2014 - 33’ Forrest river georgetown rocking

[Forrestrivertodd]

hoping for help

Traveling today. Hit an unexpectedly rough railroad track in Georgia.

Ever since, whenever i get up over 60 or so, the motorhome rocks, sways, back and forth like a metronome set on 80. Not really vibrating. It got a little scary a couple if times on the interstate. At one point i was afraid i may lose control.

I climbed underneath to inspect. The springs look ok. The shock absorbers too.

Need help diagnosing this. Kids and wife spooked. My phone number is (850) 687-8072. Please reply here or text me if easier.

 

[Forrestrivertodd]

Checked tire pressure also.

Sway bars?

 

[Rich W.]

Sounds like you broke something and it wouldnt be the sway bars since they don't come into play unless you are turning. You could have broken a leaf spring or spring mount that isn’t visible during a basic inspection. The thing to do now is get it on an alignment rack where anything thats off will show up and a better suspension inspection is possible.

 

[team bradfield]

I agree with Rich, sounds like you broke a spring or mount, that will allow the rocking motion

 

[Forrestrivertodd]

I agree with Rich, sounds like you broke a spring or mount, that will allow the rocking motion

It turned out to be the rear drivers side sway bracket clamp. It broke clean off.

I rigged up something to get me home but i dont know how ill find the replacement clamp. I tried every store and looked online.

The replacement should look something like this.

 

[Rich W.]

It turned out to be the rear drivers side sway bracket clamp. It broke clean off.

I rigged up something to get me home but i dont know how ill find the replacement clamp. I tried every store and looked online.

The replacement should look something like this.

Hopefully thats all it is but a rear sway bar mount shouldn't cause your handling issue you described. Did the problem go away after addressing it?

 

[Forrestrivertodd]

Hopefully thats all it is but a rear sway bar mount shouldn't cause your handling issue you described. Did the problem go away after addressing it?

Ill find out tomorrow and let you know. Im hoping so because its the only thing i could find that was broke

 

[Rich W.]

well if it is the only thing it will be cheap to fix

 

[Little Bitty Zitty]

I doubt that's all it is. But hope you are right. Use the levelers on the rear to raise the coach, but not to where the tires are off ground. Also block the front wheels in front and back to ensure against roll.

With the weight off the springs look carefully at the leaves for cracks. Also check the links that mount the springs to the chassis for damage.

I also recommend an additional sway bar for the rear. It installs additionally to the factory one. I installed one and love it. It has corrected all the weaving when a semi passes you. The coach no longer is pulled toward the semi and then pushed away.( due to the pressure differences when he passes.) Less sway and handles much better in wind.


Good luck.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

Sounds like you broke something and it wouldnt be the sway bars since they don't come into play unless you are turning. You could have broken a leaf spring or spring mount that isn’t visible during a basic inspection. The thing to do now is get it on an alignment rack where anything thats off will show up and a better suspension inspection is possible.

I disagree, Rich. A sway bar reduces exactly what the OP is complaining about. It allows for softer spring rates (better ride) with more stability.
The torsion on the sway bar equalizes some of the offset weight to the spring on the other side of the “sway”, i.e. the outside of the turn. They do the same thing in crosswinds, centrifugal force or any condition that will shift weight side to side.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

Broken "sway bar" brackets are a known issue on F-53 chassis.
And "Yes" it will allow what the "OP" stated to happen.
In another Forum, there is a Ford chassis group, which addresses it, & also an available "cure" for it.
The brackets need to be checked for tightness, just like slide motor bolts.
Good Luck!

 

[Rich W.]

I disagree, Rich. A sway bar reduces exactly what the OP is complaining about. It allows for softer spring rates (better ride) with more stability.
The torsion on the sway bar equalizes some of the offset weight to the spring on the other side of the “sway”, i.e. the outside of the turn. They do the same thing in crosswinds, centrifugal force or any condition that will shift weight side to side.

Well I was bound to be wrong eventually. However these sway bars (anti-sway bars) are neutral when sitting level and not in a turn or wind, and given the OPs description “whenever i get up over 60 or so”, it didn’t seem like this would be the culprit, or at least not the entire problem.

My point was to look for additional damage as well. If the problem went away with a new clamp, great! If not, I’d get the coach on a rack. Maybe @Forrestrivertodd will return and tell us, but since we haven’t heard from him in over two months, that was probably all it was - nice cheap fix.

I’ve hit some ugly RR crossings too and now I nearly come to a stop even if they look smooth. Usually they are, but once in a while I hit one that looked ok but would have caused a hard hit on my suspension if I were going any faster.

 

[Rich W.]

Broken "sway bar" brackets are a known issue on F-53 chassis.
And "Yes" it will allow what the "OP" stated to happen.
In another Forum, there is a Ford chassis group, which addresses it, & also an available "cure" for it.
The brackets need to be checked for tightness, just like slide motor bolts.
Good Luck!

I did the “cheap handling fix” (from that other forum) on my F53 (2010 Bay Star) but used Helwig adjustable links on the front and my front links on the rear to maintain OE geometry. It worked out well, but at one point I lost a bolt in one of the link ends and while handling wasn’t as good, it didn’t cause anything near the problems that the OP had. It still handled ok even on winding, crowned back roads. Hence my suggestions - I’d probably still do this:

 

[Bigblockyeti]

The found problem and symptom right after the hard hit don't make sense to me either. If the anti-sway bar is keeping that from happening, something else is wrong. Shocks, alignment, tire balance, tire pressure, spring mounts, and relatively equal side to side weight distribution all need to be checked. Even a broken belt in a tire can allow the tread to look like a camshaft creating such a symptom.