Shock absorbers

1) There's plenty of information on the effectiveness of FSD shocks on Super C motorhomes - and probably on Class A motorhomes too ... a search of the WEB will lead to users comments on the various truck and motorhome blogs (as I discovered). FSD shocks have been available for the E350 for quite some time. The WEB probably has plenty of user inputs on them too. If push comes to shove, someone really interested in what the upcoming E450 FSD shocks might offer could contact the KONI company directly (as I did regarding availability).

2) Removing a leaf need not lower carrying capability. Air bags can replace any loss from a removed leaf spring on each side - if you get ones that can carry the poundage that the leaf spring was carrying. Of course air bags rugged enough to replace one leaf on each side can also restore, or increase, vehicle height. After doing this, you get to ride most of the time on air in the rear without spending the big bucks for full air suspension.

3) As I said, plenty of E450 shuttle buses have full air suspension systems. The cost is in the $4000-$5000 range. For folks who shell out the big bucks for a new E450 based Class C motorhome from $70,000 on up and really love their rigs ... maybe $4000-$5000 to make their E450 ride and handle like a sedan (but still carry full rated weight) would be for them money well spent.

pnichols wrote:
The "heavy duty" shocks are stiff shocks, and stiff shocks are NOT what is needed in the Ford E350/E450 rear end when it comes to road ruts, potholes, and highway cracks. But then again, you don't want a soft shock back there - for good load control.

So folks are right ... you cannot "shock your way out of" a harsh ride with these two chassis in a Class C motorhome using standard shocks. I can see only three ways to improve the rear end ride in the E350/E450 chassis:

1) Try the Koni FSD shocks on your E350, or try them when available for your E450. These are not the same as the regular Koni shocks ... you'd have to be sure to ask for Koni's FSD shock if you try the Koni route.

or

2) Have a leaf taken out of the rear leaf springs and install heavy duty air bags. This will put more of the rear end weight purely on air to partially simulate a full air suspension system in the rear.

or

3) Have a full air suspension system retrofitted in the rear of your E350 or E450 Class C motorhome .... just like is on some shuttle-buses.

I'm going to the try the Koni Frequency Selective Damping shock route to help with the pounding in the rear of our Class C's E450 chassis. I could reduce tire pressure in the rear because we're not anywhere near fully loading the rear axle, but I don't want to compromise on the long tread wear, solid lateral stability, and cooler sidewalls you get from using higher tire pressures.

I looked at many alternatives and the problem the 3 recommendation above are:
1) to start with the shocks are not available today and there is obviously no information on their effectiveness, enough said.
2) removing a leaf will reduce your cargo carrying capability and current ride height as well as current handling characteristics, enough said.
3) installing a full air system in my opinion is silly on a an E450, just look at the ridiculous cost and determine for yourself.

The "heavy duty" shocks are stiff shocks, and stiff shocks are NOT what is needed in the Ford E350/E450 rear end when it comes to road ruts, potholes, and highway cracks. But then again, you don't want a soft shock back there - for good load control.

So folks are right ... you cannot "shock your way out of" a harsh ride with these two chassis in a Class C motorhome using standard shocks. I can see only three ways to improve the rear end ride in the E350/E450 chassis:

1) Try the Koni FSD shocks on your E350, or try them when available for your E450. These are not the same as the regular Koni shocks ... you'd have to be sure to ask for Koni's FSD shock if you try the Koni route.

or

2) Have a leaf taken out of the rear leaf springs and install heavy duty air bags. This will put more of the rear end weight purely on air to partially simulate a full air suspension system in the rear.

or

3) Have a full air suspension system retrofitted in the rear of your E350 or E450 Class C motorhome .... just like is on some shuttle-buses.

I'm going to the try the Koni Frequency Selective Damping shock route to help with the pounding in the rear of our Class C's E450 chassis. I could reduce tire pressure in the rear because we're not anywhere near fully loading the rear axle, but I don't want to compromise on the long tread wear, solid lateral stability, and cooler sidewalls you get from using higher tire pressures.

carringb wrote:
New shocks will not make the ride smoother. They will control oscillations, but if that's not the problem, your efforts are probably best directed elsewhere.

Have you weighed you rig by axle? What tire pressures are you running at?

X2 I installed a set of heavy duty Bilstiens on my 2006, E450. Did absolutely nothing to improve the ride. Ride remained very harsh on some of the terrible interstate roads. I did lower the tire pressure on all 4 tires; this helped only slightly. I am not sure much can be done to the E450 chassis to improve the ride. Air bags may be a solution.

Ray

Thanks everyone....lots of good information to think about.

I should say that my Coachmen rides pretty smooth on good roads. So maybe my expectation of a quiet ride over pot holes and rough surfaces is unrealistic.

My ultimate goal is to avoid shaking my RV apart. I need it to last a long time. I guess checking on road conditions before I take a certain route would be a good thing to do.

Thank you all again for your useful suggestions!!

foopy1 wrote:
Hi Everyone...

My 2010 Coachmen Freelander Dreamer has a very rough ride. Many highways have lots of pot holes and my rig feels like it is shaking apart as I drive over them. Instead of buying a new motorhome I thought I would ask you guys for your opinion on shock absorbers.
Are there shock absorbers that actually work and stop the rough ride?

Thanks

I would work on 3 things in the following order:

1. set reasonable expectations. Many people complain about the E450 ride while others have nothing bad to say about it. The only real difference is the expectations of the drivers. I'm not saying you have to expect a noisy or dangerous ride but at the same time you should not expect it to feel/sound like a Bentley.
2. tire pressures. Properly setting the pressures helped a lot in our situation.
3. riding with a good amount of fuel and/or water. We have found the ride improves with weight, and its easily noticeable. When the rig is empty it is definitely less comfortable.

I would try these first before making any other modifications. BTW: I replaced our shocks when we experienced too much bounce, the new Koni shocks fixed the problem but did nothing to improve the feel over bumps etc.

carringb wrote:
New shocks will not make the ride smoother. They will control oscillations, but if that's not the problem, your efforts are probably best directed elsewhere.

Shocks can make the ride smoother if their damping stiffness is very soft so that the springs can flex more freely to absorb the pounding on rough road surfaces. However, soft shocks also mean that the vehicle's raw weight is not controlled very well under all driving conditions.

The answer is shocks that have varying stiffness, depending upon the immediate situation that the shocks sense. Koni has just such a shock and it's available for many brands of trucks - just not available yet for the Ford E450 chassis, which is under so many Class C motorhomes. Per my correspondence with Koni, it will be available for the Ford E450 in January of 2014.

Koni's variable shock is their FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) shock. Here's a link explaining the FSD shock, along with a video:

http://www.koni.com/btt/technology/fsd-for-busses/

How long have you been in this coach?
Has it gotten worse?
Or are you just getting tired of it?
The OEM shocks ride pretty well, but don't last long, so
How many miles on the coach?
The advice to weigh it and adjust the tire pressures it spot on. Best place to start.
CAT Truck Scales and Locator
Michelin's Weight/Inflation Chart works for other tire brands, so long as you match the tire's specs including load range to the table. Note that Front and Rear are different AND that the Michelin table uses Corner Weights, not Axle Weights. So on most scales you have to double Michelin's numbers to match say a CAT scale weight since you can't get each corner onto their scales.
Hopefully you won't need full "sidewall" pressure of 80PSI per rear tire. That would mean the rear axle was at capacity. Compare GAWR REAR with twice the Michelin max and you'll see that.
Likewise, you should not have More Than 65PSI in the front tires. Why? Because the GAWR Front (label in driver's door jamb) is 5000LB and that's what the tires it should have come with work out to at 65PSI Single Application.
Best thing most of us can do for Ride and Tracking is to set Front Tire Pressure to what the Load calls for.
Personally, Mrs and I don't sweat the ride or the noise. Part of that, we don't drive luxury vehicles as daily drivers. Another part is that we pound around in boats a lot. Finally, as eloquently stated above (crude, boxy, rattly) we accept our coach for what it is. Like a person, it does many things well, and some not so well.

It can be yust the tire-pressure , but can also be because of the weight division that is to much to the back.
Then it lifts up the front, wich chanches the alignment and the springs are at their end.
Can also be that its the other way around for RV.s with a longer wheelbase. Then the springs are yust to soft, and hang to the end of the silent-blocks ( if its the right word for the rubber at the end of the springway to prefent the wheelarm from touching metal).
Then other springs is the solution.

But also doing some weight shifting to the front can salve the problem then.

If you look under the car , you can see for yourselfes if the springs are at the end and wich end.

But first look at the needed tire pressure , its the cheapest way to salve it and mayby enaugh.

The easiest things you have control over are tire pressure and tire brand. All the E450's I have had came with Michelin tires, which is known for a smooth ride and easy to balance. The main thing is tire pressure. You don't need 80 psi in the rears unless you're at the max rear allowable weight. If you have a 32' coach, you might be there. If it's a 23' you probably are 2,000lbs under RAWR, and could get by with quite a bit less psi. As many have said, weigh the coach, and go to Michelin's web site for psi guides that will tell you what pressure to run for your weight. On my 32' coach, just going from 80 to 75 psi is quite noticeable.

Having said that, it's still going to ride hard cause it's a crude truck with a lightweight hollow box on the rear filled with every rattily, banging device known to man.

CT51