Side to Side Rolling

Y-Guy · 05-13-2007, 09:11 PM

We got back from our weekend trip. This was the second time we drove this Highway with the Winnebago, and I've made the same trip with our previous 5er a dozen times. The road is fairly narrow in parts, and had a new layer of asphalt put on a year or so ago. On this trip the side to side rolling feeling seems pretty extreme. Never felt like I was going to roll over, but sure did feel like it was bouncing side to side at times. I plan to weight the rig and check my pressure compared to the actual weight.

But this feeling is a concern to me. I'd like to stiffen that up while hopefully not totally making the rig drive like a school bus. Is this something air bags would help, or shocks?

We had 2/3 fuel, about 18 gallons of black and 25 gallons of grey water - empty fresh water. Also had the ATV trailer hooked up.

Any thoughts? I'll be going the same route in a couple of weeks so I'm curious once I weight and adjust the air pressure in the tires if that helps or not.

Y-Guy · 05-13-2007, 09:11 PM

We got back from our weekend trip. This was the second time we drove this Highway with the Winnebago, and I've made the same trip with our previous 5er a dozen times. The road is fairly narrow in parts, and had a new layer of asphalt put on a year or so ago. On this trip the side to side rolling feeling seems pretty extreme. Never felt like I was going to roll over, but sure did feel like it was bouncing side to side at times. I plan to weight the rig and check my pressure compared to the actual weight.

But this feeling is a concern to me. I'd like to stiffen that up while hopefully not totally making the rig drive like a school bus. Is this something air bags would help, or shocks?

We had 2/3 fuel, about 18 gallons of black and 25 gallons of grey water - empty fresh water. Also had the ATV trailer hooked up.

Any thoughts? I'll be going the same route in a couple of weeks so I'm curious once I weight and adjust the air pressure in the tires if that helps or not.

ichn2go · 05-14-2007, 01:36 AM

Weighing, adjusting the load if necessary and correct air pressure will help. When my rear tires are low I find when I am stopped in the left lane and cars/trucks passing on the right the wind effect is more severe. Correct air pressure lessens this...Also try filling the fresh water tank when you travel 100 gal x 8.3 lbs = 830 lbs.
Now I don't want to start a war or major argument..but really,,how much better mileage are you gonna get with a empty water tank..as I said before I prefer the ride...Get the correct tire pressure and add the water and see what happens. If push comes to shove you can always add front and rear track bars...Good Miles

Y-Guy · 05-14-2007, 08:35 AM

Thanks seems like I'm on the right path with the scales. Wish I could get a weight on each tire, may need to see if my friend at the concrete plant could help me out, if not a standard weight will be better then nothing.

ichn2go · 05-14-2007, 11:02 AM

Now,, again I really don't know how much differance it will make but in the Workhorse Manual they tell you to use the 1/2 the distance between the tires as the midway of the coach when weighing the four corners ..
I would assume that you would want to use this for front and back weights also..

I always used the total length of the coach divided by two as the center for weighing evidently I was wrong...Good Miles

Mach428 · 05-14-2007, 12:08 PM

Not to sound mean or anything, but could it be that you're over-compensating in the steering? I found myself doing this when I first bought my Class A. I was trying to get 'er to perform like a car and when it strayed just a bit, I would turn the wheel in the opposite direction.

Finally, when I let the coach be a motorhome, it seemed like the swaying stopped! It was me.

NeilV · 05-14-2007, 04:10 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mach428:
Not to sound mean or anything, but could it be that you're over-compensating in the steering? I found myself doing this when I first bought my Class A. I was trying to get 'er to perform like a car and when it strayed just a bit, I would turn the wheel in the opposite direction.

Finally, when I let the coach be a motorhome, it seemed like the swaying stopped! It was me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You are on the right track. When you are in a motorhome your seat bottom is almost 6 feet above the road and your head is almost 8 feet above the road. The effect is similar to being in the crows nest of a ship and any swaying is amplified due to the height.

Aftermarket sway bars can help but there may be some trade-offs with harshness under certain road conditions.