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Regular
Location: Clovis, Ca | Has anyone done this on their coach?
What effect did it have before/after?
I assume the rears should be slightly toed in for the vehicle to ride straight. Is that the case? Specs?
Thanks in advance for replies |
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Expert
 
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | It is my understanding that the rear wheels should be not be towed either in or out. Front wheels need to be towed in because of the camber (tipping out of the vertical axis of the front wheels).
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Regular
Location: Clovis, Ca | That makes sense, but there HAS to be a spec.
Something tells me that an ever-so-slight amount of toe in is required for the rears, but want to see something from FMC or someone who has wrestled through this on their own... |
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Regular
Location: Clovis, Ca | OK, so I found this:
Toe- I n (rear outboard wheels) .
Measure in same manner as front; forward dimension
should be 1,/ 8 inch (plus 0, minus 1/16”) less than aft dimension ( f i g . 1 ) .
And I measured and found that the the rear duals had ZERO toe in.
Behind the duals = 90 7/8"
In front the duals = 90 7/8"
Right now the coach is NOT pleasant to drive at all. It is a chore holding it on the road.
I am going to try toeing in the rear duals (when I get to it) and drive the coach.
Will let you know....
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Veteran
Location: Kingsley Michigan | Jerry;
We had the same problem with the road handling and found a number of contributing factors. First ---yes the toe in should be present in the rears but only to the slight side---in other words 1/16" is fine. Next the front slop between the frame connection of the steering linkages is a big source of headaches and the control issue-- Then there is the backlash in the steering box which is an easy one to fix---if the box is in good shape-- Lastly, the weight distribution is a biggy as you will find that this vehicle is so front end light that when you add more weight up front---the better she handles-- We moved our spare tire to where the auto air conditioning was located under the front and added a 22 gallon water tank to under the water heater deck and travel with all water tanks full.
Hope this helps--If you need more details--give a holler; Barn |
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Expert
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | Jerry, I thought I emailed you the Service Bulletin from FMC. Also, I agree with Barney in that the biggest handling problem with FMC's is the accumulation of slop in the steering in all of the joints between the steering wheel and tie rods. Most check the tie rods and if they are tight, start looking elsewhere. The weak link in the FMC design is the arm that transfers the motion from the arm attached to the steering box to the tie rods. It is attached to the frame and turns on bushings and not tapered bearing that can be tightened. Bushing are fine when new, but can't be adjusted or tightened when wear occurs. This assembly has also been know to be loose on the attachment to the frame itself.
I would recommend starting at the tie rods and checking for movement and then work my way back up stream all of the way to the steering wheel. My coach had a lot of slop in the steering when I got it and I had to replace the frame mounted lever assembly and rebuild the steering column itself as the flex joints in it were also worn. That removed the slop. At that point, handling characteristics could be isolated to alignment and adjusted accordingly. It now handles great. I also travel with full fresh water, but it now handles fine with an empty fresh water tank as well.
I converted my transmission to a 545 Allison and that caused the engine to be moved 2" to the rear and with that weight shift I noticed a slight degradation in the handling when taking mountain curves or fast lane changes, but other than that my handling is good. I will be passing through Fresno in a few weeks for work (Tulare Farm Show). If you would like to meet for a cup of coffee, send me an email at: stephen at heinrichs dot com. |
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Rear Wheel Alignment
