Results for "thrust angle"

I walked into my first Class A motorhome ownership with zero experience and my 2022 Jayco Precept Prestige 36H on an F53 chassis rides like I'm driving over constant speed bumps. This 3-year-old coach with 15,000 miles beats us to death on every interstate joint and bridge transition - it's honestly brutal and making long trips miserable. I've already added Sumos on the front and Timbrens on the rear, which helped somewhat with roll/sway, but I'm still getting hammered by road imperfections while blueoxing my Honda CRV.

I keep hearing conflicting advice about gas shocks versus other options, proper tire pressures, and suspension upgrades. What actually works to smooth out these bone-jarring impacts? I need real solutions that will make a noticeable difference in ride comfort, not just minor tweaks. Has anyone successfully tamed an F53's harsh ride? …more

Halfway through my first long trip, this bone-rattling vibration and unsettling sway started plaguing my newer Class A motorhome with the Ford F53 Godzilla V8 chassis. Coming from a 26' travel trailer and a history with brands like LazyDaze, I'm trying to understand the current RV landscape. I saw a Baystar 2023 model where the owner spent around $35,000 on suspension upgrades after just 12,000 miles.

Sounds awesome on paper, but I keep hearing people say you still need to dump a ton of money into suspension upgrades to make these things handle decently on the highway. Did Ford actually improve the suspension setup when they introduced the Godzilla engine, or are we dealing with the same basic chassis design that's been around forever? I'm talking about 30+ foot Class A rigs here - seems crazy that a $200k motorhome would need immediate aftermarket work to drive safely.

Anyone know if the Godzilla F53 combo actually fixed the handling problems or if it's just more power on the same wobbly platform? …more

Staring at my 1995 F53 motorhome's crooked steering wheel for the third time this season and I'm done guessing what's causing these alignment issues. Just got back from the alignment shop and they're telling me the thrust angle is way off but there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it on the rear axle. They basically shrugged and said "that's just how it is" and sent me on my way.

I'm having a hard time accepting this answer because the RV pulls to one side constantly and I'm going through tires like crazy. Before I give up completely, I need to know - can thrust angle actually be adjusted on Ford F53 chassis? I've heard there might be ways to reposition things in the rear, but I need specifics on what methods exist and whether this is something that can realistically be fixed. …more

About every 6 months my 2016 Tiffin Allegro 36 UA is eating through brake rotors on this Ford F53 chassis with Dana 17060s rear axle. When I look up brake rotors using my VIN, everything shows 10-lug parts, but my RV actually has 8-lug rotors.

Why is the Ford VIN lookup giving me wrong brake rotor specs? Where should I be sourcing 8-lug brake parts for this Dana axle configuration instead? …more

I'm planning my F53 motorhome maintenance when it started making clunking sounds turning yesterday, and crawling underneath revealed my drag link from steering box to left knuckle completely failed. Classic!

I've been hunting for parts and of course the 1999-2008 drag links seem to have vanished into thin air on sites like RockAuto. But lo and behold, I found a 2009 Motorcraft MDOE35 drag link available. My optimistic side is thinking "close enough, right?" but my wallet (and my safety) are wondering if I'm being too hopeful.

Will this 2009 part actually work on my 1999 F53, or am I setting myself up for another one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" RV moments? Any wisdom on where to actually find the right part for us pre-2009 folks? …more