Excessive sway and tracking issues Alante 29F

[reconaz]

We just picked up our new 2021 Jayco Alante 29F in Orlando, Fl. And we are currently driving it back to our home in Arizona. We are getting blown to the side with any vehicle that passes us. Semi trucks are really bad but even a Cadillac will blow us to the side. This is our first class A, we have been told that they are supposed to drive well. Reading about all the new JRide suspension and all the upgraded driving things in the new 2021s we thought it would be better. As we have nothing to compare it to. Is this normal? It is absolutely exhausting, white knuckling the steering wheel for 6 hours a day. Any help is much appreciated.

[CAG]

Here is a place to start looking. As mentioned by one of the posters in that thread, there are numerous threads with information that might help you. In the gold bar at the top of the page use the search function. I put in "Alante suspension issues" and there was this and more. Good luck.



https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...26x-52061.html

[muckinfuss]

One thing to consider...a 30ft long rv is showing a 360 sq ft 'sail' to any air disturbance that hits it broadside. A little sailboat like a sunfish only has a 75 sq ft area to catch the breeze. Slowing down will give some relief unless there's an additional high wind coming from the side, but the truth is, it's going to pull in the direction of the passing vehicle in direct proportion to how much disturbance that car/truck/bus/etc puts in its wake. See Bernoulli principle fluid dynamics.

[mkassab]

Check out this site for front and rear suspension systems to help with the drifting/swaying...... SuperSteer link https://supersteerparts.com/
Mark

[GABob]

Originally Posted by reconaz

We just picked up our new 2021 Jayco Alante 29F in Orlando, Fl. And we are currently driving it back to our home in Arizona. We are getting blown to the side with any vehicle that passes us. Semi trucks are really bad but even a Cadillac will blow us to the side. This is our first class A, we have been told that they are supposed to drive well. Reading about all the new JRide suspension and all the upgraded driving things in the new 2021s we thought it would be better. As we have nothing to compare it to. Is this normal? It is absolutely exhausting, white knuckling the steering wheel for 6 hours a day. Any help is much appreciated.

My C wasn’t that bad, but still decided to add the Safe-T-Plus bar up front and their anti sway bar in the rear. I can pretty much drive it with one hand now with a great degree of confidence (still use both as the wife would give me looks):

[Sanford Fl camper]

I have a 2021 precept 31UL. I have about 2000 miles on it, I do notice that it does sway with passing trucks. I will be in the Atlanta area in 2 weeks and will stop at Safe-t-Plus factory and have them install the steering stabilizer

I’ll let you know how that works out

[MRichaud]

We've had our Precept a few months now and it's way better than our previous coach. Couple of things I've learned from this and other RV forum searches:

Weight distribution - too much toward the rear of the coach can cause problems. Think of a pickup truck with a heavy load which raises the front end of the truck.

Tire pressure - careful with this one, but higher pressures will accentuate wandering. Weighing your coach and using proper inflation numbers is important!

Get an alignment at a shop experienced with the F53 chassis. From what I've learned, most of these are not set up properly. I'll be doing so very soon, and while I don't have the numbers (someone else here will), adding a bit more caster angle helps.

Heavy duty sway bars, as Bob mentioned above, can help.

I will say that our 2020 Precept 31UL does much better out of the box than our previous coach, a Thor ACE. Part of that is due to the Precept's improved J-ride suspension, but also its 22.5" wheels and longer wheelbase. The only modification I plan to do is install a Roadmaster steering stabilizer after I have the alignment done. And while that may help with the wandering, I like the safety factor in case of a front tire blowout.

Hope this helps!
Mickey

[Sanford Fl camper]

Originally Posted by MRichaud

We've had our Precept a few months now and it's way better than our previous coach. Couple of things I've learned from this and other RV forum searches:

Weight distribution - too much toward the rear of the coach can cause problems. Think of a pickup truck with a heavy load which raises the front end of the truck.

Tire pressure - careful with this one, but higher pressures will accentuate wandering. Weighing your coach and using proper inflation numbers is important!

Get an alignment at a shop experienced with the F53 chassis. From what I've learned, most of these are not set up properly. I'll be doing so very soon, and while I don't have the numbers (someone else here will), adding a bit more caster angle helps.

Heavy duty sway bars, as Bob mentioned above, can help.

I will say that our 2020 Precept 31UL does much better out of the box than our previous coach, a Thor ACE. Part of that is due to the Precept's improved J-ride suspension, but also its 22.5" wheels and longer wheelbase. The only modification I plan to do is install a Roadmaster steering stabilizer after I have the alignment done. And while that may help with the wandering, I like the safety factor in case of a front tire blowout.

Hope this helps!
Mickey

What tire pressures are you running in your 31UL?

I currently have 90 PSI all the way around

[MRichaud]

Originally Posted by Sanford Fl camper

What tire pressures are you running in your 31UL?

I currently have 90 PSI all the way around

On our last trip (last week), to experiment a bit I increased to 90 - was at 85. A little more "squirrelly", but there may have been a bit more wind as well. As I mentioned, I plan to have it aligned and expect some improvement.

[Mike-NM]

https://www.safe-t-plus.com/

works wonders......

[stustoner]

We have an 2017 Alante 26X....and the handling was not the best.....stopped into Safe-T-Plus in GA and had them install their steering control.....then did the CHF to the front and rear of the unit......now I drive one-handed down the road!

[mkassab]

Originally Posted by stustoner

We have an 2017 Alante 26X....and the handling was not the best.....stopped into Safe-T-Plus in GA and had them install their steering control.....then did the CHF to the front and rear of the unit......now I drive one-handed down the road!

"CHF" Help.... what does that mean?

thx Mark

[stustoner]

"Cheap Handling Fix".......google it....there are several videos detailing the process.....easy to do and takes very little time and talent.

[brightsky]

Originally Posted by Mike-NM

https://www.safe-t-plus.com/

works wonders......

Safe T Plus is not in JRide? Why is not it standard for safe riding?

[Mike-NM]

Who knows..... guess Jayco is satisfied with its own J-ride system but for me it is an additional safety measure worth the added expense and peace of mind.

[stustoner]

IMHO, there are a lot of items that should be standard in these units, a decent steering stabilizer for one, but it all comes down to the bottom line.
To get these items included on a unit from the manufacturer you have to move up several classes and spend mucho dinero.

[waltmere]

This is my post from another group:
After putting 3000 miles on our 2019 Jayco Alante 31V and experiencing many of the handling issues that are well documented in numerous posts all over social media, we decided that since we really like our Alante 31V we would spend some additional cash and upgrade our suspension. We had already done the CHF and it made it slightly better, but we were sure more was possible. So off to do some research. There was so much good information in the RV Groups and even more opinions of what should be done, what worked best and what parts you should have installed on your motorhome. So, we said “what the hell it’s only money, right?”.
We went online and purchased the following equipment:
Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer
Roadmaster Front and Rear Anti Sway Bars
Sumo Springs Front and Rear
SuperSteer Rear Trac Bar
Upon receiving the parts, we brought the coach and parts to an Independent RV Service center and hired them to install all the parts at once.
Today we picked up our motorhome with our new upgraded suspension. So off we go on the test drive, my hope was that the motorhome would handle and drive completely different than it did when we brought it to the shop. Was all of this going to be worth the cost?
As I rolled the motorhome forward there was a big rut across the driveway at an angle, I went over it with no roll side to side and the springs made a huge difference in the bounce the coach had before. Next a right hand turn out of the parking lot and onto the roadway. No roll or sway! The coach tracked straight and true and just felt more solid going down the road. It was a very windy morning here in South Jersey, so I was expecting to fight the coach in the wind. To my surprise, while I could feel the wind push against the coach it did not take any real effort to get it back on line and keep it there, no sway and no fishtail.
As I drove the coach further toward home I realized that I was feeling very relaxed and the coach was handling exceptionally well and I was driving much of the time with one hand. After backing it into my driveway and moving around the coach we realized that it didn’t rock back and forth as it did before when walking through the coach, it felt like we had the levelers down, even though they were not.
So the bottom line. We spent just under $5,000.00 for parts and labor. Was it worth the investment? I have to say from the initial drive the answer is an overwhelming YES! I felt more comfortable and the coach handled extremely well and was easy to drive. We can’t wait for an opportunity to take it on a long trip to really evaluate the results. I will let you know how it goes as soon as we can get back out on the road again.

[JesseS]

That rig has a Ford F53 chassis, long leaf springs that allow the axle to shift side to side in cross drafts, causing a tail-wags the dog situation. A pan hard bar, steering stabilizer, and sumo springs will help a lot. I ended up installing a Kelderman air suspension system as well as the mentioned items to get my AY26 to run straight without sway or push, I can now drive one handed no problem where before it was a white knuckle experience, and I was a truck driver for years. I posted all of my mod's in another thread.

[reconaz]

Thanks for all the replies, we made it home safely. I stopped on day 3 and was able to find someone to align the front end (both sides were toed out a bit) and that helped quite a bit as well as upping the tire pressures a little. I have ordered the Safe T steering system and front Sumo's. I want to add another rear sway bar and trac bar but no one will confirm fitment on the 2021 F53 with V8 chassis. I looked at it and looks to me like they are different enough that someone will have to develop new stuff to fit, so I'll have to wait for now.

[JesseS]

I was under the impression that the 2021 Alante 29F had a Triton EFI V10?