ronnieg Report post Posted October 8, 2011 In a previous topic I told everyone that my 2000 Fleetwood Southwind had a twisted body apparently. I believe it is twisted and was that way from the factory. JOSAM inc. put a block under a spring to attempt to raise it but only raised it about.75 of an inch from the 2.75 inches side to side.My thought is now to add Airlifts of some sort to attempt to fix the "leaning" problem. I'm looking for some thoughts as to whether you think this will work? Looking for information as to ease of installation and operation. I don't think this would affect leveling since the jacks "twist" the chassis in order to accomplish this and not the body. So all you thought's and knowledge would be appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Rather than talking about side to side (body) difference, suggest you measure the chassis on each side and compare that to your chassis manufacturer's ride height specs. Bring the chassis to manufacturer's specs and THEN measure the body. The other issue could be side to side weight imbalance. What are the differences in side to side weight? If this is the root cause, any chance of moving weight around to better balance the loads? It is common to use shims or to add a leaf to bring the chassis back to factory ride height spec to compensate for a heavy side. I find that a preferable solution to adding air bags which have a different spring rate/travel than do those long leaf springs. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Is the body really twisted or tilted to one side? Twisted is when the front corners are not parallel and in line with the back corners. Tilted is when the body is lower on one side than the other. If the frame is level is the floor level? If it is not then leveling the floor to the frame is in order. If you tilt the frame with air bags or spring changes, you could upset the handling of the coach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ronnieg Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Thanks for the replies. As I had stated last month, with the motorhome empty of all cargo (I even removed the "large TV in the right front of the interior which weighed about 50 lbs.and replaced it with a 10 lb. flat screen), the right front appears to have a "lean" to the right. I measured this and found that from the left front tire to the right front tire centers there was a 2.75 difference. I thought I had a spring problem! I brought the vehicle to JOSAM Inc. here in Orlando. They're a worldwide truck suspension company. They measured and played for a couple of days, and told me the chassis was straight and the springs were in good shape. They then told me that they found the motorhomes body was twisted? I brought the coach home and crawled around for a day and could not find any body separation or area that appeared to be "working" or moving against one another. I found out that the construction of the motorhome by Fleetwood consists of mounting the floor with thru bolts and then mounting the walls to the floor with screws that are hidden under the trim that is directly above the storage compartments. I also found out that the tolerance at Fleetwood calls for no more then 1.00 Inch of difference from left to right upon completion measured at the tire centers from the fender center (Maybe mine was measured at 4:59 PM on Friday!!). JOSAM put a block under the right rear spring which raised it about .50 to .75 inches in the front but said any higher would raise the rear too much. They tried a helper spring but I was told it raised the rear end of the coach too much. Anybody have any thoughts or is it something I have too live with? As I said I was considering airlifts but I just don't know.. Suggestions please. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Have you done individual wheel position weighing? What did you find? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ronnieg Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Haven't looked at that yet! I have to leave town for about 5 weeks (Grand children obligations) but when I return I intended to do that. By the way does anyone know anything about the "Tandem" braking system for a toad? I'm looking at towing my Dodge Ram pickup and this seems like a simple, direct, and easy to install system that should work and meet the requirements of all states and Canada? When I have the MH weighed I will have each wheel weighed in order to see if there is any weight that would cause this. As I think about it I think I'll use the electronic aircraft scales at my old company since they are individual and calibrated every 6 months. I'll get back to you on the weight. Ron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Ron, Be sure to weigh that Dodge truck as well and make sure it does not exceed your coach's towing weight limit OR the GCWR of coach and toad. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
