New RV Needs Alignment?

[Hooligan2]

2016 Siesta 24ST on Sprinter chassis. Did not have initial alignment, excellent tracking- however after 30,000 miles noticed some feathering on outside of both front tires. Mercedes dealer for alignment (Recently opened Sprinter shop, all new equipment) 4 wheel align. Est $199 but it then required eccentric bolts for camber adjustment. Total time and parts $550.. Service writer- would normally be covered by warranty first 90 days however after that it is wear and tear. It May pay to have early alignment check---
Two tire shops early on-- unable 4 wheel align, equipment could not see pass body overhang from rear wheels.

[Edki45]

Originally Posted by SuperD

Unfortunately Thor does not do alignments. To get a proper alignment the coach needs to be loaded like it was going on a trip, weight affects ride height which affects alignment. Thor has no way to anticipate how a coach will be loaded by the end user. Need to schedule alignment for our coach, it's on my list which somehow keeps growing.

Take it Ford, if you can find one that can or will do it but won't even do any more than set the toe in under warranty. They won't do it right but that's the only way warranty will pay for it. They won't warranty a real alignment especially on my brand new 1 week old 2020 Axis 25.6 that is sitting 3 in low in the front.. Thor support says it is normal even though I sent them the genuine Ford specs sheets. I have checked it with the Ford factory frame specifications which is 26" front and rear. I used to be the shop foreman of one of the best suspension and alignment companies in Tarrant and Dallas county Texas. Now I'm having to call other people to do it and they say they can't because they all used to take it to Fort Worth Champion spring where I used to be the the shop foreman and did all computerized alignments. They are no longer in business.
There is not even a Ford shop in this area that can do it. Rush Ford is supposed to but their machine is broken. If and when they can they will only set the toe on warranty. They will tell you that the front end is sitting too low because it is modified with a house on top of it even though the factory specs claim the house is not too heavy. It still should not be below 26 inches on the front and 26in on the rear. I know that's not real world but at least it ought to be in the ballpark. Not 3 inches off.
I'm going to try to sheep herd this drunk pig with my young herd dog that acts like he has been on crack to Lake Qautchita in Arkansas next Tuesday. If anybody can give me an idea of somebody that could do this it would be much appreciated. I am too old and don't have the equipment anymore to do it myself I did set the toe from 3/32 toed out to 1/8" toed in. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to have to buy the springs and the caster sleeves and put them in myself and then go pay somebody $160 to get it aligned without a computerized machine and then I have no recourse with Ford or Thor for not providing proper services. Very likely, I will just set the toe and see how it drives. That's what the Ford dealer mechanics that I have known did for the last 40 years. Ford blames it on Thor and Thor blames it on Ford. And there will probably be no frame warranty because I modified it. Thor absolutely does not align anything.
If anybody has any ideas that work please pop them out here because every one of you that has a Ford twinI beam suspension needs the same help. I have literally seen and repaired hundreds of them at Fort Worth Champion Spring Company. BTW, even you f53 chassis owners we'll have some of these problems but mostly only because Ford will say the tow is fine as long as it is within a certain range. That range is over a quarter of an inch in at about 1/8 of an inch toed out. If you can't keep it between the white lines if not the fault that the driver doesn't know how to drive a motorhome like the lady at Thor told me. I had already been aligning and driving class A motorhomes, and everything else that has ever been allowed on city streets for over 40 years. None of them drove anything like this one even though this model is touted by Thor to be one that drives like a soccer mom's van.

[Edki45]

Originally Posted by airforceret

That's interesting because I was told by them within the last few days that they do alignments once they come off the production line. Maybe it's only certain models.

And just how low does your dog lie? Lol. They won't even fix an exhaust pipe that is rubbing hard on the plastic/aluminum body. When you take it as directed to Ford they will tell you it is Thor's job to fix it.

[Edki45]

Originally Posted by DocP

Yes, this is they way it is. I loaded mine up (including a full tank of fresh water) and paid for the two axle alignment. Everything was within specs and no adjustment was recommended, but it needed to be checked before I added the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer. I also got the coach weighed (where you get the individual weights for left front, right front, left rear, right read) and this helped to set the recommended tire pressures for the front and rear axles. Well worth the money, in my opinion (rather than guessing).

The specs are extremely wide especially on Ford twin I beams. Thor will tell you it doesn't handle right just because you don't know how to drive a motorhome or maybe "you'll get used to it." That's what they told me and I've been driving and aligning all classes of motorhomes for over 40 years. But, before you throwing thousands of dollars at parts and repairs, get it Properly aligned. That does not necessarily mean by Ford specifications. It means to get it done by an experienced alignment mechanic who knows what works. Those shops seem to be very hard to find nowadays. I've been looking for one for over a week. Fort Worth Champion spring closed 2 years ago.

[paulwadley]

When a motor home is built, it is aligned completely empty. Once you load it up with your things, you need to fill all of the tanks(fuel/water/black/grey) and take it down to have the front end aligned since the weight changes the alignment from the factory. It cost me two new front tires and an alignment for not following that advice for my 2016 Winnebago ERA Class B.

Paul

[airforceret]

The factory alignment won't matter if it's loaded or not because it only addresses toe in/out and they do not add the caster/camber adjusters because those are expensive and can only be set once per installation. So yes, any additional alignment requires replacing them again. I know as I've had 3 alignments on mine and I pay for it each time. Why three, the first was to resolve the poor handling from the factory, the second, pot holes and crappy highways around the country, third time, after fixing the 3 inch sag in the driver rear leaf because Thor is ignorant and built mine on an E350 chassis that clearly is not capable of safely handling the weight over just a couple years.

Good news is once done each time it has driven like a champ. We've got 27000 miles and i have no problem cruising down the highway without white knuckles. My hat is off to Ford Fleet Services at Jordan Ford in Mishawaka, Indiana for their alignment and Power Brake and Spring (PBS) Parts in South Bend, Indiana for their custom spring work.

[EA37TS]

On both my Class A and the earlier Class C Ford performed the alignment at no charge under warranty within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles as well as replacing the wiper blades on the Class C. A little know fact, explained to me by a Ford Service Advisor, is that ford will do a few thing not listed in the warranty if they are requested with the first 12 months or 12,000 miles.

When we bought the Accolade we, after our test drive, the dealer was required to align the coach and have the steering wheel straightened and provide us with the Freightliner invoice at the PDI.

As a note, Thor tells everyone in the owners manual, to load the coach and get it aligned. A lot of folks have read that and talked to Thor and got the cost of the initial alignment reimbursed.

[Edki45]

Well, they are certainly saying no on mine until they get a before and after computer printout. I have looked all over Central Texas and no one can or will not perform a computer alignment on this motorhome. Ford customer support Services Customer Support referred me to Ford fleet service warranty. I did so and they sent me to Rush Ford in Dallas. Rush Ford set me up with an appointment for last Monday and then two days later they said their front-end machine what had been broken for 2 weeks. I have since set the toll myself what's happened to be off almost a quarter of an inch. We are driving to Lake Ouachita in Arkansas and hope to find some place on the way there or back that can give me a proper before after print out this fan to Ford and Thor to see if they will spend $700 on my front end. I know of course oh, that is not likely. So, I am looking for someone that can tell me where they have bought the lower spring pucks and longer bolts. I know how to do it. Been doing it for 45 years but can't find the parts. I do not want to put heavier springs in it. It rides great, almost as good as my 2002 Monaco Windsor with 8 airbags. But it drives like crap and it takes 3 inches of blocks in the front on a perfectly level spot to get it level.
BTW. Has anyone found a better way do level these things when
parked without using blocks or spending 4 to $5,000?

[Edki45]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

On both my Class A and the earlier Class C Ford performed the alignment at no charge under warranty within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles as well as replacing the wiper blades on the Class C. A little know fact, explained to me by a Ford Service Advisor, is that ford will do a few thing not listed in the warranty if they are requested with the first 12 months or 12,000 miles.

When we bought the Accolade we, after our test drive, the dealer was required to align the coach and have the steering wheel straightened and provide us with the Freightliner invoice at the PDI.

As a note, Thor tells everyone in the owners manual, to load the coach and get it aligned. A lot of folks have read that and talked to Thor and got the cost of the initial alignment reimbursed.

Rush Ford in Dallas tell me they would not do anything under warranty except set the toe in. 2 days later they said they couldn't even do that because their machine was broken. I cannot find another dealer that will even talk to me about aligning a 27 ft motorhome.

[The_Breeze]

Same question : https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f8...ice-22281.html

Stop with the warranty stuff. Most people are out of warranty.

[Edki45]

The_Breeze,
Get off my case I just paid $95,000 last week for this brand new piece of crap. Jason

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by Edki45

The_Breeze,
Get off my case I just paid $95,000 last week for this brand new piece of crap. Jason

Edki45, you got the point. Welcome to the club. Over and out.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Edki45

The_Breeze,
Get off my case I just paid $95,000 last week for this brand new piece of crap. Jason

If this is already how you are feeling about the purchase: it might be time to sell it, and find something that brings joy to your life.
You don't deserve this frustration...
Find peace...

[Pete'sMH]

I’ve had 4 motorhomes and first thing I’ve done on all of them is to go to an independent truck suspension shop for an alignment. Two coaches needed alignment correction and two were fine as delivered. All 4 handled fine in my opinion. The cost for alignment varied between $125 and $175. It was money well spent in my opinion even though I’d agree it shouldn’t be necessary.

Much about owning a motorhome is frustrating. You just have to learn to deal with stuff that doesn’t work and dealers that give you the run around. Find people who are interested and in business to help you. If you aren’t “handy” find a good independent RV repair facility. Many do warranty work. Hope you can find happy time in your RV.

[ducksface]

Ed had three or four threads going about alignment.
I don't have 40 years experience.
I have a tape measure and some chalk and a $2 laser pointer.
It works perfectly.

Bob's right.
It might already be time for you to change vehicles.

[Allan Cooper]

Originally Posted by DogLovers

Got a question. I have seen several posts talking about taking their brand new coach in for an alignment. Am I to understand after purchase you need to go to a truck shop and get a front end alignment? If so why? Who pays for it? Seems like it should be straight before you get it in the first place. I am picking up a 2017 Thor Synergy on a Mercedes chassy next month and want to know what to do and who pays.

Thanks

Found out about the need for an alignment the hard way... after 15000 miles, developed a serious vibration on the road. I inspected the tires and saw uneven wear in both front tires. The left one was unsafe, had to change it and then get an alignment done. Sad really. One more strike against Thor. I don’t recall being advised on requiring an alignment on purchase. I have a 2016 Thor Miramar 35.2.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Allan Cooper

Found out about the need for an alignment the hard way... after 15000 miles, developed a serious vibration on the road. I inspected the tires and saw uneven wear in both front tires. The left one was unsafe, had to change it and then get an alignment done. Sad really. One more strike against Thor. I don’t recall being advised on requiring an alignment on purchase. I have a 2016 Thor Miramar 35.2.

You should have read the owners manual. Thor clearly states that you should load the coach for travel. then have the front end aligned.

[Pete'sMH]

When I bought my Thor product in 2017 there was a big sticker on the drivers side window advising he need for an alignment. Apparently it’s an RV thing. Ford aligns the bare chassis, I guess, but by the time Thor is done with it and you load it up with a couple of thousand pounds of stuff it can change. I’ve had 4 coaches and had each one aligned at a trusted truck place when I got it. Two were fine, two were not. One was used with 13,000 miles and showing significant uneven front tire wear so that was a no brained. I was able to switch the worn tires with the inside rears and so avoided replacing the tires. I’d recommend it for your own peace of mind and because if it needs it the handling will be better and you’ll avoid expensive tire wear. Some folks say they have been successful in getting Thor or Ford to pay for it but, personally, I wouldn’t trust an RV dealer to do it right. My truck place charged $125 on the coaches that didn’t need any change and about $175 on the ones that did. Money well spent IMO. RVs are just expensive......

[Allan Cooper]

You are quite right. I did not do an alignment as recommended. But really, loading up the RV and then requiring a 2 degrees toe out correction on 1 tire should be expected? Just asking... I am no mechanic. Nevertheless, I stand corrected

[taylorbob1]

Here’s my alignment thread.
It was $335 but included a complete tire rotation & caster parts with adjustment.

Note the spec sheet with before and after results, which i’ve been told is where my RV needs to be.
It drives very straight, no rocking with Helwig Sway bars & Airlift 1000 Air Springs, plus a Bilstein Steering Damper.

By the way...the Air Springs raise the front end 1”.

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f8...ent-17840.html