dstrahm

No prob! Glad to have some knowledgeable folks on the boards. cheers!

Page 88 in the pdf manual below has locations for 12volt chassis fuse locations. House 12volt supply/fuses will be in power center but unlikely they feed these circuits. I suspect it may be a loose/broken ground wire that serves all of those switches. If you can locate a wire that is common to all of the affected switches (runs from one switch to the next) it is likely the ground wire. Does anyone here know if Thor uses a switched hot or switched ground method for the things controlled by these switches? https://media.thormotorcoach.com/media/9280/tmc-gas-manual_my2017_rev170428.pdf

Go here and select the year of your chassis. https://www.fleet.ford.com/towing-guides/ In the table of contents look for the section covering the class A chassis. It will have a table showing all of the GCWR and GVWR values you are looking for. Apologies if some of the following you already know: Keep in mind that many coach manufacturers will use up most of the weight rating leaving almost nothing for tongue weight. Weigh your loaded coach at a truck scale to determine actual weight and amount of GVWR remaining . A toad four down will count against the GCWR, but not against GVWR or GAWR rear. It presents no additional downward weight on the coach chassis. A dolly or trailer will count against GCWR (full toad/dolly or toad/trailer weight) and GVWR (tongue weight only). Both assume that towed weight has supplemental braking if over 1,500 pounds. All of this assumes that the hitch capacity and max tongue weights are not exceeded. Hope some of this is helpful.

Good points. Sometimes a creative idea is thwarted by technology! And yes, getting to the correct person at Ford would be a challenge at best.

Manholt, did I misunderstand something? Were you referring to GAWR for the rear axle, or the GCWR for the rig and toad as a whole? Thanks.

Manholt, I believe that the rear axle rating (GAWR rear) would only apply if the toad was apply downward force on the hitch itself, such as a trailer tongue would. Towbars by design present little tongue weight. The 5,000 pound hitch rating does apply to the weight of the toad and any additional rigging.

Manholt, yes, a straight line. Physics!

@hermanmullins, this may be one for you! Preparing my wife’s 2017 Ford Explorer Limited for flat towing behind our gasser motorhome. All weights, capacities and other items have been checked and validated. The chosen towing package includes the Blue Ox baseplate and ReadyBrute Elite towbar. Will be wiring the lights with diodes. Here are my questions: 1. Ford manual says to disconnect the battery negative cable. Does anyone really know why? Please not a guess or heard it somewhere, or just because the manual says so. If it is just to prevent the battery from running down I will install a toad charger. I would rather keep It connected and have the toad brake lights functional when the toad brakes are applied. 2. If I can leave the toad battery connected with a charger, why couldn’t I leave it in the accessory position (accessory mode with keyless ignition) and put the headlamps in parking lights mode. This would provide front and rear marker lights as well as tail lights. At this point all I would need to wire up are the turn signals. 3. Have ordered a full frontal bra cover to protect paint and windshield. Read an article where they did not recommend a vertical mounted tow shield or bra cover that blocked the transmission cooler as the transmission could overheat. What?? Hard to believe a toad transmission would generate much heat being towed. Anyone else experience this issue? Thanks in advance for any wisdom that can be shared. I typed all this on a smartphone so please excuse any typos or spell correct errors.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. The correct answer - the 3.5l Duratech and EcoBoost models CAN be flat towed. Read the whole section please.

Our neighborhood has the sloped curbs where there is no separate cutout for the driveways, so we were always dragging the tail backing in. Bought some pressure treated 2x12 and made two short ramps to bridge the lowest part. Got tired of lugging heavy ramps and experimented with hitting the drive at an angle. Just get one tire up on the curb and I can straighten out. Works like a charm! Have air bags but too much trouble and expense to add remote air up/down capability.

Installed Koni shocks about a year ago on our 1999 Winnebago Brave SE 29, F35 chassis. The coach has been in the family since new and the Koni shocks have unquestionably made the most positive difference in the ride and handling. It has what appears to be a steering stabilizer already installed but it is old and I cannot determine if it is a ST+ or not. Are there other manufacturers of steering stabilizers? How long do they generally last, years/miles? 147k miles on the odometer now. Also, we are south of Houston in Friendswood. Any recommendations for an alignment shop? We have the 19.5” wheels and are finding that they fall into a no-mans land, too big for auto shops too small for truck shops. TIA!

Thanks. We've had it for several years now and put a few thousand miles on over about 15 trips. Unfortunately Texas loves concrete roads so that means a few hundred thousand expansion joints! It definitely rides smoother than a deuce and a half but my perfectionist side is always looking for another improvement. Weights are on the todo list so I can get the pressures adjusted, then an alignment since I am feeling an ever so slight creep to the right side. It's the only class A I've driven in the past 25 years so not much to compare to. Maybe I should take another coach for a test drive to get a comparison. Thanks!

What baffles me is that for over a decade Ford has been aware of the common problems MH owners have had with the F53 chassis ride and handling and appear to have done nothing about it. Second only to the many coach manufacturers that continue to use the chassis and sell them knowing how unpleasantly they ride. Do any of them offer an option package that includes some of these common upgrades? e.g. "Option package 301a, safety and driveability upgrade." :-) On a serious note, I am also on a quest to improve the ride and handling on our 1999 Brave. We inherited it from my in-laws that purchased it new and put almost 150k miles on it. They installed most of the items listed so far; SafT stabilizer, larger sway bars, air bags. I've installed Koni FSD shocks, Michelin tires and replaced the tire weights with balance beads. The rig rides fairly well, very little sway in wind and when passing. What still remains is the harshness on a rough road. It is almost as if the tires are hard as rocks. Are there any other tires recommended that might soften that?