F53 factory front track bar?

[edju]

I've got a 2018 Sunstar 29VE on a 2017 F53 chassis with a V10. I installed a Supersteer rear track bar to help with the handling and sway, I think it helps. Now that I knew what that looked like, I see a similar factory bar from the frame to the front axle. Can someone confirm that this chassis has a factory front track bar?
Sorry for the uneducated question, I didn't even know what a track bar was until I read several remarks on this forum.

Thanks,
Ed

[powercat_ras]

Yes Ford F53 have a front trac bar standard.

[Ted Fyden]

I had a sway bar installed on my RV. I will out uneducated question him by asking if there the same thing? they didn't give me any parts back so maybe they don't interfere with each other.

[creativepart]

Yes, there is a factory front bar. But it's not very beefy.

Many replace that OEM bar with an thicker aftermarket track bar.

[Zigzag03]

Search IRV2 F53 forum for "cheap handling fix" otherwise known as CHF. This subject is well documented. It may also be here on this platform too. You will learn a lot!

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by Zigzag03

Search IRV2 F53 forum for "cheap handling fix" otherwise known as CHF.

Over the years I've seen people claim that the CHF has cured all manner of RV driving ills. It seems people claim it cures serious health and financial issues, too.

All the CHF does is increase the roll stiffness in the "roll bars" by shortening the lever arm of the bar.

It's not magic.

The OEM front Track Bar (panhard rod actually) simply locates the floating live axle to the chassis to inhibit lateral movement. The CHF would have zero effect on this issue.

Example of a Track Bar (or Panhard Rod)

[Zigzag03]

True, but op's asking now about the front end. You and I may know all about it, perhaps he has yet to come across it.

[NXR]

Ford began including a front trac bar as standard with the 2006 F53 chassis. It does not need to be beefy.

Sway bars are a totally different suspension control system. The CHF attempts to improve the operation of the FRONT sway bar or people will replace the FRONT factory sway bar with a better one. People will add a second on to the rear to try and reduce sway.

My canned response on what a rear TRAC bar does:

One helpful add-on is called a rear trac bar. As dumb as this sounds, a trac bar anchors the motorhome's frame to the axle. Ford has provided a front trac bar as standard since about 2006 but not a rear trac bar.

When a truck approaches you it's pushing a big wall of air. That wall of air will hit the rear of the motorhome and due to the lack of a rear trac bar the motorhome body will slide slightly towards the other side because it's not anchored to the axle. That causes the driver to have to make a steering correction.

As the truck passes you, the motorhome body tries to return to its original position AND there is a vacuum behind the truck. So the motorhome body actually slides too far in the other direction and the driver has to make another steering correction.

Then, after the truck has passed, the motorhome body finally straightens out and there's one last steering correction.

Until the next truck approaches. Or until the next blast of wind hits you from the side. This effect is known as "the tail wagging the dog".

We had the SS-401 rear trac bar added to our 22,000 GVWR chassis.

Depending on how "loose" your steering is and how much you over-correct you may be making way more than three steering corrections as a truck passes or after a wind blast hits you. That's where a steering stabilizer like the Safe-T-Plus comes in handy or the newer radius rods.

If your motorhome has excess sway, that motorhome body sliding back and forth also adds more sway and can make things feel downright uncontrollable and scary.

It may not be obvious but "suspension" is a system and one change can affect all aspects to some degree.

Hope this helps rather than confuses.

[edju]

Originally Posted by Ted Fyden

I had a sway bar installed on my RV. I will out uneducated question him by asking if there the same thing? they didn't give me any parts back so maybe they don't interfere with each other.

Hi Ted,
You didn't say if it was a front or rear bar that you had installed, but I'm guessing it was a front anti-sway bar. I think that's what Creativepart was commenting about when he said "it's not too beefy", and it's a common upgrade to put in a larger diameter anti-sway bar. The anti-sway bar is attached to the axle and driver and passenger side of the frame or coach body.
As the coach sways or rolls in response to the wind or a passing truck, the anti-sway bar tries to keep the coach flat to the road. I think NXR and Creativepart explained what a Track bar does, connecting the frame to the axle.

So the bottom line is that the anti-sway (or sway bar) is different from a track bar. But both are components of the suspension. Hope that helps.
Ed

[edju]

Originally Posted by powercat_ras

Yes Ford F53 have a front trac bar standard.

Thank you powercat_ras and NXR for confirming the my 2018 Sunstar on a 2017 F53 chassis has a factory front track bar.

Thanks,
Ed