OFDPOS
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Re: Gumout VS Seafoam Additives
Yep another one for Techron. Years ago bought a used Toyota pickup from an elderly gentleman with 42K miles. Said he never drove it out on the freeway just putted it around town and used the same non brand gas station. It did pass smog but idled rough , it was a 5speed and while idling in neutral the shifter was shaking pretty bad. At the time Chevron only put the Techron in the Premium grade , I was doing a run over to the coast so I filled it up with Premium and added a bottle of the Techron additive too. Drove the 176 miles over to the coast , around the town the next day. Fueled up again Chevron Premium and added another bottle of Techron. Once back home engine purring like new and the shifter not even a twitch. Probably a little over kill on the Techron ? But that sold me on it.4.5KViews0likes0CommentsRe: New suspension upgrades
ron.dittmer wrote: OFDPOS wrote: Snomas wrote: I just bought this 2006 30" winnebago Aspect e450 and it wandered like crazy. I recently added front Hellwig sway bar, Bilsteins x 4, safety T steering. Tire psi 70/60 R-F. Set rear air bags to 50 psi. This has made a world of difference n driving this rig. I will be installing the rear Sway Bar this week. Add front sumo springs , Rear Hellwig ASB and if you tow or cream on top add in a rear Trac Bar ! I did the all above along with an alignment , only difference I drank the koolaid from reading others posts here on the koni's , I actually felt I went backwards when I put those on ! Those koni shocks are garbage ! There's a reason why the Bilsteins are on back order ! ;) I am "with you" concerning HD-RV Bilsteins. Reiterating that I am "Extremely" happy with how well the HD-RV Bilsteins manage our 24 foot rig on a 2007 E350 chassis without increasing "harshness of ride". I read mixed reviews from people concerning their personal experience with the Koni-FSDs. They cost a dang fortune. I hoped the extra expense offered a guaranteed sweeping improvement. Regarding Sumo Springs, I have studied how they contribute. If my choice is either Sumo Springs or Heavy Duty Stabilizer bars, I favor the bars. Maybe having both together would be a perfect union. Aside from being a weaker bar, the problem with the stock front stabilizer bar up to and including model year 2007, is the design of the two end-link attachment points. The "rubber grommet" design quickly wears into an oval hole introducing inherent "play" in the bar. The stock bar then has no influence until after the rig is in a substantial "lean". You could mess around rotating, then later replacing the two end link rubber grommets, both being short-lived solutions, or spend a lot less time and aggravation and replace the entire design with a heavy duty version that is much more effective and robust. Ron When I replaced the stock shocks (gas charged) with the koni's they were like the old style hydraulic oil filled shocks, I actually had to pull them open to install them. Unlike the gas charged style where you cut the zip tie and work fast to get the bolt through the holes lol ! Once I installed them I went for the test drive , going through the dips the front end dove down more than with the factory shocks. I called the place where I bought them and talked with them about the shocks and my concern about them. They said once they were installed no return. I emailed koni customer service and they just came back with the same literature you'd read in their advertisements about them. They were no help either.1.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Reducing push/pull from tractor trailers passing
ron.dittmer wrote: Hi Brooks, Everything available helps to some degree all by itself, Everything in combination will help a lot. It is very hard to say if one upgrade by itself will make enough difference. That is why when there is a handling issue, people like myself create a list in priority. If you want to do one at a time, do it in that order. If like me, just spend $2000 installing the list of items yourself, and make the rig handle as best as possible, as soon as possible. 1) Put in the proper amount of air in your tires, per the load carried during a trip. 7) Get a front wheel alignment with your rig loaded as if on a trip. 5) Replace your rear stabilizer bar with a heavy duty version 6) Replace your front stabilizer bar with a heavy duty version 4) Replace your shock absorbers with heavy duty Bistein RV versions 2) Replace your stock steering Damper with Saf-T-Plus steering stabilizer. 3) Add a rear trac bar 8)Add Front Sumo Springs I have no personal experience with Sumo springs or air tabs. They might also help. All I know is that items 1 thru 7 together, are very effective for our particular rig HERE. Not only from passing trucks, but the suspension upgrades also improve handling and control, especially appreciated when driving on curvy mountain and canyon byways. The upgrades keep all six tires better planted on the pavement for improved handling and braking. Regardless of where you are driving, the suspension upgrades also reduce driver fatigue and improve passenger comfort. It is also worth mentioning that none of the upgrades I had done affected the harshness of ride. Our rig always drove a bit harsh until I did THIS. I understand Koni-FSD RV shocks can also improve the quality of the ride, but they are quite expensive. I changed the order the way I did the upgrades of Ron's list in his post above on my 2011 Aspect 28B. I did each upgrade one at a time and did a test drive on a designated route I drove before doing the upgrades. (city streets, freeway , curvy backroads) It gave me the opportunity to see/feel what each upgrade did . I had the Alignment and Trac Bar installed at an alignment shop (wished I'd installed the tac Bar myself) The biggest change we noticed was from the Rear Trac Bar and Sumo Springs. No more "the tail wagging the dog effect" when the Trac Bar was added, being passed by a semi. We still got pushed by a passing semi just not as bad. Sumo Springs , no more front end dive hitting dips in the road.829Views0likes0CommentsRe: New suspension upgrades
Snomas wrote: I just bought this 2006 30" winnebago Aspect e450 and it wandered like crazy. I recently added front Hellwig sway bar, Bilsteins x 4, safety T steering. Tire psi 70/60 R-F. Set rear air bags to 50 psi. This has made a world of difference n driving this rig. I will be installing the rear Sway Bar this week. Add front sumo springs , Rear Hellwig ASB and if you tow or cream on top add in a rear Trac Bar ! I did the all above along with an alignment , only difference I drank the koolaid from reading others posts here on the koni's , I actually felt I went backwards when I put those on ! Those koni shocks are garbage ! There's a reason why the Bilsteins are on back order ! ;)1.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Front stabilizers on Class C Jamboree
ron.dittmer wrote: If your rig moves a lot when parked, then it moves a lot when being driven. So if you are thinking you need stabilizer jacks, you might benefit from heavy duty front and rear stabilizer bars also called sway bars. Motorhomes built on the Ford E350 model 2007 and older, don't have any kind of rear stabilizer bar unless added by a previous owner. If you lack a rear stabilizer bar, adding a heavy duty one will significantly reduce the need for stabilizer jacks. CLICK HERE for instruction on a simple test you can perform to help determine if you could benefit from such suspension upgrades. I'll add to Ron's comment. Most if not all older Ford chassis E450-E150 vans used the same size "Anti" Sway Bars front and rear. Saying that your E35-E450 now has a home on an extended frame. The "Anti" Sway Bars are way undersized . Replace the front and (or add) rear "Anti" Sway Bars. Hellwig ones are better price than the Road Master ones. Also depending on mileage replacing the Shocks with Bilstein HD shocks would help too.512Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class C RV cost in the Covid era...
ron.dittmer wrote: Hey, I am willing to sell my garage-kept rig HERE with 38,750 miles for the lean low price of only $90,000. I just installed a brand new set of Alcoa wheels, 6 Michelin Agilis tires, had a fresh wheel alignment and brake system flush. I'll even throw in a transmission fluid & filter change, coolant change, oil change, and air filter change. It'll be good as new (better than new). ;) Hey Senor I give you 90,000 Pesos ! :B510Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class C RV cost in the Covid era...
And you also have the people who are upside down owing on their MH and think they can just buy one 6 years ago, drive it , don't do any maintenance other than LOF's with no maintenance records !, then sell it for $4k less then the purchase price. Was just looking at a used 2016 yesterday and today and the guy has a firm price of exactly that $4K less than the OPP, after him bragging all about it and then me pointing out several unsafe needed attention right now items , including the original DOT date stamped 4914 with 39,855 bald inside front tires. All seals on the roof cracked and split. His comment "hey its a used vehicle".511Views0likes0CommentsRe: Koni FSD where to get besides Shockwarehouse
MHO the koni fsd's work marginal for the rears, flat out suck for the front ! I ate the "next best thing to slice bread" comments on the fsd's , and bought them . Waste of money to me. Wished I'd stayed with the Bilstein's HD's like I did on my last two MH's ! As for shockwarehouse , yeah they messed up my order too , I'll look elsewhere next time. Salesman had a bad attitude when I called him out on his lying to me.383Views0likes0CommentsRe: Where to start
I'll throw in my $.02 in. By all means do the above first with tire pressure adjustments , alignment. BUT ! The stock Anti Sway Bars on Fords are pretty much a joke. They put the same size ones on a E-150 through the E-450. At least through 2013-2014 they did. Don't know about the newer ones ? Maybe around town in a E-150 deliver van ok , but not with a MH box attached to the chassis. The stock ASB's are like comparing the diameter size of your pinky finger to your thumb , (unless you have abnormal hands, your thumb will obviously be bigger lol ) Saying that just by replacing both the ASB's will give a much needed improvement, just the mere stepping in and out of the side door you will notice a big difference. If you are handy with simple hand tools you could do them yourself, the money you would save you could buy both and still come out cheaper then paying to just have one installed. Are they the original shocks as well ? If so replace them with Bilsteins HD DON"T waste your money on those koni fsd's ! Next up have a Trac Bar installed in the rear. Saying all this ,,, this would be of coarse if you are planning on keeping the MH for awhile ... Ok that was more like the $.10 tour... lol451Views0likes0CommentsRe: air pressure
Kinda figured that, thanks for the replies... Last 2 MH's went with the LTX MS/2 as well. Last MH actually just had the recalled tires replaced and once I bought the MH , the same tire shop allowed me to exchange the BFG tires that replaced the recalled Michelin's back to Michelin's. ( hope that makes since ? ) Not sure why ? But the tire shop put on the Defenders instead of the LTX's ?334Views0likes0Comments
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