RoadtripperEau Claire, WI12 posts · joined Aug 2025
#1
2017 Thor Hurricane 34J on a 2016 F-53 22k chassis, V10. white knuckles on I-94 every time a semi goes by and constant small corrections in a crosswind. we have money this fall for one or two things, not the whole catalog. everybody sells something: safe-t-plus steering stabilizer, roadmaster rear sway bar, a rear trac bar, sumo springs, and so on. which one did the most on a 34 footer for you. please say what year chassis, because i know the 2020 and up with the 7.3 got a different front end.
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f53_chassis_ron
WagonmasterOcala, FL34 posts · joined Aug 2025
#2
30 years at a Ford dealer in Ocala, a lot of it under F-53s. before you spend a dollar, three free things.
front tire pressure. run the pressure for your actual corner weight off the tire maker's load chart, not the sticker on the door. most coaches i see are 10 psi over on the fronts, which makes them dart. get it weighed at a CAT scale, each axle. and check the steering box free play with the engine running. if the wheel moves more than about an inch and a half before the tires do, the box needs the preload set. that is a wrench and a 3/4 socket on the sector shaft adjuster, 20 minutes. i have watched guys spend 2,500 on bars and the box was loose the whole time.
after that, order of value on a pre 2020 chassis from what i have seen: rear trac bar first. it stops the tail from walking sideways over a bump, which is what you feel as a shove when the semi passes. steering stabilizer second, it does not fix anything but it takes the fatigue out of your arms. rear sway bar third. a lot of coaches already have a factory bar and the bigger one helps, but less than the ads say.
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winter_in_yuma
SnowbirdYuma, AZ14 posts · joined Aug 2025
#3
2015 Winnebago Adventurer 35P, same era of chassis. we did the trac bar and a front sway bar the same weekend so i cannot tell you which one did what, but the drive from Yuma up to Flagstaff, which is all wind and grade, went from miserable to fine. about 1,900 installed at a shop here in Yuma. we added the steering stabilizer a year later and honestly i did not notice a lot from it.
T
gasser_not_pusher
RoadtripperMason City, IA16 posts · joined Aug 2025
#4
from iowa where the wind never quits. i did the rear trac bar only, roadmaster, six hundred and change, on ramps in the driveway in about two hours. the sideways shove from trucks dropped maybe 70 percent. i would do that alone first and drive it a month before buying anything else. i also tried sumo springs on the front and they made it ride harsh, took them back off and sold them.
J
route2_wanderersOP
RoadtripperEau Claire, WI12 posts · joined Aug 2025
#5
update. weighed it at the Flying J in Black River Falls: front 6,340, rear 14,120, on a 22k chassis. door sticker said 80 psi front, the Michelin chart for 6,340 on a 235/80R22.5 said 70. i set the fronts to 72 and did the steering box adjustment the way ron described, it had close to two inches of play. drove to Duluth and back, 200 some miles. it is a different coach. i have not spent a dime yet. trac bar is ordered anyway because the semi shove is still there, just smaller.
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pat_fixes_slides
Full-TimerKerrville, TX26 posts · joined Aug 2025
#6
one thing for the people with a 2020 or newer chassis reading this later. the 7.3 coaches got a heavier front stabilizer bar and a different steering gear from the factory, and on the 24k and 26k chassis a rear trac bar is a factory item. get under the coach before you order what the 2016 guys needed, you may already have it. the chassis owner guide on ford.com lists what came on each GVWR.
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route2_wanderersOP
RoadtripperEau Claire, WI12 posts · joined Aug 2025
#7
trac bar on. roadmaster, 640 with shipping, two and a half hours with a buddy and a floor jack. semi shove is basically gone and a crosswind is a light hand on the wheel instead of a fight. total spent, 640 and a decent tire gauge. if you have a pre 2020 F-53 do the free stuff first and then the trac bar. the rest of the catalog is for people with money left over.
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