New to this forum

[Hudsoner]

Good day
I am new to this forum, but have a 2001/2002 Hurricane 29D for several years now (used it for about 60 000 miles).

I used to make my living with medical research, but I am retired since 2006, and retained enough medical knowledge to be dangerous and do self diagnostics and self medication (even more dangerous).

I live in North Western Wisconsin and do about two major trips a year. I am just back from a 4000+ mile trip to the Pacific North West and am planning a winter trip of more than 5000 miles along the gulf coast, starting in southern Florida and going all the way to Arizona.

I was clever enough to raise my son to become a master mechanic with the largest Ford dealer in the state, and this way I have my very own mechanic. He did quite a few modifications to my rig to increase the drive-ability of it.
Our newest quest is to make the front end more comfortable (i. e., to take the harsh hits out that happen when bridge expansion gaps and similar road problems are present).

[SuperD]

Welcome to this great forum, happy to have you! You are a VERY fortunate man to have your own "private mechanic," was there some prior planning there? Lol. I wish you a safe and happy trip! The gulf coast is beautiful, you should have a great time!

[Hudsoner]

Originally Posted by SuperD

Welcome to this great forum, happy to have you! You are a VERY fortunate man to have your own "private mechanic," was there some prior planning there? Lol. I wish you a safe and happy trip! The gulf coast is beautiful, you should have a great time!

Well I got my son into the automotive stuff when he was 12 and we worked on the big project of restoring a Triumph Tr 4 Roadster from 1962. We worked almost two years on this, and after that we did other car projects and he decided to go to school to become a mechanic (UTI in Chicago), ad later did training to become a certified welder and diesel mechanic.

This way, all out automotive needs are covered, and I don't have to crawl under a vehicle anymore (we also have a fully equipped automotive shop with a hoist and everything). I am almost 74 years old and crawling under vehicles gets harder and harder.

[Joe-FL]

Originally Posted by Hudsoner

I was clever enough to raise my son to become a master mechanic with the largest Ford dealer in the state, and this way I have my very own mechanic. He did quite a few modifications to my rig to increase the drive-ability of it.
Our newest quest is to make the front end more comfortable (i. e., to take the harsh hits out that happen when bridge expansion gaps and similar road problems are present).

Can't wait to hear more about what you two have done to "increase the drive-ability" of your coach and what your newest quest will be to make the front end more comfortable. My buddy and I are doing the CHF (cheap handling fix) in about an hour at his house (he has a large level concrete RV pad). My future plans include having the front end aligned, front Safe-T install, and possibly Firestone air bags on the rear. What say ye?

[Hudsoner]

Originally Posted by Joe-FL

Can't wait to hear more about what you two have done to "increase the drive-ability" of your coach and what your newest quest will be to make the front end more comfortable. My buddy and I are doing the CHF (cheap handling fix) in about an hour at his house (he has a large level concrete RV pad). My future plans include having the front end aligned, front Safe-T install, and possibly Firestone air bags on the rear. What say ye?

I could not do the CHF in the front, because the sway bar links were hitting the springs. I will install an adapter plate that will take care of this (the kind of plate can be seen in the original CHF thread in the other big forum). I am also ready for a front end alignment and an increase of the caster to it's max possible setting (that keeps the steering more centered, even my steer safe is not doing that very well).
I have to get to a CAT scale to find out what the exact weight of my frost end is, and this information will help me to make a decision what I need to do to soften the front ride more. The cheapest an quickest solution for me would be to weight the front end down more by welding steel plates to the front bumper. My guesstimation is that I need about 400 extra pounds there. On the other hand, driving 400 more pounds through the country side will not necessarily improve the fuel economy, and softer springs may be the better solution in the long run.
What do you expect from the air bags in the rear? As far as I know, they would only help if your rear end is sagging, and may increase the stability a little. I found that the rear track bar really helped to keep the house part on top of the wheels, and make the ride more stable.

[JRS950]

Wow, what a great setup. Enjoy your travels and stay in touch often.