2018 Precept 29V

[02camp]

We are extremely close to pulling the trigger on a 2018 Precept 29V. Are there any things I should look out for or any known issues? Are owners generally happy with their coaches? Any regrets? Thanks!

[Vicr]

I have a 37' precepts but have been on the these boards and forums and facebook pages for four years and one thing that comes up a lot from Alante owners is how poorly they handle, more so that Precept owners. Alante owners can chime in here. Another thing the whole J-Ride thing is a marketing tool. I have studied For MH chassis on Fords website and the J-Ride is what is on the chassis supplied from Ford. Now that being said any brand of MH on a Ford F53 chassis will have the same handling characteristics unless you get into a higher price point like Tiffen which does some actual chassis upgrades. Those same upgrades of course are just bolt ons which you could do to your Allegro. The nice thing about Jayco is the 2 year warranty.

[russellmania01]

We have an Alante 29f, we like it but as Vicr states it has a lot to be desired when it comes to handling. It’s a 2020 and we haven’t had it very long. I’m still checking to see what I will have to do to it. As far as J-ride, I have no idea what that is or if it actually does anything. You might want to ask if any upgrades have been done as to the handling.

[longleen]

Russellmamia01, I have the 2018 Alante 31P. It has the same wheelbase as your 29F. For handling do the CHF, get a rear track bar, put all your heavy cargo low and as far forward as you can. Get your RV weighed and adjust tire pressure to the charts and/or the yellow sticker by the drivers seat. Get you wheel aligned. I have done all of the above and went from white knuckles and brown pants to a very relaxed drive.

02camp, The Precept has a longer wheelbase and larger tires. That makes a big difference in handling. Check out the CHF it’s free, if you don’t count the $$ for the torque wrench.

Good rides to both of you.

[russellmania01]

Thanks for the replies. We had the alignment checked and it’s within standards but the steering wheel couldn’t be centered, don’t know if that’s a big problem or not. They did say that the tires are flat, meaning that it set to long in one place. Will have to talk to the manufacturer about that. I am going to check out the CHF, it would be nice to have a relaxed drive.

[longleen]

I did the CHF myself in the side yard. I’m 77 years young. Had the RV jacks retracted, crawled under it with a couple of wrenches and sockets. No problem getting bolts out, needed bottle jack to get 2nd side back in. easy peasy . That was front. Noticed Ford has a front track bar already installed.

Back end was a little crowded but still easy. Had to check clearance for the Z brackets and reversed them for clearance.
Big difference in handling. A few trips later I installed a rear track bar, not too hard. That made a difference when 18 wheelers passed me.

[russellmania01]

Originally Posted by longleen

I did the CHF myself in the side yard. I’m 77 years young. Had the RV jacks retracted, crawled under it with a couple of wrenches and sockets. No problem getting bolts out, needed bottle jack to get 2nd side back in. easy peasy . That was front. Noticed Ford has a front track bar already installed.

Back end was a little crowded but still easy. Had to check clearance for the Z brackets and reversed them for clearance.
Big difference in handling. A few trips later I installed a rear track bar, not too hard. That made a difference when 18 wheelers passed me.

Thanks longleen I’m going to check it out. I should be able to do it myself, I’m only 71.

[Vicr]

Originally Posted by russellmania01

Thanks for the replies. We had the alignment checked and it’s within standards but the steering wheel couldn’t be centered, don’t know if that’s a big problem or not. They did say that the tires are flat, meaning that it set to long in one place. Will have to talk to the manufacturer about that. I am going to check out the CHF, it would be nice to have a relaxed drive.

You can't do the CHF. Ford stopped putting the adjustable swaybars on the chassis mid '17. If you have sway then you'll need larger sway bars. Look at Hellwig and Roadmaster for larger diameter swaybars than what you have.

[longleen]

Guess I lucked out. Our Alante is a 2018 model, but the F53 chassis is a 2017. Guess it’s early ‘17. Wish manufacturers would get their act on the same Page.

[russellmania01]

Thanks for the info, was hoping I could get by without any expense. Just my luck. Will check out the Hellwig and Roadmaster. It’s not a good experience driving, a lot of swaying and leaning.

[Jerry Burks]

I did the track bar, steering stabilizer, alignment and CHF for our 2018 Alante 31V. Increased tire pressure to 90 psi cold. Made a big difference and I will happily drive it long distance now.

However, do not expect it to drive like a car. Depending on road crown, ruts, side wind and still some big rig passing it may still need continuous steering input. But it is manageable. I just don't like to drive more than 300 miles a piece. Beyond that it is possible but no fun anymore.

We just gut a new Subaru Outback with the automatic lane steering control (not full autopilot). Man, I wish we had that in the Jayco.....

[russellmania01]

Thanks for your input Jerry. Had the alignment checked and it was okay. They did say that the tires are flat, meaning it set too long in one place and that probably has a little to do with the handling. Haven’t done the CHF yet. I don’t expect it to drive like a car, I’ve driven big vans, box trucks and 18 wheelers and none of those was as hard to drive as this thing is. I don’t mind driving, it’s the white knuckle driving I don’t like.. Yeah those new vehicles are something else, kind of spoils you doesn’t it.

[02camp]

Update: After putting a deposit down on the Precept 29V, our state went on lock down the following day. Since I had not seen the coach, I requested my deposit back. It took 2 weeks but that is a whole different story; lesson learned. I do want to thank all who commented. I now understand some suspension mods may have to be done to be reasonably comfortable behind the wheel. I'm guessing everyone is fairly satisfied with the "house" portion of the RV. The search will continue as soon as we are able to move about freely. Thanks again, Ricky

[russellmania01]

We should have taken it for a test drive, lesson learned, but we were just so happy because we were getting a motor coach. We are happy with the floor plan but now we have five kids so it’s a little small. I think anything on that chassis will need modifications. Hope you find a good one. Good luck.

[lenadar]

We have a 2018 29V and love it! No real issues with it at all.

[russellmania01]

Did you do any modifications?

[lenadar]

No we have only had it a year, but we are thinking of making the king bed a queen so we can walk around a little better, and possible taking the table out and doing a 4 chair table, also the could out bed is an air mattress and not very comfortable so maybe changing that or making it jack knife. If you have any other questions let me know .
Have a great day

[Choppered]

Agreed. I have spent thousands of dollars to keep it on the road..

[russellmania01]

We have the Alante 29f. It’s the bunk model so it already has a queen size bed. We like the floor plan, it’s the handling I have a problem with.

[HJ Rosch]

We have a 2018 Alante 31V and it was a bit white knuckle off the lot. Did the CHF including the custom brackets for the front and a Roadmaster steering stabilizer myself in an afternoon. Then had a rear track bar added along with an all wheel alignment. Did an 11,000 mile Alaska trip last summer and handling was very comfortable-one handed steering on freeways and better roads. It still wants to lean a bit in corners so I am considering Sumo Springs but it’s not a deal breaker. We have put about 27,000 miles on it and couldn’t be happier. But yes, you do need to do a few upgrades to make it handle better.