By
Mark Penlerick
Engineering Team Leader
Blue Ox Towing Products
There
are several aftermarket steering controls on the market today. You
might be asking yourself "why do I need a steering control?"
"Is my motorhome and chassis designed inadequately?" Well,
no they're not. Most drive adequately in good conditions and with
all steering components adjusted properly per the factory settings.
The trouble is there are a lot of "not so good" conditions
on the road everyday. We'll visit those situations later on. The
purpose of an aftermarket steering control is to give added safety
and convenience to the driver, enhancing the driving experience
and giving the driver peace of mind. After all, who wants to worry
about anything when you're out on the open road?
The
first thing you should know about steering controls is this "there
is not a steering control on the market today that is designed to
nor can make a motorhome "drive better" if the coach has
maladjustments or misalignments or other incorrect (non-factory)
alterations." Lets focus on five very common and very easy
to maintain issues.
Tires
Tires
have to be one of the easiest items to maintain and one of the worst
culprits for causing a coach to handle poorly. Over or under inflated
tires can cause a coach to become difficult to handle and more susceptible
to imperfections in the road surfaces. Always follow the tire manufacturers
recommendations on inflation, rotation and balancing. It's also
not a bad idea to install a tire monitoring system that alerts you
when a tire may be inflated improperly or overheating. This just
makes your life easier. These safeguards will also put a little
change in your pocket because they increase the life of the tires
as well as increase your fuel mileage
wow, with today's fuel
prices; who wouldn't want to drive past a gas station once in a
while?
Alignment
Another
common problem is the alignment of the motorhome. Alignment involves
Caster, Camber and Individual Toe. Caster is the forward tilt of
the steering axis versus vertical. Camber is the angle of the wheel
relative to vertical, as viewed from the front or the rear. Individual
Toe is the relationship of the tires leading and trailing edges
with respect to one another as viewed from the front or rear. Don't
worry, there will not be a test later and it's not important that
you know these; only that this is what is adjusted when you take
your coach to the alignment shop. They're the experts and will verify
all settings are correct per the manufacturers recommendations.
There are other components that fit into this category such as steering
components and shock absorber wear. These will also make a coach
handle poorly.
Weight
Overloading
or improper loading of cargo in a coach is also a common problem.
A coach that is side weighted can have a tendency to pull to one
side while traveling and is more susceptible to imperfections in
driving surfaces. A coach that is rear weighted may take some of
the control away from the steering wheels causing the driver to
have a loss of some control. Uneven and improper loading is also
damaging to tires and other components. For more information on
these issues, there is a great organization that specializes in
safety called RVSEF. They're website is www.rvsafety.org. They can
help you understand proper loading and other safety. RVSEF attends
several rallies across the country weighing coaches for Rvers to
help keep Rvers and all other travelers' safe on the road. Always
stay within the weight rating limitation set out by the coach and
chassis manufacturer.
Towing
Towing
a trailer or towed passenger vehicle can also affect the handling
of a coach. Depending on the style of towing system and it's age,
free play in the system can cause the towed vehicle to wander slightly
which in turn may cause the driver of the coach to constantly make
slight steering corrections. It has always been our recommendation
to frequently check all aspects of the towing system to insure everything
is in top working order. Trailer towing is another story. Some trailers
track pretty well, but if a tire is under inflated or an axle is
out of alignment, the trailer may develop a swaying issue. Crosswinds
can also cause sway. Once you've determined tire pressures and axle
alignments are correct, an add on sway control may be needed.
By
now you're probably wondering why I have not tried to sell you on
the idea of a steering control. It's because I very much believe
my earlier statement. Steering controls are not the answer to fix
some other problem with a coach's steerability. Those items must
be taken care of first. Of course, you can add a steering control
and mask a much deeper problem with some decent success, but that
is not the answer. I refer to this as the duct tape and baling wire
solution.
The
Options
Don't
get me wrong. I am a big proponent of steering control
but
for the right reasons. Most are good at helping the driver maintain
control with ease from front tire blowouts, cross winds, ruts, dropping
off the edge of the pavement, pot holes and road debris. Some, obviously,
are better than others, but I believe that is for the customer to
decide. Weigh all your options, do the research and find the features
that are right for you. There are four basic means that steering
control units use to control steering. They are coil spring, coil
spring with hydraulic dampening, hydraulic and gas spring technology.
Of these only the hydraulic and the gas spring models have a way
of "trimming" or adjusting the unit.
Coil
Spring
The
model that utilizes coil springs simply uses the "memory"
of the springs to pull the front wheels back to center. These are
constantly loaded with tension and are designed to hold the front
tire straight ahead. This model does not have a way of adjusting
the center point, on the fly, down the road.
Coil/Hydraulic
These
models are also not adjustable while traveling. They utilize that
same coil spring memory to bring the wheels back to center. The
addition of the hydraulic fluid inside is a dampening feature to
keep the spring from "snapping" back to center too abruptly.
Hydraulic
This
model does have the adjustment feature of being able to change the
center position while you are traveling down the road. Installation
is a little more intense than some of the other models, but it does
provide some measures of security. It utilizes hydraulic fluid to
bring the front tires back to center.
Gas
Spring
This
is the newest technology on the market. It utilizes gas spring technology
and a "trimming" feature to allow the driver to set the
center point as you're traveling down the road. Gas spring technology
allows for better control of spring forces and provides it's own
dampening without the addition of hydraulics. Installation is quite
a bit less intensive than the air over hydraulic model.
The
Facts
There
is a lot more to each of these technologies, but I just wanted to
give you a short overview of each. The main thing to remember is
that they are different and each of these products has different
features and abilities as well as installation characteristics and
ease of use. Steering controls are great aftermarket safety related
products that do add significant value for the money.
Remember,
parts wear out such as bell cranks, shock absorbers, tires and other
components. Have them checked regularly, especially if your coach
is ill handling. With all of these items adjusted properly a good
steering control will reduce driver fatigue and increase their ability
to control the coach in the event of a front tire blowout or dropping
off the edge of the road and other instances. They are definitely
worth the money just do the research. A little legwork will pay
off in the end.
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