Passing trucks causing sway

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by torino421

I was thinking it may be where that tag is attached too, but again I doubt it doesn't have one.

You're probably right. I would suggest he put a heavier one on.

[torino421]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

You're probably right. I would suggest he put a heavier one on.

Agreed, I did both front and rear plus bilstein shocks and it made a huge difference on my rig. Tire pressure is also important, I run 65 up front and 80 in the rear.

[toddlafond]

I just had Roadmaster's front and rear anti-sway bars installed on my 2005 Forester and it made a HUGH difference. It's not perfect, but it made a big difference. Next I will put on the steering stablizer on.

[TakeItEasy]

I replaced the front and rear sway bars on my e450. I also put a Trac bar on and a safe t plus steering stabilizer. Those four things plus an alignment made a difference on my e450. Trucks still move me but I feel more planted.

[jjSpeedwagon]

On our new concord I put on safe t steer and tightened air bags up some and big difference. Start with your steering then drive a while. You can add to much at once and make your rig so stiff it handels bad. There is a lot of over kill on this thread. Any high profile vehicle will sway and they should. ( some )

[SatDAve36]

I have no stock or ownership in this company,
Airtab.com

I have installed them on the rear of my 2501 and the 12 ft. trailer I tow... 70 miles an hour and very little tug when I pass them or they pass me.

I can comfortably drive with one hand though I don't recommend it.

definitely improves stability, but can't say much about mpg since I pull a trailer with two motorcycles......

[robbdrell]

People swear by Airtabs, but I personally not know if they work. I hear alot of research behind them

[benagi]

Helwig front and rear sway bars, Bilstein steering stabilizer, front end alignment. May add track bar later. Sure handles a lot better now.

[newRVer]

Originally Posted by torino421

I'd be shocked if you don't have a factory front sway bar, look again!
I think I see it in your second picture.

You might be right Torino. It was almost night when I took the picture and unfortunately I did not aim the camera high enough when taking the picture. I will have to go back later and look in the daylight.

[newRVer]

Originally Posted by TakeItEasy

I replaced the front and rear sway bars on my e450. I also put a Trac bar on and a safe t plus steering stabilizer. Those four things plus an alignment made a difference on my e450. Trucks still move me but I feel more planted.

This is actually the direction I am leaning. Alignment/caster change is done and am looking at upgrading the front/back sway bars with Hellwig units. And while the rear sway is off I will be adding a SuperSteer SS450 Trac Bar. At that point I will drive it the rest of this season and and if not satisfied will probably look to add a steering stabilizer (Safe-T-Plus?) before next season starts.

[vwexpert]

Here is a cool link on Class C handling.
http://blueox.com/wp-content/uploads...isHandling.pdf

[newRVer]

Originally Posted by vwexpert

Here is a cool link on Class C handling.
http://blueox.com/wp-content/uploads...isHandling.pdf

That is a nice little cheat sheet

[newRVer]

So the OEM sway bar on the front appears to be 23mm in width and both the Hellwig and Blue Ox replacements are the same size at almost 35mm. Since they are the same size is there any reason to prefer one over the other other than cost?

[Gidyupgo]

new, I believe they are comparable. Also, if you DIY, the rear trac and sway share the same sway bat "D" clamp bolts on the axle so are a good pair to do together.
Oh, and there are too many satisfied customers to be overkill btw, in case you're wondering about that other post up there.

[newRVer]

Originally Posted by Gidyupgo

new, I believe they are comparable. Also, if you DIY, the rear trac and sway share the same sway bat "D" clamp bolts on the axle so are a good pair to do together.
Oh, and there are too many satisfied customers to be overkill btw, in case you're wondering about that other post up there.

Agreed on doing the trac and sway bar together to save some work. And I'm certain that the amount of feedback on the topic with the positive results warrants the additional cost and effort on my part.

[Ronman]

I replaced the sway bars on my class C,the sway bars they come with are to small the helliwig sway bars are much bigger , and replaced the steering stabilizer,and had it align.It handles like a dream.A pleasure to drive.

[Gidyupgo]

Great to hear Romnan. Well worth the effort/cost.

[benagi]

Originally Posted by Ronman

I replaced the sway bars on my class C,the sway bars they come with are to small the helliwig sway bars are much bigger , and replaced the steering stabilizer,and had it align.It handles like a dream.A pleasure to drive.

X2

[ffpmdefi]

Originally Posted by jubbabnr

CAF (cheap ass fix) did the most for my Encounter 36BH...wish I had done it before steering stabilizer and rear trac bar...you will have to search for details but on my chassis it involved changing the tension on the existing sway bars

A guy has a you-tube video on adjusting existing sway bars on the Ford F53 chassis. I did it and it works but for me not enough. It made 100% improvement on back roads where your speeds are less than 60 mph. When I got on I 75 doing 65-70 and 18 wheelers came by at 80. I had to get off the next exit. I'm hoping the Blue Ox front and rear stabilizer bars make the difference. I'm no lightweight I drove 18 wheeler s for 4 years, Fire rescues, Fire engines and aerial ladders for 30 years. This week is the first time I ever drove a RV. If the Blue Ox system does not fix this I will be selling. Can someone tell me that it does work before spending another couple thousand? Driving a FR3 30DS . Salesman told me that a Class A sways less than a same length Class C. Is this true?

[ffpmdefi]

Hi. As stated in another reply about a week ago Im testing out new sway bars. I did the hole relocation on my 2016 FR3 30DS F53 chassis front and rear. Small improvement but it did seem better.GVW is only 16660lbs, weight distribution is 37% front and 63% rear. Installed a new front sway bar 1 3/4" thick, additional small improvement, next I installed a rear track bar, WOW 75% improvement with side to side movement out on I75 with 18 wheelers passing. Ordered a new additional rear sway bar thats added to not replacing. Will be installing next week. This should help with top swaying side to side. Im doing one at a time to see what makes the biggest difference. At this point if someone is going to install just one of the three I would suggest the rear track bar. Ford already realized the front needed one so they come with it now. What Im trying to understand, do all gas light weight motorhomes handle like this. Still at this point I have no intensions driving this vehicle up to the mountains. Im learning quickly that $90K to $100K for a motorhome is on the low cheap end of the scale. My 2016 FR3 interior seems very cheap. First time I used the shower the P trap leaked water, shower door frame was not caulked and leaked water out on the floor, Bottom of all the drawers, I had to caulk because if any weight in them at all would cause them to pop out. I renailed a lot of the wood trim because it was loose. I guess a good quality motorhome might be out of my price range.