Suspension upgrades needed
I have a 2003 Dolphin on a W-22 Chassis. Bought it a couple of years ago, but haven't used it much. We took it out on mountain roads last week here in Utah, and here is what my wife and I observed. On the freeway the steering seems pretty stable, not much fidgeting needed to keep it straight and there doesn't seem to be any free wheeling in the steering wheel. When big trucks pass I don't seem to feel the effect excessively. Certainly not like our old Coachman Class C that had a short wheelbase and a long overhang. What we do feel is side to side rocking with any unevenness in the road, especially at slower speeds on residential roads. It seems to rock a couple of times before settling down. We also seem to feel bouncing in the front over bumps, like the shocks aren't dampening the rebound after the first bounce. It had a four wheel alignment at 54,000 miles. I just loaded it up and weighed it today. The front axle is 6640 (max. 8000) and the rear is 13980 (max. 14500). I weighed each side and the high in the front is 3460 and the high rear is 7180. My chart from Goodyear (I have 255/70R22.5's) indicates I should have about 80 psi in the front, but I'm confused about the rear since at the maximum 120 psi, the chart shows 5070 lbs. Does the weight get divided between the duals? Would I divide the 7180 in half, which would put me at 80 psi for each tire? The rear shocks look to be the original Monroes and the rig has 67000 miles on it. The fronts are Bilsteins, installed about 40,000 miles ago, per the former owner's records. With all this information, I'm thinking, after poring over many threads about track bars, ASBs, steering dampers and shocks, that I need an ASB on the rear and new rear shocks at a minimum, maybe all new shocks. What do you experienced owners suggest as my first approach? Thanks so much for your time and expertise.
