Steering wheel crooked

[Summerwind]

Originally Posted by abjbrtd

In 2012 we didn't get this advices on our SOB till it was too late.
YEP $120 and 2 new tires!

Come to find out the SOB has an unwritten policy to pay for the alignment IF you ask for one within the first couple hundred miles.


FYI for any future buyers of a F53 chassis motor home.
A front end alignment should be part of the deal!!!
And the CHF (Cheep Handling Fix) ASAP!!

Question:
Chf front AND rear?

[tigwelder]

oh sure they do. what have you been drinking. 1 mile away from dealer in elkhart i go thru toll booth on to I-80 heading for chicago. 5miles latter i have dealer on phone and told them MH is all over road. i ask while we were going through the walk around if they checked air in tires and if the front end was checked . he said yes that is why it takes 4 days to check everything before you get it.. he made a call to truck shop where i live for next day check.front end had never been touched ,nothing had been greased and all 6 tires had 50 lbs in them. it was driven out of factory 5 day before that. 2016 Axis 25-2

[Cason61]

Originally Posted by petew

On the Ford F53 chassis centering the steering wheel has to be done from underneath.
It is not a bad job but requires some basic hand tools and climbing under the rig to access the top of the steering box.
Basically it involves loosening the steering shaft joint pinch bolt at the top of the steering box , lifting the joint off of the splined shaft , "clocking" it to achieve a straight ahead steering wheel and reattaching it.
Even after a proper alignment many shops do not complete this step (mine didn't ) resulting in an off center wheel.
This is discussed in Ford TSB 98-21-20 . It's an older technical service bulletin but the process was the same for my 2018 F53 .
I no longer own the Vegas pictured in my avatar it has been replaced by a 2018 Winnebago Vista 27pe. The Winnebago required the adjustment.

OK, well there are some of us that are not mechanically inclined let's say (yes I own 2K of tools) but the point is if it is so easy to do, why doesn't either manufacturer (Ford or Thor) do it? Need special tools? No. Time? Not long. Parts? On the Rv. So why can't they? Lot of us just want to go camping, not do this first.

[Cason61]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Actually Ford does an initial alignment at the plant for the frame before it gets sent on to Thor (or any other builder for that matter).

That way all the frames meet Ford specs when they leave the plant (I'm sure the alignment is documented somewhere as well).

Yeah, mine was out of alignment too. Pointed to about 2 o'clock driving it. Oklahoma winds made the trip home shall we say exciting? And they couldn't have done it unless 'I' paid for it. And maybe I would get reimbursed from either company (Thor did) but not the dealer even though 'they' check every thing else for it working right when we take delivery, but not the alignment? So how about the Cars and Trucks? When will they start asking us to 'pay' for this too? And don't get me started on the documentation fees or when Ford made the frame (2015) but Thor made the body, which makes mine either a 2015 or a 2016 depending on which document the license folks look at.

[Mlleml]

I spoke to my dealer on the initial problem. They’re doing the right thing and have scheduled me with a truck Center locally, they’re covering the cost. So kudos to Colton RV for standing behind it and scheduling it in my city.