Troubleshooting

We can make your driving experience safer and more pleasurable!

Use the information below to troubleshoot your vehicles handling issues as well as what our staff, based on years of experience, has found to be the optimal solution to any handling concerns you may have.

When you are experiencing any of the symptoms described below, know that the professionals at Brazel's RV have the knowledge, experience, tools and products to correct any steering or handling conditions you have with you particular coach.

What do our products do?

• UltraTrac Bellcranks - Help control "rutting" and road wandering.

• UltraTrac Rear Trac Bar- Eliminates side to side shifting of the frame over the rear axle by locking them together. This condition is normally caused by passing trucks and gusts of wind. Common in coaches with long overhangs.

• UltraTrac Front Trac Bar - Improves steering by locking the front axle to the frame eliminating "side shift", a common cause of "over steering".

• UltraTrac Air Ride Controls - Used on chassis that have air ride. These units control the rate at which the air escapes the air bags, reducing the rocking and rolling of the coach.

• Safe-T-Plus Steering Control - Helps in returning steering to the center and tracking; also helps in reducing over-reaction to road hazards and tire blow-out.

• Koni FSD Shocks - Self adjusting to the weight of the coach and road conditions. These shocks are constantly fine-tuning themselves for optimum ride control. Generally reduces "porpoising", helps with sway control and vastly improves overall ride quality.

• Tiger Trac System - Used on Safari chassis to control the rocking of the "cradle" which creates instability and "over-steering".

• Hellwig Sway Bars - Control the rocking and rolling of the coach.

Glossary of Terms and Diagnostics

• Bounce - Bouncing may occur in the front of the coach, the rear or both. Drive the coach on a rough or uneven road surface to determine if this condition exists.

• Delayed Steering Response - A slow gear ration will produce a slow steering response. This problem may also be caused by rear axle side-shift. Evidence of delayed steering response may be produces by small steering wheel adjustments at highway speeds.

• Dog Tracking - This is where the rear wheels of the vehicle do not follow or line up with the front wheels. The coach appears to be moving forward in a crooked fashion. Drive on a straight road. Look in the side mirror. The distance between the front wheel and the highway line will be different than the distance between the rear wheel and the highway line.

• Harsh Ride - The vehicle rides stiff. You can feel every crack, rut or bump in the road. This condition should be obvious to all passengers in the coach.

• Noise - Noises can come in many forms: rattles, clunks, tinny sounds, solid noises, etc. Are those noises produced while driving over small bumps or large potholes? Take another person with you and try to duplicate that noise so you can determine where the problem exists and how it may be resolved.

• Porpoising - The coach will teeter-totter in a front to back movement. Go over a freeway overpass where the pavement rises suddenly or over a gradual dip. This test will demonstrate if this condition exists.

• Pull - The coach drifts to the right or left when driving. The driver feels the steering wheel pulling to one side or the other.

• Returnability - As a turn is made, does the vehicle naturally come back to center? As you make a gradual left or right turn and let go of the wheel, if the coach does not come back to center, then there is poor returnability.

• Road Wander - With this condition, the coach "has a mind of its own". It wants to move left or right even if the driver is driving straight. The coach also wants to travel its own way after hitting ruts. Keep the steering wheel straight ahead and see where the coach goes. Hit a rut and determine how the coach reacts.

• Rut Tracking - The coach follows the grooves worn in the road (created often by 18-wheelers) or where ridges are created when an asphalt surface meets a concrete road surface. The coach wants to continue in the direction of the ridge or groove and it is difficult to correct or change the path of the coach. Find a similar road surface indicated above and test the vehicle for this response.

• Steering Play - This indicates the amount of free play in the steering wheel. When a driver moves the steering wheel to the left or right, there is little immediate response. Turn the steering wheel back and forth and determine if little reaction or turning is taking place.

• Sway - The coach leans, sways or rocks in a side to side motion with a distinct feeling of top heaviness. This may be presented when doing quick lane changes, cornering or entering unlevel driveways.

• Tail-Wagging the Dog - This is where the rear end of the coach tends to sway or slip to one side or the other. Making sudden lane changes or windy conditions often produce this problem. Small steering corrections may also produce tail-wagging the dog.

• Vibration - There are two kinds of vibration: steady or pulsating. The key is determining the source of the vibration. Is the vibration or pulsations coming from the steering wheel? Through the floor? Specific to certain speeds? It is like solving a puzzle.