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Old 12-20-2017, 03:43 AM   #41
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Thanks for the update, always interesting to me to see others’ experience.

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Old 12-20-2017, 03:52 AM   #42
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Originally Posted by USTraveler View Post
It has been a while but we got our motorhome back from the warranty service center and have finally headed South with the thing. While in the shop I had a Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer installed and I have to say it made quite the difference. It is now a much more relaxed driving experience and after driving for 8 hours the other day, even through Denver, I was not even tired at the end of the drive. There is a little push from some trucks and some there is none. Also some trucks seem to push more than a little. Crosswinds aren't that big a deal unless they get over about 30 mph. (We did have to pull off the interstate in WY because of 60mph+ crosswinds.) That was a bit scary. My wife even drove for over an hour, at 62 mph, in a less windy area and after about 30 minutes of getting used to the feel of the rig was comfortable enough to take a hand off the wheel to scratch her ear a couple of times. So what I have done now is the CHF on the rear and the steering stabilizer on the front and that is it. The rig does roll more than I would like and the suspension seems really weak so I am thinking I may want something to take care of that. I am also trying to figure out if a rear track bar will provide enough of an improvement to justify the cost and effort. For now though happily cruising to warmer destinations.
Your story sounds exactly like I would have written it the only difference now is I also added the sumo springs that took the entire roll completely out of it if I ever had to do another motor home again I would do the safe t plus then sumos and be done I know we have different chassis but you're describing exactly what I went through in the same States with wind ROLL etc good luck.
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Old 12-20-2017, 01:52 PM   #43
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Your story sounds exactly like I would have written it the only difference now is I also added the sumo springs that took the entire roll completely out of it if I ever had to do another motor home again I would do the safe t plus then sumos and be done I know we have different chassis but you're describing exactly what I went through in the same States with wind ROLL etc good luck.
X2 for me. I went through the same steps. Got my tires properly aired, did the CHF, had my front end aligned. It was greatly improved but still like driving an overloaded bread truck. Had the Sumos installed front and rear and that made the difference.

We have since traded to a DP for full time use. If we ever end up going back to a gas coach with the F53 I won't make those modifications in stages, I'll just do the CHF and then have the Sumos installed immediately.
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Old 12-20-2017, 01:54 PM   #44
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Agree! SAF T PLUS & SUMOS....done
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Old 05-01-2018, 02:53 PM   #45
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Handling improved

Well we drove to AZ and back. Was a good place to spend the winter. The handling of the MH was pretty good except when we encountered 30 to 40 MPH winds in WY with 60MPH gusts and had to pull off the road and wait for about an hour on the way there. Almost lost the MH on the exit ramp. On the way home was pretty good except when we encountered 25 to 35 MPH winds with 50 MPH gusts in CO. The awning topper for the dinette slide billowed out and acted like a sail between Sterling, CO and Sydney, NE. There was no place to pull over on the county road with only about 6 inch shoulders and then a ditch. White knuckled it at 30 to 35MPH to Sydney where we pulled into a truck stop and waited 4 hours for the wind to die down. Thor wouldn't warranty the awning topper for the slide but Carefree did and sent a complete replacement. Since then I have installed the Ultratrac rear track bar on the rear, which was quite the exercise (took 7 hours). And I relented and decided to try to do the CHF on the front of the MH, even though I had convinced myself it wasn't possible. Well after about 90 minutes it was done. All those people who had disagreed with me and told me it could be done were right. I was over thinking it. Have only driven it about 40 miles since the track bar and CHF and did not have much wind or any trucks to contend with but the difference is significant. The MH wanted to stay in its' lane and it was even possible to take my hands of the wheel. Even my wife was impressed with how much easier it was for her to drive. So what I have done so far is CHF rear, then a Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer, then the UltraTrac Rear Track Bar, and finally the CHF on the front. I think that is it for this year but am considering Koni shocks maybe next year to minimize the up and down movement. Will see how things go the next few trips. BTW, also installed the theater seating from RecPro. That is pretty nice. MY wife is starting to refer to the MH as a money pit.
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Old 05-01-2018, 04:59 PM   #46
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Rear Track Bar

I mentioned in an earlier post that it took me 7 hours to install the UltraTrack Rear Track Bar. I thought I should elaborate a bit on that as a consideration for anyone else considering the same installation. I think I could have done it quicker if I'd had access to air tools but I don't have that capability. Some of the time consisted of me needing to crawl out from under the MH to get another tool or more tools and then crawling back with the tools. I did spend a lot of time with the shim for the sway bar on the passenger side. One of the bolts would simply not start threading in the mounting hole. After considerable time and effort trying different adjustments and alignments of the hardware I finally figured out that the problem was the holes in the shim were too far apart by about 1/8 inch. The problem was exasperated by the fact there just isn't much room under the motorhome to get a good angle to see what is happening. Fortunately I had a nice, coarse rat tail file that my dad gave me about 55 years ago and I was able to elongate the hole in the shim enough to be able to start the bolt. Of course after all the previous efforts the thread on the bolt and the welded on nut for the sway bar bracket were somewhat buggered up and that made getting the bolt started difficult. Finally I was able to get it started and with a little lubrication, perseverance, and patience was able to tighten the bolt down. The next trial was the bolts that connect the actual track bar to the driver side sway bar bracket and the passenger side frame bracket. After adjusting the length of the track bar to get the holes to line up with the holes in the respective brackets and inserting the 3 inch long bolts all that was left was to thread on the lock nuts and tighten down the track bar to the brackets. That simple little step took nearly 2 hours. The lock nuts were extremely difficult to thread along the bolt. They were extremely hard to turn and I began to wonder if they were the wrong thread size, but I persisted, even though it was necessary to use a 24 inch cheater bar with my 1/2 inch drive ratchet. If the bolts had been 2 inches long instead of 3 inches I could have done it a bit quicker. Two inches would have been about the right length. So, just a heads up for any DIY'ers out there that the device marketing may not be the reality and all applications are not created equal.
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Old 05-04-2018, 09:42 PM   #47
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Rear Trackbar Update

I sent an email to Brazel's support which contained essentially what I posted here is my previous post. They responded with a nice email that said they were going to check their remaining inventory to make sure the items were in spec and also gave me a $50 credit towards my next purchase from them. I don't know if I will use the credit but I thought it was a nice gesture and appreciated the fact they actually gave credence to my explanation of my installation efforts. I did not expect them to do anything but rather wanted to alert them of potential issues with the product. Just a follow-up for FYI.
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Old 05-04-2018, 10:02 PM   #48
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Originally Posted by USTraveler View Post
I mentioned in an earlier post that it took me 7 hours to install the UltraTrack Rear Track Bar. I thought I should elaborate a bit on that as a consideration for anyone else considering the same installation. I think I could have done it quicker if I'd had access to air tools but I don't have that capability. Some of the time consisted of me needing to crawl out from under the MH to get another tool or more tools and then crawling back with the tools. I did spend a lot of time with the shim for the sway bar on the passenger side. One of the bolts would simply not start threading in the mounting hole. After considerable time and effort trying different adjustments and alignments of the hardware I finally figured out that the problem was the holes in the shim were too far apart by about 1/8 inch. The problem was exasperated by the fact there just isn't much room under the motorhome to get a good angle to see what is happening. Fortunately I had a nice, coarse rat tail file that my dad gave me about 55 years ago and I was able to elongate the hole in the shim enough to be able to start the bolt. Of course after all the previous efforts the thread on the bolt and the welded on nut for the sway bar bracket were somewhat buggered up and that made getting the bolt started difficult. Finally I was able to get it started and with a little lubrication, perseverance, and patience was able to tighten the bolt down. The next trial was the bolts that connect the actual track bar to the driver side sway bar bracket and the passenger side frame bracket. After adjusting the length of the track bar to get the holes to line up with the holes in the respective brackets and inserting the 3 inch long bolts all that was left was to thread on the lock nuts and tighten down the track bar to the brackets. That simple little step took nearly 2 hours. The lock nuts were extremely difficult to thread along the bolt. They were extremely hard to turn and I began to wonder if they were the wrong thread size, but I persisted, even though it was necessary to use a 24 inch cheater bar with my 1/2 inch drive ratchet. If the bolts had been 2 inches long instead of 3 inches I could have done it a bit quicker. Two inches would have been about the right length. So, just a heads up for any DIY'ers out there that the device marketing may not be the reality and all applications are not created equal.
$30 Harbor Freight impact wrench did the trick on those lock nuts.


Did you remove the bolts from the sway bar??? I didnt and learned my lesson the hard way. By removing the sway bat bolts it removes all the tension so the shim and brackets line up easily.

Took me about 8 hours also. Did my buddies rear track bar and chf to front and back. Took 2-1/2 hours for all. Very easy when you know what youre doing. Wish I knew before doing mone.

Jerry
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Old 05-05-2018, 01:32 PM   #49
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I appreciate the info, even tho it is a bit after the fact. I did remove all the bolts from the sway bar brackets that hold the sway bar to the axle to begin with and then did the driver's side first. I just tightened the driver side bolts finger tight initially then proceeded to tackle the passenger side. The top bolt lined up and went in reasonably easy but the bottom bolt gave me all the trouble. When I was able to contort my body enough to get a flash light shining on the bolt hole and actually see into the bolt hole I could see the shim hole was to low and blocking the bolt from threading. The bolt in the top hole fit tight enough so that there was no up and down movement of the shim. If I removed the top bolt and inserted the bottom bolt then the top bolt wouldn't start to thread. I don't know how else I could have done it. Was that impact wrench air powered or electric?
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:44 PM   #50
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:48 PM   #51
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We used a simple torque wrench set to 66 ft./lbs. per Ford specs. We also removed the lower link bolts to do the CHF in front. In the rear, you have to reverse the dual end links. What really helped was to use a scissors or bottle jack to align the sway bar to the new hole locations.
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:53 PM   #52
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I appreciate the info, even tho it is a bit after the fact. I did remove all the bolts from the sway bar brackets that hold the sway bar to the axle to begin with and then did the driver's side first. I just tightened the driver side bolts finger tight initially then proceeded to tackle the passenger side. The top bolt lined up and went in reasonably easy but the bottom bolt gave me all the trouble. When I was able to contort my body enough to get a flash light shining on the bolt hole and actually see into the bolt hole I could see the shim hole was to low and blocking the bolt from threading. The bolt in the top hole fit tight enough so that there was no up and down movement of the shim. If I removed the top bolt and inserted the bottom bolt then the top bolt wouldn't start to thread. I don't know how else I could have done it. Was that impact wrench air powered or electric?
Electric impact
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:56 PM   #53
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Originally Posted by USTraveler View Post
I appreciate the info, even tho it is a bit after the fact. I did remove all the bolts from the sway bar brackets that hold the sway bar to the axle to begin with and then did the driver's side first. I just tightened the driver side bolts finger tight initially then proceeded to tackle the passenger side. The top bolt lined up and went in reasonably easy but the bottom bolt gave me all the trouble. When I was able to contort my body enough to get a flash light shining on the bolt hole and actually see into the bolt hole I could see the shim hole was to low and blocking the bolt from threading. The bolt in the top hole fit tight enough so that there was no up and down movement of the shim. If I removed the top bolt and inserted the bottom bolt then the top bolt wouldn't start to thread. I don't know how else I could have done it. Was that impact wrench air powered or electric?
The bolts i was referring to are the end bolts attaching sway bay to sway links not bolts to axel

Removing sway bolts at links takes the trnsion off the sway bar. Makes attachibg spacer and track bar braket easier

Jerry
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Old 05-05-2018, 08:52 PM   #54
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The bolts i was referring to are the end bolts attaching sway bay to sway links not bolts to axel

Removing sway bolts at links takes the trnsion off the sway bar. Makes attachibg spacer and track bar braket easier

Jerry
That makes a lot of sense. I wish I had thought of that. If I am ever unfortunate enough to have to do another one I'll try that.
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Old 05-05-2018, 08:53 PM   #55
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Electric impact
I have never heard of an electric impact wrench. Is that the same as a hammer drill?
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:07 PM   #56
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There are three types of impacts, an air, a battery powered one and a electric one
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:14 PM   #57
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There are three types of impacts, an air, a battery powered one and a electric one
Pretty sure the battery powered one is electric as well.
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:19 PM   #58
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Since the discussion is somewhat about tools used, I have limited tool knowledge and what's the difference of battery operated electric drill and battery operated drill/impact drill? Honest please. I see these on Harbor Freight adds.
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Old 05-18-2018, 07:22 PM   #59
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Late to the CHF discussion. As a new class A operator I am looking for ways to control this beast as I go down the road. I have the safe-t-plus steering controller on order and an RV shop to do this for me when the parts come in.

In the meantime, I’m considering the CHF in addition to the steering control. Of all that I’ve read here and on IRV2, this is a DIY project. But I do not feel comfortable with my mechanical skills to be messing with the suspension. Every RV repair shop I contact, they poo-poo the CHF and refuse to do it. Instead want to sell me a bunch of other stuff. Sway control, track control, etc.

If I’m not comfortable with this type of project, where do I go to have it done? Is this something a freight liner or large truck shop would be familiar with?

I live near Waco, TX. Any folks nearby out there that I can pay (money, food, beer?) to help me?
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Old 05-18-2018, 08:01 PM   #60
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Late to the CHF discussion. As a new class A operator I am looking for ways to control this beast as I go down the road. I have the safe-t-plus steering controller on order and an RV shop to do this for me when the parts come in.

In the meantime, I’m considering the CHF in addition to the steering control. Of all that I’ve read here and on IRV2, this is a DIY project. But I do not feel comfortable with my mechanical skills to be messing with the suspension. Every RV repair shop I contact, they poo-poo the CHF and refuse to do it. Instead want to sell me a bunch of other stuff. Sway control, track control, etc.

If I’m not comfortable with this type of project, where do I go to have it done? Is this something a freight liner or large truck shop would be familiar with?

I live near Waco, TX. Any folks nearby out there that I can pay (money, food, beer?) to help me?
Had mine done by a heavy duty truck shop that also did my front end alignment if you haven't gotten a front end alignment get that done ASAP
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