I have a 2010 3500 with DRW and 6000 miles. This is my first dually and diesel truck. The truck is used primarily to haul my 10 ft Lance camper. From the beginning, with or without the camper on, the steering has been vague and makes steering in a straight line near impossible! Just returned from a 800 mile camping trip and my arms and shoulders ache from fighting this truck! My friends say that dual wheeled trucks handle and steer differently, but this is extreme! Any help with causes and remedies would be greatly appreciated. This is my first post, so pardon the rambling. Really enjoy this site,

Thanks, Steve

 

Although Dodge's are notorious for having front end issues, 6000 miles seems premature to me. In my experience with duallies, the crowns in the road really raise heck with the driveability. I know my old service truck was all over the place with crowns in the highway.

Just my two cents

 

I've got a 2010 dually 4wd crew and I haul a 4800# Alpenlite, which is an 11 and half foot floor model(20' 2" stem to stern) and it tracks pretty straight, far better than any SRW truck I've had. My front end does feel a touch lighter with the camper on(I've only added stable-loads extended overload stops). How level does yours sit when loaded? Mine is slightly lower in back when loaded and it does fairly well. How does it drive unloaded? If it's all over the road unloaded the added weight will only exaggerate the wandering. Is your truck 4wd? crew?

I'd try adding the Stable-loads pieces(pretty easy install) or you may be more comfortable with air bags.

 

Is it pulling to the right or left? You may have a radial pull. I thought this was BS until it happened to me. Swap the tires on the front from left to right and see if it makes a difference.

 

Try adjusting the air pressure as well. Many shops and dealers run the tires up to max pressure, but I've found that makes a vehicle squirrely. Try dropping the fronts by 5psi at a time to see where you like it best (and where you get the besy/flattest treadwear)

 

I added a BD steering brace. This cured the wander immediately. I was always correcting the steering wheel. It also feel like every vehicle that passed me caused the truck to move around. Now with the steering brace thats all gone. There are also cheapers ones around for our trucks. Off course there is probably some underlying issue that is causing the wander on some of our trucks. The brace may just mask it.

 

Also read this. A higly informative write up.


http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/20...pdate-how.html

 

Check and see if you are getting some toe wear on the front tires. It's not unheard of them coming from the factory out pf alignment. My 07 was like that.

As said, the BD steering stabilizer solves allot of steering issues. It's from the frame flexing. Dorf and GM are the same. The BD stabilized the steering box and straightenes it right out.

That's allot of truck for a 10 foot trailer. I tow a 26 foot cross country with a single wheel. . .

 

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I'm going to have the alignment checked first, then try all of the suggestions one by one. My truck is a 4wd crew and other than the steering issue , this is one great truck! 13-14 mph with camper on. Tons of power! And very comfortable . Love this site, so much good Dodge info

 

You know? It just dawned on me. Yesterday I was towing a car on my 26 and saw a brand new 11 dually running the middle lane on I80. He was wandering too. I blew past him with 8600# straight as an arrow.

 

Wow..... Brand new truck needing add on aftermarket stuff to make it drive right? Seriously? My 3500 is rock solid stable even with my camper on.

 

Your right Nik! The steering problems irritate me big time I'm taking the truck to the dealer next Friday. Letting them know that I expect this to be fixed! I' gonna show them all of these replies and make it very clear that this is not normal for a new $52,ooo truck! I'll post and let everyon know how this turns out! This s a warranty issue ad should not cost me a cent

 

MY dealer was very impressed with the BD steering brace. They asked me a couple of questions about what it does. They were interested because they have some complaints about the steering wander and they do not have answers for them. The service writer was going to recommend a steering brace. I'm guessing that things are still within Dodge specs so that the dealers hands are tied. They told me that the service manager took my truck out to test it out for a problem I thought I was having and he noticed that my truck drove differently then the other trucks he has driven (they have a major highway that they use as a test drive route)
The things I've done to my front end have vastly improved the factory feel. I added the bd brace (cheaper models out there) I add sumo springs and a Bilstein steering stabilizer. I have virtually no bump steer now and it tracks straight as an arrow. Now it feels like my 2004.5 Dodge. It's a shame I had to spend $500 bucks to get it to the way it should be..... But if you want it do right............I suppose.

 

Steve,
What do you have for a Lance? As you see, I have a 2005 1010. Love the layout and my '11 handles it like it's not even there. An order of magnitude better than my '01.5 2500. In tow/haul mode, I set the cruise on 60 and never touch it. 1500 rpm and it never budges. I wonder what impact the kind of tire has? And is what you are experiencing particular to the duallies?

 

Nik,

I also have a 2005. It's a Lance Max 981. Great camper . Full wall slide n the drivers side. The truck doesn't seem to feel the campers weight! So much power! Perfect combo if I can get the steering under control. I hesitate to go n another long mile trip cause of the steering issues. Hopefully it will get figured out!