How About A Hellwig Sway Bar Chevy E3500

I put a Hellwig sway bar on my 2000 Chev 3500. We live in the Mts and in the Shasta Valley of Calif. So lots of corners and high winds up to 50 mph are common. The sway bar helps a lot with the sway and lean. However it really does not seem change the ride as far as bumps much. However our roads are a mess with large pot holes ect. The best thing we did for the ride was replace the stock shocks and weigh each axle while loaded and use the tire pressure listed by tire companys for our size tire. It is about 5 lbs less than on the door sticker. Also how we load make a difference too. Our rig does ride very well.

I'm a Ford Guy, but I've worked on a Chevy RV and your question intrigues me.

Seems that a 2005 Express 3500 might have a 32mm/1.25" or 36mm/1.4" front sway bar. Ford OEM sway bar for E450 is only 1" and Hellwig's upgrade is 1.375" so...

I would NOT replace your OEM sway bar. I know you didn't say you were considering that, but what you can do is make sure that the END LINKS are Polyurethane like MOOG K700537 and not rubber. I replaced the end links on an old E350, changing from spongy rubber to hard poly bushings from NAPA and the change in handling was simply amazing. If your center bushings (where the bar attaches to the frame) are soft or damaged, get poly for those too.

Snowdance testified to the improvement from a Hellwig rear sway bar kit. That's Hellwig #7635 at $268/free shipping from SD Truck Springs, an outfit many of us have bought from. It's a 1-3/8" bar. By comparison, Ford's OEM rear bar is 1-1/8" and the Hellwig is 1-1/2" so you can see the Hellwig for yours is a good beefy bar.

I wanted to wait to say this till somebody with Chevy replied. Snowdance did, and what he says lines up with what I thought a Chevy owner would. Your coach is

1. Short/Small
2. Light
3. Chevrolet

When you fortify your front bar and add a rear one, you are improving your RV. You'll feel improvement in its already good characteristics.

Most of us upgrading sway bars have

1. Long/Large
2. Heavy
3. Ford

So we're working to solve issues and improvement comes along with the solutions. Those of us who feel their rig works well with only OEM components will be more satisfied if they choose to upgrade.

I've added junkyard OEM bars to vehicles that offered them as optional equipment. We had two 1980's T-Birds. One had a rear sway bar and the other didn't. I went and found one for the one that didn't and it improved the car after I installed it. I noticed a T-Bird bar would work on our Aerostar van, so I got another to put in the van. Sure enough, helped it too.

Rear sway bars are simply good to have.

Had to do a double take when I saw the topic on this one. I guess that there are so many Ford topics that we get confused :B Chevy is just 3500 or 4500 no "E" involved.

I have to agree with you having also driven about a dozen Fords of the same type and style, they all slammed hard on bumps/dips even over the cracks on the freeway would make the whole rear shudder.

The Chevy rode much smoother without all that banging and noise. I have replaced the shocks with Bilsteins and just got a new set of Michelin LTX MS2s and the ride is even smoother with very little sway.

I have a 2005 Chevy 3500 27ft class C and it has both front and rear sway bars and they are the same size. 1.375 in. or 1 3/8. It has very little sway or lean from bad roads or wind.It is odd that yours does not have one on the rear,it is not listed as an option on my build sheet.

The one that j-d posted is the same size as my OEM sway bars. He also had a good idea on the junkyard replacement,it may be a lot cheaper.

I can see that having a rear sway bar would only be an improvement over what you have now.

OFDPOS wrote:
Test drove a few ford E350s and a couple E450s 23 to 26 ft and both E450s slammed hard on bumps/dips even over the cracks on the freeway would get the whole rear of the MH shudder , not so much on the E350s.
But was still there..

We intentionally bought a small 24 foot Class C on the not-required E450 chassis. As a result it rides hard in the rear on highway cracks and other abrupt bumps, so I'm going to replace the rear Ford shocks with something different.

The ultimate shock is a shock with real time electronically controlled variable damping, like what are used on ultra high performance racing cars. I'm going to try these shocks that utilize real time mechanical variable damping. They may help with our E450's rear end slamming - the extra cost hopefully will be well worth it - however they do carry a lifetime warranty:

http://www.koni-na.com/uploads/KONI_E350450_Cons_PR.PDF

Not intending to change the subject matter here, but there is plenty of E450 and E350 comparisons. My comments only compare those with each other, not to the Chevy.

A few people like pnichols special order a small E350 motor home, but with an E450 chassis which seems to me as being extremely hard on the house and contents. I understand they seek other benefits, not just CCC. Some may seek everything but the extra CCC. If that be the case, I wonder if it is possible to remove a leaf spring or two, and change to E350 front coil springs, in an effort to soften the ride. Then they'd get the best of both.

The same goes for the E350 since 2008. The CCC increased primarily on the front axle which I would imagine it too offers quite a jolt compared to the E350 prior to 2008. If the rig is already light up front as many are, they don't need the extra CCC capability up front. Maybe the owner could swap the front coil springs to the lighter duty versions to soften the ride. The E350 cut-away is made in 3 different weight classifications so there must be a choice of front coil springs.

Just thoughts up in my head on softening the ride. Nothing really to back it up.

Thanks for the replies , maybe because its shorter ? for it not having the rear sway bar? 23A but from bumper to bumper (rear ladder) its 25 ft 4 inches...

I did the same thing on the shocks and same Michelin tires as well , Made a night and day difference.

I'll look at the front swaybar again I'm sure it has the old rubber and look into replacing them with the poly bushings.

The SD site # for the rear is 7635 for the Chevy ,I'll look into ordering one up soon.

IAMICHABOD You may not be able to answer this since your's already has the rear one on it . But do you get a lot of movement while parked ? Sitting in the dinette while somebody is coming in going out moving around etc?
Somebody posted that once they put the sway bars on it all but took care of that. That would be great if it did , but I don't think it will ?!

I bought a set of those sizzer jacks and was going to mount them in the rear along the frame , but the boneheads that built it put the grey tank where the spare tire would fit underneath and ran the drain pipe right along under the frame on the one side ! So am looking into maybe putting a piece of stock across side to side of the frame then bolt the jacks to it.

The HD front and rear stabilizer bars on our rig keep it well stabilized while parked.

To test stability, park on a level surface. Stand inside over the rear axle facing the windshield. With legs spread apart as much as the floor plan allows, do your best to get the rig to rock side to side. It will always move some amount but a good setup won't move much and will feel like the rig is in a vat of molasses.

Repeat the test standing as close to the front cab as possible.

With a good setup, instead of rocking side to side, the rig moves more vertically because of the stabilizer bar. That is when the pair of shocks kick in good and neutralizes that movement. The better the bar and shocks, the better the results.

WARNING: When doing that test, make sure you are not parked such that your rocking rig will hit something adjacent like a tree, garage door opening, another motor home, or anything else.

A heavy duty rear sway bar will do wonders on any rig that has none. An upgraded bar and/or bar bushings up front would only improve it further.

Do the test and report back. I strongly believe that if you can get your rig rocking good, then you have a serious problem.

We should all contribute to a You-Tube video on trying to rock our rigs. :)

Reason I ask about the rocking part , the DW does her make-up sitting at the dinette table and everything has to come to a complete stop ! IE: meaning I either sit my butt still or go outside ! LOL

If you solidify the front sway bar, and add a rear sway bar with hard bushings (which is what Hellwig supplies) then YES you will reduce rocking when your coach is parked.

Seems to me you've got clearance from the Admiral to go ahead with this parts purchase... Seriously, you can't do eye surgery, but the change will be immediately noticeable. I wasn't even looking for that when I got in the coach after installing both Hellwig bars. The Kwikee step was deployed, so my weight had added leverage against the RV. I was like "Whoa! The Step Didn't Go Down!" We have HWH leveling jacks, and the coach is now as steady without jacks down as it was before, with jacks down.

I've mentioned Hendersons Line Up as experts in RV chassis an handling. They sell the Davis Tru-Trak bar for the front axles of Class A's. Eric Davis is the developer and has Eric's RV in Sequim WA. Eric called me at home from Quartzite to talk about track bars and the subject turned to HD sway bars. This was before I got our Hellwig's. We talked about handling on the road and Eric added that we'd be able to move around inside the coach without spilling each other's drinks. Eric was right. That's part of why I'm so hard over in favor of this upgrade. It pays back when parked as well as when moving.

Truth in advertising... A Class C will never be rock solid on the campsite unless it has stabilizer jacks at all four corners. By that I mean right AT the corners like a travel trailer. With leveling jacks, the weight is relieved a distance in from both ends and in from both sides. And most of the weight is still on the tires. A rear sway bar plus good bushings in front WILL reduce movement sharply, but you're still on tires and suspension.

Just do it. If you aren't impressed I'll refund you double what you paid for this free advice.

OFDPOS.
As you said I cant really answer to the difference in the rocking because I have the rear bar but when sitting in the Dinette and someone comes in there is very little rocking,makeup can be applied even with the Grandaughters coming in at out and wanting their turn :B

Before I put the Bilstiens on I tried Rons test in rocking the motorhome and it could be done, but after the install of the shocks it was greatly reduced.It is not rock solid but the slight rocking is not something I would worry about.

Make-up is OK but Just don't do eye surgery