It’s scary to drive, Need Help
steering feels real light in front end, feels like driving on ice. Tail wagging as some people say.ive read a lot about putting positive caster in the front, 5-6 degrees positive?
Anyone have part numbers for a bushing that I can install to get that much caster?
And do you think this positive caster will help?
It has factory suspension, shocks, springs, front & rear sway bars

[creativepart]

By "450 Chassis" do you mean it has a Ford E450 chassis? I assume you do.

What you're experiencing is totally commonplace. People do the following to help fix the driving experience.

Add a Steering Stabilizer - Safe-T-Steer or Roadmaster are the usual choices
New Shocks- especially on a 23 year old motorhome
Helper springs like: Sumo Springs or Air Bags
Rear Trackbar - helps locate the rear axle
Add an additional rear sway bar, or a bigger front sway bar or the famous CHF (Cheap Handling Fix - look it up)

An alignment can only do so much. But is important. I don't think there are parts that are commonly used, just go to a truck alignment shop and let them figure it out.

Make sure your tires are less than 7 years old, and are properly inflated.

Folks routinely spend $4000 or more to get their motorhome driving right - not a fun prospect on an 20+ year old motorhome. You might try the Steering Stabilizer and the CHF and see if that's good enough.

[mg2000]

What do you mean by CHF?
I just want to spend the money the right way.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by mg2000

What do you mean by CHF?
I just want to spend the money the right way.

There is no one right way. There are all the ways I suggested and you get to figure out which suits you and your budget.

The CHF is a DIY solution to relocate the lower attachment arms of your front and rear sway bars.

Some say this fixes all problems. But nothing fixes all problems. It's cheap and that's the biggest plus.

A search will yield this info:

The "Cheap Handling Fix" In simple terms, it's where a person crawls under a Ford Motorhome and moves the front anti-sway bar bolts attached to the end-links. The thought behind this is to try and create a stiffer mounting setup in hopes to provide more sway resistance for the front of the coach.

The hard truth is it's a heavy duty truck chassis so it rides and handles as good as any heavy duty gravel truck or delivery truck. The fixes I mentioned "help" driving to a certain extent.

That's the best I can tell you.

[BobC]

1. I believe the CHF is for Ford F53 chassis, not the E450 chassis. Google "Cheap Handling Fix" for more info. This aside you should make sure nothing is amiss with your stock suspension, including shocks.

2. How old are your tires? Given that it's a new to you 2000 with 13k miles, they may be far too old to be safe. Most of our tires will "age out" before they wear out. This is generally considered as somewhere between 5 to 7 years (possibly up to 10 with regular, professional inspections).

3. If this is your first trip so I'm wondering if you may be lightly loaded. Most MHs ride better with a decent (but not maximum) load. There is also a lot of information available about fine tuning your tire pressures to your weight.

There are two sets of "cold tire pressures" that we're used to seeing, those embossed on your tires and those shown on your "door placard", usually inside the driver's door frame or somewhere close by.

The pressure embossed on your tires is the maximum design pressure for your tires at their maximum design load. They are generally too high for a comfortable ride. The pressures on the door placard are the recommended pressures for the tires listed at the maximum load rating for your vehicle. Of the two sets, these are the best to use but may not be optimal for your MH's actual weight.

There's a third set of pressures that are based on the actual weight of your fully loaded vehicle on each of your two axles. To determine these you'll need your actual weights for both your front and rear axles along with a pressure vs. load chart for your tires. This can be done at a truck stop weigh station. Here's a link to some info on this and more from a retired tire engineer (also a Winnieowner aka Tireman9):

https://www.rvtiresafety.net/2011/03...and-roger.html

Here are a couple of Roger Marble's posts on this topic:

https://www.rvtiresafety.net/search/...ld%20Inflation

https://www.rvtiresafety.net/search/...ion%20Pressure

[staggerlee]

Do you travel with a full water tank, or spread the load of your cargo?

[be happy]

Everybody that has posted have given you great feedback. I will just add you need to drive it more. From looking at pictures of 30footers they are big with alot of camper past the rear wheels. I see you live in NC maybe you have some mountain type roads there. I live in the Ozark mountains and I always say if you can drive these roads in an RV you can drive anywhere. Remember you are driving a large bill-board on wheels and it takes some time to figure all out.

Good Luck and have fun!

[BobC]

Originally Posted by be happy

From looking at pictures of 30footers they are big with alot of camper past the rear wheels.

Your original post commented about the front end feeling light. This could easily have something to do with weight and weight distribution, especially if your water tank is empty.

[Myrons 33C]

I had a 2001 Four Winds 31 on the E450 chassis that had the issues you are speaking of. Kind of light. Wandering a bit. Unit had all original suspension components. At the time the shocks were 18 years old, and pretty much useless.

Installed new set of Bilstein shocks and steering stabilizer. Also replaced all sway arm bushings as well as the links with polyurethane bushings. And there was quite and improvement. Not only on bridge joints, because of old dead shocks, but in just ease of handling in general with trucks and so forth. My wife noticed it more than I did when she drove it. She despised driving it prior to the new components.

Had I not sold it for a Class A, I probably would have went with something in the rear like air bags and or some new springs. There did appear to be some sagging as I had that long rear overhang.

I always tried to carry as little water as I could, as the tank was literally right on top of the bumper. Loading heavier in the middle always smoothed things out as well.

[Ray,IN]

Myrons33c makes a good point, all weight behind the rear axle reduces weight on the front axle, which in turn can cause handling problems.


I recommend you get axle weights to determine the percentage of GAWR is on each.

[mg2000]

We have done about 4 trips, local.
1hr drives, the tires have plenty of tread, like new, but are date coded to 2017, while driving it just wants to take off on me at times and I have to correct it fast

[mg2000]

Thanks for the response,did you just do sway bar bushings? Or upgrade to bigger sway bars.
I was thinking of starting with upgraded shocks,
Bigger front and rear sway bars to stiffen it and see how that works.Im a retired mechanic, so I’m able to do this work but looking to spend the money in the right place.

[mg2000]

We have done several trips, just 1 hr drives,
It just seems I am always working the steering wheel.
Then sometimes, in a turn or whatever it will just get loose on me. All the forums I have looked at , A lot of people calling it the tail wagging.

[mjlovefl]

I am new to RV's as well. I have a 32' Class C with the E450 Chassis.
I can't tell you how to fix it, but I find this thread very interesting since I am experiencing the exact same handling as you are describing.

I brought the RV on about a 6-7 trips so far. Most of them about 100-150 miles away. But one of them 1200 miles each way,

My real issue with it is that it makes driving more tiresome as you always are "handling" the vehicle.

[Gkiesel]

Heavier ie. thicker sway bars, sumo springs or air bags, new shocks/ struts all around and a track bar for the rear. Research Super Steer products. Send them a blank check.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Myrons 33C

I always tried to carry as little water as I could, as the tank was literally right on top of the bumper. Loading heavier in the middle always smoothed things out as well.

Since this is in conflict with my comment (#8) I wanted to clarify that I wasn't aware that your water tank was behind your rear axle and assumed it was centrally located like mine. Given the location information, I'm in agreement with Myrons 33C.

[Bobn1957]

When we bought our new to us 29 foot Itasca on the P32 chassis I had all those problems, I installed a new sway bar, RTC steering stabilizer, bushings , rear track bar and Air Tabs! I got the most improvement with the Air Tabs and they were the least expensive option! The track bar also provided some improvement.

[akeagle]

Originally Posted by mg2000

I’ve got a 2000 Minnie winnie30’,450 chassis.13,000 miles.
This is our first camping adventure as we are nearing retirement,and thought that a C class would fit our needs. It’s scary to drive, Need Help
steering feels real light in front end, feels like driving on ice. Tail wagging as some people say.ive read a lot about putting positive caster in the front, 5-6 degrees positive?
Anyone have part numbers for a bushing that I can install to get that much caster?
And do you think this positive caster will help?
It has factory suspension, shocks, springs, front & rear sway bars

Since our Minnie Winnie is a 2016 model and considerably newer than yours, my advice is probably almost irrelevant. Ours has about 72k miles now and I'm happy to report it still drives well.

Since yours is considerably older, I'd suspect that even with a lot lower miles than ours, your suspension and steering parts may be loosening up a lot. I'm talking about the rubber parts like pads, bushings, and other joints and pivot points. If I were in your position I'd try to find the best RV repair location in your area, or even be willing to make longer trips, as long as you can find a shop you feel can trust to do a good job at a reasonable price.

If you can afford it, don't be afraid to literally have your entire suspension replaced. There are some highly touted "exotic" suspensions out there that may be worthwhile.

Don't forget to have the tires looked at too. If you're not the original owner, someone could have slipped some inappropriate tires on your rig.

Good luck!

[Hermes2]

All good advice here. My two cents, as I had a similar Class C -- from cheap fix to $$$$.

• WEIGHT: Get the MH weighed and determine how much weight you're carrying front and back. My Class C was 30' long but on the 190" wheelbase, so I did not have much tail hanging out, or tail wag. Weighing your MH will also help you to determine what tire pressure you should be running to be sure they are correct for your load. Reconfigure your load if needed to move some weight forward if you can.
• TIRES: If they are over six years old, replace them.
• ALIGNMENT: Getting a good alignment from a reputable and experienced truck service shop will help tracking and steering.
• SAFE-T-PLUS: It's not just for tire blow-out safety. It will help maintain tracking and reduce some sway from passing trucks.
• SUSPENSION: A lot can be done to improve ride and handling on your 23 year old MH, within limits.
  • BUSHINGS: All of the suspension bushings are old, and probably stiff and cracking. Replace them.
  • SHOCKS: Age is less likely to have an effect on shocks than mileage, but if they show leakage or are "bouncy", replace them. This will also improve handling.
  • SWAY BARS, TRACK BARS, ETC.: The CHF (Cheap Handling Fix) may work for you. In essence it tightens up the sway bars to their attachment points to increase tension, thereby reducing suspension movement somewhat. Upgrading to heavier duty components and adding Sumo springs or air bags will improve handling, but the trade-off will be a harsher ride.

In the end, you gotta remember that it's a forty-year-old truck design and will never ride or handle as well as any modern SUV.

[Kobus]

I also had the same problem on my 2019 Minnie Winnie with 21,000 miles on the clock. Any car passing me on the road would cause some white knuckle driving corrections!
In the end the cause was quite simple. The front wheel bearings were too loose. I'm not sure if was due to normal settlement or whether it was torqued unproperly at manufacture. It was discovered when I took it in for realignment. The front wheel bearings were repacked and torqued properly and the wandering has all but disappeared.