First Real Trip

[ELeland]

I've made a few jaunts on secondary roads around south and central Florida since I bought this MH last December.  My DW, dogs and I took off yesterday from South Florida for central Georgia for a 2 week work trip which was my first on-highway driving.  Based on what I have read here as well as other forums, my first stop was for full fuel and a CAT scale.  Weight is full fresh water and empty gray and black tanks.

Steer Axle 8,620 actual, (9,350 sticker)
Drive Axle 17,560 actual (17,500 sticker)
Toad (Tacoma) actual 4,840

I'm running brand new Hercules 255/70/22.5 (installed by PO) and adjusted the air pressure to match the weight plus 5 pounds. I'm running 90 PSI in the steer and 100 PSI in the drive tires.

I had the XC chassis serviced at a FL dealer and had them repair anything they found which included replacing some of the suspension bushings and a front end alignment. They said shocks were good.

I'm not too impressed with the highway handling with my setup.  There was no wind at all.  The sweet spot in speed seems to be between 60 and 65, more is there if needed.  If the road surface is rutted and worn, it can wander so I have to saw back and forth on the wheel quite a bit.  Smooth, newer asphalt, not so much but still not comfortable.  There was lots of holiday traffic which also didn't help as it was close quarter driving all day.

A guy I met with the same coach installed a Safe T Steer, new Super Steer bell crank and rear sway bars.  He claimed it was a great improvement.

I'm hoping there is something I can do to make this thing more pleasurable to drive without just throwing money on what "might" fix it.  It may make the difference between taking a trip out west in the MH or taking the boat and go fishing locally.  The DW doesn't prefer the latter.

Other items on this trip:
Chassis AC stopped cooling
Getting false tire failure on Tire Safe Guard outer curbside drive tire.  Showing low pressure and Minus -40 degree temp and there's no ice to be found   I replaced the battery but it's still acting up

 

[Seilerbird]

I think your steering comes from too much air in the tires. Here is the proper way to set the air pressure:

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/how-to-set-the-tire-pressure-in-your-rv/

 

[ELeland]

I think your steering comes from too much air in the tires. Here is the proper way to set the air pressure:

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/how-to-set-the-tire-pressure-in-your-rv/

That's exactly what I did.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Tire pressure looks fine to me, based on the load/inflation tables fr that size.

I'm not familiar with the chassis configuration under an Airstream, but your handling problems may be simply lack of experience with this size & type of rig.  The difference in the driving position and height distorts the many years of muscle memory you built up driving cars, plus the newcomer tendency to focus too close-n rather than looking down the road further. New Class A drivers tend to watch the lines on the road directly below the driver, alternating with long looks in the mirrors to make sure you are still in your lane and not weaving (big rig driver anxiety).  The combination of the two things leads to constant steer corrections, often even over-correcting.  You need to move your focus 100+ feet down the road so that your normal visual parallax keeps you centered and try to relax more.  Note a spot on the dash that visually lines up with the center road stripe  when you are in the right position, so you can tell at a glance if you are in your lane or not.  That way you don't spend as much time looking and throwing you off track.  I would wait a bit and get more driving experience before deciding on any action.

What year is the Land Yacht?  It's been decades since a sloppy bell crank was a problem, and most diesel pushers have good anti-roll bars from the factory.

 

[ELeland]

Thanks Gary.  It's a 2003 on FL XC chassis.  I did the second leg of my trip today and it was like night and day.  I unloaded 90% of the fresh water as I only filled it to go on the scale to weigh the coach.  I'm not sure if that made a huge difference but it felt better as the traffic was much lighter and I didn't have some screw ball under each arm pit trying to squeeze in. 

I remember the coaching you all did for Alpina Jeff when he took his maiden trip about focusing further down the road and that kept crossing my mind.  I think the problems yesterday were aggressive drivers, rutty roads and way too much traffic.  I felt much more confident and comfortable today. 

For what it's worth, I averaged 7.9 mpg (roughly 600 miles) for the trip and that was with the generator running the entire way including 3-4 hours of stops.  Now I need to get the tire sensor replaced and the dash air fixed and I'm all good, for now anyway.