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Old 05-06-2006, 07:51 AM   #1
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I have set the tire pressures to 90 front and 85 in the rear. I noticed some improvement but I am still working my butt off to keep her tracking straight. What is the next step a rear or front trac bar? If I go with a rear bar what is the difference Henderson Rear Trac Bar and a Roadmaster Suspension Solutions Anti-Sway Bar?
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Old 05-06-2006, 07:51 AM   #2
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I have set the tire pressures to 90 front and 85 in the rear. I noticed some improvement but I am still working my butt off to keep her tracking straight. What is the next step a rear or front trac bar? If I go with a rear bar what is the difference Henderson Rear Trac Bar and a Roadmaster Suspension Solutions Anti-Sway Bar?
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Old 05-06-2006, 09:05 AM   #3
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rvskipper:
What is the next step a rear or front trac bar? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I am very reluctant to start throwing money at a situation that hasn't been completely addressed using the least amount of money.

I would suggest in fact urge you to get a computerized before and after front end alignment including assuring that a thrust alignment has also accomplished.

See if there is any difference between the before and after computer printout.

Sometimes it also goes to driving technique. Some people drive their motorhomes with their attention span only scanning the front 20 feet of the motorhome. This style of driving has been proven by experts to cause an enormous amount of see-sawing on the steering wheel.

The technique they instruct is to focus your attention down the road as much as 200 to 300 feet in front of your motorhome and steer toward that focus point. It's been proven that this technique often eliminates the need to accomplish constant steering.

Please rule out the FEA. "Then" bring your "2006" motorhome to an authorized Workhorse Service Center and have them go out with you on the road. You drive the MH first and show them what you are talking about and then allow them to drive it and see if they can reproduce the constant steering effort you're experiencing.

Anybody can start throwing money at a problem but you need to get at the root core of the problem in order to apply a proper solution.

A 2006 33V shouldn't need a lot of help with after market components. I know I have a zillion of them installed on my MH.
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Old 05-06-2006, 11:40 AM   #4
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As you can see in my signature line, I've spent a chunk of change on chassis improvements to fight handling problems. It's gotten better, but my 33V can still be a handful to drive in crosswinds. The last piece is a rear track bar which is going on this month.

I'm assuming your 33V has the same 208 inch wheelbase mine does. That shorter platform also gives the 33V a 51.6% wheelbase/total length ratio, as compared to 53% for the 35U for example. So we've got a larger percentage of our coach/weight hanging out behind the rear wheels, and it's on a smaller base, so we're more likely to have some handling problems. (as an example, on a trip up the Columbia River gorge towards Portland, we were fighting strong winds and I was worn out trying to keep the rig between the lines at just 55 mph. A 35U with a similar toad zoomed by me - why wasn't he being beat up by the winds? Better weight distribution on a larger platform? Maybe). The rear track bar is supposed to help make the coach more stable in cross winds and "dirty air" from passing trucks.

My coach behaves much better by itself than it does with a 4,000 lb Jeep in tow. With the Jeep back there I was getting a lot of the "tail wagging the dog" feeling. A different toad (lighter & lower center of gravity) would have helped, but I like the Jeep for other reasons, so it wasn't going anyhwere. The sway bars did help reduce the "tail..dog" quite a bit, but didn't do much for the crosswinds.

I would encourage you to get your coach weighed, and preferably a 4-corner weigh rather than just doing each axle. I've done it twice, fully loaded on a trip, and each time was 19,000 to 19,100. Based on those weights I looked at Michelin's inflation schedule on line, and I was able to drop my pressures to 82/80 while still leaving 8-10psi cushion. The 90/85 psi's are correct if you're at or near GVWR, but if you're well under like I am it just makes for a harsher ride.
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Old 05-06-2006, 06:16 PM   #5
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I have a '05 Voyage 33V, and recently went from Mass. to Florida and back again. At times my water tank was 2/3 full, and I don't feel I need any suspension upgrades.
I actually noticed that this MH performed much better than my previous coach on a P30 chassis. There wasn't any tail wagging or other bad behavior, even with the toad. Of course the Voyage is not the higher ceiling version, so that could have some bearing on your problem. My wife did much of the driving, and when we had 30 MPH cross winds did need to slow to 40 MPH, but other times with trucks and more normal cross winds, we didn't notice any bad handling at 55 to 65 MPH.

The only other things would be loading and how much water was in the tanks. Unless your toad is wagging the dog -- is the hitch level? --
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Old 05-06-2006, 06:21 PM   #6
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I think both DriVer and LongGone are giving you some very good advice. Checking the wheel alignment, getting weighed, and checking your tire pressure are all easy and inexpensive things you can do before investing in parts. If you do all these and find out all is within optimum tolerence, I would then try the Rear Trac Bar. I recommend that only because it made a big difference for us. Good Luck!
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Old 05-07-2006, 09:38 AM   #7
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[quote]I have set the tire pressures to 90 front and 85 in the rear. I noticed some improvement but I am still working my butt off to keep her tracking straight. What is the next step a rear or front trac bar? If I go with a rear bar what is the difference Henderson Rear Trac Bar and a Roadmaster Suspension Solutions Anti-Sway Bar?

The answer....DOLLARS....If you are looking at anti sway bars, as I have installed..JC Whitney has the HELWIG Anti Sway Bars for the W-22/24 for both front and rear. Cost...about 400.00 dollars for both sets.

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Old 05-07-2006, 11:03 AM   #8
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LG & Mike, good info,that was my first inklin about the tow bar being level.
It would be very interesting to drive the SKIPPERS RV and compare with a like
RV. As I have a 02, W-20 with 19.5 tires and I do not think I have any of his
problems. But again all of this can be perceived differant by another individual.
As I think back about MY porposing problem on my WH chasssie, I asked half a doz.
people before anyone thought they had a problem with the bouncing front end.
As most were pleased with the Cadillac ride!

I run cold air pressure 85lbs. front and 80lbs rear. Installed front air bags
{springs} before WH instlled Bilsteins. Just installed Monroe in back, did not
have a problem ????? Just thinking back about the P*** poor shocks I took of
the front end, and figured the the rear was of the samme quality!!

And I do tow a Jeep Liberty also. TENN.
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Old 05-07-2006, 01:22 PM   #9
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Driver's suggestions are good, start with the least expensive solutions first. But once you have exhausted that, I would consider the track bars. Even though there is some overlap in how the various solutions affect the driving, they each have a primary area that they affect.

If you were having problems with rocking, say as you turn in/out of a driveway, I would recommend anti-sway bars. What you describe insn't that.

Track bars are designed to keep the axles centered under the vehicles. On leaf sprung vehicles like the W22 track bars are often not used because the leafs will keep the axles centered. Unfortunately this is not always true, especially for vehicles that are heavy or have lots of sail area (our RV's certainly qualify). The front and rear track bars solve two slightly different symptoms.

If you were describing a situation where it feels like your toad is pushing you around the rear track bar would be the first to install. This is not what you are describing.

The situation you describe is more indicative of the need for a front track bar. I would only install the rear track bar after doing the front.

I had a similar problem as yours and installed a front track bar. I have not felt the need to install a rear track bar
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Old 05-09-2006, 12:31 PM   #10
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Had the same problem with my 33v. I had it alined at a truck aliment center and they adjusted the caster and camber. droved it to florida almost unbearable, fighting the steering all the way, tail wagging. had it alilned a a rv dealer (Herberson Swanson) in holiday, fl. they readjusted the caster and camber it now drives ok. it is in the adjustment limits of the caster and camber and the experience or knowledge of the person doing it.
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Old 05-09-2006, 12:47 PM   #11
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RON55:
Had the same problem with my 33v. I had it aligned at a truck aliment center and they adjusted the caster and camber. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Had this alignment shop checked, the caster and camber can be reset however the servicer must call Workhorse to get the proper procedure as to how they want it done. Normally the caster and camber is set at the factory and requires no resetting. You are not the first one that this has happened to where the C&C was set and then subsequently reset.

In the 06 Chassis Guide, Workhorse does not list any adjustment for caster and camber and the toe requires that the wheels point just about straight ahead. Harberson Swanson is a Workhorse Authorized Service Center and it would have been great if you had them run a scan on your engine with the Tech-II to see if there were any anomalies regarding your misfire and poor mileage performance.
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Old 05-09-2006, 04:25 PM   #12
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I have had the same problem with my 38' on a w24 (The Constant Steering)Took it in for a aligment and when I looked what they did, They added alum. shims/wedges between the springs and the axel? It helped but is still not right,
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Old 05-09-2006, 05:11 PM   #13
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by nobuggybob:
They added alum. shims/wedges between the springs and the axel? It helped but is still not right, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Do you have a computer printout before and after? It's essential to know what the settings were before and after.
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Old 05-09-2006, 05:42 PM   #14
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No I don't but I will be at the dealership Wednesday and will ask for it.It just don't seem right to have to add shims like this??????
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Old 05-09-2006, 06:06 PM   #15
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by nobuggybob:
No I don't but I will be at the dealership Wednesday and will ask for it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Might be too late. You could be looking at anyone's FEA report and you might not be able to tell the difference. The best report is the one you see coming out of the printer when your vehicle in on the FEA machine.
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Old 05-09-2006, 06:43 PM   #16
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DriVer
As you know, in my quest to find a new MH we have road tested many WH chassis (W20, W22, W24) and coach lengths, one with you aboard. I am extremely critical of ride and handling, and I have not noticed this behavior on any I've tried. My only thoughts are possibly a loading/balance issue -- since all the one's I tried were new without water, propane, and supplies on board.
My W20 with 19.5 wheels handles very well, I haven't noticed any sway, wander or push from trucks, etc. except for some very strong cross winds, but with the large box, you will feel the wind. This MH handles better that the infamous pallet truck I used to drive (while upright).
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Old 05-09-2006, 06:51 PM   #17
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MikeT:
This MH handles better that the infamous pallet truck I used to drive (while upright). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>That's right Mike, keep the clean side up ....

Hope 2 C U on Chat Thursday Night at 9:00pm Eastern.
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