CHF Guide

[wayne and sherry]

Duckogram, where did you get the hell wig links that you used on your CHF? What did you have to shell out for them?
Thank You.


JeNNY (2015 FR3 / 30DS)
2000 Jeep TJ Moab Rock Crawler
2013 Jeep JK

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by wayne and sherry

Duckogram, where did you get the hell wig links that you used on your CHF? What did you have to shell out for them?
Thank you ...

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post793880

[hammer55]

I got the hellwigs for the front, just have to make a appointment to have them installed

[b1barnes]

After reading way too many posts on CHF I talked to the local Truck Chassis shop that does many straight trucks and both WorkHorse and FMS RV chassis work. They immediately knew what I was asking and stated. Ford ships the sway bars in the minimal position as they have no idea what the end user will put on the frame. the RV manufacturer is to make the set up, but almost none do as every minute is cost.

Given the FR3 can put the chassis at the high end they recommended moving the links. I asked about bushing wear and the response was yes they will wear faster, but they also stated most RV's never see the kind of milage that would wear them out.

They also said, doesn't anyone wonder why FMC would put two sets of holes if they were not intended to be used. So given the better stability and safety I made the change over today. I also installed the Safe T Plus stabilizer.

All is done, set and tested and I like what I feel.

[Online_17]

Originally Posted by b1barnes

After reading way too many posts on CHF I talked to the local Truck Chassis shop that does many straight trucks and both WorkHorse and FMS RV chassis work. They immediately knew what I was asking and stated. Ford ships the sway bars in the minimal position as they have no idea what the end user will put on the frame. the RV manufacturer is to make the set up, but almost none do as every minute is cost.

Given the FR3 can put the chassis at the high end they recommended moving the links. I asked about bushing wear and the response was yes they will wear faster, but they also stated most RV's never see the kind of milage that would wear them out.

They also said, doesn't anyone wonder why FMC would put two sets of holes if they were not intended to be used. So given the better stability and safety I made the change over today. I also installed the Safe T Plus stabilizer.

All is done, set and tested and I like what I feel.

Wow....good to know...thanks for sharing!

[Technorick]

b1 Barnes

I just ordered the safe t plus today from a place in Washington State for a considerable savings over CW. I don't trust my local CW to install it anyway. I also ordered the mounting brackets. I watched the installation video and it looks like I can install myself.

Did you Install yours on the drivers side or the passenger side? I just read another post where the owner mentioned he installed his steering stabilized on the passenger side.

Please share how you found the installation and fine tuning.

Thanks.


2014 FR330 DS

[b1barnes]

Hi,

Got mine from Ultra RV Products. The price with bracket for the tan was $534. Free shipping. Ordered at 11:30 and at 12:30 got the shipping details back. Great service. Safe-T-Plus gave me the info on the bracket as I kept finding conflicting info. Seem 30 feet and under on some models uses a smaller bracket. Mine is the 30DS which is 31.5 feet.

There are videos out there, but they all have lifts. So not being a small guy the only way to enter and exit the underside was from the stair area with the stairs up. The instructions has the fixed bracket mounting on the Passenger side for F53 chassis with 19.5 inch wheels and 31.5 feet. Guess I could have put the jacks down, but I didn't want to be under there pushing and pulling. Visions of making the headline news, Man dies under RV.....

I did have to buy a 1-⅛ deep socket as a standard one just will not do. Lucky I had breaker bar and about 36 inches of pipe as I needed all of it to get the spring U-bolt bolts off. Self locking nuts which required a lot of force all the way off, even with good old WD40. Once that fixed bracket was on, mounting the cylinder and tie rod bolts and adjustable bracket was much easier.

1st test drive, pulled right. Followed the instructions and reset it with my wife holding the wheel. The instructions say leave the engine running, but hey, your working right around the exhaust. More visions of trips to the ER. I marked the location of the brackets before loosening the bolts and it moved about ¼ of an inch. 2nd test drive pulled left. So remarked the bracket and moved it half way between the 1st mark and 2nd and hey,,, right down the center of the road.

I did the CHF at the same time so all is done and as I said before, I like the feel. Not so top heavy wobble. Steering seems more solid.

So it was not technically difficult in as much as physically as hey I am pushing 60. Yes just a youngster to some, but much more work than I have done in a while.

So good luck and be careful....

[WGFR3]

Originally Posted by b1barnes

After reading way too many posts on CHF I talked to the local Truck Chassis shop that does many straight trucks and both WorkHorse and FMS RV chassis work. They immediately knew what I was asking and stated. Ford ships the sway bars in the minimal position as they have no idea what the end user will put on the frame. the RV manufacturer is to make the set up, but almost none do as every minute is cost.

Given the FR3 can put the chassis at the high end they recommended moving the links. I asked about bushing wear and the response was yes they will wear faster, but they also stated most RV's never see the kind of milage that would wear them out.

They also said, doesn't anyone wonder why FMC would put two sets of holes if they were not intended to be used. So given the better stability and safety I made the change over today. I also installed the Safe T Plus stabilizer.

All is done, set and tested and I like what I feel.

Thank you for sharing, that is great to know!

Weldon

[WGFR3]

Originally Posted by b1barnes

Hi,

Got mine from Ultra RV Products. The price with bracket for the tan was $534. Free shipping. Ordered at 11:30 and at 12:30 got the shipping details back. Great service. Safe-T-Plus gave me the info on the bracket as I kept finding conflicting info. Seem 30 feet and under on some models uses a smaller bracket. Mine is the 30DS which is 31.5 feet.

There are videos out there, but they all have lifts. So not being a small guy the only way to enter and exit the underside was from the stair area with the stairs up. The instructions has the fixed bracket mounting on the Passenger side for F53 chassis with 19.5 inch wheels and 31.5 feet. Guess I could have put the jacks down, but I didn't want to be under there pushing and pulling. Visions of making the headline news, Man dies under RV.....

I did have to buy a 1-⅛ deep socket as a standard one just will not do. Lucky I had breaker bar and about 36 inches of pipe as I needed all of it to get the spring U-bolt bolts off. Self locking nuts which required a lot of force all the way off, even with good old WD40. Once that fixed bracket was on, mounting the cylinder and tie rod bolts and adjustable bracket was much easier.

1st test drive, pulled right. Followed the instructions and reset it with my wife holding the wheel. The instructions say leave the engine running, but hey, your working right around the exhaust. More visions of trips to the ER. I marked the location of the brackets before loosening the bolts and it moved about ¼ of an inch. 2nd test drive pulled left. So remarked the bracket and moved it half way between the 1st mark and 2nd and hey,,, right down the center of the road.

I did the CHF at the same time so all is done and as I said before, I like the feel. Not so top heavy wobble. Steering seems more solid.

So it was not technically difficult in as much as physically as hey I am pushing 60. Yes just a youngster to some, but much more work than I have done in a while.

So good luck and be careful....

Thank you for sharing, I will use your idea of marking the bracket location before moving. I installed the Roadmaster Reflex but I still need to finish centering as it pulls slightly to the right.

Weldon

[PDG]

Last year before my summer round the country trip (11.5K miles) I installed the front CHF fix. Last week I installed the rear CHF fix. Both the front and rear were not difficult to install. I did use a floor jack on the front mod and for the rear used both the leveling jacks and floor jack. Wish I had your installation guide at the time, would have been cool with all your pictures and directions.

At the same time I also installed the Roadmaster RSSA steering stabilizer and was very lucky not needing any adjustments after the road test. I lined up the wheels using a flat 1 X 8 shelf measuring the center distance between the two front tires and stood the shelf on the 1" side to make sure the flat side of the shelf was flat against the tire treads. As I said I felt very lucky not to need any adjustments after install.

Drove about 20 miles on the Florida Trpke after the install and I noticed a positive difference right away. Looking forward to my next weeks outing, going about 400 miles roundtrip for a few days to make sure we will be ready for our next July trip out west.

[Technorick]

Barnes.

Thanks for that info and detail on install. I was planing on doing my install at level street using the hydro jacks and jack stands to get the clearance. Coincidently I purchased from the same place. Was your bracket F119k2.5?


2014 FR330 DS

[b1barnes]

Yes that us the bracket I used.

[spicyrv]

I saw at the beginning of the thread that it was stated a FR rep recommended against this mod. While I won't give the name of the employee, this year a FR employee familiar with the FR3 recommended this change. He said the settings on the chassis are set by Ford, not by FR. The location of the sway bar connections is a generic one and, in his opinion, changing it wouldn't have an impact on safety while it would help with handling.

I'm not handy with automotive repairs, so I had a shop (recommended by my FR dealer) complete the CHF and "tighten up" the steering. I think the changes made a big difference in my overall comfort driving, especially in moderate to high winds.

I know there are nay-sayers about this mod, but with so many people completing this mod over the past four or so years and no problems I've heard about, I think it's safe to say this mod can be done with little to worry about. Given the improvement in handling characteristics, I'd say it actually increases the safety of this vehicle.

[Online_17]

Well...had mine in for an oil change today and decided. ..what the heck...let's try the CHF. Good thing I did...as it turned out, 1 of my sway back link saddles was cracked. Had the part replaced ....explains the clunking noise I was hearing mid-ship. Drove home on a country road at 50....didn't notice any difference yet... I'll know next week when I do some highway driving when camping.

[Duckogram]

Just for clarity, the CHF is not a "mod". It is an adjustment just like a wheel allignment.

[fpo1123]

Spicyrv. What do you mean they tighten up the steering? Did they adjust the steering box? Or was there something else they tweaked? I would like to take up a little slack in the steering too.

[Online_17]

Originally Posted by Duckogram

Just for clarity, the CHF is not a "mod". It is an adjustment just like a wheel allignment.

Hahaha

[fpo1123]

Funny? I guess you have never done a steering box adjustment on an old car when you were young.

[fpo1123]

Its no more then breaking the top nut on the box lose and turning the adjustment screw to tighten the worm gear. And yes it can make a big difference. Just don't over tighten.

[Online_17]

Finally had some time on the highways since finally doing the CHF. Overall, meh....ok tighter performance and better steering control. But not by that much. Learning here is, there doesn't seem to be any magic fixes to make you feel like you are driving a minivan. Let's face it...it's a moving truck and no gimmicks or expensive upgrades will change that. As long as you accept that, then minor tweaks like the CHF, certainly can help. Just my 2 cents and once again, thanks for sharing this great guide!