Handling

kentdavido · 07-13-2016, 06:54 AM

I want to know why if so many owners have handling issues why have Forest River, Georgetown failed to design a rig/chassis that offset these issues at the inception of ownership? Why, are all of us spending our own financial resources to fix something they failed to do? My rig is brand new and yesterday my dealership service department agreed saying there are inherent issues. I understand value and costs but I would think safety is critical. Why are we also easy to write this stuff off. I'm mad and will contacting Forest River directly this morning. I'll keep you informed.

360true · 07-14-2016, 08:23 AM

The chassis is not a FR product, rather a Ford medium duty chassis and engine. It basically is the only option for a gasser. I had my rig weighed and found I needed to lower the air pressure in the tires and did the CHF (see this forum for cheap handling fix). Note I am very happy with the handling of the coach. No expenses required.

Iggy · 07-14-2016, 09:38 AM

After many years driving my 2012 Georgetown 378TS I have come to the following conclusion about the handling issues.

Many people use the tire pressure posted ont he wall which many don not know is for maximum weight. In my case my rig is rated at 26,000 lbs.
In reality my rig fully loaded only weighs between 20,000 and 21,000 lbs.
This is a fact and if I have my tires filled to max weight 26,000 lbs at 90 psi the tires will float in the front and get a hard ride.

Now if I use 80 psi (which is what I use) all around my driving experience is much better and allowing the tires to have the rigs weight pushing down and griping the road better for steering and ride.

You need to find the weight chart for your tires.
I have Toyos and the chart shows at 80 psi my front tires can handle 3,860 lbs per tire. My front weight is about 6,900 lbs so I'm still over inflated and could reduce the psi more and actually can take them down to 70 psi which can handle 3,470 psi. So my front tires can handle 6,940 lbs which is good.

Now the rear axles which handles most of my weight is about 14,000 lbs.
Each rear tires at 80 psi and each tire can handle 3,525 lbs x 4 = 14,100 lbs which is good.

Bottom line is you need to weigh your rigs fully loaded and you will find out that it is lighter than you may think and need to adjust your cold tire pressure according to you tire brand, size and pressure as per the manufacturers specs to carry the proper weight on the tires so they can do their job and steer easier.

NOTE
RamAir has the same model year as me and is a full timer with lots of stuff in the bins. Trust me when I say he has not much room left and he had his rig weighted with full fuel, water and propane with 2 people inside.
His weight was

Steering axle 7,000 lbs
Read duallys drive 15,020 lbs
His Max chassis weight for his rig is 26,000 lbs
But his weight is actually 22,020 lbs

Hope this helps a little for you to understand what needs to be done.

SS396CV · 07-14-2016, 11:07 AM

I too recently weighed my 378 and was 4,000 pounds under weight. 7,300 on the front, 14,800 on the rear. I added 500 lbs to reflect full fuel tank and half full black and gray tanks and used that weight to adjust tire psi. Now I run 75 psi on the front and 85psi on the rear. Per Michelin I can drop the front to 70 psi (7,750 lbs). 85 psi on the rear will handle 16,000 lbs.

I was running the sticker weight of 100 psi on all four corners, the drop in tire psi alone had a dramatic impact on handling, much smoother ride. I also have done the CHF and added a Super Steer rear Trac Bar, now the coach handles like a dream.

As stated check your weights fully loaded, adjust tire pressure first and see how that improves the handling. Then the CHF. Not sure if the Trac Bar was needed in my case but I do not have any more wind issues or semi push. Since I adjusted air pressure and added the Trac Bar at the same time, not sure which one solved my issues. Definitely a smoother ride with lower air pressure.

daddio · 07-14-2016, 11:07 AM

Well said iggy

kentdavido · 07-14-2016, 08:52 PM

My issue is what I called side to side stability. I don't have a handling issue as much is an issue where the rig feels like it's going to flip on its side from the wind or a truck passing. So you'll feel the tire can also contribute to this?

Iggy · 07-14-2016, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentdavido

My issue is what I called side to side stability. I don't have a handling issue as much is an issue where the rig feels like it's going to flip on its side from the wind or a truck passing. So you'll feel the tire can also contribute to this?

I do know what you ar talking about and when you are driving a large box you have this.
Tire pressure has a slight impact on side to side.
If the tires don't flex for the weight it only relies on the leaf springs to compensate.

ramair · 07-14-2016, 11:44 PM

As Iggy has stated I full time and carry a lot of stuff in my MH and I used to run 95 in the front and 100 in the rears and since weighing the rig I have dropped the tire pressure 5lbs each and I have done the CHF on the rear and the MH drives and handles great. I could go down even more tire pressure but my tires show no signs of wear and again the MH drives like a champ. I'm happy everything.

SS396CV · 07-15-2016, 01:07 AM

CHF didn't help my side to side stability with wind and semi's, but did help with sway and cornering. Tire pressure and/or Trac bar did help my side to side stability. I am guessing the Trac bar had the most improvement. Looks like the comments are coming from 378XL owners, what rig do you have?

kentdavido · 07-15-2016, 05:20 AM

I'm taking the rig out Saturday and getting him weighed and get the correct pressure in the tires . I am leaning towards having Sumos airless springs installed for the stability. I have not been able to talk to Forest River yet, I just wish that they would make all of these adjustments in the chassis to offset their loads.

kentdavido · 07-15-2016, 07:35 PM

Thank you for an amazing site. Full of great information, new friends and adventures filled great memories.

SS396CV · 07-16-2016, 12:18 AM

Good luck on your handling issues. Let us know what you find out with weights and how the Sumo's work if you decide to install them

ResQfrog · 07-16-2016, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentdavido

I'm taking the rig out Saturday and getting him weighed and get the correct pressure in the tires . I am leaning towards having Sumos airless springs installed for the stability. I have not been able to talk to Forest River yet, I just wish that they would make all of these adjustments in the chassis to offset their loads.

Not to defend Forest River but they could adjust the tire pressures and install different sway bars and sumo springs. And then depending on what the end user loads his or hers coach with, it would be way off again. A few others have showed that not every one carries the same loads. They other thing would be some people would say that now the coach rides to hard.

I have found that on our coach that I still have to lower the air pressure on the front and rear tires to what is recommended by Goodyear for the weights on our axles. The recommended pressures from ford is based on being loaded at full capacity or the axles and springs.

I also found that I like the sumo springs on the front axle along with the CHF on both axles. It might have firmed up the ride some but it took the bounce and dipping out of the ride. Others have said it made it ride to hard for there liking. All in all I would prefer a firmer ride with control over a soft ride that porpoises or floats going down the road.

This was a problem we always faced when building fire and emergency equipment. Same Ford or custom truck chassis and totally different rides and handling between two similar trucks. Good luck adjusting it to what you find best and enjoy. I am still adjusting and enjoying as we go.

kentdavido · 07-17-2016, 07:47 AM

We've weighed the rig and with friends on this site determined the best tire pressure. We'll adjust the pressures once the rig comes out of the dealer for the 12 issues we have with the new rig. Then, I'm installing Sumos Airless front and back. I'll keep everyone informed as we move through the process. Enjoy the road.

mikel68 · 07-17-2016, 08:22 AM

I know I've said this before. Ours, 2015, when it was new needed a front end alignment. We got a big truck facility approved to do the work. They found a cracked axle from the factory. I had a good amount of control issues, however not so much I thought the axle was cracked. About 4-5 months ago we found out the shock mounts were too short, again from the factory. Handles like a car now. Good Luck.

kentdavido · 07-17-2016, 08:29 AM

Thanks Mike I plan I getting it aligned also. Commercial company here in town would probably do the suspension changes so I'll give them a shout on Monday . Thanks for the input because everyone seems to think I'm nuts. I personally think there's an issue.

Snoodledog · 07-19-2016, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentdavido

My issue is what I called side to side stability. I don't have a handling issue as much is an issue where the rig feels like it's going to flip on its side from the wind or a truck passing. So you'll feel the tire can also contribute to this?

CHF will help

2016 Georgetown 364ts
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

ilmor · 07-19-2016, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentdavido

My issue is what I called side to side stability. I don't have a handling issue as much is an issue where the rig feels like it's going to flip on its side from the wind or a truck passing. So you'll feel the tire can also contribute to this?

Is this your first large motorhome? What you describe doesn't sound uncommon.

kentdavido · 07-19-2016, 08:26 PM

It's our first large motorhome we own but I've driven other big rigs my whole life. We took it almost 2500 miles on its first adventure. It has some challenges that I think can be made better.

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