Getting new to me Seneca from LA to Austin

[WinnieView]

It is just the angle of the camera. We could post ours and they would look different still. Not adjustable as they are on the smaller Ford chassis and the CHF.

You are 100% correct about the Safe-T-Plus.
Its only purpose is to "keep control" of the rig in case of a front tire blowout.
And it does taking some getting used to as it is always trying to return the steering wheel to center.

We installed one on each of our previous motorhomes up to our 40' DP and with the bigger 22.5" tires could come in real handy during a blowout.

Now should we turn the discussion to upgrading the 19.5" tires to 22.5" on the Kodiak chassis? Many owners (not motorhome) over at dieselplace.com have done just that.

[lonestarrpm]

Originally Posted by 2008Seneca

It is just the angle of the camera. We could post ours and they would look different still. Not adjustable as they are on the smaller Ford chassis and the CHF.

You are 100% correct about the Safe-T-Plus.
Its only purpose is to "keep control" of the rig in case of a front tire blowout.
And it does taking some getting used to as it is always trying to return the steering wheel to center.

We installed one on each of our previous motorhomes up to our 40' DP and with the bigger 22.5" tires could come in real handy during a blowout.

Now should we turn the discussion to upgrading the 19.5" tires to 22.5" on the Kodiak chassis? Many owners (not motorhome) over at dieselplace.com have done just that.

What I am hoping to address is the feeling that I would have to do a correction, hands to the left, then it would overdrift and then hands to the right, and repeat. It was exhausting and unnerving. Self centering I think is what this would help with and what I am after --

If it doesn't help -- then I'll live with it. Front sway bar should help as well.

Mike

[WinnieView]

Originally Posted by lonestarrpm

What I am hoping to address is the feeling that I would have to do a correction, hands to the left, then it would overdrift and then hands to the right, and repeat. It was exhausting and unnerving. Self centering I think is what this would help with and what I am after --

If it doesn't help -- then I'll live with it. Front sway bar should help as well.

Mike

It will minimize the sawing of the steering wheel but we are always careful not to use a band aid to "fix" an underlying problem such as worn suspension parts--tie rods ends, drag link, or alignment.

Provided everything is in good shape a front trac bar will keep the front axle going straight down the road.

One tip we can offer when you find yourself sawing at the wheel is to focus your eyes further down the road.

In summary, trac bars prevent the front or rear axles from moving right to left with no driver input, and sway bars help keep the RV vertical when cornering and such.

[Goflight2]

You’ll love the JW Speaker lights. Pricey, but worth it.

[Goflight2]

Any issues with the paint on the front cap? I know this is a common problem. I had to have my front cap re-painted.

[WinnieView]

Ours is getting worse by the day. Especially under the Arizona sun year round, the clear coat is flaking like dandruff and makes the whole rig "look like crap".

[lonestarrpm]

Originally Posted by 2008Seneca

Ours is getting worse by the day. Especially under the Arizona sun year round, the clear coat is flaking like dandruff and makes the whole rig "look like crap".

Not sure if you can see it on mine -- but I have the same issue --
May or may not bother to fix it.

Anyone that has done it -- is it a removal of the clear coat and just a respray?

What kind of cost -- have to figure not just anywhere can do the work.

Mike

[WinnieView]

Originally Posted by lonestarrpm

Not sure if you can see it on mine -- but I have the same issue --
May or may not bother to fix it.

Anyone that has done it -- is it a removal of the clear coat and just a respray?

What kind of cost -- have to figure not just anywhere can do the work.

Mike

Yep. Yours doesn't look like it has progressed as far as ours has but it looks sort of like ours did almost 2 years ago.

Goflight2 had theirs redone and posted about it with pictures. Wish we had the funds to make it right.

We did remove the Jayco stickers both front and back, and plan to fix the flaking ourselves with a can of USC Spray Max 2000;

https://www.amazon.com/Spray-High-Gl.../dp/B0043B7UQY

[Goflight2]

With the front, sides and rear (plus some other interior stuff) about $5k


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[Goflight2]

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[Goflight2]

I have a lot of other pics in my profile.


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[SousaInn]

Goflight2, The cap repaint looks awesome. What shop did the work? looks like you are just north of Anaheim, about 6-7 hours south of me.

[Goflight2]

I used Pacific RV Paint in Graden Grove. They painted my old C class over 14 years ago and the paint held up the entire time I owned it.

The only thing is that when I was picking it up, the owner, Jerry, told me he has sold the building they were in and were going to move. Not sure if they are still there.
Great work, just needed to stay on top of them.

[Dustdevil]

Looks like a nice trip, and glad it worked out so well for you and your daughter to have some fun in the new RV. First year in college is scary and fun at the same time. Some kids can't wait to be away from home and on their own. Some just stay near home. It's good that she got a look at several schools along the way.

Have fun in the new Seneca. We just used ours and headed to Quartzsite for the first time at the big snowbird event there. Dry camped with friends just outside of town, and had a great time. My buddy has a new device he calls a "Ladder Gadget" he was selling there. So, we helped them a bit and did some mean slow-cooked meals in the dutch oven in the evening.

[Dave_Jan]

You will love the safe t plus stabilizer. Makes driving enjoyable.


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[lonestarrpm]

Originally Posted by Dave_Jan

You will love the safe t plus stabilizer. Makes driving enjoyable.


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I went all
While you in there.

Bought the safe-t-steer, trac bars, and free by sway bar.

Front end should be stiff enough now to drift the rig :-)

Should come in over the next few weeks and I’ll assemble it myself since it looks to be just some simple wrenching and doesn’t need a lift or specialty tools.

Mike

[Dave_Jan]

Very easy to install and adjust the center position.


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[WinnieView]

Originally Posted by lonestarrpm

I went all
While you in there.

Bought the safe-t-steer, trac bars, and free by sway bar.

Front end should be stiff enough now to drift the rig :-)

Should come in over the next few weeks and I’ll assemble it myself since it looks to be just some simple wrenching and doesn’t need a lift or specialty tools.

Mike

Don't forget the Koni shocks while your wallet is open and you are under there.
You shouldn't need the "red" rear rated for the 19k springs. We bought ours at;
Bilstein - KYB - Rancho - Monroe - KONI Shocks and Struts - Shockwarehouse.com

You most likely need the pin to pin mounts for both front and rear sets but double check that they are not eye to eye.

And for "the icing on the cake" the SuperSprings SumoSprings to replace the factory bump stops.
They market and sell them for the rear only but we talked with one of their engineers and they didn't see why we couldn't install them on the front as well. We did have to add a spacer block for them to contact the leaf springs, so they sold us another set but at a discount price.

This is the front showing a Koni, and a SumoSpring where the factory bump stop was removed. Shockwarehouse also has the Bilstein which are a good shock. We installed 8 on our last motorhome, a 40' diesel pusher which also had 8 factory airbags. We installed Konis on our first motohome as well which was on the popular Workhorse W22 chassis.

P.S. We have taken pictures of everything, if you need any more for reference just let us know.

[lonestarrpm]

Got the headlights installed. Easy job, forgot my cordless, so got a good wrist workout.

Installed sway bar setup, aside from the mounts being marked wrong, it was a relatively easy install. Breaking those u-bolt nuts and reinstalling is a PITA.

You can see the trac bar in the background.
That too was an easy install once I figured out how the assembly goes.

The safe-t steer looked easy, but the holes for the bracket for the axle weren’t big enough.

Will likely RMA that and consider a rear trac bar.

Short road trip seemed like it was improved, but cross winds and semis will be the real test.

Have a race in NOLA late March. That might be the inaugural tow.

Mike

[WinnieView]

The headlights are awesome. Wish we had that upgrade.

Yep, the u-bolts are big and tight. We bought a 3 foot 3/4" torque wrench a few years back for removing/changing wheels on our motorhomes. The u-bolt torque is about 250 pounds. Same goes for tie rod ends.

The Safe-T-Plus is primarily for safety in case of a front tire blowout and although many owners report is making driving "better" the trac and sway bars will fix most handling issues of the Kodiak chassis. Along with a good set of shocks.

P.S. The correct socket for a torque wrench for wheel lug nuts is 30mm. And their torque is 450 pounds as printed on the Alcoa wheels.