2.5" Stabilizer Bar Upgrade

[DriVer]

Well here we are at approximately 36,000 miles indicated on our odometer and I still find that I can indeed upgrade the suspension so that it performs better. Having installed a Henderson (rear), Davis (front) and Safe-T-Plus early on, my suspension improved dramatically over the OEM stock configuration. Finally I had additional control over yaw and that weird feeling of being loose in corners. The front wanting to come around was significantly reduced by use of track bars and a steering damper. At speed, the Safe-T-Plus worked with the Davis in yielding excellent control in sharp sweeping turns. Validated by Workhorse in 2006 on test tracks the SSC Option package features a rear track bar.

Throughout my ownership, there was one axis that I was unable to control even with all of the improvements I bolted on. The condition was best described as that annoying back and forth rocking while negotiating driveways and single sided events like pot holes. My motorhome at times would rock back and forth severely enough to make it nerve wracking. In order to control this, a quick application of the service brakes slowed the vehicle down enough where I lost energy in the turn and the roll would decrease and cease. The solution therefore was obvious, slow down while negotiating surface changes while turning corners and while transiting pot holes.

Normally while going straight ahead the motorhome rides like a dream. This was improved again by getting an excellent front end alignment and then it rode like it was on rails. The original stock 2"� stabilizer bar was sufficient for the task because the motorhome didn't exhibit any great tendency to roll. For the 90% of the time that you're running the motorhome the suspension is very well behaved and rides and performs quite well. This had been my experience over the past 2 or more years.

In 2004 Workhorse added a front 2 ½ "� front stabilizer bar along with Bilstein shocks and a new 50? wheel cut. This new improved chassis modification delivered the goods beyond expectation of what most people would have thought how a gas motorhome should ride. Having driven a new W-24 so equipped I was amazed as to how well behaved the new suspension components performed without any chassis modifications.

Out of need to meet customer demand for improved performance the Workhorse parts organization, Uptime Parts, began developing chassis performance packages for owners that wanted to upgrade their chassis to the current standard build. In a short time we saw the chassis performance upgrade that included 4 Bilstein shocks and a 2 ½"� stabilizer bar and the revolutionary Stabil-Air suspension upgrade along with other products that owner's have been demanding. For the first time the availability of these component kits allowed us to pursue an upgrade path using branded Workhorse components.

One of the available suspension components that's gained quick favor among people that have installed the product is the 2 ½"� stabilizer bar. We have been fortunate to have several members here that preceded me in installing the new stabilizer bar and so far it's been unanimous; the 2 ½"� stabilizer bar works!


Workhorse 2.5" Stabilizer Upgrade Kit. Note the Davis Tru-Trac track bar directly aft. Note the absence of the original gold paint on the bar.

I previously wrote in this piece that the stabilizer bar didn't factor much in straight ahead driving but I have since revised that opinion. The 2 ½"� bar has added an extra degree of stability that indeed has improved on the ride. Negotiating corners has yielded an improved anti roll stability that is much welcomed in a large vehicle such as a motorhome.

It all started out last Friday morning when we arrived at Turning Wheel RV Center in Ocala, FL. The stabilizer bar was there waiting for us to arrive. Once we got on the lift removing the existing 2"� bar was a quick matter of an impact gun spinning off the saddle retaining nuts and the 2"� bar came off without a whimper. The next thing I heard was the bar hitting the concrete floor in one loud last act of defiance.

The new bar is provided in tuxedo black and includes 2 saddles that support and clamp the bar onto the springs. A Teflon wrap insulates and fills the gaps between the clamps and the stabilizer bar. The bar installs in recesses cut into the clamps and the bar and clamps as a unit fit over the existing ¾"� studs that are mounted on the front spring shackles. The installation is completed by threading the 4 nuts back onto the studs and tightening up the nuts alternatively clamping the saddle so that it remains square to the bottom of the spring. Once you can't tighten the nuts any further with hand tools it's now time to torque the nuts on the studs. If the stud begins spinning it can be held on top with an open end wrench.

The required torque is 275 ft/lbs. You will find that not every shop has a 4 foot long ¾"� drive torque wrench but a good shop won't let you take to the road without making sure the bar is properly installed. Fitting the torque wrench over the nut quite a few pulls were taken up to snug up the nut and then the required "click"� puts an end to the task of pulling on the wrench. 3 additional clicks were labored and we were ready to go. It's quite easy to install the caps or saddles off center so it's most important to assure that they remain square all the way through the torquing process. Once complete a slight gap may be visible between the saddle and the bottom of the spring. This I'm told by a tech that the bar fine the way it is. All that's required is a sufficient clamping force and the system will performed as designed.

The operating principal of the stabilizer is that of equal and opposite leverage. As force is applied to the end of the bar that cancels out the leverage applied to the opposite end of the bar. The short bar reacts almost instantaneously to torquing moments and the stability provided by the bar provides the motorhome with as few roll degrees as possible given the condition of the road surface. Keeping the motorhome as vertical as possible under all conditions is what the stabilizer bar is designed for.

Driving the motorhome from Ocala to Orlando via I-75 to the Florida Turnpike was only a short hop and it only took about an hour and a half. The change was not immediately apparent to me but as I rolled along a subtle but new appreciation for roll control was beginning to make itself felt. The ride just keeps getting better and better all the time and I am pleased with the new Workhorse 2 ½"� stabilizer bar upgrade. I am sure that if you're considering upgrading your 2"� bar on your pre-2004 motorhome that this will be a worthwhile investment. The bar will fit any 2001 through 2003 W20 and W22.

[DriVer]

Well here we are at approximately 36,000 miles indicated on our odometer and I still find that I can indeed upgrade the suspension so that it performs better. Having installed a Henderson (rear), Davis (front) and Safe-T-Plus early on, my suspension improved dramatically over the OEM stock configuration. Finally I had additional control over yaw and that weird feeling of being loose in corners. The front wanting to come around was significantly reduced by use of track bars and a steering damper. At speed, the Safe-T-Plus worked with the Davis in yielding excellent control in sharp sweeping turns. Validated by Workhorse in 2006 on test tracks the SSC Option package features a rear track bar.

Throughout my ownership, there was one axis that I was unable to control even with all of the improvements I bolted on. The condition was best described as that annoying back and forth rocking while negotiating driveways and single sided events like pot holes. My motorhome at times would rock back and forth severely enough to make it nerve wracking. In order to control this, a quick application of the service brakes slowed the vehicle down enough where I lost energy in the turn and the roll would decrease and cease. The solution therefore was obvious, slow down while negotiating surface changes while turning corners and while transiting pot holes.

Normally while going straight ahead the motorhome rides like a dream. This was improved again by getting an excellent front end alignment and then it rode like it was on rails. The original stock 2"� stabilizer bar was sufficient for the task because the motorhome didn't exhibit any great tendency to roll. For the 90% of the time that you're running the motorhome the suspension is very well behaved and rides and performs quite well. This had been my experience over the past 2 or more years.

In 2004 Workhorse added a front 2 ½ "� front stabilizer bar along with Bilstein shocks and a new 50? wheel cut. This new improved chassis modification delivered the goods beyond expectation of what most people would have thought how a gas motorhome should ride. Having driven a new W-24 so equipped I was amazed as to how well behaved the new suspension components performed without any chassis modifications.

Out of need to meet customer demand for improved performance the Workhorse parts organization, Uptime Parts, began developing chassis performance packages for owners that wanted to upgrade their chassis to the current standard build. In a short time we saw the chassis performance upgrade that included 4 Bilstein shocks and a 2 ½"� stabilizer bar and the revolutionary Stabil-Air suspension upgrade along with other products that owner's have been demanding. For the first time the availability of these component kits allowed us to pursue an upgrade path using branded Workhorse components.

One of the available suspension components that's gained quick favor among people that have installed the product is the 2 ½"� stabilizer bar. We have been fortunate to have several members here that preceded me in installing the new stabilizer bar and so far it's been unanimous; the 2 ½"� stabilizer bar works!


Workhorse 2.5" Stabilizer Upgrade Kit. Note the Davis Tru-Trac track bar directly aft. Note the absence of the original gold paint on the bar.

I previously wrote in this piece that the stabilizer bar didn't factor much in straight ahead driving but I have since revised that opinion. The 2 ½"� bar has added an extra degree of stability that indeed has improved on the ride. Negotiating corners has yielded an improved anti roll stability that is much welcomed in a large vehicle such as a motorhome.

It all started out last Friday morning when we arrived at Turning Wheel RV Center in Ocala, FL. The stabilizer bar was there waiting for us to arrive. Once we got on the lift removing the existing 2"� bar was a quick matter of an impact gun spinning off the saddle retaining nuts and the 2"� bar came off without a whimper. The next thing I heard was the bar hitting the concrete floor in one loud last act of defiance.

The new bar is provided in tuxedo black and includes 2 saddles that support and clamp the bar onto the springs. A Teflon wrap insulates and fills the gaps between the clamps and the stabilizer bar. The bar installs in recesses cut into the clamps and the bar and clamps as a unit fit over the existing ¾"� studs that are mounted on the front spring shackles. The installation is completed by threading the 4 nuts back onto the studs and tightening up the nuts alternatively clamping the saddle so that it remains square to the bottom of the spring. Once you can't tighten the nuts any further with hand tools it's now time to torque the nuts on the studs. If the stud begins spinning it can be held on top with an open end wrench.

The required torque is 275 ft/lbs. You will find that not every shop has a 4 foot long ¾"� drive torque wrench but a good shop won't let you take to the road without making sure the bar is properly installed. Fitting the torque wrench over the nut quite a few pulls were taken up to snug up the nut and then the required "click"� puts an end to the task of pulling on the wrench. 3 additional clicks were labored and we were ready to go. It's quite easy to install the caps or saddles off center so it's most important to assure that they remain square all the way through the torquing process. Once complete a slight gap may be visible between the saddle and the bottom of the spring. This I'm told by a tech that the bar fine the way it is. All that's required is a sufficient clamping force and the system will performed as designed.

The operating principal of the stabilizer is that of equal and opposite leverage. As force is applied to the end of the bar that cancels out the leverage applied to the opposite end of the bar. The short bar reacts almost instantaneously to torquing moments and the stability provided by the bar provides the motorhome with as few roll degrees as possible given the condition of the road surface. Keeping the motorhome as vertical as possible under all conditions is what the stabilizer bar is designed for.

Driving the motorhome from Ocala to Orlando via I-75 to the Florida Turnpike was only a short hop and it only took about an hour and a half. The change was not immediately apparent to me but as I rolled along a subtle but new appreciation for roll control was beginning to make itself felt. The ride just keeps getting better and better all the time and I am pleased with the new Workhorse 2 ½"� stabilizer bar upgrade. I am sure that if you're considering upgrading your 2"� bar on your pre-2004 motorhome that this will be a worthwhile investment. The bar will fit any 2001 through 2003 W20 and W22.

[abarkl]

Do you have pictures available?

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by abarkl:
Do you have pictures available? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Sure, I'll take some and I'll put them up here I hope this evening. Thanks for asking.

[Jack Foster]

Hi Driver

Thanks for posting your impressions of the new bar. I went out today to visit with Precision Frame & Alignment. They're the dealer who carries the Davis, Henderson, Saf-t-plus, steer safe here in Minneapolis. They also do a great front end alignment by the way. I was talking to the owner about the Workhorse 2 1/2" bar and he wasn't familiar with it. He handles a front and rear stabilizer bar for the Workhorse chassis made by IPD. Have you any experience with this brand? Are your contacts at Workhorse have any opinion about them? They're about twice as expensive as the Workhorse bar and I'm wondering if they're worth it or not.

Thanks for your help

Jack

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jack Foster:
He handles a front and rear stabilizer bar for the Workhorse chassis made by IPD. Have you any experience with this brand? Are your contacts at Workhorse have any opinion about them? They're about twice as expensive as the Workhorse bar and I'm wondering if they're worth it or not. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>The IPD anti-sway bar was used by Workhorse up until recently when the P32 was sunset.

IPD makes an anti-sway bar for the W-Series and it is a much more robust device than the stabilizer bar. The anti sway bar is tied to the frame and axle and is much longer than the stabilizer.

If you're looking for the best anti-sway device IPD certainly makes a good one. I recently saw an IPD installation on a 2002 Chieftain 39 footer. It certainly was some piece of hardware I guarantee.

Now whether or not you need an IPD is totally up to you. The 2.5" bar will give you better anti roll properties but not as much as an IPD.

[DriVer]

Inserted photo in the original article.

Can you identify the device above and to the right of the stabilizer bar saddle or bracket that attaches to the spring ???? (It appears to have an arced line in the middle of the device.)

First person with the right answer gets a <span class="ev_code_RED">2006 Workhorse Gas Chassis Guide.</span>

[M&EM]

Looks like a storage tank... air, vacuum?

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:


Inserted photo in the original article.

Can you identify the device above and to the right of the stabilizer bar saddle or bracket that attaches to the spring ???? (It appears to have an arced line in the middle of the device.)

First person with the right answer gets a <span class="ev_code_RED">2006 Workhorse Gas Chassis Guide.</span> </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The heavy looking electric wire makes me think it is the pump for the levelers.

Neil

[brgman]

It's a Hadley air tank Part #H00626 for your air horn

Gary

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by brgman:
It's a Hadley air tank Part #H00626 for your air horn </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Gary,

<span class="ev_code_RED">WE HAVE A WINNER !!!! </span>

Please send me your snail mail address via private message and I'll get a Chassis Guide in the mail to you pretty quick!

Just click on my screen name and use the "Invite Driver to a private topic" link.

Congratulations!

Now if these little photo ID contests prove to be popular perhaps I make up a few more. Thank you all for participating.

[tyoung]

I have a motorhome with w20 chassis and it has the 2" stabilizer bar. Can anyone tell me what the 2 1/2" upgrade kit costs?

[edgray]

HEREis a link to the WCC dealer installed parts page. I don't think you can order direct from WCC, but they will set you up with a dealer to sell and install the package for you. ED

[Jack Foster]

My dealer gave me a special price on it. $232.00 not installed. I think MSRP is right around $300.

Jack