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RV 4 2 · 06-24-2007, 05:46 PM

I have not had a chance to take a look at one yet. We were just with some friends over the weekend that brought their new Winnebago Sunova with a Ford F-53 chassis and it came with front and rear sway bars.
So I am curious if the W24 comes with them? It makes a lot of sense as the two Coaches I drove sure swayed a lot.
Thanks

RV 4 2 · 06-24-2007, 05:46 PM

I have not had a chance to take a look at one yet. We were just with some friends over the weekend that brought their new Winnebago Sunova with a Ford F-53 chassis and it came with front and rear sway bars.
So I am curious if the W24 comes with them? It makes a lot of sense as the two Coaches I drove sure swayed a lot.
Thanks

MikeT · 06-24-2007, 07:07 PM

They do not have a sway bar attached to the frame. They have a 2 1/2 bar mounted onto the front springs that is supposed to act as a sway bar.

Oemtech · 06-25-2007, 03:16 AM

I think it is officially called a "torsion bar". It provides the same basic function a sway bars in that it try's to control the roll or sway as you go around curves. There are sway bar kits for the W series chassis.

DriVer · 06-25-2007, 03:23 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV 4 2:
So I am curious if the W24 comes with them? It makes a lot of sense as the two Coaches I drove sure swayed a lot. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>RV 4 2, I'm not sure if you're telling us that you drove a Sunova on a Ford and a coach on a W-24. Trying to compare any of the Sunova models on a Ford chassis to a W-24 Workhorse is going to be difficult at the very least.

The W24 is a 24,000 pound GVW rated chassis while the others are rated for 16K, 18K, 20.5K or 20.7K pounds.

If perhaps you are asking if the Workhorse W-20 rated at 20,700 pounds has sway bars the answer is no it does not. MikeT spoke about bars that attach to the springs. The bars he spoke about are 2.5" stabilizer bars are they are mounted in between the springs on the front and rear of the motorhome chassis.

The physics of the stabilizer bar works this way. When a downward torquing moment is applied on one end of the bar and equal and opposite torque moment is applied on the other end of the bar. This effort works to dampen the roll rate (side to side) that a coach may present when encountering a pot hole of perhaps when turning from a driveway.

In the past it has been observed by several test drivers that the sway bars installed on the Ford are in some people's opinion are not enough device to effectively dampen roll (side to side) at a high enough rate to deliver the control the driver is expecting.

Practically the same thing can be offered regarding the Workhorse however you may find that the roll rate on the Workhorse W-20 is less.

The most effective control of roll if that is an essential characteristic that you require, an after market solution may be the best remedy for both platforms.

Roll rate is a characteristic that we experience infrequently while operating our motorhomes. I would put in on a 10% of total miles driven or less. The most important moments that require control on our motorhomes is pitch (front to back, porpoising) and yaw ( sway or fish tailing). The Workhorse provides acceptable control of these axis however some owners require more control and there are after market products that can improve a chassis from a 16K unit all the way up to a 32K unit RDP unit.

How much performance and or directional control of your motorhome you require is up to you. Loading, air pressures and front end alignment all contribute to directional control and each has to be ruled out as being within specification. Unloaded motorhomes will exhibit different characteristics than a loaded motorhome. It is difficult to evaluate how a motorhome on the lot will drive down the road after you put all your stuff into it.

For purposes of this writing I would suggest that the Workhorse will not disappoint you since there are many more sub-systems and drive train components to consider when making your purchase decision.

RV 4 2 · 06-25-2007, 06:12 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:
I'm not sure if you're telling us that you drove a Sunova on a Ford and a coach on a W-24. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

DOH!!!!!!
Sorry for the misleading comment. The only two test drives I have done on class A coaches were on Workhorse chassis. Having only test driven twice, I did not know what to expect coming from a truck and a 5er. And having one of the test drives go through a very uneven parking lot for part of it was some of what I based my limited experience on.
I was only asking for comparison sake as I saw the sway bars on that friends Ford chassis.

DriVer, Thank you for the information. As usual, your valuable insight and information is greatly appreciated.
When we get our new coach, I will do as many have said before. Drive it for a while to get used to it and then make an evaluation as to IF I will need any aftermarket equipment to suit my needs.

Thank you again.

DriVer · 06-25-2007, 12:25 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV 4 2:
When we get our new coach, I will do as many have said before. Drive it for a while to get used to it and then make an evaluation as to IF I will need any aftermarket equipment to suit my needs. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's the ticket!

TandW · 06-26-2007, 02:33 AM

On the P32 chassis, roll and tailwagging can be minimized by preloading the rear swaybar. Reshim it to favor raising the heavy side, usually the curb side. Do this while on perfect level using jacks to ease the job. If done correctly side to side symmetry with the ground plane will be even. When you realize you are dealing with a torsion bar and that racing suspensions are tuned similarly you can succeed at no cost to alleviate driveability problems.