Community Forums

swansnest · 02-02-2008, 07:16 PM

OK you guys! Be nice!

[URL=WOW--$400 a piece for heavy duty truck shocks--when only the "best" / most expensive will do? ]

We aren't being snooty - I guess it depends on how much of a problem you are having with the coach's extra motion. Our coach porpoises so much that we routinely loose all the clothes off the closet bar and they end up on the floor. We had 14 stress fractures in our tile floors in the first year. (I don't want my new tile cracked!) We tip side to side so much that things fall off the counters. (We've broken 3 coffee pots!)

When we saw how the Road Kings are made - we decided that putting on a $400 shock on a $400,000 coach wasn't too much to correct the ride and ensure we were eliminating the porpoising!

We will let you know how the ride has improved when we put them on next week and go to AZ!

beaverjim · 02-03-2008, 01:53 AM

swansnest, please understand tis is not a cut on your alpine. but everything i've heard in the past about the alpine chassis is certainly not the same as you describe! did wrv do somthing in the past couple of years to change this! i can remember a number of years ago motorhome mag. saying it drove like the porche of motorhomes? jim

Ted III · 02-03-2008, 03:05 AM

I truly am shocked at the type of ride you are experiencing in your 2007 Alpine. If this is typical I think I will look else where when the time comes. I would certainly be all over WRV with this condition before I spent a dime on the coach. My 2 cents.

Pusherman · 02-03-2008, 06:35 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by swansnest:
... I guess it depends on how much of a problem you are having with the coach's extra motion. Our coach porpoises so much that we routinely loose all the clothes off the closet bar and they end up on the floor. We had 14 stress fractures in our tile floors in the first year. (I don't want my new tile cracked!) We tip side to side so much that things fall off the counters. (We've broken 3 coffee pots!)
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You might consider adding Super Steer Motion Control units to your coach to minimize the side-to-side sway. Check out this thread regarding people's experience with them.

Old Scout · 02-03-2008, 07:34 AM

OK-OK--I am sorry. It wasn't my intention to offend or make anyone feel bad--honest! Though sometimes I am amused by the "gold-plated" mentality of my fellow travellers--mostly those driving the million dollar babies. Guess this all started last summer up in Grants Pass, Or when the folks at Henderson "introduced" us to the ultimate ride solution--Road King shocks and the in-line air bag controllers (just $3600 out the door). No thanks!
I am shocked (no pun) to hear of broken coffee pots and unhung clothes in an Alpine. With the new Koni's, my 2003 is even more well-behaved than before--except for the "Walmart-wobbles" across speed bumps and uneven drive-ways. Accordingly, its slow and steady over the big bumps and let it fly on the open road.

OldForester · 02-03-2008, 12:59 PM

I replaced our Bilsteins with Konis last fall after reading all the comments on this forum and before I heard about Road Kings. I have been happy with the Konis and notice a difference over the Bilsteins.

I can't imagine a much better ride from shocks than I now have with Konis. Now if I did not need 120 psi in the front and 110 psi in the rear on my Toyo tires that would smooth the ride some more.

I paid $135 each for Konis and can't see how a $400 shock can make that much difference from an already great ride.

swansnest · 02-03-2008, 07:03 PM

Ted III & BeaverJim - You are correct in that we are not experiencing the wonderful ride that Alpines are known for in our Apex. I would not say that this is typical in any way for the Alpine ride! From the very beginning when we left the factory we noted that the Apex did not handle as nicely as our 2003 Alpine that was the exact same floor plan. The ensuing 16 months have confirmed this. WRV replaced the Bilsteins last Aug when we were at Guaranty for other warranty work. It was a slight improvement. But it still isn't right!

The only thing that WRV has refused to address is our complaints about the porpoising and the side to side "wobble" (as Old Scout calls it) in turning & on speed bumps. Getting the coach trackage aligned front to back and the front end adjusted (camber & timbre?) stopped the pull to the right.

Inspite of all this - we LOVE our Apex and intend to keep it a very long time! With the improvements in production at WRV, I truely believe that they are turning out a better product now then they did 18 months ago. We had to be our own 'Quality Control Managers' and although it has taken us 18 months to get it right - these new Road King shocks should be the final touch on the coach! Will let you know next week!