New shocks or leaf spring?

[thmitch79]

Don't want to sound ignorant but I don't know what to do here. 2003 Southwind, rig is leaning to the passenger side, it sits 2 inches lower than the drivers side. . F53 chassis, leaf springs and shocks up front. How do I trouble shoot the issue to add a helper spring or replace the shocks? Will just replacing the shocks do the job? My biggest fear is a bent frame. Any help is appreciated.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

pnichols, YOU CHEATED!

You only picked IMHO the finest shock absorber on the face of the earth 🙂

Shame On You

And Thanks!

[Mootpoint]

Springs by a professional. Cure the problem don't Band-Aid it..

[pnichols]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Huge shock absorbers can really stiffen the ride too much.

Perhaps these variable rate shock absorbers can help take the bite out of conventional rear leaf springs. I'm planning on trying these out on at least the rear of our underloaded-chassis E450 motorhome - as soon as they're available for the E450 (coming soon, per the company):

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

[Veebyes]

Replaced my springs last um, well, ah, spring. 07 trailer. At rest they were flat. Given the reputations of builders to build to minimum specs I upgraded mine by an extra leaf. Anymore would have made the ride way too stiff.

Shocks are relatively inexpensive. At around 70,000 miles I figured it was time to replace so that was done last fall.

It is all about preventative maintenance. Doing the maintenance & upgrades beats having a failure on the road & the expense that will bring.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I think I would be interested in finding replacement springs with a PROGRESSIVE spring action. So as to avoid every freeway expansion joint feeling like you're running over railroad ties. Leaf springs are tougher to make progressive than coil springs.

On the rear, VARIABLE RATE coil spring boosters are hard to beat for a compromise between weight capacity and ride comfort. Huge shock absorbers can really stiffen the ride too much.

For minimizing leaning when rounding a curve a huge rear aftermarket SWAY BAR is hard to top.

I went to plain old-fashioned LONGER coil springs (and shocks) to cure a ride that I deemed to be "too low" on one rig. This route has its limits with steering linkage lengths.

[C-Leigh_Racing]

Spacer between the axle & spring would be the cheapest & probably put one in between front & rear.
Between installing air bags helpers or adding spacers under the springs, labor time for each will probably be about the same, so it more than likely will boil down to cost.
Neil

[j-d]

Weigh the four corners. If a side or corner is heavy and that's where it sags to, then spacers <<>> adding a leaf to that spring/side would make sense. But if it's well balanced side to side weight wise, then time for new springs.

At least that's my logic. If there's a flaw in it let me know.

Or first Class C sagged in the rear. We corrected that with "repair leaves." Those are a generic part available in different Lengths, Widths and Thicknesses. They have to be sheared to length and have the center hole punched in them. A good spring shop can do both. Then it's a matter of removing the U-Bolts and breaking the spring stack down to shuffle the leaf in. Then of course reassemble. The center bolt will have to be replaced and it's recommended to replace the U-Bolts also. The repair worked out very well, but rear was then a little high. I think we used 1/2" thick leaves. If there'd been 3/8" the coach probably would have come out level front-to-rear.

[isa]

I must be missing something on Wolfe 10's post where he states that moving 200 lb. from one side to the other decreases the weight by 400 lb. on the side it is removed from and increases it by 400 lb. on the side it is moved to.

If your left side weighed 12,000 lb. before the shift and the right side weighed 11,600 lb. before the shift, then, the new weights after the shift are:

LHS 12,000 - 200 = 11,800 and RHS 11,600 + 200 = 11,800

[John_Joey]

Think air bags.

[thmitch79]

Thanks to all that replied. No, I haven't weighed each wheel and I can't move too much around as it's in it's installed spot (battery box, Propane tank...). I am going to the shop as soon as I get the cover off and get it checked out. Thanks again.

[Pirate1]

I went with spacers. I was hesitant at first but the truck shop said they did this all the time with Ford. He said if I was uncomfortable, he would remove the spacers so I could use air bags. Now, 4 years later, I am glad I went with spacers. No issues with air bags, settings, leaks, etc.

[wolfe10]

Three options, but first a question-- have you done individual wheel position weights? The "low side" heavy? Anything you can move to the other side of the coach. Remember, moving a 200 pound battery bank from one side to the other "transfers" 400 pounds (minus 400 from one side and plus 400 on the other)!

The three options (assuming you have done all you can on weight distribution:

Replace the "weak" spring.
Add a leaf to the "weak" spring.
Add a spacer between axle and leaf spring on the "weak" side.

All three are acceptable. Consult a truck spring shop in your area. That is what they do for a living.

As all have said, shocks on your chassis carry no weight, so are not part of the equation.

Oh, last comment-- make sure that there is not already a spacer on the "high side" causing the lean. I HAVE seen that!

[mchero]

I'm not going to repeat the same ferekin anwser as done 3 times above! LOL

I suggest you look for a heavy duty spring shop. If you go to the heavy truck parts counter & ask for a shop that does suspension work on large trucks. They should be able to set you up!

[Gjac]

Shocks won't lift the MH they only supply damping. Make sure you take this measurement from a level area which should be from the axle to the frame. If your ride height difference is really 2 ins then a helper spring, new spring, or shims can level the MH. Before making that investment I would weight the MH on all 4 wheels and see if you could move weight from the heavy side to the light side. If after making sure the area is level and the weight is properly distributed and the ride height is within an inch I would opt for the air bags to adjust the leaning. Some have reported that the Firestone system have improved the ride on the F-53 chassis.