caster, KYB, airbags, hellwig
So, as I have documented before (http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28459369.cfmhttp://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28459369.cfm), I upgraded my 2007 Ford E450 Fleetwood Jamboree.
First I swapped out the front end for a 2014, increasing my weight rating and braking capacity. The 2014 also has differing radius arms. I added a heavy-duty Hellwig front sway-bar. Front and rear air-bags were added. Four KYB "fsd" shocks were added. And the front-end alignment caster was increased to 5+ with Engall's bushing. I also replaced the master cylinder , bled the system three times and had a brake-tech come out and bleed my ABS.
Yeah, kids, I did all that. It was a LOT of work.
And, man, it was worth it. It really, really was!!!!
YES! We took it out on the road for a 500-mile test. It was totally, completely, utterly amazing. The shocks and sway bar gave us a quiet, steady poise. The airbags gave us stability. But the additional caster was the real star.
I suspect that if I did nothing but add additional positive caster, I'd have experienced 65 percent of the improvements I saw in our handling. The RV, a 2007 Fleetwood Jamboree 26J, tracked straight and true, it felt like a big SUV. I'm not kidding. Passing trucks (to and fro) on two and four-lane highways felt almost nonexistent. The front-end felt straight, and true on small country roads, interstates and inner-city back-alleys. The drive went from being white-knuckle to total pleasure.
The KYBs were clearly an incredible improvement over the factory shocks. I've had Bilsteins on other cars and I have to say I love them. But the KYB "fsd" shocks are beyond any thing I could have hoped for. Big bumps are smooth. Small bumps are existent. The ride is just phenomenal. I really struggled with justifying the 700-dollar price but it was so worth it.
Okay. Onward.
The super-duty Hellwig front sway bar has made cornering so easy, I am pretty sure I will add the Hellwig to the rear as well.
But even though Austin's one and only truck alignment shop thought I was crazy and wanted me to absolve them of any problems resulting from a non-spec alignment, I am quite convinced that the additional positive caster protocol for Ford E-series platforms is **** fantastic.
Thanks to j-d and harvard and others for being so free with their knowledge and experience. We are going full-time in April. We are so, so, so grateful for all the smart, helpful people who have helped us every step of the way.
We plan to add a rear sway bar and I'd like to share some pictures regarding our rear airbag install, which was a massive pain. More on that later.
As always, thanks to the entire RV community, which consists of **** wonderful people.
First I swapped out the front end for a 2014, increasing my weight rating and braking capacity. The 2014 also has differing radius arms. I added a heavy-duty Hellwig front sway-bar. Front and rear air-bags were added. Four KYB "fsd" shocks were added. And the front-end alignment caster was increased to 5+ with Engall's bushing. I also replaced the master cylinder , bled the system three times and had a brake-tech come out and bleed my ABS.
Yeah, kids, I did all that. It was a LOT of work.
And, man, it was worth it. It really, really was!!!!
YES! We took it out on the road for a 500-mile test. It was totally, completely, utterly amazing. The shocks and sway bar gave us a quiet, steady poise. The airbags gave us stability. But the additional caster was the real star.
I suspect that if I did nothing but add additional positive caster, I'd have experienced 65 percent of the improvements I saw in our handling. The RV, a 2007 Fleetwood Jamboree 26J, tracked straight and true, it felt like a big SUV. I'm not kidding. Passing trucks (to and fro) on two and four-lane highways felt almost nonexistent. The front-end felt straight, and true on small country roads, interstates and inner-city back-alleys. The drive went from being white-knuckle to total pleasure.
The KYBs were clearly an incredible improvement over the factory shocks. I've had Bilsteins on other cars and I have to say I love them. But the KYB "fsd" shocks are beyond any thing I could have hoped for. Big bumps are smooth. Small bumps are existent. The ride is just phenomenal. I really struggled with justifying the 700-dollar price but it was so worth it.
Okay. Onward.
The super-duty Hellwig front sway bar has made cornering so easy, I am pretty sure I will add the Hellwig to the rear as well.
But even though Austin's one and only truck alignment shop thought I was crazy and wanted me to absolve them of any problems resulting from a non-spec alignment, I am quite convinced that the additional positive caster protocol for Ford E-series platforms is **** fantastic.
Thanks to j-d and harvard and others for being so free with their knowledge and experience. We are going full-time in April. We are so, so, so grateful for all the smart, helpful people who have helped us every step of the way.
We plan to add a rear sway bar and I'd like to share some pictures regarding our rear airbag install, which was a massive pain. More on that later.
As always, thanks to the entire RV community, which consists of **** wonderful people.
