Alignment shop wants to start with front sway bar only??

DAS26miles wrote:

Lumpty wrote:
I only did the front on mine, to eliminate the toe changes and resulting bump steer that occurs as the Twin I-beams go through their range of travel. Worked out exactly as I wanted. An E450 already has a substantial rear sway bar, much thicker than the wimpy OEM front. Also the late model E-Series chassis (08 and up) have heim-jointed front sway bar end links. No rubber.

Did you install it yourself? Heard the bolts can be a problem because of the lack of threads on the frame and end up stripped. Then you have to place a nut on the inside and it's a long process to do that.

J-D, I have a new E450 and have 75lbs front and 80lbs rear. Weighed it loaded and was under GVW, 500 lbs front and 1,000 lbs rear. Bilstein shocks and front stabilizer. Didn't like steering with Roadmaster Reflex. High caster done with alignment.

Did the work myself. No issues with the frame bracket bolts nor the end links. Mine is a 2010 chassis with heim joint end links and not the older bayonet end stuck in a rubber sleeve within each twin-I-beam.

I'll add too on front tire air pressure, my unit is way happier with 60 psi in the front tires than any sort of prior pressures.

You say you're 500 under GAWR-Front. 5000-500 is 4500-lb. If you have 215/75R16E tires, 65-PSI gives you 2335-lb single for the front, or 4670-lb. 75 is over-inflation and I can tell you that you WILL feel it in tracking and unwanted response to cross winds. You can run rear tires above charted pressure and probably many front tires. Just NOT Ford E-Series!!!

Load - Pressure Chart

When I visited Henderson's, I noticed they use the Safe-T-Plus and that surprised me. They sell lots of Roadmaster stuff so I expected they'd promote Roadmaster Reflex. I didn't ask why, but while there, I noticed they use a variety of brands, picking what they feel is best, not loyalty to one product line.

When I changed our front sway bar to Hellwig, the new bar came with bushings, larger brackets and spacer plates to go between the frame (radiator support area) and the new brackets. The old brackets did NOT use spacers but the instructions called for re-using the original bolts, and they reached.

THAT I remember. I also believe the Hellwig rear bar re-used original bolts. I don't think it added spacers, but I can look if you need me to.

An OP here, Deprived, did the front axle upgrade carringB and I did, and Holiday27 had done at QuadVan. Deprived wanted to up-size the bolts to match the size used on 2008+ chassis. I forget what went wrong, but he ended up calling a welder to the scene. I don't think I'd recommend messing with the bolt sizes. Hellwig doesn't and the diameters of the upgraded front bars are the same in the early and late model versions. Neither carringB or I have experienced any looseness.

Both Hellwig bars are "No Drill" installations. They either re-use or re-purpose existing holes. I installed both of ours without an assistant. I had to adjust the height I'd raised the front to, in order to get the old bar pulled out of the bushing holes in the axle. With late model, you don't have that design, so I can only think the late model bar would drop right down and the new bar would go right up. I don't think I raised the rear, if so it wasn't much. Rear bar is heavier but I laid it on the box it came in and that was enough to let me position it. All you have to do is get it approximately positioned then catch one of the rear axle brackets, even without the bushing. Once you do that, it's easy to manage for final assembly.

What didn't you like about the Reflex RSSC?

What are the Caster, Camber, and Toe settings after alignment?

I hope I answered all the items in your post. If not, let me know.

Lumpty wrote:
I only did the front on mine, to eliminate the toe changes and resulting bump steer that occurs as the Twin I-beams go through their range of travel. Worked out exactly as I wanted. An E450 already has a substantial rear sway bar, much thicker than the wimpy OEM front. Also the late model E-Series chassis (08 and up) have heim-jointed front sway bar end links. No rubber.

Did you install it yourself? Heard the bolts can be a problem because of the lack of threads on the frame and end up stripped. Then you have to place a nut on the inside and it's a long process to do that.

J-D, I have a new E450 and have 75lbs front and 80lbs rear. Weighed it loaded and was under GVW, 500 lbs front and 1,000 lbs rear. Bilstein shocks and front stabilizer. Didn't like steering with Roadmaster Reflex. High caster done with alignment.

When in doubt, run all the tires at max pressure.

Soft rear springs can cause alot of rocking, sagging, swaying issues. Most motorhomes are overloaded and need stiffer rear springs, especially those chassis which have alot of rear overhang length.

You can get a set of heavy duty leaf packs from SD Truck Springs or Stengel Bros.

Yes, heavy sway bars front and rear, with polyurethane bushings, will certainly help.

First ensure that your steering box, tie rod ends, ball joints and axle pivot bushings are all good. If any of those are bad, it doesn't matter what aftermarket stuff you add, it will still have poor steering and handling.

On the alignment, lots of toe-in and caster are a good thing.

Have you weighed your RV loaded as it would be for a trip?
If you do not have at least 80% of the max front axle weight on the front axle it does not matter how much money you spend on alignments, steering stabilizers, shocks, sway bars or exorcisms you will have handling problems no if ands or buts. In addition without knowing your weights your tires are probably not inflated correctly and that can also cause major handing issues.

I seem to recall that the normal alignment specs call for about *3.5° however this created a "worn out steering" effect in a rear heavy motorhome and that *5.5° caster created a night and day difference for most people who posted about this. Make sure your alignment shop understands this, or you won't have gained a thing.

Charles

If the price is a dollar more to install separate then get them both at once.

Get another alighment shop. A truck alighnent shop that knows vans.

I only did the front on mine, to eliminate the toe changes and resulting bump steer that occurs as the Twin I-beams go through their range of travel. Worked out exactly as I wanted. An E450 already has a substantial rear sway bar, much thicker than the wimpy OEM front. Also the late model E-Series chassis (08 and up) have heim-jointed front sway bar end links. No rubber.

I think JD is right probably the rear has the most effect. But I'd do both if you can. Also on those Bilsteins did you go with the HD model? I think these chassis need all the help they can get to keep from swaying (equipped as a class C). He's right..when they sway they steer.