Newbie Looking at a 2005 Hurricane

[kalaikanui]

Hi Folks -

New to the sight and really green to RV life (Wow there are a whole new world of acronyms here...) Anywho need some advice and hopefully words of encouragement regarding whether to purchase this 2005 Hurricane model 31K. It is priced well below NADA and has all the bells and whistles and looks really clean in the photos.
So where are the pitfalls on these babies? I've read the guides about how to inspect a MH, but wonder if these in particular has known quirks?

Would like to learn from your experiences!

[Pirate]

The unit you are looking at might be good but the Four Winds unit I have is a piece of junk. I think they were drunk or something when they put it together. Not much quality. You get what you pay for.

[mikron]

On our second Four Wind Windsport MH and have had no problems. You do get what you pay for, and you get a good product for what you pay. May not have marble floors, solid wood cabinets or top grade carpet and not $250,000.00 price tag. Hurricane is much the same as the Windsport without the large basement storage.

[kalaikanui]

Hearing no real serious issues and after an internet search for recalls ect. - went ahead and bought the 2005 Model K. Have had it three months now and put several hundred miles on it - so far have upgraded the TV's to LED flat panels, DIY service of the gen-set and a very thorough detailing. Oh and installed air chuck extensions on the dualies (just how does anybody live without those?). Think I got a good deal, but wonder if putting air bags on would improve the stiff ride... Anybody done this on their Hurricane???

[JohnRR]

First thing I would want to check for the "rough ride" is tire pressures if they are over inflated they will give a rough ride and it would be very inexpensive to correct.

Air bags over spring suspension will not make it ride better in fact you may find it rides worse if you have too much air in them for the load you would be carrying.

[jrd48]

You didn't say what chassis you have. If it's a Ford chassis that came with Bilstein shocks from the factory then you may want to change to softer shocks. Monroes are a good economical option or Konis if money is no object. After switching to Monroes only half my teeth fall out now on bad roads.

[kalaikanui]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I've got the Ford F53 with the bilsteins on it. It only has 19K mileage on it so I wasn't thinking about shock replacement - but will consider. Tire pressure was a concern, but I've checked that and maintain them according to the recomendations on the safety sticker in the coach.

[Campingman]

I hate the way my F53 rides. Looking at a C class in the near future. I put Koni's on it and it didn't make any difference. 70 psi in the front. Still rough riding.

[tncruiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Campingman I hate the way my F53 rides. Looking at a C class in the near future. I put Koni's on it and it didn't make any difference. 70 psi in the front. Still rough riding.

had a 09 c now a 2011 a both fords about 29 ft
longest i can turn around in the cul de sac and my drive ,living in the "woods" and on
the side of a hill is wonderful BUT
class a is a much better drive and ride for me
thats my opinion and just like belly buttons we all have 1
brianj

[Hurricane Owner]

I've got a 30Q on a 2005 Ford chassis. We had the same issues with the stiff ride. We replaced the wheels with aluminum wheels, and added air bags front and rear. We first went with a kit, I dont remember the name of the mfg, but it was better but still not comfy. I ended up moving the mounting plates closer towards each other, and put in #2600 bags on the rear. I moved the crappy bags up front with some home made brackets. I run 60-80 psi in the rear, and about 5 psi up front. If the road gets rough, I go to about 10 psi. I have onboard air, so I can do it on the fly. This made a big differance in the ride. Very nice now. I did it, it works, needs to be done right though. Airbags have a certain height to ride nice, if your to tall, or to short, they will ride bad. If you look up the specs for your particular airbag, you will see it has a determined height that it needs to be at when its aired up in place. That is what gives it the nice ride. I think the kits come with predrilled holes in the frames as the determining factor for where its mounted. If you add to much air, it will be stiff, not enough and you wont notice a differance. Just right, and the bags will unload your stiff springs just enough to help the ride.

[kalaikanui]

Thanks for the feedback Hurricane Owner. Do you have any references for info that I can read up on about AB installation and parts? Seems like you've acquired quite a bit of knowledge about it.

[Hurricane Owner]

Sorry, most of the info I got from magazines, and found specs to the bags on the mfg websites. Make sure you have all your airbags independant of each other. Also, the air pressures will be a little different side to side. One side of the coach may be leaning, and it will need a little more air. Not a problem. I got mine set up and found a nice flat foundation (empty) and measured to the frame. Mine has no slides, it was pretty level. So I didnt worry about it to much. Which kit are you planning on buying?