Front trac bar or steering stabilzer?

[MJC62]

My 2918 ACE 27.2 is on the F53 16000 GVWR chassis. Thor in there infinite wisdom decided not to have Ford install a factory front or rear trac bar. The trac bars are an option from Ford on that size chassis. So I spose Thor opted to cut costs by not having Ford install them. My question for all you ladies and gents out there is where do you think I should spend my cash, front trac bar or the steering stabilizer. At this point DW is growling about all the extra cash I am throwing at this MH. I need to get the biggest bang for my limited bucks. I am leaning toward front trac bar rather than the stabilizer as it is a slight bit cheaper and I really think it should have been on the rig in the first place. All thoughts and opinions are welcome.
TX Mark

[RV Pirate]

IMO, steering stabilizer would be my choice. At least that's what we did. I installed a safe t plus, but there are others that will work as well. Better warranty and great CS at safe t plus "swayed" my decision ( bad pun)

After doing CHF and steering stabilizer, our Challenger has become a different coach. Barely feel semi's passing anymore. I never found the need for track bar upgrade after installation of the stabilizer.

Another point with stabilizer, in the event of front tire blow out , stabilizer will help maintain control. Good luck in your decision.

[Sweetbriar]

Depends on what you want to achieve regarding driveability.

A track bar will reduce the axle to frame movement due to twist and horizontal bending of the leaf springs. IOW the axle is pointing one way and the body the other causing a bit of lane wonder. You'll may feel it more with the rear axle due to how much coach is behind the axle. Bigger level to push with. You could also gain a bit of improve steering response.

A stabilizer will help dampen rapid lateral wheel movement (large - tire blow out, small - poor roads) and help hold the steering angle. IOW It's a big shock absorber that will help limit and slow fast movement.

One thing to keep in mind a front track bar only fits one chassis, the 16K F53. A steering stab will fit a wide range of chassis types and you can remove it when the days comes to sell and buy a new rig.

My coach came with a front track bar and this winter I added a steering stabilizer. Haven't noticed much effect but I've made a lot of changes (CHF, airbags, rear track,,,) over the years and the stab was the last item. It will come off when I list the coach for sale.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by RV Pirate

.....cut.....

After doing CHF and steering stabilizer, our Challenger has become a different coach. Barely feel semi's passing anymore. I never found the need for track bar upgrade after installation of the stabilizer.

......cut.......

Doesn’t your motorhome already have a front track bar as standard equipment from Ford? It should be standard at that GVWR per Ford specs, so unless it was deleted for credit, it should be there.

[Lt Keefer]

I would do the steering stabilizer first. It makes the coach safer to operate as much as it makes it easier to drive. Two birds with one stone.

[John & Diane]

I would probably do the track bar as adding Roadmaster stabilizer didn't do a lot for our 2015 Windsport 27k. When we first got it it handled horribly. Correcting tire pressure and an alignment fixed alot but we still wanted more improvement so we did the stabilizer which helped very little other than knowing it will help in a blow out situation. The biggest improvement came when we added the rear Track bar and did the CHF. Being blown around by trucks is a thing of the past. Our 27K is on a 18K chassis so it is equipped with a factory front track bar. I would check with Ford to see what the cost of the OEM parts would be to buy the optional front track bar from them. Good Luck on your modifications.