how to fine tune safe-t-plus steering control ?

I've been fighting a wandering problem ever since I bought my 1995 Itasca Passage 23RC class A, a couple years ago. First thing I did was get an alignment from a commercial truck shop. Then installed new Bilstein shocks and steering damper. Then finally changed the tire pressure to recommended settings from forum members. All of the above helped a certain degree. I read  many posts about positive results by installing Safe-T-Plus steering control. So I expended almost $700 getting that done today and drove the 50 miles back home via the interstate. Held to 65mph. Speed limit is 80mph. Got passed by a ton of 18 wheelers. Never got pushed around like I normally do, BUT, it still wanders somewhat. I know I've read posts on the forum, about some members fine tuning their Safe-T-Plus contrl, but I can't seem to find those posts. The installer said free adjustments, but I really don't care to make a 100 mile round trip, just to get an adjustment. It seems like it wants to pull a little to the right. If someone tells me how, I'll get under it and make the adjustments myself. Input please.....

  If the road is a little crowned it'll drift off to the right. If it's flat it'll stay straight. What the Safe-T-Plus gives you is that you don't have to work much to steer straight ahead. It's real purpose is to prevent a blowout or hitting something from yanking the steering wheel out of your hands.

  If you were to adjust it to stay straight on a crowned road it'll drift left on a flat road and really left on the occasional road that's leaning to the left. I'd rather drift right than left into oncoming traffic.

  When Louisiana busted my Safe-T-Plus loose a couple of years ago (bracket just dangling) the rig would really dive for the weeds; steering was _work_.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysabH_SCVJM&feature=youtu.be

One thing to keep in mind, it's a 22 year old coach, and never did and never will handle like a sports car. I can't feel the wandering you are talking about while I sit here at my desk, so I don't know for sure that there is a real issue, or you're expectations are too high.

There is nothing to "tune", except whether the steering wheel is centered or not.  What you are experiencing is mostly like rut-tracking, a notorious problem with large vehicle leaf spring suspensions. The most effective solution for that is a panhard rod for the suspension, e.g. the Davis Tru-Trak or Supersteer Track Bar. Both excellent products.

http://www.roadmasterinc.com/products/trutrac/trutrac.html
http://www.supersteerparts.com/products/supersteer-trac-bars.html

For more info on this and similar gas-chassis motorhome handling problems, please see my article in the RVForum Library titled Motorhome Handling Primer.
http://www.rvforum.net/miscfiles/MH_Steering_Handling_%20Primer.pdf

kdbgoat said:

One thing to keep in mind, it's a 22 year old coach, and never did and never will handle like a sports car. I can't feel the wandering you are talking about while I sit here at my desk, so I don't know for sure that there is a real issue, or you're expectations are too high.

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When I was young, I drove truck, and later drove school bus in Alaska for two years, and never experienced the wandering I experince in driving this coach. I like to relax when on the road, and driving this coach gets rather tiring after while. To me, I figure there must be a reasonable fix for my problem, and so far haven't found it.  Like you say, maybe my expectations are too high.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

There is nothing to "tune", except whether the steering wheel is centered or not.  What you are experiencing is mostly like rut-tracking, a notorious problem with large vehicle leaf spring suspensions. The most effective solution for that is a panhard rod for the suspension, e.g. the Davis Tru-Trak or Supersteer Track Bar. Both excellent products.

http://www.roadmasterinc.com/products/trutrac/trutrac.html
http://www.supersteerparts.com/products/supersteer-trac-bars.html

For more info on this and similar gas-chassis motorhome handling problems, please see my article in the RVForum Library titled Motorhome Handling Primer.
http://www.rvforum.net/miscfiles/MH_Steering_Handling_%20Primer.pdf

Click to expand...

Thanks for the links Gary. Your pdf file was quite enlightening. BTW, my front end has coil springs, and I have air bladders in them, set at 50#. I found a video fron Safe-T-Plus that covers fine tuning their product which I will attempt to do, and if it helps, maybe then I'll quit bitching about my wandering problem  : :

OK, you have the Chevrolet P-series chassis, so coil springs plus air bags in the front. A front panhard rod won't work, but a rear mounted one like the SuperSteer might.

50 psi in the air bags sounds a tad high for your size of coach, though I think 40-50 is the range for your axle rating (I'm guessing its the 4300 lb axle on a 23RC). You might try easing the pressure down a little to see if that helps. Chevy actually allows as little as 10 psi, but I wouldn't go under 35-40.

Can you provide a link to the YouTube you found re tuning a Safe-T-Plus?

Henderson's in Grant's Pass, OR has an add on for the Safety-T-Plus that really allows you to tune it on the go and adjust for changing road conditions. You can look it up here: http://www.supersteerparts.com/products/supersteer-trim-unit-safe-t-plus. I have had it for 4 years and it really works well. I use it to compensate for crowned roads and strong side winds. Definitely makes the driving easier.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

OK, you have the Chevrolet P-series chassis, so coil springs plus air bags in the front. A front panhard rod won't work, but a rear mounted one like the SuperSteer might.

50 psi in the air bags sounds a tad high for your size of coach, though I think 40-50 is the range for your axle rating (I'm guessing its the 4300 lb axle on a 23RC). You might try easing the pressure down a little to see if that helps. Chevy actually allows as little as 10 psi, but I wouldn't go under 35-40.

Can you provide a link to the YouTube you found re tuning a Safe-T-Plus?

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https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=adjusting+safe-t-plus+&view=detail&mid=7D3C715F8D96076839DE7D3C715F8D96076839DE&FORM=VIRE

This is the link from Safe-T-Plus which is a Youtube video on how to adjust their product.

Chet18013 said:

Henderson's in Grant's Pass, OR has an add on for the Safety-T-Plus that really allows you to tune it on the go and adjust for changing road conditions. You can look it up here: http://www.supersteerparts.com/products/supersteer-trim-unit-safe-t-plus. I have had it for 4 years and it really works well. I use it to compensate for crowned roads and strong side winds. Definitely makes the driving easier.

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Pricey little jewel isn't it  Interesting tho 

First thing to do is, KNOW what your coach weighs and set the tires for YOUR loaded coach. Another thing is checking the bell cranks to make sure they are NOT worn out. The drivers side is the worst but both can be worn out if the coach wasn't greased right. Watch this video. Over inflated tires probably plays more into the problem than anything else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD0u1NEUWO4

BTW, my front end has coil springs, and I have air bladders in them, set at 50#.

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Someone mentioned the steering bell crank and you should be aware that the old Chevy motorhome chassis was notorious for worn & sloppy bell cranks. Replacing it with the Hendserson SuperSteer bell crank would probably be a worthwhile fix.

http://www.supersteerparts.com/products/supersteer-bell-crank-for-p303237-chassis.html