How About A Hellwig Sway Bar Chevy E3500

Had to do a double take when I saw the topic on this one. I guess that there are so many Ford topics that we get confused :B Chevy is just 3500 or 4500 no "E" involved.

I have to agree with you having also driven about a dozen Fords of the same type and style, they all slammed hard on bumps/dips even over the cracks on the freeway would make the whole rear shudder.

The Chevy rode much smoother without all that banging and noise. I have replaced the shocks with Bilsteins and just got a new set of Michelin LTX MS2s and the ride is even smoother with very little sway.

I have a 2005 Chevy 3500 27ft class C and it has both front and rear sway bars and they are the same size. 1.375 in. or 1 3/8. It has very little sway or lean from bad roads or wind.It is odd that yours does not have one on the rear,it is not listed as an option on my build sheet.

The one that j-d posted is the same size as my OEM sway bars. He also had a good idea on the junkyard replacement,it may be a lot cheaper.

I can see that having a rear sway bar would only be an improvement over what you have now.

I'm a Ford Guy, but I've worked on a Chevy RV and your question intrigues me.

Seems that a 2005 Express 3500 might have a 32mm/1.25" or 36mm/1.4" front sway bar. Ford OEM sway bar for E450 is only 1" and Hellwig's upgrade is 1.375" so...

I would NOT replace your OEM sway bar. I know you didn't say you were considering that, but what you can do is make sure that the END LINKS are Polyurethane like MOOG K700537 and not rubber. I replaced the end links on an old E350, changing from spongy rubber to hard poly bushings from NAPA and the change in handling was simply amazing. If your center bushings (where the bar attaches to the frame) are soft or damaged, get poly for those too.

Snowdance testified to the improvement from a Hellwig rear sway bar kit. That's Hellwig #7635 at $268/free shipping from SD Truck Springs, an outfit many of us have bought from. It's a 1-3/8" bar. By comparison, Ford's OEM rear bar is 1-1/8" and the Hellwig is 1-1/2" so you can see the Hellwig for yours is a good beefy bar.

I wanted to wait to say this till somebody with Chevy replied. Snowdance did, and what he says lines up with what I thought a Chevy owner would. Your coach is

1. Short/Small
2. Light
3. Chevrolet

When you fortify your front bar and add a rear one, you are improving your RV. You'll feel improvement in its already good characteristics.

Most of us upgrading sway bars have

1. Long/Large
2. Heavy
3. Ford

So we're working to solve issues and improvement comes along with the solutions. Those of us who feel their rig works well with only OEM components will be more satisfied if they choose to upgrade.

I've added junkyard OEM bars to vehicles that offered them as optional equipment. We had two 1980's T-Birds. One had a rear sway bar and the other didn't. I went and found one for the one that didn't and it improved the car after I installed it. I noticed a T-Bird bar would work on our Aerostar van, so I got another to put in the van. Sure enough, helped it too.

Rear sway bars are simply good to have.

I put a Hellwig sway bar on my 2000 Chev 3500. We live in the Mts and in the Shasta Valley of Calif. So lots of corners and high winds up to 50 mph are common. The sway bar helps a lot with the sway and lean. However it really does not seem change the ride as far as bumps much. However our roads are a mess with large pot holes ect. The best thing we did for the ride was replace the stock shocks and weigh each axle while loaded and use the tire pressure listed by tire companys for our size tire. It is about 5 lbs less than on the door sticker. Also how we load make a difference too. Our rig does ride very well.