Help a Child this Christmas

Those of you that are familiar with my column know that I typically write about suspension, handling and braking issues that affect all types of RVs. I’m committed to helping RV owners experience safer and happier driving, and I’m always looking for new ways that I can help. But it’s at this time of year that I think about something else that I’m committed to: helping children around the world that are less fortunate than ourselves. Read more  Read More →

Time for a Brake

As many of RV Net’s readers may know, one of my greatest concerns with regard to RVing is safety. In fact, our company slogan is “Safer and Happier Driving,” because our products and services are designed around that very premise. Often, I talk about products we offer that can help, but just as frequently I discuss products that I’ve discovered that help address a specific problem. In this post, I’m going to talk about both in a subject that should pique the interest of every RVer: Better braking. Read more  Read More →

Check the Chassis

It’s a fact of RVing life: Things wear out and break on your rig, and require maintenance and replacement. When it’s something you can see, it’s no problem—it’s what you can’t see that can fail and cause a potentially dangerous situation. We’ve been reminded of this numerous times in the past, but the most recent example is the rear control arms on some Monaco motorhome chassis, which have a tendency to crack or even fail completely. The chassis in question is the Roadmaster RR4R with the four-airbag “Monaco Gold” suspension. I’m not about to speculate on the cause of the problem, and I’m not going to suggest that the part was improperly engineered, but the fact is, the problem exists. We’ve seen it in our shop several times over the last couple of years. If you own one of these coaches, there is good news. Source Manufacturing, LLC offers heavy-duty rear control arms for these coaches under part number TRA-1002. These arms are a direct replacement for the factory components, and include upgraded axle mounting hardware. Even if you have already had these parts replaced under warranty, Source warns that the replacements are the same design as the original, and therefore are susceptible to the same problems. The TRA-1002 control arms are designed for Monaco Knight (’02-’04), Monaco Cayman (’02-’09), Holiday Rambler Ambassador (’02-’04), Holiday Rambler Neptune (’02-’09), Safari Cheetah (’02-’04) and Safari Simba RD (all years). We have... Read more

GM truck handling upgrades

For those of you that follow my posts, you may have noticed that I have been gone from RV.Net for a while. For reasons both personal and professional, I haven’t had the time to sit down and write anything, and for that, I apologize. The good news is that business has been picking up at Henderson’s Line-Up and SuperSteer, and we have a lot of exciting news to share. First and foremost, we are in the process of developing a new website that is much easier to navigate and will feature our own blog page, where you can come in, sign on and post questions or comments (I’ll still be posting here, too).  The new site will also feature an e-store, where you can purchase our products directly. The site is literally days away at this point, and as soon as it is up and running, I’ll be sure and let you know. We also have our new catalogs in, and a supplement that covers our product line designed specifically for trucks. These will be available for free download when the site is completed, but in the mean time you are welcome to call and ask for one, and we’ll mail one out. The new supplement has many new products in it, such as our SS 28559 tie rod for ‘01-current GM 2500 and 3500 series trucks (shown here). The stock tie rod in these applications has a tendency to bend or even break under extreme conditions, such has heavy loading, off-road driving, or both. Our new tie rod offers numerous improvements to the stock part. First and foremost, it is a full... Read more

Tricks for a Trek

The Safari Trek motorhome is one of the most common coaches we see in our shop. Its combination of Class A livability and relatively small size make it a favorite among RVers, and the P32 chassis is a reliable platform when used within its capacity (16,000-18,000 lbs.) It’s not the greatest handling coach, but the good news is, it responds well to some positive changes. Read more  Read More →

Porpoising: What it is, and how to stop it

A guy called me up the other day and told me his Dolphin motorhome was porpoising. I told him it sounded like it was having an identity crisis! (insert rim shot here). Seriously though, porpoising is something we get quite a few calls on, and it is one of those terms that you hear about mostly with regard to RV’s. Porpoising is front to rear bounce; the front hits a bump, then the rear hits the bump, and they both bounce independently of each other, creating an oscillating motion. If the problem is severe enough, it can feel like you’re going to pull the wheels off the ground. The problem is more typical in shorter coaches (low 20-foot to low 30 foot) than long ones. You don’t have as much trouble when you head up to 37 foot and beyond, and we definitely have more problems controlling it on a short wheelbase coach. The reason is that there is more time for the bump to settle out between the front and rear wheels on a longer wheelbase coach. Read more  Read More →

Giving Your Coach a Brake

Many brake problems announce themselves in the form of squeaking, or a pedal that feels squishy or pulsates when depressed. These are obvious signs that you need to have your brakes serviced immediately-but there are some brake problems that can go unnoticed until the real damage is done. Read more  Read More →

Tail Wagging, Part II

  Last week’s post on “Tail Wagging the Dog” drew quite a few comments, and I wanted to take the time to clarify a few of the statements that I made with regard to coach handling. Under normal circumstances, our experiences have found that, if the rear of the coach is not responsive on lane changes, gets pushed by passing trucks or has excessive over hang, the rear track bar makes a big difference.  The way we design our rear track bar cuts down a little on the body roll as well. Read more  Read More →

Tail Wagging the Dog

Steering problems can manifest themselves in many different ways-and in some instances, it isn’t the steering system that’s to blame. One of the most common problems we address at Henderson’s Line-Up is an issue we call “Tail Wagging the Dog”. It’s the sensation you get when the coach seems to have a mind of its own; you steer the wheel back and forth, and the rear half steers the coach. Read more  Read More →

Steering Play Causes and Cures

Steering free play is probably the number one complaint we hear about from coach owners at our shop. Steering free play is when the steering wheel can be moved back in forth in your hands, but the vehicle is not steering-in other words, there is excessive “play” in the steering wheel. When you stop and consider how many different components are involved in the steering action on today’s motorhomes, it’s easy to understand why steering free play is such an issue. You have the steering wheel, coupler, two-three universal couplings, steering gear, sector shaft splines, the pitman arm, drag link, bell crank, tie rod ends and the tie rod end sleeves. While steering free play can be caused by one of these items, more often it is a cumulative effect, where several components contribute to the problem. We’ve seen everything from an inch or two of play in either steering direction to extreme cases where we wonder how the customer was even able to drive the coach! Read more  Read More →

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