Bedford Comair 1966 motorhome

Thank you Paul and Morris
I'm all new to the whole bus/truck thing and though I have been driving cars without power steering in the past, this was...no other word than ridiculous. A 6"2 and 100kg bloke hanging on like a mad man to get around a corner is not right. LOL!
Looking forward to further replies as well.
Perry

If you decrease the caster angle it will steer easier but will be a lot hard to keep in straight line

Swishman will along shortly with some advise that uses a jack and lots of grease that will most likely help a lot


Paul

Mr.Perry,
Welcome to the Forum. I know nothing about Bedfords and even less about steering geometry but a lot of people here will know and will have advice for you.

I presume you plan to use the bus as a motorhome and if so, i recommend you join the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) When our children were still at home, we had a bus which I fitted out as a motormome and we had a lot of good times with that club. I also took it on a lot of truck club runs and displays.
Regards, Morris.

Mr Perry - my friend.

72' Comair, 173cm @ 73 kgs. I share your pain!

If the king pins, and steering are greased and in good condition, everthing should be ok to steer when moving. Forget at a standstill or very slow snail pace.

The common conversion is to fit Isuzu steering from an early FSR. It involves some certified engineering to shift the steering box, pedals, column, seat and dash 4 inches to the right. But even then, be careful not to turn the steering wheel when still.

btw, It's still possible (but rare) to source the original power steering ram assist.

Commonest cause of hard steering in a just bought vehicle would be the seller jamming the steering box adjustment to remove lash for the inspection certificate......I suggest you disconnect the drag link ,and see what the box is like .....a bit of lash isnt a bad thing ,just roadworthy inspectors dont like it.........Funny thing is ,if the bus had power steering ,the same degree of lash is OK.

Here U go


https://www.hcvc.com.au/forum/attachment/941

WotSezU

cya

Re: play at the steering wheel: last time I looked you were allowed 3" for a wheel up to 450mm and 4" above that. Had this argument with a roadworthy man baulking at the 1/2" play on a D1110 I had. This was in Qld. This is all play in the box, too, not the linkage.

Jarrod.

The 3 and 4" would have to be with power steering....Everytime I had an inspection done ,1" was more than the guy would allow .Jamming up the adjustment is a sure fire way to wreck a steering box,yet just about every used vehicle has it done for inspection......

Meanwhile ,back in Bedford territory ....I suspect it would have a Bishop "high efficiency" type gear ,which just means the sector shaft has a roller bearing mounted follower ......the "low efficiency" gear has a fixed follower ,other wise the same .The very best of pommy steering is the Ransome and Marles worm and roller type ,I think these ended in the fifties.

Morris wrote: Mr.Perry,
Welcome to the Forum. I know nothing about Bedfords and even less about steering geometry but a lot of people here will know and will have advice for you.

I presume you plan to use the bus as a motorhome and if so, i recommend you join the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) When our children were still at home, we had a bus which I fitted out as a motormome and we had a lot of good times with that club. I also took it on a lot of truck club runs and displays.
Regards, Morris.

You won’t get much joy from CMCA these days very PC. No disagreement or adverse view is tolerated now.