Sway Bars ,Roadmaster vs Hellwig

[Robert T]

Been considering sway bars front and rear for my 2004 Endeavor, RR8R. Roadmaster bars seem to be the bar of choice as I have not read anything on the Hellwig bars. Both bars are 1 5/8 inch BUT the price of each there is a big difference. The Hellwig bars are more than half the price!

Has anyone had any experience with the Hellwig bars? Even if the Hellwigs perform to 85% of the Roadmaster are the Roadmaster worth the price? Or will they both perform equally?

I do not mine spending more but there has to be a point,,, price vs performance.

I presently have a Safe-T-Plus and the Henderson Motion Controls. Just ordered 8 new Koni's FSD.

[DC Cruiser]

I don't know anything about Hellwig sway bars but I can vouch for RoadMasters quality of not only the bar but the mounting hardware as well. I spent 4 days at the RoadMaster factory as they designed a sway bar to fit my 03 Windsor. Because of the confinement of space around the rear axle it took several tries to make sure the bar would not only fit but also work properly. Wayne @ RoadMaster is their sway bar guru and he was not satisfied until all the variables had been addressed. While I was there I was given a factory tour. It is one first class facility. They make sway bars for a variety of vehicles including military applications which Wayne said he would have to kill me if he told me about. LOL.
In my experience you usually get what you pay for in life and sometimes cheaping out in the long run ends up costing you more.
IMHO

CHEERS

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert T Been considering sway bars front and rear for my 2004 Endeavor, RR8R. Roadmaster bars seem to be the bar of choice as I have not read anything on the Hellwig bars. Both bars are 1 5/8 inch BUT the price of each there is a big difference. The Hellwig bars are more than half the price! Has anyone had any experience with the Hellwig bars? Even if the Hellwigs perform to 85% of the Roadmaster are the Roadmaster worth the price? Or will they both perform equally? I do not mine spending more but there has to be a point,,, price vs performance. I presently have a Safe-T-Plus and the Henderson Motion Controls. Just ordered 8 new Koni's FSD.

Robert,

I would suggest you check with Hellwig because I don't believe they make a sway bar for the RR8R chassis. The only one I was able to locate was the one manufactured by Roadmaster.

Bob

[Robert T]

Hellwig part number is 7232 for the front and 7233 for the rear.

[Rex]

DC Cruiser do you have air leveling? If so was your compressor in the way of the sway bar? Did they have to design around it or did they move it?

I have installed air leveling on my 2001 Diplomat and put the compressor up front in the area of other Monaco coaches that came with air leveling originally. Don't mind moving it but as hoping your installation may have worked around that.

[CoastieSCPO]

I don't have a DP and can't speak to Hellwig's pros or cons, but I can comment on Roadmaster. I had a RSS rear sway bar, Davis Trutrac front trac bar and 4 new Koni FSD's installed on my Workhorse in April. The RSS sway bar was made of the highest quality parts and greatly improved the handling of my rig. The RSS coupled with the new shocks and front trac bar has made driving my MH a pleasure. Should have done it years ago.

[Radarman]

Agree with DC Cruiser and the Roadmasters. Got the front and rear sway bars put on over the winter---Wow. What an improvement. Drives so much better. The 16 wheelers don't bother me at all now, and the crosswind sway is minimal. Best ride improvement I did so far. Well worth the money and much safer.

[86 Cavalcade]

I just finished up installing a set of Hellwig sway bars on my 2001 Diplomat today. I called Roadmaster to order a set of sway bars from them but they said their bars would only work on the 2002 and newer models. That made my decision easy I bought the Hellwigs. I had some problems installing the front sway bar. The support I got from Hellwig was great. They answer the phone when you call and their tech support was even better. I installed the 7232 & 7233 sets. I sent Rex some pictures of what they look like after they are installed. My computer is getting ready to die on me and I have a hard time attaching pictures on this 6 year old HP. George R. 2001 Diplomat

[Mr_D]

RaodMaster makes some of thre OEM bars for Reyco Granning suspension which is what I have on the front. "Problem" is, ours handles so well I'm not sure I'd gain anything by installing one (or two). They did invite me to drive over (about 10 miles from home) and they'd take a look and see if theirs would fit. I tried to install a rear one on our 2000 DSDP and they found that Newmar had boxed in the frame right where their bar needed to go.

[DC Cruiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rex DC Cruiser do you have air leveling? If so was your compressor in the way of the sway bar? Did they have to design around it or did they move it? I have installed air leveling on my 2001 Diplomat and put the compressor up front in the area of other Monaco coaches that came with air leveling originally. Don't mind moving it but as hoping your installation may have worked around that.

Yes I do have air leveling and at first we thought that the compressor might be an issue where it was mounted. Once Wayne got underneath and got the bar bent up properly he checked the brackets for the linkage & clearance between them and the compressor it worked out that there was just enough room. Not sure where you mounted yours in comparison to mine but mine had just enough room between it and the frame to fit the links and brackets in. If you need a pic I could take one tomorrow for you and send it to you.
I see that you have a Diplomat so I am not sure about the fit as my Windsor has a wider frame. That is why RoadMaster had to custom build my sway bar. You might want to check with Jim @ Source and he can check with Wayne @ RoadMaster as to whether the Dip sway bar will work with a compressor. If moving it is not a huge deal then I would go for the REK as the results are great & would definately be worth it.

CHEERS

[Rex]

DC Cruiser, yes I would appreciate a picture or pictures. I have not spoken with the folks at Source yet but plan to do so. Still gathering information and developing questions before I make the contact. Please send the pictures to rbdtanasi at yahoo and they will be greatly appreciated. One showing the relationship to the compressor and sway bar would be a big help, and yes I understand the chassis are different.

[DC Cruiser]

Rex sorry I didn't get a chance to take a picture as it is raining cats & dogs here all day. We are leaving on a golf trip tomorrow for a week so as soon as we get back if you still need the pics I will try and take it and get it to you.

CHEERS

[TXiceman]

either anti-roll bars will help. be sure and install the urethane bushings rather than rubber.

ken

[Rex]

DC Cruiser, thanks for the reply. Hope you have a great trip. Source now has some good pictures in their installation instructions and those are what I needed, so please don't take any for me. I do appreciate your offer however.

Rex