This vehicle is equipped with a chassis/suspension and drive train that makes it extremely difficult to control on the road. The vehicle wags when a vehicle passes it and it also has excessive movement when caught in a crosswind. The vehicle is rated to pull up to 8000lbs. I was pulling a Jeep Grand Cherokee that weighs about 5000lbs. If the Jeep moved right the Vacationer would jump left and when the Jeep went left the Vacationer would go right. This combination of the Vacationer movement with or without the Jeep requires excessive vigilance to keep the rig on the road. I have over 50 years of driving large vehicles including semi tractor trailers and other large RVs. This is the most uncontrollable vehicle I have ever driven. It requires constant inputs to counter body sway, drift and push by the towed vehicle. The vehicle is also severely under powered. It would slow to 20 miles per hour on many hills no matter how I approached hills. I tried revving the engine prior to entering a grade and manually shifting to try to maintain a reasonable speed. I found multiple postings on line for recalls on the Ford F-53 chassis describing these exact problems and some remedies to address part of these issues. This vehicle and others with this chassis and drive train are unsafe. I drove my brand new rig for about 4000 miles and reached a point where I do not want to drive it on the road. I feel unsafe. I had several times where the vehicle surged so quickly to right or left that it would have caused an accident. This drive train and chassis combination is found on several brands of motor homes and I have spoken with several people who have experienced similar issues as well as the on line posts. These vehicles pose a substantial risk on the road as they sway and jump in response to wind or they slow well belwo normal road speeds. These vehicles should be recalled.
- NHTSA ID
- 11697263
- Incident
- Sep 1, 2025