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05-18-2018, 09:30 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 107
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2001 Monaco Monarch - ROUGH RIDE
New to forum, not new to RV'ing.
Recently acquired this rv with 68k miles existing. Any advice would be appreciated.
Rear has Airlift airbags only, no shock absorbers. Rough ride and bouncy.
Front had Airlift airbags, but previous owner removed and installed Sumosprings. Also has shock absorbers, but unsure of age or condition - wouldn't be surprised if they were original. Rough ride, and on a bumpy road literally had to reduce speed to 30-40 to avoid shaking things out of the cabinets. Sounded and felt like it was going to fall apart.
Suspect new shocks should be purchased for front, probably Bilsteins? Recommendations?
Almost all of the Airlift system is still installed, they just removed the front bags and the gauge/control for the onboard compressor for the front (rear still functional). I am in the process of trying to get a quote for getting the front bags reinstalled.
Also of interest, just replaced all 6 tires, all brand new. 245/70R19.5
2001 Monaco Monarch 34PBD
F53 Chassis
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05-18-2018, 09:37 AM
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#2
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Senior Member/RVM #90
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Columbus, MS
Posts: 54,626
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Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!
Congrats on the new rig! Hope you get the ride problem solved. Keep her between the ditches!
Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
__________________
Joe & Annette
Sometimes I sits and thinks, sometimes I just sits.....
2002 Monaco Windsor 40PBT, 2013 Honda CRV AWD
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05-19-2018, 04:32 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Zebulon, NC
Posts: 5,208
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Welcome to the forum! We're sorry that it took a problem to join us, but we hope that you will stay engaged after you have it resolved.
__________________
Kelly and Jerry Powell with Halo (Lethal White Aussie), Nash the Rat Terrorist, and now Reid, the "Brindle we have no idea puppy"
2020 Grand Design Solitude 390RK-R
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05-19-2018, 06:00 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 979
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dc73
New to forum, not new to RV'ing.
Recently acquired this rv with 68k miles existing. Any advice would be appreciated.
Rear has Airlift airbags only, no shock absorbers. Rough ride and bouncy.
Front had Airlift airbags, but previous owner removed and installed Sumosprings. Also has shock absorbers, but unsure of age or condition - wouldn't be surprised if they were original. Rough ride, and on a bumpy road literally had to reduce speed to 30-40 to avoid shaking things out of the cabinets. Sounded and felt like it was going to fall apart.
Suspect new shocks should be purchased for front, probably Bilsteins? Recommendations?
Almost all of the Airlift system is still installed, they just removed the front bags and the gauge/control for the onboard compressor for the front (rear still functional). I am in the process of trying to get a quote for getting the front bags reinstalled.
Also of interest, just replaced all 6 tires, all brand new. 245/70R19.5
2001 Monaco Monarch 34PBD
F53 Chassis
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Are you sure the airbags are inflating to proper height? You may have a faulty air ride height valve. Also... I am scratching my head on why you don’t have shocks in the rear, although I am not familiar with your coach brand.
__________________
U.S. Army Retired, 2002 Beaver Patriot Thunder
40 Ft, CAT C12, 455 HP, 1550 Ft Lbs Torque
Towing 2019 Chevy Equinox, AWD Turbo Diesel
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05-19-2018, 06:12 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,911
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dc73-
As far as I know, Monaco never installed airbags on any of the Monarchs, or their cousins the HR Admirals and Safari Simbas (gas). What that means is you are dealing with a suspension system that is not stock. It also means that there's no way we can advise you about what steps to take to make the ride better short of the standard:
1) Get an alignment
2) Weigh the coach and set tire pressures accordingly
__________________
Mark
2008 Holiday Rambler Admiral 30PDD (Ford F-53 chassis)
2009 Honda Fit Sport
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05-19-2018, 09:03 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Gulf Streamers Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Cookeville, TN
Posts: 296
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F53 chassis would have come with front and rear shocks, look at rear axle to see where shock mounts are. Coach manufacture would have had no reason to remove rear shocks that I can think of.
New shocks will address the repetitive bounce (porpoising) after hitting the bump. The air bags help absorb some of the initial jarring from the leaf spring when it hits the bump. I prefer using air bags over the Sumo Spring for the ability to adjust for road or wind conditions.
If you decide to reinstall the front Air Lift I recommend getting the 5000 Ultimate kit P/N 88140 which has an internal jounce stop, you remove the original chassis jounce stop. The internal jounce stop is a progressive compression style so if/when you hit that hard bump and bottom out it doesn't hit as hard.
__________________
1995 Gulfstream Sun Voyager MX 34' DP with 2011 Silverado in tow.
Dennis & Sherry.
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05-19-2018, 11:07 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1
dc73-
As far as I know, Monaco never installed airbags on any of the Monarchs, or their cousins the HR Admirals and Safari Simbas (gas). What that means is you are dealing with a suspension system that is not stock. It also means that there's no way we can advise you about what steps to take to make the ride better short of the standard:
1) Get an alignment
2) Weigh the coach and set tire pressures accordingly
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I thought by noting that the airbags are Airlift brand it would be obvious that these aren't stock - sorry for any confusion.
Yes this is an aftermarket air bag system made by Airlift. It was originally a 4 bag system with onboard compressor, with two control panel/gauges at dashboard for inflation/deflation from driver seat. Previous owner removed front bags and corresponding control panel, left rear bags in place with corresponding control panel. Onboard compressor works to inflate rear bags from driver seat.
I would assume that the rear shocks were removed when air bags were installed, but it was before I bought it.
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05-19-2018, 11:09 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MO Fred
Are you sure the airbags are inflating to proper height? You may have a faulty air ride height valve. Also... I am scratching my head on why you don’t have shocks in the rear, although I am not familiar with your coach brand.
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To my knowledge, this isn't an actual "air ride" type of system, its just the individual bag helper springs, made by Airlift. There is not way to go by height unless to manually measure with a measuring tape - it is intended to just go by pressure. For my chassis setup, I have found documentation stating Minimum 20 psi/Max 100 psi.
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05-19-2018, 11:24 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DENSHER
F53 chassis would have come with front and rear shocks, look at rear axle to see where shock mounts are. Coach manufacture would have had no reason to remove rear shocks that I can think of.
New shocks will address the repetitive bounce (porpoising) after hitting the bump. The air bags help absorb some of the initial jarring from the leaf spring when it hits the bump. I prefer using air bags over the Sumo Spring for the ability to adjust for road or wind conditions.
If you decide to reinstall the front Air Lift I recommend getting the 5000 Ultimate kit P/N 88140 which has an internal jounce stop, you remove the original chassis jounce stop. The internal jounce stop is a progressive compression style so if/when you hit that hard bump and bottom out it doesn't hit as hard.
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Did I mention that I'm new to this motorhome? Good, because I am an idiot. Took a second look and saw that the rear DOES have shocks. I'm shocked and embarrassed .
I thought they would be outboard like the front shocks, but they inboard of the frame and not visible from the fender well, had to crawl underneath.
I'm suspecting that since all 4 shocks are painted black, they are probably original from the factory. Would it be a good assumption that a new set of shocks should help with the ride quality tremendously? For ride quality, what is better, Bilsteins or Koni's?
Here are some pics:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v38irc3bd...fb6j6u5Ia?dl=0
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05-20-2018, 05:59 AM
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#10
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Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Middle TN
Posts: 91
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Bilsteins or Koni's? For my thoughts, the Bilsteins are probably the better choice - typically have better dampening characteristics. However, I've seen reports of delays in the manufacture of Bilsteins in the last several month so they could be hard to get if they aren't in stock somewhere.
__________________
2007 Monaco Safari Simba 36PBD, CAT C7 330HP
2015 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon Toad
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07-05-2018, 05:12 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 107
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Solution - Koni FSD
Thought I would post a solution to this thread, and a big recommendation for Koni FSD shocks. After much research and deliberation, decided to spend the extra money and go with Koni over Bilstein. Ordered from www.ultrarvproducts.com. I would definitely recommend them. Very helpful, located in Washington state so for any NW people they are much closer than other vendors on East coast. Old shocks were stock Motorcraft with 70k miles on them, they were absolutely worthless. I installed the front ones myself, the old ones compressed by hand with no effort when I got them off and tested them. As for installation, front took about 1 hour, hardest thing was just reaching in there and getting leverage on a ratchet handle in a tight space. Had a tire shop install the rear ones. So far have noticed a huge difference in ride quality, highly recommend.
__________________
2005 Winnebago Adventurer 35A
Workhorse W22 8.1L
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