F53 Suspension

[270S]

Just Returned with my New 270S. I am new to RVs and it is the first time a test drive would have been warranted. The F53 chassis drives like a vehicle that has 300, 000 miles and bad ball joints.

Long story Short - After talking to Dealer and other sources, solution is as follows:

To reduce/eliminate Steering sway - Safe T Plus
To reduce/eliminate "bad Ball Joints" - Sumo Springs Front & Rear
For Wind, ...Prevention - Hellwig Rear anti Sway Bar, Leave OEM front anti sway bar, no need for upgrade

Any Input appreciated!

[abjb]

$$$$ your dealer sees nothing but $$$$.

Ford doesn't align the front end, they don't know what will be built on it.
MAKE your dealer get an OK from Forest River for an alignment at their expense, you shouldn't have any problem with Forest River or your dealer...THEY BOTH know that it needs an alignment!

Check the air pressure in all tires, unless you've maxed out the load you do not need 90lbs pressure, we're lightly loaded and run 82lbs.

Take a look at this thread, a few people haven't made this adjustment (???), it is without a doubt the best DIY you will ever do to your motor home.
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ts-108828.html

This may be the longest thread on any forum, 4164 post as of the 10th.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/cheap...fix-72335.html

The best part about all of the above.... it's FREE and will make a HUGE difference

[wrapperman]

I agree with abjb. The alignment, air pressure and load placement makes all the difference in the world.
When we first bought our 378XL we thought we made the worst decision of our life with the bad driving experience.
We got it aligned, proper tire air pressure and loaded the RV properly. It was like night and day.
We didn't do anything that cost money. Either Forest River or your dealer will pay for the alignment. Just bring it to a reputable motorhome front end service center.
Do those thing and enjoy your RVing.

[270S]

What got me started as I mentioned was the "worn ball joint" feel, not any sway issue. That would be hard in mostly level Florida unless you are getting on or off an exit ramp - lol.

As I researched by talking first hand to many, the sumo springs and steering tensioner were paramount success stories - night and day ride difference.

As long as I am going to do it, the sway issue came up and I felt let me do that now as part of the total solution before I wish I had. I am proactive vs _______. I don't subscribe to the penny wise and $$$$ foolish philosophy.

I have a copy of the alignment at FR - everything is green! My local RV alignment specialist has yet to look at it, but he says what most need is a caster adjustment. He will do an alignment check and adjust if necessary, but I did not have any alignment issues driving home from dealer.

BTW, the dealer is not performing my upgrades, so he is not making a penny. He just provided excellent guidance.

[Philos3]

The happiest F53 owners seem to be Newmar Canyon Star owners starting at 39 feet plus inches. Beyond that, a lot of unhappy threads. F53 owners tend to be great salesman for dp, though not all dp have the best suspensions.

The longer the trip, the more the complaints, but it is a truck chassis. I read so much on this hoping that the aftermarket fixes would be brilliant. They are good, but not brilliant.

[270S]

Excuse ignorance - what is dp?
Never mind figured it out.
'have no desire for anything that LARGE

[wrapperman]

I think it means motorhomes with Diesel engines in the rear of the coach, hence pushed by a diesel motor. Diesel pusher.

[270S]

Granted, a DP should have a smoother ride, but requirement was to be under 30'. I assumed that a Class A would have been OK regardless without requiring any upgrades. Wrong, I am a newbie - lesson learned.

[wrapperman]

You will love your coach. That is why so many different coaches are being made because everyone's tastes are different.

[270S]

I am sure I will. Like I hear on many threads, the customer base is ________. They let this industry behave like bullies. And the customers let them get away with it! We should form a "union" of sorts to keep them honest and _____! I'm from the marine industry, and with no pun intended they walk on water compared to the rv industry. My opinion of that industry got way elevated over this past year in dealing with the rv industry. Everything is a 1-off individual level of professionalism. Some rare good guys and the rest _______.


Case in point - read the current axle & spring thread

[fbconsults]

Originally Posted by abjb

$$$$ your dealer sees nothing but $$$$.

Ford doesn't align the front end, they don't know what will be built on it.
MAKE your dealer get an OK from Forest River for an alignment at their expense, you shouldn't have any problem with Forest River or your dealer...THEY BOTH know that it needs an alignment!

Check the air pressure in all tires, unless you've maxed out the load you do not need 90lbs pressure, we're lightly loaded and run 82lbs.

Take a look at this thread, a few people haven't made this adjustment (???), it is without a doubt the best DIY you will ever do to your motor home.
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ts-108828.html

This may be the longest thread on any forum, 4164 post as of the 10th.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/cheap...fix-72335.html

The best part about all of the above.... it's FREE and will make a HUGE difference

I agree 100%, made a huge difference in my 2011 378TS. Just to add, I bought a 2016 Tiffin 38LA, and did the same mods as above, and again, outstanding results. I was not completely (who is) satisfied with the ride, so I added Koni shocks, and they improved the ride considerable. Much smoother over the expansion joints on the freeways and the other bumps. Not perfect, but IMO worth the money. Got them on sale at Camping World Installed for $750.00.

Happy Trails, Forrest

[dhind]

I have the same Motorhone as you do and here what I did;

Alignment - this should be paid by FR. mine was. Basically they are not aligned at the factory, FR expects the dealer to do it. Unless you ask, it does not happen. FR actually replaced my front tires cause they were so badly shaved from the delivery trip.

Tire Pressure : get this right, it makes a difference. I check mine regularly. You will eventually find a pressure you like to run.

Load Balance : Balance the load between the wheels as best you can. Your pretty limited on where to put stuff on the 270. Put don't put all the weight over one wheel.

Water : I try to travel with just enough water to keep everyone happy on the road. No point in have 500 pounds or more sloshing around. Similarly, I notice the unit handles differently when the black and grey are full. Dump when you can.

CHF : not a big change, but I felt it was worth it.

Rear Track Bars : this was the most significant change other than wheel alignment. Basically the back of the Motorhone body is now linked to the chassis and they move together. This change was large enough my wife noticed the difference from the passenger seat. She did not know I installed it, but said the MH felt more stable.

If your handy and happy to work under your vehicle both the CHF and rear track bar can be installed at home.

I do not have a Steering stabilizer, it on nice to have my list, but not essential for handling.

I should also let you know we live in Calgary, so mountains and prairie winds are typical for us.

You will find a MH drives different than most vehicles. Every try to carry 4x8 sheet of plywood in the wind? My experience is you need to stay with it at all times, eyes ahead, two hands on the wheel. You will find it may ride the humps in the roads. Basically your traveling between the car indents and the truck indents in the asphalt creating a unstable feel. Some roads are worst then others. Of course on a nice concrete interstate, it a pleasure, but we don't have a lot of those in Alberta.

I do think your dealer is seeing $$$, yours. My experience, the dealers are not MH experts, but good at money extraction.

Fire me an email if you want to talk about our units. This is our third year with ours and are still happy with the purchase. Not retired yet, so we get about 30 nights a year out. I think we have around 10,000km on the unit.




Dave & Michelle
2015 Georgetown 270SS
Calgary, Alberta

[bubbles]

I have a 2012 GT378 and here's what I did:

[db7512]

Front end alignment.

[Narkomed]

I bought my 270s last August used with 2500 miles. The front tires were worn out significantly uneven to the point it cannot be balanced. Also noticed harsh ride but not so much issie with sway. Anyway, I have installed sumo spring, new front tires, and front end alignment. The changes made ride much comfortable than before but now we notice a bit more bounce. We are planning to get new Bilstine shocks that is different than OEM Bilstine. I remember the feeling that is simiar to bad ball joint when the tire shop filled the front tires to 110 PSI when they were balancing the tires. Reducing tire pressure to 80 PSI made a big difference. We drove about 9000 mile so far. It still does not drive like class B we used to have but it is prettu enjoyable now.

[waiter21]

Before you spend any money on any aftermarket stuff;

Do the CHF

Cheap Handling Fix – and then some | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB

Do a front end alignment

..

[fbconsults]

Originally Posted by Narkomed

I bought my 270s last August used with 2500 miles. The front tires were worn out significantly uneven to the point it cannot be balanced. Also noticed harsh ride but not so much issie with sway. Anyway, I have installed sumo spring, new front tires, and front end alignment. The changes made ride much comfortable than before but now we notice a bit more bounce. We are planning to get new Bilstine shocks that is different than OEM Bilstine. I remember the feeling that is simiar to bad ball joint when the tire shop filled the front tires to 110 PSI when they were balancing the tires. Reducing tire pressure to 80 PSI made a big difference. We drove about 9000 mile so far. It still does not drive like class B we used to have but it is prettu enjoyable now.

Before you go to the Bilsteins I suggest you look at the reviews on the Koni shocks.
Happy Trails, Forrest

[Narkomed]

Originally Posted by fbconsults

Before you go to the Bilsteins I suggest you look at the reviews on the Koni shocks.
Happy Trails, Forrest

Actually, I read number of reviews. It looks that people are pretty happy with either brands and the users from the both camps reported very good improvements compare to OEM shocks. The reason I am going with Bilstein is that the set is about 250 dollars cheaper compare to Koni.

[Larry Mac]

Originally Posted by 270S

Just Returned with my New 270S. I am new to RVs and it is the first time a test drive would have been warranted. The F53 chassis drives like a vehicle that has 300, 000 miles and bad ball joints.

Long story Short - After talking to Dealer and other sources, solution is as follows:

To reduce/eliminate Steering sway - Safe T Plus
To reduce/eliminate "bad Ball Joints" - Sumo Springs Front & Rear
For Wind, ...Prevention - Hellwig Rear anti Sway Bar, Leave OEM front anti sway bar, no need for upgrade

Any Input appreciated!

So 270s how much money was necessary to do this to get the ride you wanted? I am going to the big Tampa RV show next week, so I'd love to know what those costs are so I can mentally add that into quoted prices.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RVnut]

Wow I guess we are just easy going folks.. We have done nothing to our coach and have 11000 miles in one year and the wife and I both drive.. No complaints.. We dont expect the coach to handle like a small SUV and try to not go over 65.. I will add that we are always towing a jeep, horse trailer or race trailer.