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My brother drove Elsie last fall just before I stored her for the winter. After driving he then looked at something underneath the front as I turned the steering wheel side to side and said I should have my tie rods checked. The steering has been the same and unless the wind is bad I have no trouble keeping her on the road. I have read that some earlier model Pleasure Ways (mine is an 2002 or 03) have steering problems. He also suggested it might be caused by not having a heavy enough ply of tires. I'm taking her out of storage and to the garage to have everything checked out this afternoon. I just bought new tires two years ago and if they say it is the tires should I be concerned enough to change them?

I'll bet you got excited about getting some good advice. Hate to disappoint, I know nothing about tie rods and tires. Just wanted to say that I'm very interested in learning how it goes.
Nikki

The tie rods control your steering (move your wheels) and have rubber bushings in them that wear out. The silver disc on the right side is you brake disc (where the tire goes). Inner tie rod connects to steering column. It's common to change them in an older vehicle.



As for tires the ply rating he is referring to has to do with how much weight the tires are rated to carry and the higher the ply rating the stiffer the tires sidewall is. This will also "tighten up" the steering if it's "loose". If you bought the tires at a store which normally deals with cars and other passenger vehicles they might not have put as highly rated tires trying to save you a few dollars. Since your is a van conversion they might have looked up tires for the standard van not taking into account the conversion added weight.

Your brother must have though your steering felt loose to him and thus his suggestions.

Hope that helps.

Melissa

Thank you Melissa! I really liked seeing the illustrated. Yes, he did say the steering felt loose. The woman who owns the garage I take her to works on all types of vehicles so she probably knew what I needed.

I was surprised that they said she started right up after being in storage for 4 months. Even my house batteries which are the sealed kind and that I had turned off, showed a full charge.

Well after two long weeks and in reply to my second phone call, they final said Elsie will be ready today. She had one inner and one outer tie rod replaced plus a new battery in the engine. Strange since it started right up after being stored for 4 months, but she did some sort of test and said it was weak so she put in a stronger one. I reminded her the battery wasn't that old so maybe there will be a bit of a rebate on that. Have no idea the cost but since DH always has to go inside to pay maybe I won't look at the total I can't even get within 10 feet of her office without loosing my voice because of all the smells from the garage work and the new tires. I can't imagine that could be healthy even for someone without sensitivities. I laughed when she said Elsie had a bad inner an outer, sounded like she had a navel replacement.