28 Foot / Chevy Chassis, Looking to upgrade suspension...

[LostInOz]

Hey everyone, new to the forum. Proud owner of a "new to me" 2006 Chateau Sport By Four Winds 28 Ft which is running on a Chevy chassis.

Just wondering if anyone else with a Chevy Express 3500 van chassis has taken it upon themselves to improve the ride of their rig, and what the best "bang for the buck" is in regards to improving the ride of my RV.

My wife tries to help drive it, but between the sway when a truck comes by, I can't help but think we can do some things to improve the ride. Also get a fair amount of 'porpoising' when going over bumps.

It does have some kind of anti-sway bar on it already, but maybe it needs a beefier one?

The rig has 50,000 miles on it, so I would imagine upgrading the shocks would be the first place to start?

What about sumo springs? Too many options... not sure where to start. Thanks in advance.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I heard from the spring shop yesterday. I had one broken leaf. They have built new springs adding a leaf to each side and the ride height went up 2.5 inches.

The air bag brackets had torn from the frame (they were welded instead of being bolted), and the bags were incorrectly installed. There needs to be 7 inches of clearance--and there was only 5. So when ever I used the air bags they were attempting to carry the entire spring load. I'm not replacing them at this time--as the shop can not find an appropriately sized air bag. Nor do I probably need them with the extra 2.5 inches.

I did decide to have the shocks replaced, even though the OEM ones were apparently still ok. The shop suggested Munroe as a brand. I feel comfortable with their recommendation.

I've asked them to look at some timbrens--and will take their advice as to whether to do this or not.

I'm expecting a dramatic improvement in the ride.

[bobndot]

Experiment by changing air pressure on the front tires. Just because the tire says 80 PSI doesn't mean you have to run them at max. Some people run at 65 or 70 PSI offering more rubber on the ground as well as a softer ride.

[ronfisherman]

I put air tabs on my Super C. Helped a lot like others have mentioned. Never did see a fuel mileage improvements.
I found a super deal on them on EBAY. Had enough left over to put a line of them on bottom of cab over. Stopped a lot of cab wind noise and kept windshield cleaner from bugs. Got idea for cab over from truck camper forum. They get a lot of air/wind trapped behind rear cab window and camper.

[IAMICHABOD]

This looks like you are on the right track,I think that the shocks and the other things you mentioned is the way to go. I know it really helped make mine handle better.

One thing you mentioned was sway from trucks. Although the handling was greatly improved I still had some push from trucks and cross winds.

As pianotuna mentioned the addition of Air Tabs

I added them to my RV and it did away with most of the push from trucks but push from cross winds was almost all gone.

[LostInOz]

Wow, what a great great discussion. This forum rocks!

I've decided to start with some new shocks and ask the mechanic to take a look at the bushings and tighten the sway bars.

Thanks everyone!

[ron_dittmer]

pianotuna wrote:
ron.dittmer,

Thanks for taking the time to document your experience with shocks.

You are very welcome!

[carringb]

I'm a fan a sumo springs. They are a great supplement for supporting a cargo load.

They are not however, a fix for sagging or overloaded leaf springs. If might not hurt to weight your coach first, to get a baseline. If you are at or over GAWR, you might need to add a leaf first. They probably won't do anything for getting blown around (sway bar and shocks help more with this), but they can improve the loaded ride of you coach.

And it's a good idea to weight anyways, to make sure you aren't overloaded on the rear tires. "28 foot" models tend to ride on short wheelbases compared to their overall length, so diligent loading can be really important.

[jjrbus]

I bought a 94 Toyota and on the drive home it felt like it was going to tip over in turns, trucks pushed it all over the road and it wandered, taking constant steering adjustments.

Replaced all bushings with a bushing kit from energy suspension, new KYB shocks, new air springs and replaced all steering components. Tie rod ends, ball joints etc. Handles at least 5000 times better now. Sounds like a lot, but I knew it would need to be done when I bought it.

Tires were shot so I replaced them and the tire place inflated them to the max rating on the side wall 65 psi. I though I was going to lose my teeth or hurt my back on the way home. Like riding on bowling balls! Am I the only person that has heard of load and inflation tables?

Start with the basics and see what happens, they will never handle like a car.

[IAMICHABOD]

LostInOz wrote:

Any opinion on the sumo springs? I keep coming across references to them online and some people swear by them...

Most of the good reviews that I have seen are for the Ford Chassis and these are the larger heavier ones to help with the harsh ride that they have.

I see no reason for them on a smaller Chevy Chassis that ride smoother than the Fords I would try the shocks first.

[pianotuna]

ron.dittmer,

Thanks for taking the time to document your experience with shocks.

[ItsyRV]

Also, don't overlook the sway bar bushings. They don't last forever and they do wear out. I know people who spent good money on a new sway bar when all that was needed was a set of inexpensive new bushings.

[ron_dittmer]

Hi LostInOz,

I love your name considering you live in Kansas. 🙂

We have a 2007 Ford E350, but my comments will apply to your Chevy.

If buying new shocks, I highly recommend the Heavy Duty (HD) Bilstein shocks. CLICKING HERE will take you to my write-up with many pictures showing why the HD bilstein is the best choice for a motor home application. Not just the shock itself, but the mounting hardware is heavy duty. Then consider that wimpy hardware failed on my old shocks. If you wonder, I CANNOT say the "HD" rating makes a rougher ride. They simply offer great handling.

You have a front and rear stabilizer bar on your Chevy. Before replacing them, make sure their end links are tight. Any play in them will reduce the bar's effectiveness. With 50,000 miles driven, it's likely the end links need tightening. The 4 rubber bushings that make up the soft part of each end link might also be worn to the point of needing replacement. Sometimes they can wear to the point of being missing.

Over-inflated tires, exceeding the requirement of your actual load, will also cause the rig to wander excessively along with offering a rougher ride. But your fuel economy would improve slightly.

[LostInOz]

Thank you for he suggestions. I'll get the shocks ordered.

Any opinion on the sumo springs? I keep coming across references to them online and some people swear by them...

[Lwiddis]

New shocks are a relatively inexpensive first step IMO.