New to me--2014 Freelander 21QB rough ride

Had new tires put on my Toyota RV, they put max pressure on the sidewall in them 65 psi, just about jarred my teeth out on the way home. Referred to as riding on bowling balls!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-gPwNZgDGA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5c

Grit dog wrote:
There may be slight variations, but generally the same size and class of tire has the same load index rating and the same or very similar capacities vs pressure.
You may have over-inflaed tires. The camper is empty though, correct?
Like you said, 400lbs of water, everything packed up in it, may have another 1000lbs easy on the rear axle when you set off loaded for camping.

Good to know. I think I'm going to fill up the water tank, load some stuff into it, and get some weights. Proceed from there.

Hank85713 wrote:
when we bought our B+ we took it on a quick trip. It handled atrociously and road hard. Turns out tires were aired too high, and rear airbags were empty. Tire shops would not let me air them and they did not have a air hose for a dually setup.

The rig drifted left and right and was a PIA. Got it home aired up the tires to about 65 in front 70 rears took it out and still too hard. aired down 60 front and kept 70 in rears, aired up airbags to 50psi and again took it out. Much improved from high air settings. Ours weight 12500 or so empty. so probably around 13500 when loaded. we run empty black and gray tanks, full lp, and about 1/4 tank of water. air up air bags to 60 and ride is much better. You will need to experiment some to find best configuration. Can find it empty then modify when loaded. lots of folks have their own ideas, I just shared mine with you. dont spend $$ needlessly experiment first.

Thanks for the input. That's exactly what I plan to do.... get some weights, get an inflation pressure, and tweak as needed. Only if the ride is still horrific will I proceed to more expensive options.

when we bought our B+ we took it on a quick trip. It handled atrociously and road hard. Turns out tires were aired too high, and rear airbags were empty. Tire shops would not let me air them and they did not have a air hose for a dually setup.

The rig drifted left and right and was a PIA. Got it home aired up the tires to about 65 in front 70 rears took it out and still too hard. aired down 60 front and kept 70 in rears, aired up airbags to 50psi and again took it out. Much improved from high air settings. Ours weight 12500 or so empty. so probably around 13500 when loaded. we run empty black and gray tanks, full lp, and about 1/4 tank of water. air up air bags to 60 and ride is much better. You will need to experiment some to find best configuration. Can find it empty then modify when loaded. lots of folks have their own ideas, I just shared mine with you. dont spend $$ needlessly experiment first.

There may be slight variations, but generally the same size and class of tire has the same load index rating and the same or very similar capacities vs pressure.
You may have over-inflaed tires. The camper is empty though, correct?
Like you said, 400lbs of water, everything packed up in it, may have another 1000lbs easy on the rear axle when you set off loaded for camping.

coolmom42 wrote:
Thanks for the info!

Question: Are tire load inflation tables specific to the brand of tire, or do they apply to all tires in the same load range?

Well from what I have read here and on other forums they are pretty much the same specs for most tires in the same load range. Now I expect someone may come along with another view but this seems to be the load range table used as a standard for RVs.

IAMICHABOD wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:
Thanks for all the input. I neglected to mention that this is a Chevy 450 chassis.
I think I will get weights with a full tank of water and a decent amount of stuff in it, then add in for passengers and their stuff distributed pretty evenly. Then find the inflation tables for the tires, if possible and set it right. Then evaluate the need for other stuff.

This the best part of your post.being on a Chevy Chassis it will ride better than one on a Ford Chassis. The ride is much softer and when you get it weighed fully loaded with everything you will have on a trip then get the proper inflation you should be ready to go.

I know on my Chevy based Class C that made a lot of difference in the ride. using the Michelin Inflation Chart I adjusted my tire inflation to the recommended PSI for the weight on each axle. In my case it came out to 55psi front and 65 psi rear Rides very smooth also a set of Bilstein Shocks front and rear,my original ones at 97000 miles were worn out.

As for the alignment,the Chevy based ones have very little trouble as do the ones on the Ford Chassis. At 97000 miles I had my whole front suspension checked out by a Alignment service that specializes in Truck and heavy duty chassis.They found nothing wrong and made no adjustments.

Thanks for the info!

Question: Are tire load inflation tables specific to the brand of tire, or do they apply to all tires in the same load range?

coolmom42 wrote:
Thanks for all the input. I neglected to mention that this is a Chevy 450 chassis.
I think I will get weights with a full tank of water and a decent amount of stuff in it, then add in for passengers and their stuff distributed pretty evenly. Then find the inflation tables for the tires, if possible and set it right. Then evaluate the need for other stuff.

This the best part of your post.being on a Chevy Chassis it will ride better than one on a Ford Chassis. The ride is much softer and when you get it weighed fully loaded with everything you will have on a trip then get the proper inflation you should be ready to go.

I know on my Chevy based Class C that made a lot of difference in the ride. using the Michelin Inflation Chart I adjusted my tire inflation to the recommended PSI for the weight on each axle. In my case it came out to 55psi front and 65 psi rear Rides very smooth also a set of Bilstein Shocks front and rear,my original ones at 97000 miles were worn out.

As for the alignment,the Chevy based ones have very little trouble as do the ones on the Ford Chassis. At 97000 miles I had my whole front suspension checked out by a Alignment service that specializes in Truck and heavy duty chassis.They found nothing wrong and made no adjustments.

Thanks for all the input. I neglected to mention that this is a Chevy 450 chassis.

Right now it appears to be light in the rear, since that's where the bed and bathroom are. It's a typical kitchen across from the dinette in the center.

Much of the time I will be the only person in it, and I don't take tons of stuff. Essentials like water hose, sewer hose, etc. A couple of chairs and kitchen stuff plus clothes, toiletries and bedding for one. I'm guessing that is about 500 lb max.

Part of the time I will have one or more grandchildren with me so figure another 500 for them together with their stuff.

The tires appear to be in good condition; the previous owner has had it 2 years and used it 4 times, and 19,000 miles on it. I do not think these are the original tires as there is zero sidewall cracking and almost no tread wear. I suspect the tires were put on before this owner bought it. We couldn't find the date code but it was pouring rain and I didn't take time to look carefully.


If the front alignment is not good, would that show up in tire wear?

I think I will get weights with a full tank of water and a decent amount of stuff in it, then add in for passengers and their stuff distributed pretty evenly. Then find the inflation tables for the tires, if possible and set it right. Then evaluate the need for other stuff.

coolmom42 wrote:
I've recently purchased (3 days ago) a 2014 Coachmen Freelander 21QB. Drove it home from the seller (about 90 miles) around Nashville. It handles fine--BUT I was about beat to death on the ride. Even a small hole or patch in the road gave me a terrific jolt.

This was not obvious on the test drive because I was on some nicely maintained secondary roads, which have not taken the traffic beating of interstate highways.


I don't have a gauge (yet)to check the pressure on the dual rear tires and haven't had a chance to weigh it. So it's possible that the tires are way over-inflated. Would over-inflated tires be enough to make the ride that bad?

All the tanks were empty...would a full fresh water tank adding about 400 lb change the weight enough to make it ride better?

I know this chassis is pretty lightly loaded with the 21QB empty, which is fine. But a tiny amount of comfort would be nice.

If correct tire inflation doesn't fix the issue, what's the next step? Replacement shocks? If so, front, rear, or both? And what kind?

I'm used to riding in all manner of work trucks, so don't expect cushy, but this ride would be almost intolerable for a long trip.

Any constructive input appreciated!

Install, or have installed, Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) shocks in the rear. Leave the front shocks stock.

The Koni FSD shocks will nearly, or completely, eliminate the pounding in the rear. These particular shocks will cost more than other shocks folks usually use in the rear on their Class C motorhomes.

Be sure not to use other models of Koni shocks in the rear ... it must be their "FSD" shocks.