diff --git a/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt b/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt
index 417949dbb..4b0ae7334 100644
--- a/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt
+++ b/Shorewall-common/releasenotes.txt
@@ -82,11 +82,12 @@ Problems corrected in Shorewall 4.2.0 RC 2.
 
 1)  Shorewall-perl was incorrectly ignoring the 'balance' option in
     /etc/shorewall/providers when 'loose' was specified after 'balance'
-    and USE_DEFAULT_RT=Yes in shorewall.conf. 
+    and USE_DEFAULT_RT=Yes in shorewall.conf. 'balance' is still the
+    default if 'loose' is not specified.
 
 Other Changes in Shoreall 4.2.0 RC 2
 
-None.
+1)  USE_DEFAULT_RT is no longer marked 'experimental'.
 
 New Features in Shorewall 4.2.
 
@@ -896,11 +897,6 @@ New Features in Shorewall 4.2.
     the main routing table. Such changes can occur for a number of
     reasons,  VPNs going up and down being an example.
 
-    The USE_DEFAULT_RT option is currently classified as
-    EXPERIMENTAL. As a consequence, if you have a problem with it, the
-    Shorewall support team may not be able to supply you with a
-    solution.
-
     The idea is to send packets through the main table prior to
     applying any of the Shorewall-generated routing rules. So changes
     to the main table will affect the routing of packets by default. 
@@ -910,12 +906,11 @@ New Features in Shorewall 4.2.
     a) Both the DUPLICATE and the COPY columns in the providers file
        must remain empty (or contain "-").
 
-    b) The 'balance' option is assumed for all interfaces except those
-       specified as 'loose'.
-
-    c) The default route is added to the the 'default' table rather
+    b) The default route is added to the the 'default' table rather
        than to the main table.
 
+    c) 'balance' is assumed unless 'loose' is specified.
+
     d) Packets are sent through the main routing table by a rule with
        priority 999. In /etc/shorewall/routing_rules, the range 1-998
        may be used for inserting rules that bypass the main table.
diff --git a/Shorewall-perl/Shorewall/Providers.pm b/Shorewall-perl/Shorewall/Providers.pm
index 6db8548ba..8725fa8e6 100644
--- a/Shorewall-perl/Shorewall/Providers.pm
+++ b/Shorewall-perl/Shorewall/Providers.pm
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ sub add_a_provider( $$$$$$$$ ) {
 	     );
     }
 
-    my ( $loose, $track, $balance , $optional, $mtu ) = (0,0,$config{USE_DEFAULT_RT} ? 1 : 0,interface_is_optional( $interface ), '' );
+    my ( $loose, $track, $balance , $default_balance, $optional, $mtu ) = (0,0,0,$config{USE_DEFAULT_RT} ? 1 : 0,interface_is_optional( $interface ), '' );
 
     unless ( $options eq '-' ) {
 	for my $option ( split_list $options, 'option' ) {
@@ -279,6 +279,7 @@ sub add_a_provider( $$$$$$$$ ) {
 		$balance = 1;
 	    } elsif ( $option eq 'loose' ) {
 		$loose   = 1;
+		$default_balance = 0;
 	    } elsif ( $option eq 'optional' ) {
 		set_interface_option $interface, 'optional', 1;
 		$optional = 1;
@@ -293,6 +294,8 @@ sub add_a_provider( $$$$$$$$ ) {
 	}
     }
 
+    $balance = $default_balance unless $balance;
+
     $providers{$table} = { provider  => $table,
 			   number    => $number ,
 			   mark      => $val ,