Xcl chassis harsh front end ride

[Ranger Rick]

love our 2013 Winnebago tour ride most of the time, very disappointed with ride over expansion joints or less than smooth roads. Installed road king shocks on front and made ride even more harsh, re-installed original shocks and somewhat better but still harsh. Tire pressure set to Michelin chart according to four corner weight, 105 psi front and 85 psi rear and tag. Previous coach had solid front axle, which was also harsh even with koni shocks, expected IFS to be much smoother. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Ranger Rick
2013 Winnebago Tour QD

[Clayobx]

Ranger Rick you already mentioned the fix, Koni!

[Ranger Rick]

Koni does not yet make a front shock for the IFS front end. Forgot to mention that freightliner aligned the front end and adjusted ride height, neither lessened the harshness. I am waiting for source engineering to come up with a ride enhancement kit for thr XCL chassis with independent front suspension. Koni shocks on my previous straight axle coach really did not reduce harsh front end ride. Maybe it is just the nature of the beast. Is anyone else experiencing this or maybe I am just expecting too much?

Ranger Rick
2013 Winnebago Tour QD

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Ranger Rick

Koni does not yet make a front shock for the IFS front end. Forgot to mention that freightliner aligned the front end and adjusted ride height, neither lessened the harshness. I am waiting for source engineering to come up with a ride enhancement kit for thr XCL chassis with independent front suspension. Koni shocks on my previous straight axle coach really did not reduce harsh front end ride. Maybe it is just the nature of the beast. Is anyone else experiencing this or maybe I am just expecting too much?



Ranger Rick

2013 Winnebago Tour QD

I suspect that with the measures you have taken, it is what it is. These coaches have gotten pretty heavy on the steer axle and to control that weight on both compression and rebound is getting tougher. A Ping tank for those front air bags might help but if so the guys at Source will figure it out.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[ditto]

I had the exact same issue. Fortunately I have my coached serviced by the very capable folks at Freightliner Gaffney. First they too suspected ride height...when that didn't fix the issue completely they moved one of air valves from the rear axel to the front axel, for a total of two on the front axel, 1 rear. No more back aches from bad roads. Still a stiff ride because we need 120 lbs in our front tires. Note the new tours have the water tank moved to the rear. Call Freightliner service...feel free to pm me.

[Ranger Rick]

Thanks guys, have a Ping tank up front, freightliner moved left rear air ride valve to right front, unfortunately very little difference. We are carrying 105 lbs in front tires and typically have very little water in our tank. Front axle weight is 13,600 lbs. not sure how to pm you ditto, would be nice to talk with you more.

Ranger Rick
2013 Winnebago Tour QD

[Clayobx]

Rick, the folks on the Entrgra forum are having dual Koni's installed on their Spartan IFS chassis. Just a suggestion. It's posted under their mods to Entegra coaches. Guess their experiencing harsh ride coupled with some porpoising. A bracket is welded to the chassis to support dual front shock systems. Might be a help. I carry 125 Psi in my drive wheels with a Spartan MM solid axle. OEM Bilsteins, ride is very good I imagine it would be greatly improved should I go to Koni shocks as it improved my last coach on FL chassis.

[stik]

Originally Posted by Ranger Rick

love our 2013 Winnebago tour ride most of the time, very disappointed with ride over expansion joints or less than smooth roads. Installed road king shocks on front and made ride even more harsh, re-installed original shocks and somewhat better but still harsh. Tire pressure set to Michelin chart according to four corner weight, 105 psi front and 85 psi rear and tag. Previous coach had solid front axle, which was also harsh even with koni shocks, expected IFS to be much smoother. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Ranger Rick
2013 Winnebago Tour QD

Ranger Rick, just curious what are you comparing the ride to? Other motorhomes you have owned? It is, after all a 45,000 lb truck. Plus, your state doesn't have the best reputation for smooth roads. Just askin'

I read a lot of posts on this and other forums about "ride" which is very, very subjective. My personal experience in three different motorhomes is that all three performed and rode well. My current Journey goes across the scales at 25,600 lbs. I replaced the original Sachs shocks with Bilsteins at 48,000 miles (just because I thought it was "time"), and noticed no appreciable difference in handling or ride. I have no additional "devices" installed. The motorhome tracks well down a straight, level road, trucks passing me do not present a problem, cross-winds (within reason) are of no serious concern. Part of this may be to my weight distribution, which is totally luck on my part. My front axle is at 79% of it's rated capacity, while the rear is at 93%. I read somewhere that the best handling is achieved at 80% of max on the front axle. I guess I better stop bragging, but I am really happy with the Freightliner Chassis (my first) and hope you can get yours set up the way you want.
Good Luck

[stik]

Originally Posted by Clayobx

Rick, the folks on the Entrgra forum are having dual Koni's installed on their Spartan IFS chassis. Just a suggestion. It's posted under their mods to Entegra coaches. Guess their experiencing harsh ride coupled with some porpoising. A bracket is welded to the chassis to support dual front shock systems. Might be a help. I carry 125 Psi in my drive wheels with a Spartan MM solid axle. OEM Bilsteins, ride is very good I imagine it would be greatly improved should I go to Koni shocks as it improved my last coach on FL chassis.

I am really confused . . . I would have thought "harsh ride" and "porpoising" would have been mutually exclusive. i.e. harsh ride caused by very, very stiff shocks and porpoising caused by worn or extremely soft shocks.

[univmd]

Does the harsh ride mean that the steering wheel sometimes wobbles a little too at highway speeds? My 2008 XC chassis does this and I am not sure if it is road or chassis... I am at 120 psi too.

[Clayobx]

Univmd, that is most likely a bell crank issue. Henderson Drive line manufacturers a bearing bell crank that made a huge difference in handling on my last coach with the same chassis as yours. Have you checked your front alignment as well as rear thrust alignment?