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.

[OFDPOS]

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.

[IAMICHABOD]

I have a Chevy Based RV and I would highly recommend Bilsteins
Front Ones

Rear Ones

Made it ride smoother,less lean,more stable and no porposing.

[LittleBill]

so I have a 2000 Class C 3500 chevy 3500 express, how do you determine what shocks it needs?

[ron_dittmer]

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.

[OFDPOS]

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 ! 😉

[ron_dittmer]

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.

Good for you. Once you get the HD rear bar installed, you will have covered your basis. A 30 footer won't ever handle like a tight SUV, but you with have come a lot closer to that ultimate goal. Our 24 footer with 158" wheel base handles quite nicely with all those suspension upgrades.

I have learned over the years that a cruising speed of 60-61 mph is a sweet spot for best-handling which naturally reduces driver fatigue, and also improves fuel economy. At that slower speed, everyone passes us on the interstate highways. I find it especially interesting how the same motorhomes keep passing us at great neck speed. They stop much more frequently so making time isn't working, but they don't realize it.

Just slow down, relax, set the cruise control to 60mph, then burn through your large E350 or E450 fuel tank efficiently. Having a comfortable 6-way adjustable driver seat is another key contributor in driving more than 3 hours at a time.

[Snomas]

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.

[Grit_dog]

Sumo springs increase the spring rate. Are you in a too soft/feels “overloaded” condition?

It’s virtually impossible to accurately recommend modifications from a very basic description like “it rides rough.”
And it’s also highly subjective where one person may accept that they’re driving an overgrown 1ton van with 3 tons of house on the back and another is expecting a Cadillac ride.

[ron_dittmer]

EMD360 wrote:
I only got the front sway bar. My shop said they don’t install rears.

I find that strange. My brother and I installed a heavy duty rear Helwig stabilizer bar on his 1998 E350 motorhome. It was a lot harder than the front would be but only because we did not drive the rear tires on leveling blocks for improved working clearance.

A heavy duty rear stabilizer bar is most effective. I would suggest your shop drive the rear tires on your leveling blocks to help in getting it installed.

[ron_dittmer]

melandme wrote:
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 didn't seem to help much.

I have no first-hand experience with Sumo springs, but I wonder if our heavy duty Bilstein-RV shocks achieve similar results under the conditions you mention.

When it comes to softening the ride, lowering your tire psi to the actual weight being carried, is most effective.

During your weigh-ins, if you learn that your front suspension consistently has a lot of excess load margin, then you might want to consider what I did HERE which helped soften the ride for us and the house up front quite nicely. Our 2007 E350 front suspension originally was rated for 4600 pounds, but our actual weigh-ins have been consistent at 3260 ponds. The 1340 pound difference sounds negligible, but for ride comfort, it is a lot. I replaced the 4600 pound springs with 3750 pound progressive springs which yielded great results. We can still add an extra ~400 pounds on the front suspension before reaching the reduced limit, so if we have some extra passengers, we are still in good shape. But it's been just the two of us for nearly every trip. We've had an extra person with us a few times for short durations, but each person weighed less than 140 pounds. I assume half of that weight of 70 pounds was placed on the front suspension at that time.

[ron_dittmer]

bobndot wrote:
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

Our assessments agree 100%. I am a little concerned of soft sidewall motion from lowering the front tire psi so much, but so far so good. That is why I am lowering the psi incrementally. I am considering 45 psi in the front tires during our next trip and see how that feels.

And a Happy New Year to you and everyone else reading this.

[ron_dittmer]

As I mentioned earlier, I bought new tires. This is the chart for these specific tires.

[EMD360]

Thanks for the input. I only got the front sway bar. My shop said they don’t install rears. I especially wonder about the addition of the Sumo springs. Our mechanic works on motor homes but only in good weather because their garage is not large enough.
I’ve not yet weighed the rig. Thought I’d be fine at recommended pressure for now. Should do that as soon as the weather clears. We have a cat scale not too far away.
I downloaded a weight chart for Michelin’s. Here are the weight limits for our e350. So it looks like lower pressure in back. 65 in front and maybe 55 in back. Seems really low if door label recommends 68.

GVWR (Lbs): 11500
GCWR — 18,500
GAWR front—4600-2300
GAWR back—7200-3600

LBS
SINGLE
60-2190
65-2335
70-2440
75-2560
80-2680
DUAL
50-3530
55-3750
60-3990
65-4300
70-4440
75-4660
80-4940

[melandme]

Forgot about tire pressure. Running 65 front and 70 rear. Starting out at 70 and 80 which was way to much. Best thing is to weigh the rig and look up pressure for your weight. Then adjust pressure to where it feels right. I believe for my weight the PSI was a couple pounds lower. The extra couple pounds still drives wells and gives a little weight cushion.