Question Comfort Drive

[Rich W.]

Try it at 1 for low speed maneuvering with ease. Also as J&JD said, it provides significant relief on roads with a lot of curves, especially in the mountains - I usually set it down to 2 in those cases. I generally like a little more steering resistance, especially on long straight stretches, but a little less steering effort is often welcomed towards the end of the day. Automatically centering the wheel is a nice feature but avoid shutting off the engine with the wheels still cranked one way or the other - it can put a lot of stress on steering gear. I could live without CD but I like the ability to adjust as needed/wanted.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Found this write up around Comfort Drive by Mike Mas interesting.

http://rotory.com/coach/comfort/#ewpopup/2/

 

[Joe Hogan]

Excellent Article that in my opinion accurately depicts the attributes of Comfort Drive. Wish I had read this before delivery as it aligns closely to what I experienced driving the DSDP. Would have avoid much unnecessary and stressful testing.

 

[Neemer]

There is a document in the resources section that was written by Ken Sherwin, Comfort Drive’s daddy. I used to refer to it often and find it very descriptive.

Comfort Drive Tour - Rev A (Ken Sherwin)

Comfort Drive designer Ken Sherwin posted this document in 2017. It provides an excellent walk-through of the Comfort Drive system installed in Newmar diesel coaches.

rvforums.com

 

[GUS2000]

We owned a Newmar Superstar for three years and drove 32k miles in it so I feel I can speak to this coming from a Super C chassis (M2 106) to the Class A (XCR). Steering effort when making low speed turns, much easier with the XCR chassis (CD setting 3) - shorter wheel base makes U turns ALOT easier than the 341" wheelbase Super Star. Crosswind situations I feel the XCR does a great job as we just went through alot of wind last week and I was impressed with how the CD assisted with staying straight and center in the lane. No issues with trucks passing or passing up trucks.. All that being said, I would bring it in to get checked out if I felt it wasnt performing as designed... so there may be something not quite right.. Steering is somewhat subjective I would imagine as we all drive our own way. I do want to add that it's easier to keep the DS4369 centered in a lane than my Ford F250... safe travels!

 

[Joe doggs]

I think as others have mentioned,it may take some getting used to..I’ve had numerous large class a coaches without it,and a couple with it….its absolutely amazing!! There’s a very good write up about it on irv2…..I doubted at first but…sure enough,with constant cross wind,or crowned road,it actually helps with the fight…no more tired,tense arm/shoulder muscles after a days drive(less excuse to go get a massage however.)returning to center is nice,and while not promoted,I’ve heard there are benefits if you have a blowout on a steer tire..for me the biggest benefit I notice,is with maximum assist,I’m not the one doing the work steering the coach,could steer it with my pinkie…..it’s almost like my jeep steering itself,although the jeep starts chiming if hands are removed from the steering wheel(which was done only as a test)……I’d guess you will end up appreciating comfort drive..Joe b

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Oversteering/overdriving is the major obstacle some people have to adjust to when getting used to the comfort drive.

 

[Rich W.]

Found this write up around Comfort Drive by Mike Mas interesting.

http://rotory.com/coach/comfort/#ewpopup/2/

Interesting, some questionable conclusions, and he took pages to say what Ken Sherwin has said in a couple paragraphs. Also its tough to read something that long with terrible punctuation but thats just my freaky button. Anyway, yeah - its called Comfort Drive, not Control Drive. I knew that.

 

[Rich W.]

So all this renewed discussion about CD has got me thinking about the forces we can exert on the front tires by either steering them while the coach is stationary (very easy to do), or shutting down while the wheels are still turned (easy to forget not to). We’ve all read that the structural components of the steering system are up to these forces, but what about the tires? Given the front tire failures we’ve seen on fairly new tires on Newmar coaches, what do you think about the possibility that CD allows us to put more strain on the sidewalls, casing, and plies than conventional power steering, and my question: do you think this could be a contributing factor to early front tire failure?

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Given the front tire failures we’ve seen on fairly new tires on Newmar coaches,

Is there any data to support this claim? I don't think Newmar's have any higher blowout rate than any other manufacturer but I have no data to support that claim.