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Old 04-01-2017, 10:50 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 35M
State: Virginia
Posts: 46
THOR #6664
Random Shimmy

Looking for some feedback. I have a random shimmy/vibration in the steering wheel around 70 mph. Doesn't happen at any other speed, and is not consistent. I've had an alignment and Safe T Plus installed. Only other thing I can think to do is high speed balance on front tires. It's odd to me that it's random, and not road surface related, and only at that speed. Hoping some folks smarter than me have some advice.

Just in case signature doesn't come thru, this is on a 2017 Hurricane 35M. Thanks!

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Old 04-01-2017, 11:34 PM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Miramar 34.4
State: Iowa
Posts: 794
THOR #4488
Since you mention it's in your steering wheel it does sound like a balance issue. Could be a separation in the steel belt. You could do a spin balance or move the front tires to the rear.
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Old 04-01-2017, 11:43 PM   #3
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Brand: Still Looking
State: Texas
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It could be front tires out of balance.

It's not that unusual for many vehicles to have a critical speed in that 70 MPH range where any lack of balance will magnify. It's caused by the natural frequency of the suspension (relative to vehicle) matching the rotating speed of the front tires, which is the forcing frequency. When the two match you get resonance, which is a fancy word for greatest vibration you can feel through steering wheel. If really bad the entire vehicle may vibrate as a wheel skips up and down off pavement.

In my van the worst speed is around 73 or 74 MPH, so I try to drive above or below that speed.

You can test if it's this by driving to speed where vibration is worse, and if you feel safe doing it, accelerate another 5 MPH or so to see if it starts to go away. Then on way back past the critical speed you should feel it get stronger again.

If your vibration doesn't diminish with even higher speed, then it's likely something else.


P.S. -- Shocks limit this effect, so may want to check to make sure they look good and are tight.
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Old 04-02-2017, 02:07 AM   #4
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Model: 2023 Jayco Precept 31UL
State: Florida
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THOR #1589
My last coach had a slightly bent wheel which caused a vibration over a certain speed. The tire folks tried in vain to spin balance it on the front. Switching it to the back helped, but didn't completely solve it. If I kept it under 65 mph, it was ok with that wheel on the back.
Maybe the real message is to slow down and enjoy the journey?
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Old 04-02-2017, 02:45 PM   #5
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 37GT
State: Florida
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THOR #5246
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miramar Owner View Post
Since you mention it's in your steering wheel it does sound like a balance issue. Could be a separation in the steel belt. You could do a spin balance or move the front tires to the rear.
It could be the beginning of a belt separation, or if one of your front wheels were balanced using more than one weight one or more of them may have came off. I would go to a good tire shop and have both inspected. Steer axle tire issues are nothing to mess around with IMHO.
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Old 04-02-2017, 06:07 PM   #6
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Model: Windsport 31S
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Commonly a belt separation will cause a low speed shimmy. That being said don't excuse a defective part even though its a new coach.
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