Do new shocks make a difference?

[Gerryl]

I have a 2000 34’ motorhome on a Ford chassis, with 49,000 miles on it. The tires are pretty new and in good shape, but it rides like a truck (Ooh, I guess it IS a truck). I suspect that the shocks are the originals and am wondering if new shocks would make a difference in the ride. And if so, what shocks would you buy?

[Sky_Boss]

Certainly any new shock by a reputable maker should help. I like what Koni makes.

[Gary RVRoamer]

It probably will improve the shock function, but most people misunderstand what shocks actually do. They have little to do with ride comfort - they are there to keep the wheels in contact with the road when you go over bumps. So it will still ride like a truck, but it will be a better behaved truck.

One of the best things you can do for ride is to make sure the tire inflation is adequate but not excessive for the weight carried. Another thing might be an improved antisway bar to reduce sway and body roll (more a handling concern than comfort).

[JFNM]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

One of the best things you can do for ride is to make sure the tire inflation is adequate but not excessive for the weight carried. Another thing might be an improved antisway bar to reduce sway and body roll (more a handling concern than comfort).

X2!!

If running max inflation pressure, get your rig weighed and, if able, reduce the pressure per your tire inflation chart. I am now using 78 psi in my class A, down from 110 psi, and the ride quality is massively improved.

[jauguston]

Koni FSD shocks are probably the best there is for a motorhome. I upgraded my previous coach with them and just put them on the Sportscoach. Much better ride. They both had less than 30,000 miles on them when I changed. I got them from Super Steer (Henderson Line-Up).

Jim

[MSHappyCampers]

New shocks made a big difference on our MH! When we bought the 2002 Windsor (84K miles) the porpoising was really bad and the strips across the concrete highways were awful! We replaced all the shocks with the Bilsteins (didn't want to spend the extra money for the Konis) and have been very happy with the results! No, it doesn't ride like a Rolls Royce, but for a huge box on wheels it's pretty good!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Peralko]

Getting new shocks will not make a difference unless your shocks are bad, or they are mismatched to your chassis.

[Vickie 4369]

Originally Posted by Peralko

Getting new shocks will not make a difference unless your shocks are bad, or they are mismatched to your chassis.

Define bad and how you know or not.

Shocks Wear and beat down the oil and lose they're charge all without you knowing.

My coach only had 7000 Miles on it when I replace the shock due to bad ride.

They looked perfectly fine no visual damage.

There was a major improvement in both ride quality and handling.

Shocks are a Wear item and should be replaced on regular intervals.

Cars and light duty pickups will wear out shocks in 20,000 miles easy.

It is one of those things unless you change them you will never know the difference because they degrade slowly over time.

Ted.

[Magumba]

Replacing shocks has made a big improvement in the ride of our motorhome. I first changed the factory shocks with Bilsteins but they only lasted a few years. I now have Koni shocks on our Workhorse W-22 chassis.

[Peralko]

I didn't realize I had to define what bad is--how about the shocks no longer do what they are supposed to!
Life of shocks depend on a lot of things--I have never had to replace shocks on a car with less than 100,000 miles. Last year we had a complete chassis renovation on our coach. new rear shocks had to be replaced, but the front ones (original Konis) are still good after 165,000 miles. Together with the other work on the chassis, a much improved ride.
A lot depends on the quality of the shocks, and like I said, how well they are matched to the chassis.

[Vickie 4369]

Originally Posted by Peralko

I didn't realize I had to define what bad is--how about the shocks no longer do what they are supposed to!
Life of shocks depend on a lot of things--I have never had to replace shocks on a car with less than 100,000 miles. Last year we had a complete chassis renovation on our coach. new rear shocks had to be replaced, but the front ones (original Konis) are still good after 165,000 miles. Together with the other work on the chassis, a much improved ride.
A lot depends on the quality of the shocks, and like I said, how well they are matched to the chassis.

Yes you can leave your shocks on for 100,000+ miles and everything else on the chassis will suffer accelerated wear, including tires.

Probably why you had to rebuild your chassis.

Your statement was you will see no benefit unless they are bad.

So How do you know if they are bad?

Shocks are a slow wearing part that degrades over time at a fairly consistent rate, they don't have a gauge on them to tell you how much wear they have or how much life they have left in them.

I rebuild aftermarket performance shocks and have seen first hand how bad the oil gets and how much wear develops over a relatively short time.

Ted.

[AUPOP]

Originally Posted by Gerryl

I have a 2000 34’ motorhome on a Ford chassis, with 49,000 miles on it. The tires are pretty new and in good shape, but it rides like a truck (Ooh, I guess it IS a truck). I suspect that the shocks are the originals and am wondering if new shocks would make a difference in the ride. And if so, what shocks would you buy?

We have 25000 miles on our '99 Bounder, replaced all 4 shocks last month with Koni's, expensive but everything about the RV is expensive...the difference in the comfort of the ride is night and day...we also did the McKinley Fix (CHF) when we replaced the shocks and we are experimenting/monitoring the tire pressure closely and think I have found the sweet spot....there is a lot of information out here, sort through and go slow

Good Luck

[Peralko]

Originally Posted by GULFSTREAM37

Yes you can leave your shocks on for 100,000+ miles and everything else on the chassis will suffer accelerated wear, including tires.

Probably why you had to rebuild your chassis.

Your statement was you will see no benefit unless they are bad.

So How do you know if they are bad?

Shocks are a slow wearing part that degrades over time at a fairly consistent rate, they don't have a gauge on them to tell you how much wear they have or how much life they have left in them.

I rebuild aftermarket performance shocks and have seen first hand how bad the oil gets and how much wear develops over a relatively short time.

Ted.

If you rebuild shocks, I would think you would know how to tell when shocks are bad!
No, the chassis rebuild had nothing to do with shocks, but with rubber components that deteriorated over time. The front shocks do their job quite well, and neither I nor the technician saw the need to replace them.

[Vickie 4369]

Originally Posted by Peralko

If you rebuild shocks, I would think you would know how to tell when shocks are bad!
No, the chassis rebuild had nothing to do with shocks, but with rubber components that deteriorated over time. The front shocks do their job quite well, and neither I nor the technician saw the need to replace them.

Now your just being argumentative.

You can't disassemble your shocks so My point is valid, you can't tell when they are bad, you must change them at regular intervals.

Ted.