one should turn steering only upon movement.This was told to me by Don Malcom seller of my 34ft monarch.Maybe he meant as much as possible.Wally Vancouver island.

If it were me, I would move forward/backwards while turning my steering wheel. You're not tearing up your driveway and there is less wear and tear on components.

Now, if he's telling you that your steering doesn't work because you're not moving forward... well, then there is a problem.

DOT Inspectors will put a truck OOS - Out Of Service - if you can not go from stop to stop at an idle while parked. If you have to rev it or roll to get it to move then it's out of service.

A trick we have used at DOT-OOS stops. Change the power steering fluid to motor oil and remove the p/s filter. This will usually get them rolling out of DOT. You're not going to do a PS pump or gearbox out on a roadcall - usually you need to order stuff like this.

Try a new p/s filter and the recommended oil first.

At the risk of getting horribly flamed, I will say that I have OBSERVED far more women than men forcing the front tires (of cars) to turn while not rolling. That said, I realize that once in a while it is almost necessary, where the distance available to roll is very short compared to the amount of steering change desired. Something like a Motorhome exacerbates that because of the slow steering gear ratio.

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Stationary turning also stresses the sidewalls and scrubs rubber off the treads.

Who remembers driving a truck or larger sedan before power steering? 16" + steering wheels and you had to roll to turn the wheel

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Dubbs:
Who remembers driving a truck or larger sedan before power steering?

And, of course, the squirrely road feel of early power steering.

And the short fan belt life of a single belt driving the generator and the power steering pump, as in GM and Jaguar.

The Hudson Hornet had what they called "Center Point Steering", which supposedly obviated the need for power steering. It certainly made the car handle better than others of its era, but was only useful once underway. Parallel parking was no joy for this 16 year old, but it was a joy to drive fast on curvy roads, paved or not. Effortless steering and wonderful road feel.