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Troubleshooting |
We
can make your driving experience safer and more pleasurable! |
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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. |
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What
do our products do? |
| • UltraTrac
Bellcranks - help control "rutting" and road wandering. |
| • UltraTrac
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
Adjustable Shocks - adjustable to the weight of the coach, allowing the ability
to "fine-tune" the shock for optimum ride control. Generally reduces
"porpoising" and helps with sway control. |
| • Tiger
Trac System - used on Safari chassis to control the rocking of the "cradle"
which creates instability and "over-steering". |
| • ipd
Sway Bars - control the rocking and rolling of the coach. |
| • Tru
Center Steering Control - Works much the same as Safe-T-Plus with the added
feature of having a push button trim control. |
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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 groves 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. This may be presented
when doing quick lane changes, cornering or driving through 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. |
