For a New Vista: SumoSprings; Air Bags; or Bilsteins?

[Papa Allan]

My wife and I are planning to order a new Vista 26P. We want to create a soft comfortable ride to minimize the small sharp bumps and sways. To get the best ride, which suspension improvements should we install? We have previously had air bags on another Class A brand and liked the ride. We have read that SumoSprings are "airless airbags" which help the ride. And, I used to have Bilstein shocks which were very helpful. For a new Vista 26P: should I install: airbags (e.g. Firestone Ride-Rite on front & rear) or SumoSprings? And/or would Bilstein or Koni FSD shocks be an improvement over the factory provided shocks? Finally, should I add some kind of anti-sway bar?
Your advice will be appreciated!
Papa Allan
P.S. any other advice on setting up or choosing options for a new 26P Vista would also be appreciated!

[deasnealy]

I hope you get some good responses. That is the exact unit I am looking at. I am a little concerned about the wheel base ratio resulting in a difficult ride. The 30 foot was a bit better. I have not driven it yet. I do not want to be restricted to size limits when I camp. I also wanted something easier to deal with. Please stay in touch and let me know how you like it. I would like to see what you think. Its a very nice rig and fits me at 6ft 4.

I was looking at the View and Navion, but could not fit in the shower or the bed. A fairly significant problem!

[Papa Allan]

Hello deasnealy,
Yes, I am tall too, so like you, I do like the size of the Vista. I did only one test drive so far, and can say that it has an amazingly tight turning radius. I am not sure about the ride quality because I was too concerned about learning how to drive it to really evaluate the ride, and there was no weight load on the unit.
So far, from another Forum, I am told that: (a) the Bilstein shocks (which come on the Ford chassis) are too stiff. That I should use Koni FSD shocks because they will take out the sharp bumps of expansion joints. Next I was advised to install a "rear trac bar" to avoid sway in the wind and when trucks pass. Finally it was suggested that I install a "steering stabilizer" which will provide safety in the event of a blow out and which improves steering. BUT, I don't yet have an answer on whether or not to use either Air Bags or the SumoSprings to improve the ride.
Please let me know what you learn, and to all the other readers out there ...
What are your suggestions for improving the ride of a new Vista 26P? Both deasnealy and Papa Allan will appreciate your comments and ideas!
Cheers!
Papa Allan

[450Donn]

Personally I would not do anything until I drove it a few hundred miles. Not too sure why you feel you need suspension modifications on a brand new MH though? But, if you insist, air bags will give the softest ride. Shock absorbers do nothing for the ride, all they do is control suspension bounce when going down the road.

[cliff841]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Allan So far, from another Forum, I am told that: (a) the Bilstein shocks (which come on the Ford chassis) are too stiff. That I should use Koni FSD shocks because they will take out the sharp bumps of expansion joints. Next I was advised to install a "rear trac bar" to avoid sway in the wind and when trucks pass. Finally it was suggested that I install a "steering stabilizer" which will provide safety in the event of a blow out and which improves steering. BUT, I don't yet have an answer on whether or not to use either Air Bags or the SumoSprings to improve the ride.

Papa Allan I have a 2011 Vista 32K. I have asked a lot of questions on this forum and of various mechanics/shops and decided to have Koni FSD shocks, an untra-trac rear track bar and a safe-t plus steering stabilizer installed. My appointment is Wednesday after which I will report back. I am making the upgrades to improve tracking on old interstate concrete, tail wagging as semis pass me and windy condition driving performance. I am told the Konis will also make a nice improvement on ride comfort. Neither DW nor I have a problem with our current ride comfort and these improvements are not because of that but we look forward to any improvement we might get.

I have no idea if air bags would make much difference for you and I'm not familiar with SumoSprings.

[CoastieSCPO]

Nothing wrong with wanting to improve the ride and handling of your motor home, but maybe you should consider waiting until you put some miles on the chassis to see how it rides, handles and reacts to passing semi trucks.

Your new rig does not have a long wheelbase, so it may be adversely affected by trucks passing so a good rear anti sway bar would help. A front trac bar will help front end handling, wander and driver fatigue. I recently had a Roadmaster rear sway bar and a Davis Tru Trac front trac bar installed on my rig and they have made a world of difference.

In regards to changing out the Bilsteins, I respectfully disagree with the poster who said that shocks do nothing for the ride. The new Koni FSD's that were installed on my rig have measurably improved the ride over almost any bump, joint or pothole that I drive over, especially coupled with the way bar and trac bar.

Bob

[cliff841]

You won't need a front trac bar because Ford puts one on the chassis from the factory. Apparently they started doing this in the last few years.

[deasnealy]

PapaAllen,

Thanks for keeping me in the the loop. I agree with others on trying out the coach before any mods. I use this approach with the home if the DW can wait a year. You find other things that annoy you that can be fixed before other mods. Maybe a road trip to a good mechanic in a low or no sales tax state. Anyway, I look forward to hearing about your new rig. When do you expect to have it delivered? Did you think the 26 has enough storage? I heard the 30 was a vast improvement, but I did not really like it's lounge floor plan. Also, any word on what to expect on mpg? I assume we can assume we are in the 8 to 10 mpg areana. Would like to hear from other owners on their Vista experiences.

[bunny2448]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deasnealy I hope you get some good responses. That is the exact unit I am looking at. I am a little concerned about the wheel base ratio resulting in a difficult ride. The 30 foot was a bit better. I have not driven it yet. I do not want to be restricted to size limits when I camp. I also wanted something easier to deal with. Please stay in touch and let me know how you like it. I would like to see what you think. Its a very nice rig and fits me at 6ft 4. I was looking at the View and Navion, but could not fit in the shower or the bed. A fairly significant problem!

Hello! Just now saw your post. We bought a Vista 26 P 8 months ago and have been very disappointed in it's handling when doing highway speeds. The wandering from side to side is very scary, most especially during windy conditions. The big-wigs at Winnebago and Ford have been less than sympathetic to our probe so we have had to resort to getting numerous "fixes" done at our own expense. And yet, the handling has improved only slightly. We agree that the short wheelbase may be at the root of the trouble.......something both W and F do not wish to acknowledge. We are very
frustrated!

[Old Dude 66]

Install a rear trac bar and a TruCenter on the front and you will be happy. I installed both on our 2011 Winnie 35P and love the way it drives.

[bunny2448]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Dude 66 Install a rear trac bar and a TruCenter on the front and you will be happy. I installed both on our 2011 Winnie 35P and love the way it drives.

Thanx. Nice to know someone is actually "hearing" us and cares about our plight.

Bunny

[iRV-in-a-SunStar]

I have 14K miles on my 2010 Itasca SunStar 26P. I too went thru all the hand wringing about handling and discovered after I'd driven it about 1000 miles that I was happy with only keeping the tires aired at 85 and having the front end aligned. Yes, very rough road surfaces and interstates with bad seams are more unpleasant if in the moho rather than in my toad. However, when the 18-wheelers pass, I don't even know they are there. If the wind is blowing more than 25 mph, I definitely feel it...and try to get off the roads. I drive about 62 mph.

Towing doesn't seem to effect the mpg very much. I get about 7.9 on a good day.

I really, really like the 26P. The only problem I've had is with the front slide. After 3 Winnie dealers could not get it in alignment, I went to the factory. They spent 30 minutes on it and it's worked well the last 10K miles.


I also had two different dealer technicians drive it and was told not to waste my money on handling improvements.

I hope you enjoy your 26P, or whatever you buy, but follow the advice above and drive it a lot of miles in various conditions before putting money into handling improvements.

It's your decision to make yourself comfortable.