Mirada upgrades

[Kenkay]

No I put a super steer rear seat bar p/n 1139-144 you leave the factory one on and add this one to it it is 1.7500 diameter and put an super steer p/n SS401-TB trac bar and i also put p/n 41-180 safe-t-plus on the front
Now it can be driven down the road
Without white knuckle and butt pucker
Who ever designed this 35 foot unit without this stuff clearly never had to drive it
If your the proud owner of these units just go to www.supersteerparts.com
Or call 1-888-898-3281 and ask for Dave and they will fix all issues you have

[pashooter]

Originally Posted by Kenkay

No I put a super steer rear seat bar p/n 1139-144 you leave the factory one on and add this one to it it is 1.7500 diameter and put an super steer p/n SS401-TB trac bar and i also put p/n 41-180 safe-t-plus on the front
Now it can be driven down the road
Without white knuckle and butt pucker
Who ever designed this 35 foot unit without this stuff clearly never had to drive it
If your the proud owner of these units just go to www.supersteerparts.com
Or call 1-888-898-3281 and ask for Dave and they will fix all issues you have

OK - understand. You added both the rear trac bar and the aux rear anti-sway bar. Been surfing Henderson's site and thinking along the same lines myself.

These things are all built to a price point... and what most people see on the dealer's lot is paint, decals, decor, and features... not road manners. An additional thousand or two dollars worth of handling mods to the stock Ford chassis won't typically be perceived as added value, especially if the Brand X motor home with the same features (but without the mods) sells for a few thousand less. So I can understand why they don't add this stuff at the factory.

I'm just glad there are things we can do to improve the stock handling.

[WDW]

Hey I appreciate the conversation here! The Coachmen forum doesn't seem to have many issues / posts as compared to the FR-3 and Georgetown sites. I'm not sure if that's good or bad????


Life is always better under a Palm tree...

2016 Mirada 35BH "Trolley"
2016 Jeep Cherokee Latitude

Previous- Jayco Greyhawk 31FK

Western NY

[Bdogdt47]

We picked up our Mirada, 35LS today. A few items needed fixing and the dealer had already done them upon arrival. Found a rock chip in the windshield which was probably done in transit from the factory. The dealer called a mobile service and presto chango the chip was repaired before we left the lot. The unit drove beautifully on the one hour drive home with the tire pressure set at 95psi as recommended, instead of going with what the tire manufacter recommends.

[Kenkay]

Originally Posted by kenkay

no i put a super steer rear seat bar p/n 1139-144 you leave the factory one on and add this one to it it is 1.7500 diameter and put an super steer p/n ss401-tb trac bar and i also put p/n 41-180 safe-t-plus on the front
now it can be driven down the road
without white knuckle and butt pucker
who ever designed this 35 foot unit without this stuff clearly never had to drive it
if your the proud owner of these units just go to www.supersteerparts.com
or call 1-888-898-3281 and ask for dave and they will fix all issues you have

[Kenkay]

This will fix all fords f53 problems

[WDW]

We actually put the Blue Safe T on at the recommendation of the product manufacturer. It has like 225 foot pounds of pressure as compared to around 175 on the catalog listed Tan unit. They recommend the Blue unit for us because we're 37' long.

We having the SS 401 Trac Bar installed next week. After that we'll see if an upgrade sway bar is still needed.

I like your rear sway bar - that looks beefy!

Life is always better under a Palm tree...

2016 Mirada 35BH "Trolley"
2016 Jeep Cherokee Latitude

Previous- Jayco Greyhawk 31FK

Western NY

[pashooter]

Kenkay & WDW - question for both you guys - I'm planning on adding a Safe-T-Plus to my rig and I see the installation instructions say you have to replace the factory steering stop bolts with new ones they provide with the kit if your tie bar travel is greater than +/-6". Did either one of you find it necessary to do this? Seems like measuring the steering travel could be a bit of a PITA.

[WDW]

I had it professionally done at the same time we had the alignment done so I'm not sure. I will try to ask the mechanic on Monday when I'm there for the Trac Bar.


Life is always better under a Palm tree...

2016 Mirada 35BH "Trolley"
2016 Jeep Cherokee Latitude

Previous- Jayco Greyhawk 31FK

Western NY

[pashooter]

Thanks WDW. Taking mine for an alignment at a local truck shop a week from Tuesday (11/24) but figured I could do this install myself... plan to do the rear track bar as well.

[Bdogdt47]

I have had no difficulty with steering my new 35LS. I learned with my last (used) F53 chassis, that needed a good alignment with some shimming and the tire pressure was incorrectly set by the dealer to the maximum recommended by the tire manufacterer, not via the tire pressure recommended on the coach sticker. Once the coach was aligned and the tire pressure set property, the coach drove straight down the road. My new unit seems to be aligned properly and I am not feeling the need to add aftermarket equipment. Have you thought of having the alignment checked as a first step?

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by pashooter

Kenkay & WDW - question for both you guys - I'm planning on adding a Safe-T-Plus to my rig and I see the installation instructions say you have to replace the factory steering stop bolts with new ones they provide with the kit if your tie bar travel is greater than +/-6". Did either one of you find it necessary to do this? Seems like measuring the steering travel could be a bit of a PITA.

Yes, it is necessary or you will exceed the 6" travel max by about 1/4".

Note: The nut runs all the way down to the shoulder of the bolt to get the proper travel. I also used a drop of red loctite on the threads of the new bolt.

[Duckogram]

Measuring is easy. With wheels centered, use a straight edge to drop a line down from the inside of the left spring to the tie rod. Then mark 6" either side of that point. Use the same straight edge to check full deflection left and right. The 18K F53 chassis has a 50* cut. With the longer stops you will be reducing that down to about 48* which is not noticable.

[pashooter]

Originally Posted by Bdogdt47

I have had no difficulty with steering my new 35LS. I learned with my last (used) F53 chassis, that needed a good alignment with some shimming and the tire pressure was incorrectly set by the dealer to the maximum recommended by the tire manufacterer, not via the tire pressure recommended on the coach sticker. Once the coach was aligned and the tire pressure set property, the coach drove straight down the road. My new unit seems to be aligned properly and I am not feeling the need to add aftermarket equipment. Have you thought of having the alignment checked as a first step?

Definitely planning on having the alignment done so the unit tracks properly berfore adding any mods... just figure the stabilizer and track bar will help eliminate any tendency to wander and tail wag making it more pleasant to drive.

Thanks, Duckogram - looks like you made the measurements with the rig on a lift which would make it easier... but no reason I couldn't do that on the driveway by driving it back and forth enough to turn the wheel from side to side.

[Duckogram]

It's not on a lift. Just raised the front jacks enough to take the weight off the tires for the testing process. Otherwise it sat on my driveway for the installation.

[pashooter]

Great idea, Duckogram. Of course you're not REALLY supposed to do that, but that's exactly the kind of thing I'd do anyway... just didn't think of it.

There's plenty of room under these things to work comfortably on a creeper... heck, in some spots you can even sit up under there. I can't see the harm in sitting it on the jacks long enough to do that test... and just make sure I stay in an area that would be "safe" should the jacks fail and it settle back on the wheels... extremely unlikely.

Thanks for the tip!