jjrbus

I have a 2001 Chevy Express 3500 cut away that is a Road Trek class B RV. .I have put on about 8000 miles and it was tight when I bought it. This thing wanders, I have had it checked couple times and they say the front end is tight However not one of them greased the front end so have to wonder about their opinions. Have had 3 front end alignments with a top notch shop who found the hidden upper idler arm grease fitting was bone dry, greasing it did make a difference and they adjusted steering box. They were embarrassed missing it before and did not charge me for that service. Replaced tires and shocks and put on aluminum wheels since acquiring it. I did read one post that stated they thought the after market aluminum wheels affected handling.

There does not appear to be any frame damage or rot. I suspect the control arm bushings are worn but not shot, I am no mechanic just guessing. I am thinking buying a upper and lower front suspension kit and replacing everything. The Mevotech kits seem to be well thought of, any opinion on these. How many hours would a shop charge for installing these kits? Anything I might have missed? Any thoughts, ideas, opinions, input or wisecracks greatly appreciated.

Triaged

What shocks did you put in? If they weren't Bilstein then swap them out for those. It's hard to do any of this remotely. Have someone go slightly back and forth with the steering while looking at and feeling every joint in the steering. There are many!

funtwodrv

We have an RV on a 4500 chassis. I did have the caster adjusted to get about 6* positive in an effort to make it a bit more stable. It seemed to help with reducing "wander" and tramlining. As mentioned above, I put Bilstein shocks on it after the first trip!

jjrbus

Over the years I have read countless articles on steering issues and not once have the shocks been at fault. Had the worn OE shocks with 60,000 miles when I bought it and no wander.

jjrbus

Found something interesting. I changed out the steel wheels for aluminum. The aluminum wheels have the same bolt pattern but a different offset the OE wheels have a 18-22 offset and the pickup wheels I installed have a 28mm offset.Could this be an issue? My alignment guy says its possible it is causing the wander.

funtwodrv

It’s possible…but, many of these vans are running around on aftermarket wheels that are wider, and I suppose, with different offsets. Have you discussed with your alignment guy, the possibility of dialing in some caster?

jjrbus

Thanks for the response. I put these wheels on with no concern as I have seen them on other Roadtrek RV. I talked with someone who has the exact model as mine but a year older and he has no issues! Knowledgeable people say not to change offset by more than 5mm. The OE steel wheels have an offset from18-29mm the replacement aluminum wheel have a 28mm offset. Have had the front end checked twice, rotated the tires, played with pressure. Have another appointment to check the front end next week.. Something is wrong and not sure what.

Triaged

Not a motorhome but my wheels I think are 43mm offset. It doesn't wonder.

jjrbus

n an effort to chase down the cause of this wander I took my 01 Chevy into a shop, unknown shop I have no reason to trust or distrust them. Their diagnosis is I need new idler arms and brackets both sides. I went to my alignment shop who I trust and they are closed for the holidays.

Should an alignment shop have found bad idler arms and brackets in the course of an alignment? They had it twice recently and told it is wandering.

Triaged

There is only one idler arm. The other side is the pitman arm on the steering box. The idler arm bracket is a known "weak point" on these vans so it being worn makes sense. I suspect some of that problem comes from nobody ever greasing it. Many of the aftermarket brackets come with a grease extension hose for this reason.