Ride comfort
Until my wife and I can retire, the long distance trips we want to take are going to have to involve alot of driving to get to our destinations. 8 hrs or more driving per day. What can we do to make...
Forum Discussion
Our rig new in 2007 drove like a drunken sailor, very tiring, tight griped two handed driving. With only 800 miles on the rig, I took it to a local RV/truck/EV/bus suspension shop. They did the following and it has driven like a dream since with huge safety benefits too. Today I pull over to take a break from drinking liquid refreshment instead of driver fatigue. It also helps to have a driver seat with 6-way adjustments to change position once in a while. Here is the break-down on what we had done to our rig.
- added a Roadmaster heavy duty rear stabilizer bar (Ford did not include one on the pre 2008 E350s)
- replaced the OEM front stabilizer bar with a Roadmaster heavy duty one (the OEM was the same used on an E150 van)
- replaced the 4 OEM shocks with Koni-RV shocks set to the stiffest setting (OEM is the same used on an E250 van)(today I recommend the latest Koni-FSD shocks)
- replaced the OEM steering damper with a heavy duty Safe-T-Plus version (improved steering stability)
- added a Henderson rear trac bar (eliminates tail-wagging-the-dog)
- had a wheel alignment done when loaded for a trip (needed offset bushings for proper alignment)
- added 5 more psi in each tire, above what the RV manufacture specified
The rig handles curvy mountain and canyon byways with ease & comfort, and in full confidence for the driver. Comfort for passengers is greatly improved from being so stable. The work done did cost us $3900. Since then, this forum has been sharing some lower cost do-it-yourself alternative components to save some money.
Owners of the E350 and E450 made 2008 to today have fewer complaints because Ford made some suspension improvements starting in 2008. You might want to wait and see how your particular rig handles during your first trip out.
- added a Roadmaster heavy duty rear stabilizer bar (Ford did not include one on the pre 2008 E350s)
- replaced the OEM front stabilizer bar with a Roadmaster heavy duty one (the OEM was the same used on an E150 van)
- replaced the 4 OEM shocks with Koni-RV shocks set to the stiffest setting (OEM is the same used on an E250 van)(today I recommend the latest Koni-FSD shocks)
- replaced the OEM steering damper with a heavy duty Safe-T-Plus version (improved steering stability)
- added a Henderson rear trac bar (eliminates tail-wagging-the-dog)
- had a wheel alignment done when loaded for a trip (needed offset bushings for proper alignment)
- added 5 more psi in each tire, above what the RV manufacture specified
The rig handles curvy mountain and canyon byways with ease & comfort, and in full confidence for the driver. Comfort for passengers is greatly improved from being so stable. The work done did cost us $3900. Since then, this forum has been sharing some lower cost do-it-yourself alternative components to save some money.
Owners of the E350 and E450 made 2008 to today have fewer complaints because Ford made some suspension improvements starting in 2008. You might want to wait and see how your particular rig handles during your first trip out.
