F53 suspension upgrades

doxiemom11 wrote:
Have you looked at the cheap handling fix for the F53 chassis? We've done both front and rear. Hubby was able to do it himself. It made a big difference.

OP mentioned CHF in his original post and was told it was risky.

Of course being told a free fix is risky when you are trying to sell upgrades seems convenient.

To the OP, I had 2 gas class A's over the past 10 years and did the CHF to both without issues. One had 50k miles on it when I got rid of it and NEVER had any issues due to the CHF. Actually, I have never heard of anyone with any issues due to the CHF. The handling was so dramatically better. That combined with proper tire inflation solved most of the issues in how my coaches handled. That said, it's still an F53 and subject to a lot of noise and road feedback and you are driving an apartment. It's never going to handle like a car.

Have you looked at the cheap handling fix for the F53 chassis? We've done both front and rear. Hubby was able to do it himself. It made a big difference.

I am not an expert on MH suspensions, but a radius rod on a leaf spring, solid front axle, seems redundant. If the axle is properly secured to the springs, it can not move for/aft except for the compliance in the bushing in the leaf spring eye.

2020 jayco precept 34G owner here. 2019 F53 GVWR 22,000. After six months of ownership I will be adding the super steer rear trac bar first. The coach actually handles pretty good except when confronting tail or crosswinds. Coach already has beefy Helwig sway bars both front and back from factory. Will access after install.

What are you trying to achieve? Reduce body roll? Better straight line running and lane holding? Reduce wind push from weather or passing vehicles? Less jarring from poor roads?

There isn't a single bolt on product, tweak or change that will do all and if your RV budget is limited then your need to prioritize what you want to chase first. If you can't do the work yourself the costs will quickly escalate and consume your project budget.

Henderson's radius rod sounds like a front track bar. You might have one if the you have a 18,000 lbs chassis. It's optional on the 16,000 lbs version. Easy to check. The attached image is looking front to back and the track bar is just above the front axle in the pic.



Regarding CHF, there are thousands of owners who have driven thousand of miles with no failures, myself included. Keep in mind they are in the business of selling improvements not advising you to try a no cost alternative.

My 2012 F53 has almost every suspension add on made, with the exception of a rear trac bar. The previous owner did all the work, Sumo springs front and rear, Hellwig sway bars front and rear, Koni schools front and rear and a Blue OX true center steering stabilizer! All this was for nothing as the coach was all over the road! And why I believe he traded it in on a DP! What I found was the tire pressures were too high and the front toe was toed out By 5/8”z I set the tire pressures to 86 psi and set the toe by taper measure to 3/16 toe in. Night and day difference!

For handling, the CHF can’t be beat. And they all should have some type of stabilizer put on.
As for ride, Sunos and Konis will make it ride like a DO with air suspension (or close to it).