Mercedes Quantum camber off!

[Flwestcoast]

I’m at the service center getting my Mercedes Quantum aligned. Thanks to all the posts on this forum I am aware how important this is. Current odometer is 1818.

Apparently with the weight of the house the camber is severely out of wack and cannot be adjusted without new hardware.

If I had not brought my coach in who knows what the damage to the front end components in addition to the tires being chewed up would have been…

So everyone with a new coach, please get your front end checked! They don’t readjust at the factory after adding all the weight!

[happy]

Thank you for posting.

Being new to the RV world this site has really educated me.

[Flwestcoast]

This is the readout showing how badly front end was aligned…

[OldWEB]

I think this shows how the RV manufacturing world is its own entity. Where else do you find that after buying something brand new, so much work still has to go into it. Whether electrical, mechanical or even structurally! And then (to some) very little help from the manufacturer after. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark....

[Flwestcoast]

Yes, it is well known that the industry plays by its own rules. Denmark is not the only place🥺

Maybe I have been lucky but I’ve owned five different coaches and I have had very good service from dealers and manufacturers and few troubles. I feel so bad when I read others horror stories…

Since purchasing this unit Thor has been wonderful with assistance, parts, service and I’ve only had this RV since June. Yes, I would love to have everything as should be but I know that once all the issues are taken care of it will be nothing but happy with my RV. I’ve always loved RV’s and I always will despite the industry.

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Flwestcoast

I’m at the service center getting my Mercedes Quantum aligned. Thanks to all the posts on this forum I am aware how important this is. Current odometer is 1818.

Apparently with the weight of the house the camber is severely out of wack and cannot be adjusted without new hardware.

If I had not brought my coach in who knows what the damage to the front end components in addition to the tires being chewed up would have been…

So everyone with a new coach, please get your front end checked! They don’t readjust at the factory after adding all the weight!

Adding the house on top of the fame could not have caused this problem, since 80% of the added weight by the house is on the rear axle. MorRyde does have the necessary documentation to work on the chassis, as it does for Ford, Freightliner (Mercedes truck manufacturing arm) and Spartan, so, when the chassis left MorRyde, on the way to the factory, it was aligned. I would suggest the the delivery driver may have encountered a road hazard which bent the front suspension. If it was misaligned along the factory build, it could have been aligned easily to factory specifications.

My previous coach had Air Ryde independ front and rear suspension. I hit a 6 inch dia 8 foot log at night on Interstate-29N at 60 mph. I ended up replacing the entire left from suspension (upper and lower control arms, drag link, tie rod Shockwave and steering box). I also had to replace the front air dam and do some hammer and dolly work on the left front fender.

[ducksface]

Those charts are desigjed to be vvveerrrry skkeeerrry.
Do we know if this is out of parameter?
Do we know if those settings are for an empty van and not a loaded rv?
We all know racers play with those numbers based on track and load...why not an RV?
What did Thor say they should be when your mechanic called Thor?
You said thor didn't check it when adding weight. Maybe your tech isn't taking weight into account and it is indeed adjusted for weight.

Too many unanswered questions for me to just fish-flop and open a check book.

[Flwestcoast]

Love the responses, I have NO mechanical knowledge. I learn from it all.

I do know that the shop has an RV /large truck specific “contraption” (I have no idea what to call it) that the coach drives onto with laser sights that are attached to front and rear wheels. Maybe I should have asked more direct questions, not knowing what those are is my bad…. As to the specs my understanding is that the make /weights are loaded into the software program to properly do the alignment.

And I do know the drive home was better in that it didn’t pull to the side and was “easier” to steer. Could that be just my perception? No, it did drive better.

It concerns me the remarks regarding delivery driver hitting something on way down. I wanted to do factory pickup but it wasn’t allowed…. Should I now take it back for a closer inspection??

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Flwestcoast

Love the responses, I have NO mechanical knowledge. I learn from it all.

I do know that the shop has an RV /large truck specific “contraption” (I have no idea what to call it) that the coach drives onto with laser sights that are attached to front and rear wheels. Maybe I should have asked more direct questions, not knowing what those are is my bad…. As to the specs my understanding is that the make /weights are loaded into the software program to properly do the alignment.

And I do know the drive home was better in that it didn’t pull to the side and was “easier” to steer. Could that be just my perception? No, it did drive better.

It concerns me the remarks regarding delivery driver hitting something on way down. I wanted to do factory pickup but it wasn’t allowed…. Should I now take it back for a closer inspection??

Any shop that spends the money for a new alignment machine will have well trained techs, as their training and continuation training is included in the purchase price. Modern align machines have to align the cameras, steering wheel (the steering wheel angle feeds in to the vehicle stability management system) lane warning system and the adaptive cruise control. If all is not right you get a dash warning light and usually a warning tome.

So if the shop did the best they could without throwing parts at it, it is probably as good as it gets. I would plan on having the coach checked again in 8-10.000 miles.

The printout looks like it is from a Hunter WinAlign with computer link. The tech scans the VIN into the computer. The computer goes to the manufacturers database (Freightliner in your case) and pulls down and sets the parameters for your vehicle. The computer then displaces step by step instructions and with suggested tools to preform each step. Diagrams are provided if ask for. A computer printout before and after alignment is supplied to the owner along with parts used. This machine is quite different from the Hunter Hawkeye used for four wheel alignment on cars and SUV.

<https://www.hunter.com/alignment-machines/winalign-heavy-duty/#efficiency>
Some of us have other lives.

[Flwestcoast]

Thank you BEau388!!

I have confidence in the quality of the shop but as I have no real knowledge of the mechanics I do wonder.

The process you describe is exactly what they did…

Your post is exactly what I was hoping someone could confirm for me😌