Community Forums

Park Super · 04-13-2019, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsy9978

Thanks everyone.

After the CHF and/or installing sway bars, what would be the next thing to try? What issues do Summo Springs address? And what problems would Koni shocks fix? I don't understand the differences between springs and shocks.

And if shocks would help this issue, would Koni or Bilsteins be better?

The first modification we did was adding Sumo Springs all the way around....It made an amazing difference! Worth ever dime! As you can see we have added Safe t Steer and rear track bar since adding the sumo springs and we feel the coach handles wonderful now.

TeJay · 04-13-2019, 11:29 AM

Post #25 give readers an update of what the OP has done and the results.

"As the OP, I wanted to provide an update. Had an alignment done and added the Roadmaster front and rear sway bars as well as their steering stabilizer. Husband says there was perhaps a little improvement."

"Then we added front and rear Summo springs and he says he could really notice a difference with about a 50% improvement. "

"Not sure about making any further changes such as new shocks. Anybody have any thoughts about this? Have already spent about $5,000 on these improvements and unsure about gambling any more money since success has been mixed."

IMHO they still should have gotten better results with the MODS they did. I'm still a bit curious why???

R.Wold · 04-13-2019, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsy9978

As the OP, I wanted to provide an update. Had an alignment done and added the Roadmaster front and rear sway bars as well as their steering stabilizer. Husband says there was perhaps a little improvement.

Then we added front and rear Summo springs and he says he could really notice a difference with about a 50% improvement.

Not sure about making any further changes such as new shocks. Anybody have any thoughts about this? Have already spent about $5,000 on these improvements and unsure about gambling any more money since success has been mixed.

Question: Were the new sway bars installed in addition to what was already on it, or were the original sway bars removed and replaced with the Roadmaster sway bars?

Opinion: No don't waste money on shocks. The factory ones may not be the best on the market, but they are essentially new so you wont notice much difference upgrading to something like Koni shocks. Konis are better for bumps and potholes, but wont contribute much more to controlling sway. I upgraded from the factory Bilsteins to Koni on mine because they were 10 years old, although they only had 23000 miles on them. I noticed a difference in ride comfort, but not in sway. This is subjective of course, but thats my experience.

RRR · 04-13-2019, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Wold

Question: Were the new sway bars installed in addition to what was already on it, or were the original sway bars removed and replaced with the Roadmaster sway bars?.

This was my first thought too. It would be interesting to find out and who did the install. I kind of look to see what sway bars for the OP rig were listed and all said they were an auxiliary bar, but I can just see some installer taking the OEM bar off.

The addition of the auxiliary bar was the best $$ spent for me.

TeJay · 04-13-2019, 04:03 PM

If new SB are installed they will add one additional SB to the rear and replace the front. Any decent shop will advise the owners exactly what they did. I'm waiting for the OP to report if the new ones were larger, better steel or just a stock replacement.

If a customer is replacing SB's because they have SWAY issues and I'm installing them they will know if they are made of a better steel and if they are larger in diameter. That just makes common sense. And if there will be two SB on the rear which is what usually happens.

If the shop didn't make that information known to the OP they are not concerned about customer satisfaction or doing good work.

RRR · 04-13-2019, 04:59 PM

True TeJay. But if it was an incompetent shop/tech, who knows what happened.

jharrell · 04-13-2019, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Wold

Opinion: No don't waste money on shocks. The factory ones may not be the best on the market, but they are essentially new so you wont notice much difference upgrading to something like Koni shocks. Konis are better for bumps and potholes, but wont contribute much more to controlling sway. I upgraded from the factory Bilsteins to Koni on mine because they were 10 years old, although they only had 23000 miles on them. I noticed a difference in ride comfort, but not in sway. This is subjective of course, but thats my experience.

I have heard many mixed reviews on the Koni's, I want to like them their FSD valving is specifically supposed to have higher dampening in the 1 hz range while less dampening above 2hz to specifically dampen sway while being compliant on bumps. This should be better than a standard shock at sway without being too stiff. Wonder if its more marketing than actual engineering.

R.Wold · 04-13-2019, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jharrell

I have heard many mixed reviews on the Koni's, I want to like them their FSD valving is specifically supposed to have higher dampening in the 1 hz range while less dampening above 2hz to specifically dampen sway while being compliant on bumps. This should be better than a standard shock at sway without being too stiff. Wonder if its more marketing than actual engineering.

I bought in to the FSD theory and went to Konis and the ride is clearly improved but the CHF already had sway under control so its hard to say if the Konis helped that much. Its also clear however that my Bilstiens weren't “bad” so now Im trying to find a use for them.

R.Wold · 04-13-2019, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRR

This was my first thought too. It would be interesting to find out and who did the install. I kind of look to see what sway bars for the OP rig were listed and all said they were an auxiliary bar, but I can just see some installer taking the OEM bar off.

The addition of the auxiliary bar was the best $$ spent for me.

I was thinking that if the rear factory sway bar is still there, they could do the CHF on it and get the thing behaving properly. Also it looks like this 35’ coach is on a 22000lb chassis which may be contributing to the problem.

TeJay · 04-14-2019, 10:52 AM

If memory serves me well more lighter units have ride and handling and as the weights go up the issues become less. That's not saying that a 22,000 LB chassis can't have SWAY issues.

They either have the same stock rear SB and an additional one installed. Or they have a stiffer SB and the stock one still installed. Or the stock one was replaced with another stock SB. We still don't know and waiting for the OP's response.

No matter what if the RV is still having SWAY and control issues they can perform the CHf and see the results.

We don't know but if it's still not handling well I hate to see folks being lead down this road of spending more $$$$ than perhaps is necessary.

R.Wold · 04-14-2019, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeJay

We don't know but if it's still not handling well I hate to see folks being lead down this road of spending more $$$$ than perhaps is necessary.

Me too and I see quite a bit of that here.

They put the Bounder 35P on the 24000lb chassis, same length but longer wheel base and 4 slides, so its a little heavier, and makes me wonder if it handles better.

My little Bay Star 2901 is on a 20,500lb chassis but most are on an 18000 and some are on a 16000. For mine, the CHF gave me all the improvement needed and the Konis tuned up general handling and ride comfort. But I think Id have to do more if I had the same rig on a lighter chassis.

NXR · 04-22-2019, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Wold

I was thinking that if the rear factory sway bar is still there, they could do the CHF on it and get the thing behaving properly. Also it looks like this 35’ coach is on a 22000lb chassis which may be contributing to the problem.

I watched a YouTube video from RoadMaster and they said that you should always add the rear sway bar first while leaving the existing one in place.

Ray

TeJay · 04-23-2019, 05:55 AM

What RM says makes perfect sense. If I'm selling a $ 500 to $ 600 dollar add on SB I don't want you to remove the stock SB just in case the diameter of the add on and stock are not much different. I want you to feel a world of difference so you will recommend others to do the add on SB.

Lets think about this. You do have a stock (SB) stabilizer bar. Depending on your RV set up it may need more SWAY control. The CHF usually does add sufficient SWAY control but sometimes some RV's need more. I have driven and seen several of our WBGO club owners with two SB's on the rear and one stock on the front. They handled just fine.

A person just has to do what makes them comfortable. What works great for one RV may only work marginally better on another. Unless we are comparing identical make, models, weights and floor plans it's apples to oranges and not a fair comparison.

daydream37 · 04-23-2019, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeJay

What RM says makes perfect sense. If I'm selling a $ 500 to $ 600 dollar add on SB I don't want you to remove the stock SB just in case the diameter of the add on and stock are not much different. I want you to feel a world of difference so you will recommend others to do the add on SB.

Lets think about this. You do have a stock (SB) stabilizer bar. Depending on your RV set up it may need more SWAY control. The CHF usually does add sufficient SWAY control but sometimes some RV's need more. I have driven and seen several of our WBGO club owners with two SB's on the rear and one stock on the front. They handled just fine.

A person just has to do what makes them comfortable. What works great for one RV may only work marginally better on another. Unless we are comparing identical make, models, weights and floor plans it's apples to oranges and not a fair comparison.

I recently purchased a 2015 Bay Star 3215 on a 22k chassis. During the PDI I crawled underneath and noticed the following suspension improvements.

1. Roadmaster HD sway bar on the front.
2. Sumo springs on the front.
3. Safety plus steering damper.
4. Roadmaster HD away bar on the rear in addition to stock away bar.
5. Track Bar added in the rear.

The CHF has not been performed on front or rear.

With those mods added by the previous owner the handling of the coach is still mediocre. It is tolerable but does not track as well as my previous coach and it has more sway than I like.

My question is, should I do the CHF on the rear first since the front has heavier sway bar and Sumo springs? Should I do the front and rear? Tire pressure is the placard 100 lbs but tire chart for weight is 90 lbs. Should I lower it to 90 lbs?

This has been an interesting discussion, thanks.