Front Ride Height Variation

[chessie4905]

You need to obtain a maintenance manual. The caster is adjustable, along with toe in. Camber should be in specs unless kingpins are worn or front end damage. A good hd frame shop could adjust camber if necessary.

[DaveNCari]

I was actually wondering if anyone had any testing derived numbers on modern tires... other than the OEM numbers...given that tire technology has changed more than a bit since the 4104 was designed.....

Tires are so important to the overall performance of a chassis...

I guess a little testing is in order once we are settled in AZ....


Dave

[RJ]

Dave -

From what I understand, caster & camber stay the same with radial tires, only the toe in/out is different.  Even then, it's only slight.  Any good HD front end shop will know correct toe settings for radials.

Be sure you've got your ride height adjusted properly before having the coach aligned.  Ride height has an effect on comfort & handling, too.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Lin]

I just wanted to make a comment regarding the original question.  My manual shows a diagram about ride height adjustment for the 5a. It is done by measuring the inflation of the air bags.  According to the drawing, the front bags show be inflated to 7" and the rear to 7 11/16" (like I am really going to be accurate to 1/16") including the attachment plates.  I was trying to figure out why the left front is slightly higher than the right.  I have only measured the front set of front airbags, but the left one is a bit more inflated than the right.  Since these bags are clearly different externally, probably from different manufacturers or eras, I am leaning toward the idea that that is the explanation for the difference in ride height from side to side.  After all, even though they are controlled by the same valve, that valve only would insure that they have equal air pressure; it would not insure that bags of different design would inflate equally.  Does this make sense?

If so, when replacing air bags on one side only, it would make sense to try to match what you have on the other side.

[Lin]

I finished installing my leveling cables and went to adjust the ride height.  I was shocked to find that even though the bags were inflated roughly equally, the rear was 7 inches higher than the front.  Fortunately, I found an easy fix-- I drove it off the ramps!