New suspension upgrades

[EMD360]

Picked up the RV from the shop today. Got the Koni FSD shocks installed front and back. Didn’t notice a huge difference in bumpiness on the potholes on the way home.

The new Hellwig sway bar looks thicker but only by maybe 1/4”. But I drove into the gusting winds to the gas station and I didn’t feel any sway at all. Seemed much more stable on the road. That may be the best and least expensive upgrade.

Hellwig

Ford OEM


Without getting too much under the rig in the cold. This is one of the new shocks.

[melandme]

I have done both the Hellwig sway bars and the Sumo springs on a 2016 25B. Put both front and rear sway bars on at 5K miles. Really made difference when being passed by big trucks. I describe it as going from a shove to gentle push. Installed Sumo springs this summer at 38K miles before a trip to Vermont. With the Sumos when a truck passes there is still a push but more like a nudge. Where I notice the Sumos most is there is less side to side rocking when turning in and out of parking lots and other places at slow speeds. The wife says the ride is better when sitting back in the coach. When at the camp site you do not get as much bounce when moving in the coach. As for smoother ride over rough road, after driving thru WV and MD interstate construction, they didnt seem to help much.

[bobndot]

Hi Ron,
I ran my front ‘E’ plys at 45-50 psi on my former truck campers for years. I’m also starting to experiment with lowering psi more on my ‘C’. The ride does feel like it bites more when steering, which feels good to me. I’m assuming it has a positive affect with passing big rigs. It feels like it does. Driving behind big rigs with their turbulence can be challenging too. I often back off my throttle to afford me more distance.

Happy New Year ,
Bob

[ron_dittmer]

bobndot wrote:
EMD360, if the 22' rv was on a 350 and the 26' is a 450, then that might be why you feel the difference in ride. Maybe ?

Regarding potholes,
you're driving a truck with suspension to haul a home. It's going to feel a bit rough at times. It has to be stout enough to haul its weight. These mods that we are doing, all may help a bit but at the end of the day...it's still a truck !

My mods included the larger sways, Koni's in the rear, Bils front, steering stabilizer , rear track bar , a good reputable positive caster alignment and I run my psi in my 24 ft class c, a little softer because I'm underweight by 2000 lbs,.
I run 75 lbs Rear and 70F.

IMO, the rear track bar, which I did at the same time as the shocks, gave the most bang for the buck. That combined with the lower front psi to 70 seems like its offering more footprint on the pavement, resisting be pushed by passing bow-waves.

Bob,

Great input!

Our rig on an E350 chassis is a tad shorter than yours. I weighed our rig during a few different trips to learn that the weight is very consistent. I replaced the tires this year and followed the manufacture recommended tire pressure per the actual weight. To my surprise, I learned that my front tires should be only 40psi and my rears at 63psi. I run the rears per spec at 63 but up front at 50psi because I was chicken to lower it more. Next year I will run a little less in the front tires.

When fine tuning psi, you surely need a trusted tire gauge.

[bobndot]

EMD360, if the 22' rv was on a 350 and the 26' is a 450, then that might be why you feel the difference in ride. Maybe ?

Regarding potholes,
you're driving a truck with suspension to haul a home. It's going to feel a bit rough at times. It has to be stout enough to haul its weight. These mods that we are doing, all may help a bit but at the end of the day...it's still a truck !

My mods included the larger sways, Koni's in the rear, Bils front, steering stabilizer , rear track bar , a good reputable positive caster alignment and I run my psi in my 24 ft class c, a little softer because I'm underweight by 2000 lbs,.
I run 75 lbs Rear and 70F.

IMO, the rear track bar, which I did at the same time as the shocks, gave the most bang for the buck. That combined with the lower front psi to 70 seems like its offering more footprint on the pavement, resisting be pushed by passing bow-waves.
*But, as said here by someone else, try to leave as much room between the other vehicle next to you at the time of passing . Doing that allows the wave to dissipate a little.

Today, my 24' C drives real nice, even on the 'back road twisties', it feels pretty solid up to 105-110 mph. but that might be the unbalanced tire on the toad. :W

Seriously, I'm restricted to 65 mph towing my toad as well when towing my 5x12 v-nose.

Stay safe, Bob.

[bobndot]

Lancewgurel wrote:
Running lower air pressure?

Sometimes , if the psi is a match your GWR that's weighed individually at all fire corners.

This video explains. There is also a link for a tire PSI chart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adGCB_VINYk

[EMD360]

I read your report Ron. I wish I had the skills to upgrade the suspension myself. I wonder if the new Koni’s have a better grommet system. They originally ordered Bilstein shocks but they didn’t get stocked for almost three months so they cancelled that order and got the Koni shocks. I really preferred them due to my reading about the FSD technology. I’ve read about the superiority of the Safe t steer but steering does not seem to be an issue. It’s the rougher ride that I would like to smooth out. This coach is so much closer to the ground than our 22’ Itasca. It does not have electric steps. Just the built in well. I wonder if that makes the ride rougher.

[ron_dittmer]

AJR wrote:
When I bought my only class A (a gasser) it was like riding in a boat. It would dip & lean when turning. Crosswinds & big rigs were a nightmare driving at 60mph.

Put Koni-FSDs on it and the rig became a stable platform.

I have a similar story with heavy duty Bilstein RV shocks I bought from Tire Rack and installed myself on our 24 foot 2007 E350. CLICK HERE for write-up with pictures. I was afraid they would increase the harshness of ride, but that was not the case. They simply improved stability. I highly recommend them.

[EMD360]

I think the tires are over-inflated. They are higher than the door recommendation which is 68. Two are at 80 and the rest are about 75. But it’s cold outside now so I’ll check.
I’m not fully loaded so have not weighed yet. Maybe it’s the Koni shocks that have contributed to what feels like a more stable ride in high winds. I had only read that the Sumo reduced harshness.
Nice to get input here. This 26’ rig feels bumpier than our 22’. Feel rattled around when riding in back especially on smaller highways. I don’t know if that has improved.

[AJR]

When I bought my only class A (a gasser) it was like riding in a boat. It would dip & lean when turning. Crosswinds & big rigs were a nightmare driving at 60mph.

Put Koni-FSDs on it and the rig became a stable platform.

[ron_dittmer]

Also install a heavy duty front stabilizer bar and you will be even more stable.

Those expensive Koni-FSD shocks are supposed to reduce tiny road imperfections. Significant road imperfections would be no different than with other heavy duty RV shocks.

As far as harshness-of-ride is concerned, over-inflating your tires is one cause. Having too much load-margin on any axle is another cause.

Our short E350 rig had a very light weighted front axle and an at-load rear axle. I smoothed out the ride up front by swapping front coil springs with ones rated just a little more than the actual max weight. Reducing the weight margin turned out quite nicely.

Generally speaking, adding springs and/or airbags to an existing suspension will increase ride harshness. There are replacement suspension systems like Liquid Springs that replace the rear leaf spring packs, but they cost over $10,000 installed.

[lancewgurel]

Following...
I'd love to smooth the ride. I've always been told/believed that shocks help with side-to-side sway and up-and-down 'porpoising', but that shocks won't help with pot holes and feeling every bump in the road. Right?

Are spring upgrades a solution? Running lower air pressure?

Thanks, Lance
2000 Class C 26' Fleetwood Jamboree (E-450)

[EMD360]

Thinking of adding Sumo springs. Maybe they would do more to smooth out the ride.