[Ozarkguy]

I had these folks do my suspension and lazer alignment , bushings, etc. their in Gilbert, AZ. Did a. Great job... http://www.spectrac.com

[qcj]

Not everyone can do an independent front suspension. A friend of mine owns a Prevost and had to take it to Dallas. I told him that I thought Foretravel could do it because they made about 50 coaches with independent suspension, but he said he was not on speaking terms with Foretravel. Soooo here we go.

[ron skeen]

I tried a place in Knoxville TN which was suppose to do all the buses in the area. This place did not work for me. If I was having the alinement done Newell is the only place to go.

[Chester Stone]

Bill Johnson, your questions are difficult to answer. I think Pete with Newell worked very hard to remedy many alignment issues with my coach. I must admit that it drives so very much better than when I took it in. I like the way it drives now and if I do not wear out my front tires prematurely, I think they did better than attempts by the Detroit dealer in Tucson. The only problem I experienced was getting across what I was trying to accomplish - machine degree readings vs percent or inch adjustments. I doubt that anyone else would have tried as hard as Newell to meet my desires. The only complaint that I have is that when they ignored my original requests, I had to pay to have it redone.

[lbrachfe]

Bill,
Newell is great for $495 for all three axles and Pete and Mike are the best at it and will take as long as it takes for the fixed fee. Mine took the better part of 8 hours for Pete and Jerry last month and I added 0.16 Toe to the front and 0 green on all other settings. My tires were showing irregular edge wear and that is why I did it as the ride and the way it drives was already perfect. I would do it every few years or when tires show strange wear like mine. If you go elsewhere they must be able and experienced at independent suspensions , which is rare.

[Richard]

Bill,

Based on my extremely poor results with standard truck alignment places, I would agree with the others. Save yourself some time and money, have Newell do it the next time you are there. If your fronts don't show abnormal wear patterns and you can drive it then no need for a special trip.

You do bring up a different topic that Russ White and I have discussed off line. What is good? How does that drive? Many have only driven their coach, and it's hard to compare subtle steering characteristics based on another's description of how it drives.

I would say that I am completely OCD about the steering characteristics of not only the coach but all my cars too. I have somehow finagled drives in 6 Newells and 5 Prevosts over the last five years and although it is difficult to do A to B comparisons with any thing but a back to back drive, I think I have developed a feel for what it should drive like.

Coach 390, that is owned by Airplaneguy now, was in the sweet spot. Our current coach, 512 is now in the sweet spot after replacing drag link ends and tie rod ends. I am not saying this to brag. Please don't take it that way. I am saying that 512 is the best driving coach I have driven. I am not claiming in any way that it's the best driving coach out there. Anytime we are together, any of the Gurus are welcome to drive the coach for comparative purposes. I sincerely make that offer. It is extremely easy to talk yourself into thinking there is problem when there isn't. I am the world champion at that.

While I am on the topic, I have to tell on OCD self about my alignment fetish. I had 390 aligned four times in Fort Worth. I was not happy with any of them. In fact some of the alignment shops turned it into a evil beast. I finally spent a whole day on a flat concrete slab with levels, string, lasers, and my calculator. I was happy when I was finished with the way it drove, but I was not completely confident in my redneck approach. So.............I took it to Newell. 600 dollars and a day on the rack later, and the tech says " I ain't touchin it. It's on the money. The only thing that isn't dead perfect center is you have a 0.06 degree thrust angle on the rear axle to the right" I pulled out my notebook, and showed him my numbers which indicated a 0.06 degree angle to the right. He just stood and stared at me when I told him I did it with a piece of string. Rhonda had big fun at my expense. She asked me if there was a less expensive alternative to having someone follow up behind me.

The point is that alignment is not rocket surgery. However, few truck alignment shops see IFS front ends like Newell uses. Setting the toe is pretty easy, but if the caster or camber needs adjustment, it is not something most will know how to do.

This thread spent some time talking about degrees and inches as measures of toe in. Degrees is a far more accurate way of setting toe. Inches or millimeters is left over from the old days of using a trammel bar to set toe.

Ok, I'll shut up now. Too much coffee on Sunday morning is my excuse for the discourse.

[bikestuff]

Ok, I now know what to do! Thanks for the great response. It seems to me that when you cross the half century marks, you should to an alignment...and that Newell should do it. I will do that on my next trip to mecca!

I find it really hard to know what was done to my coach prior to when I bought it! Was alignment done? Who knows!??? Yes, Newell will let you look at their records, but that does not help if it was self-maintained or if other shops did the work.

I am looking forward to getting up to Miami to see what my situation is!

Thanks again, bill

ps. sorry for the dog-piling!

[Airplane Guy]

I know my two cents doesn't mean much but 390 drives great! I can only compare to two other coaches but it only takes two fingers on the wheel. Similar to flying, anymore and you induce un-intended oscillations. If it's set up right you don't have to "drive" it. Well done Richard.

[Chester Stone]

Here is an update. The last two days I have driven across Wyoming and Idaho on my way to Oregon. In prior posts i complemented Newell, especially Pete, on the alignment. I had Pete put in extra toe-in, and now it is a pleasure to drive the coach. It steers like an automobile, hugs the road, and you can let go of the wheel and it runs straight. A major improvement in steering even if the tires wear out faster.

[encantotom]

chester, hopefully you dont drive too much not holding the wheel......

tom