New ACE owner

[Jetlag]

Hello All
Just signed up to the forum and really like the posts. Just purchased a 2022 ACE 29.5 from an estate sale with 1300 miles and a little damage that’s getting repaired by our local Thor dealer now. Hopefully I will get knowledgeable information that I will need going forward.
Thanks,
Herb-Ohio

[paulwadley]

Hi Herb

Welcome to the forum. Questions will come up from time to time so just ask them here about your motor home and someone will be glad to help out with an answer.

Paul

[Dan-sr@perra-us.net]

Originally Posted by Jetlag

Hello All
Just signed up to the forum and really like the posts. Just purchased a 2022 ACE 29.5 from an estate sale with 1300 miles and a little damage that’s getting repaired by our local Thor dealer now. Hopefully I will get knowledgeable information that I will need going forward.
Thanks,
Herb-Ohio

Make sure to have the front-end kingpins and tie rod ends lubed and get the oil changed. My 2018 ACE 30.3 had only 3900 miles when I purchased it last year, but the kingpin bushings were so worn that it could not be aligned. The repair shop showed me that the kingpins were not properly lubed from the factory. While you are at it find a good local repair shop in your area for chassis maintenance unless your Thor dealer is equipped to do alignments and other chassis work. In my area I have a Truck / Auto / RV shop that can do it all. oil changes, alignments, Brakes, etc. I do my own oil changes when I have nice weather.

[Jetlag]

Yeah I read your post that sucked! When I get it back I’ll do the lube and maintenance on the chassis, engine and generator. I think the generator has 80 hrs and probably never been serviced
Thx

[Dan-sr@perra-us.net]

Originally Posted by Jetlag

Yeah I read your post that sucked! When I get it back I’ll do the lube and maintenance on the chassis, engine and generator. I think the generator has 80 hrs and probably never been serviced
Thx

When I got the coach it was very "twitchy" driving at highway speeds. I solved a lot of the problem by installing a safe-t-plus steering stabilizer, getting the kingpin bushings replaced, and having a front-end alignment. On my trip to Vegas January - April 2023 I found that the coach was still a little too much affected by trucks passing and crosswinds. In particular I would occasionally get into a tail wagging oscillation. Over the summer I installed the Cheep Handling Fix, installed a Safe-T-Plus rear track bar, and had a dragging front brake caliper fixed. The dragging brake was causing the RV to pull right going down a strait road. This seems to have fixed the last of the handling problems, I will know for sure when I take my nest trip.

I believe your 2022 chassis already has much stiffer Sway Bars than what was installed on my 2018 Chassis. My front sway bars is 1 3/4" I believe your front sway bar is 2" so it is unlikely you need to mess with the sway bars. You might still benefit from installing the rear track bar and steering stabilizer.

You will notice I have not mentioned installing Koni or Bilsteen shocks. The reason is that I have not detected any behaviors that indicate a need for new shocks after 5000 miles of driving. My ACE now has 9000 miles.

[Jetlag]

Thanks Dan that’s very informative and I’ve been thinking a lot about suspension upgrades like you mentioned. I know my sway bar is the new 2” but I like the other upgrades you made with the stability systems I just haven’t drove it enough on the highway to see exactly how the new upgraded suspension differs from the older style. It’s good to have someone like you that has installed stuff that all those YouTubers push because not sure if they are trying to sell products or not. Once again thx
Herb

[TRMott]

Originally Posted by Dan-sr@perra-us.net

When I got the coach it was very "twitchy" driving at highway speeds. I solved a lot of the problem by installing a safe-t-plus steering stabilizer, getting the kingpin bushings replaced, and having a front-end alignment. On my trip to Vegas January - April 2023 I found that the coach was still a little too much affected by trucks passing and crosswinds. In particular I would occasionally get into a tail wagging oscillation. Over the summer I installed the Cheep Handling Fix, installed a Safe-T-Plus rear track bar, and had a dragging front brake caliper fixed. The dragging brake was causing the RV to pull right going down a strait road. This seems to have fixed the last of the handling problems, I will know for sure when I take my nest trip.

I believe your 2022 chassis already has much stiffer Sway Bars than what was installed on my 2018 Chassis. My front sway bars is 1 3/4" I believe your front sway bar is 2" so it is unlikely you need to mess with the sway bars. You might still benefit from installing the rear track bar and steering stabilizer.

You will notice I have not mentioned installing Koni or Bilsteen shocks. The reason is that I have not detected any behaviors that indicate a need for new shocks after 5000 miles of driving. My ACE now has 9000 miles.

GREAT advice! We also noted a huge improvement with our Safe-T-Plus installations!