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03-03-2008, 12:06 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 49
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After 50K miles I decided it was time to replace the original Monroe shocks on my 2004 W-22 Pace Arrow. What a mistake! The ride is so hard I'm worried about damage to the coach...doors and drawers that haven't come open since our trip to Alaska have been coming open, the braces holding the corners of the shower enclosure have broken, so many squeaks our 110-pound Golden Retriever climbed onto the dash to escape them...you get the idea.
Is such a harsh ride typical of Bilsteins?
I had these installed by Camping World. Checked with Bilstein Customer Service to be sure the correct shocks were installed; they were. The old shocks have been thrown away, so aren't available for re-use.
Any advise for how to proceed will be gratefully accepted. TIA.
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Jim and Suzi Bakker
Carmichael, CA
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03-03-2008, 12:06 PM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 49
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After 50K miles I decided it was time to replace the original Monroe shocks on my 2004 W-22 Pace Arrow. What a mistake! The ride is so hard I'm worried about damage to the coach...doors and drawers that haven't come open since our trip to Alaska have been coming open, the braces holding the corners of the shower enclosure have broken, so many squeaks our 110-pound Golden Retriever climbed onto the dash to escape them...you get the idea.
Is such a harsh ride typical of Bilsteins?
I had these installed by Camping World. Checked with Bilstein Customer Service to be sure the correct shocks were installed; they were. The old shocks have been thrown away, so aren't available for re-use.
Any advise for how to proceed will be gratefully accepted. TIA.
__________________
Jim and Suzi Bakker
Carmichael, CA
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03-03-2008, 12:26 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Official iRV2 Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: CENTRALIA, WA
Posts: 1,526
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Get your money back & we can get you some Koni's...
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Jon Brazel
Ultra RV Products / Brazel's RV Performance
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03-03-2008, 03:44 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Manhattan Beach, CA
Posts: 695
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We replaced our Monroes with Bilstein shocks also. About 2 months later they came out with the Koni's. After 6,000 (hard) miles I changed the Bilsteins for the Koni's. The Koni's are the way to go.
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Steve & Jeri
2004 Dolphin 5342
2000 Jeep Cherokee 4X4
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03-03-2008, 05:45 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pasadena,CA
Posts: 221
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Ditto... I'v got a set of 4 Bilsteins for sale.
Ed
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2005 National RV, 36' Dolphin 5355, W22 - Front & Rear trac bars, IPD rear anti-sway bar, Koni FSD Shocks, UltraPower programming.
2000 Jeep Wrangler, Brake Buddy
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03-04-2008, 07:24 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Ventura, Ca.
Posts: 333
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Ditto...Ditto, I have a set of 4 for sale, oh heck, I'll give them away.
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2019 Winnebago Vista LX 30T, Honda CRV toad, best Labrador Retriever Charlie Brown .
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03-05-2008, 12:53 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
American Coach Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SW Florida
Posts: 2,971
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It absolutely baffles me as to how a shock can be so stiff as to overcome the spring suspension itself. I mean thats the only way, I can see this happening. How do they do an install with something like this? Must have a special machine press to open and close them until the fit is just right...would be my guess. I even hear of this on the rear. Now, it's really gonna be hard to convince me that they are stiffer than a set of leaf springs...mercy!
Anyway, I have them on my coach, and don't have a problem, but then P32 coil springs (front) are pretty wishy washy anyway, so a little stiffness is a helper. We're talking a couple of gas tubes trying to minimize the bounce of way over 2 tons here. Granted the Koni's are the shock of preference, mainly because they seem to collapse easily and stiffen greatly on opening, which is a great design. The Bilsteins are stiff in either direction, it seems.
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07 Revolution LE 40E_1 1/2 Baths_Spartan MM Chassis_06 400HP C9 CAT_ Allison 3000
Dinghy_2010 Jeep Wrangler JKU ISLANDER
1998 36ft. National Tropi-Cal Chevy Model 6350 (SOLD)
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03-05-2008, 01:03 PM
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#8
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Member
Official iRV2 Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Centralia, WA
Posts: 73
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We have found that the Bilstein shocks, being gas charged are alway pushing upward, and dampen on the downstroke, this transmits the shockwave all the way up through the shock and to the chassis. The Koni's use hydraulic dampening on the upstroke instead, generally giving a softer ride and absorbing that shockwave.
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Steve Brazel
Workhorse Premier Dealer
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03-06-2008, 05:10 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Alta Loma, Ca.
Posts: 266
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Koni's have a Much better ride.
Marty
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Martin & Yani
2013 Fleetwood Expedition 38B
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03-07-2008, 02:22 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 49
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I took my coach back to the shop that installed the Bilstein shocks, as the first step in getting my money refunded. They claim the hard ride isn't the fault of the shocks but rather by weak springs. They showed me how the chassis is sitting on the bump stops. I had the coach weighed today; it's well within the published load limits on each axle.
Should a coach on a W-22 chassis, within the weight limits, sit on the bump stops?
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Jim and Suzi Bakker
Carmichael, CA
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03-07-2008, 04:22 PM
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#11
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Moderator Emeritus
Winnebago Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner Coastal Campers Carolina Campers
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Conway, SC
Posts: 23,641
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tallguy:
They claim the hard ride isn't the fault of the shocks but rather by weak springs. They showed me how the chassis is sitting on the bump stops. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>The bump stops you are referring to are not that at all but are "like air" auxilliary springs. They are designed to trap air inside the chamber and cushion severe blows to the suspension.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Should a coach on a W-22 chassis, within the weight limits, sit on the bump stops? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>It isn't all that out of the ordinary for the suspension to be sitting on the like air springs. The harshness you are feeling with the Bilsteins may be inherent to their design. You may want to consider alternatives.
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03 Adventurer 38G, Workhorse W22
F&R Track Bars, Safety+ , Ultrapower, Taylor Extremes, SGII
TST 507, Blue Ox, SMI, Koni FSD, CrossFire
RV/MH Hall of Fame - Lifetime Member
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03-09-2008, 04:35 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Sammamish, WA
Posts: 175
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Had the Koni's installed yesterday and the ride is 100% better. Can't believe I waited this long to change.
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'07 Fleetwood Bounder Diesel 38N
Brazel's added: MP-8, Aero Muffler, Koni FSD Shocks, Bell Crank and Comfort Ride Control Valves. '08 Ford Escape Hybrid, Brakemaster 9100
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03-15-2008, 02:47 PM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 49
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DriVer,
My service writer (at my dealership) gave me a Workhorse document that described the "Like-Air" auxiliary spring system. This document also states that since late production 2004 model year custom tuned Bilstein shocks have been installed. Do you know, or can you find out, if these are special shocks, different from what Bilstein suggests for the W-22 chassis and what Camping World would have installed? Maybe I've got the wrong shocks, which would certainly explain my problem.
Thanks!
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Jim and Suzi Bakker
Carmichael, CA
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