New to me--2014 Freelander 21QB rough ride
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....
Forum Discussion
It's a 2014, but what chassis? Ford E350 or E450, Chevy 3500 or 4500? It sounds like you have an E450 or 4500 with too much extra load capability, causing your exceptionally rough ride.
You need to be on a trip fully loaded including full fuel, fresh water, and drained waste tanks. At a truck stop, get the front and rear axles weighed independently, then adjust your tire pressure based on the weight placed on them. But BEWARE of tire gauges. CLICK HERE to read my evaluation of tire gauges. What I thought was my best tire gauge was 9 pounds off, reading high which meant I was putting in 9 psi too little.
Likely with an E450 or 4500, consider having a professional adjust your rear spring packs to reflect your actual load with some margin for variation in your load.
Our short 23'-8" E350 is tail-heavy and front-light. Our front coil springs today are unmodified Ford original. They are the same ones installed on an E450. This week I will be replacing them with the next rating lesser in hopes to reduce house jolting up front, increase driver comfort, and lower the front a bit to better "level" the rig.
Here is our load distribution causing the teeter-totter effect, actually raising the front a bit. The ride is rougher than it needs to be up front. Hopefully my front spring swap experiment will yield an improvement.
I had our rig weighed empty but with full fuel and nobody inside, and then a second time loaded full during a trip with my wife and I sitting up front. Fully loaded, the weight increase on the front axle was only 100 pounds. The teeter-totter effect is that bad on our rig. The front is affected so much that the front suspension required offset bushings for a proper front wheel alignment. After my spring-swap, I assume another alignment will require the original center-hole bushings.
BTW, the 21QB is a very nice rig. Congrats on your purchase.
You need to be on a trip fully loaded including full fuel, fresh water, and drained waste tanks. At a truck stop, get the front and rear axles weighed independently, then adjust your tire pressure based on the weight placed on them. But BEWARE of tire gauges. CLICK HERE to read my evaluation of tire gauges. What I thought was my best tire gauge was 9 pounds off, reading high which meant I was putting in 9 psi too little.
Likely with an E450 or 4500, consider having a professional adjust your rear spring packs to reflect your actual load with some margin for variation in your load.
Our short 23'-8" E350 is tail-heavy and front-light. Our front coil springs today are unmodified Ford original. They are the same ones installed on an E450. This week I will be replacing them with the next rating lesser in hopes to reduce house jolting up front, increase driver comfort, and lower the front a bit to better "level" the rig.
Here is our load distribution causing the teeter-totter effect, actually raising the front a bit. The ride is rougher than it needs to be up front. Hopefully my front spring swap experiment will yield an improvement.
I had our rig weighed empty but with full fuel and nobody inside, and then a second time loaded full during a trip with my wife and I sitting up front. Fully loaded, the weight increase on the front axle was only 100 pounds. The teeter-totter effect is that bad on our rig. The front is affected so much that the front suspension required offset bushings for a proper front wheel alignment. After my spring-swap, I assume another alignment will require the original center-hole bushings.
BTW, the 21QB is a very nice rig. Congrats on your purchase.
