Community Forums

Bullitt 2021 · 07-08-2022, 03:32 PM

Hello all, we have purchased a low mileage 2005 Fleetwood Pace Arrow on a W22 workhorse chassis.

Is it possible these things all ride this hard in the front? The smallest of pot holes or highway imperfections cause the front end to bang very loudly, the dash shudders, screws have fallen out, the cruise control has kicked out.

Is it possible this is normal? The rig was serviced and certified for safety as part of our purchase.

We are 3 days in to an eight week tour of the Canadian east coast, and ready to pack it in and head home.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

wolfe10 · 07-08-2022, 03:41 PM

Is tire pressure based on actual weight. If, say 20 PSI over-inflated, any vehicle will ride rough.

What shocks-- high-end shocks can help with ride (those that do the vast majority of their dampening on extension and very little on compression. Dampening on compression adds to effective spring rate= rougher ride.

Flyer15015 · 07-08-2022, 04:03 PM

On my '04 Pace Arrow 37c, which I believe has the same front end, I added Sumo's (yellow) and Bilsteins, and the ride got smoother. I run 100# in all my Sailun tires.

Four trips to Florida and back tells me I don't need all that other stuff folks throw under this chassis. But to each his / her own.

Mike in Colorado

Bullitt 2021 · 07-08-2022, 05:03 PM

Appreciate the responses, will crawl under tomorrow, checks shocks and tire pressures.

Tires are Michelin XRV

scenic route · 07-08-2022, 05:15 PM

Congrats on your purchase. IMO, the W-22 chassis is the best gasser platform out there. Too bad they do not offer it anymore. However, the Workhorse is not without its shortcomings.

Our last coach was a '05 Holiday Rambler Vacationer 36' DBD w/W-22. We installed Koni SFDs, aligned the front end (shimmed to 5 deg. positive caster for better directional stability), 4 corner weighed the MH for proper tire inflation, per tire manufacturer press. chart and added a rear trac bar. These items negated all other accessories needed for good road manners. Probably won't get rid of all the tail wag caused by trucks passing or wind buffeting and sudden cross winds, but these upgrades certainly help stabilize the coach and made it a pleasure to drive.

We drove it in 49 States and 3 Canadian provinces the five years we owned it.

Edit: The new Konis also tamed the pounding (along with proper tire pressure) on bridge and
road expansion joints and cured some porpoising.

Unplanned Tourist · 07-08-2022, 05:39 PM

We have a W24, and had same experience. I dropped tire pressure by 10 psi at a time and it improved drastically at the lower pressure. I'm running 80 psi now and also changed over to Toyo M154's. 245/75R22.5 is the replacement size for the 235/80R22.5's.

Still running 90 psi at the rear.

CamJam1 · 07-09-2022, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unplanned Tourist

We have a W24, and had same experience. I dropped tire pressure by 10 psi at a time and it improved drastically at the lower pressure. I'm running 80 psi now and also changed over to Toyo M154's. 245/75R22.5 is the replacement size for the 235/80R22.5's.

Still running 90 psi at the rear.

This is almost exactly what I run on my W-22. 80 psi front, 90 rear and Toyo M154. My rig rides very well 90% of the time-- better than any previous gasser I have driven-- but bad pavement and frost heaves will still cause some suspension crashing. I also have Sumo Springs, which provide some cushioning, but not really a noticeable effect on overall ride quality one way or the other. Tire shops seem to have a habit of over inflating tires, and anything over 90-95 psi in the front tires will definitely take a toll on your enjoyment.

Your tire pressures should be set based on the actual front/rear weights of your coach, but what Unplanned Tourist and I run should tell you approximately where yours should be.

yeloduster · 07-09-2022, 06:53 AM

I too run similar air pressures to CamJam1 and Unplanned Tourist. Each coach is a little different in axle loading. I ended up with 90 PSI in the front tires and 80 PSI in the rear.

If your springs, especially the front springs are overloaded due to spring aging or "just because" the frame could be crashing into the bump stops so violently that it is really harsh. Maybe the front bump stops are shot or missing?

In either of the above cases Sumo Springs would probably help. The Sumo's add to the spring capacity and provide a more gently landing when a sudden bump is encountered.

Bullitt 2021 · 07-10-2022, 06:16 AM

So aired down the tires from 105 pounds to 92 on yesterday's leg, and it was a substantial improvement. MH took to bridge expansion joints and minor imperfections with ease. Still some banging and crashing on a poor side street on a grocery stop.

Got to our destination, jumped out while the wife was checking and low and behold, an exhaust leak from the front diver side now. ☹️

Will crawl under today and check it out. To add salt to the wound, pulled out the Rigid tool kit to charge batteries, the charger sets an error code on all batteries. Fun trip. Lol.

Bullitt 2021 · 07-10-2022, 06:19 AM

Is anyone able to confirm SSF-280 is correct for the front? I recall reading someone using P30 Sumo's on their W22.

yeloduster · 07-10-2022, 06:55 AM

The correct part number for the front Sumo Springs is SSF-280-47.

Some of us have installed Sumo Springs for rear of a Workhorse P32 (part number SSR-290-54 | SumoSprings Rear) on the rear of our Workhorse W series chassis. After cutting the SSR-290-54 a little shorter they work for me.

Caution: Use the SSR-290-54 on a W series chassis at your own risk.

Amazon is sells these things.

Click here HERE to see a discussion of putting P32 Sumo Springs on the rear of a W series Workhorse chassis.

CamJam1 · 07-10-2022, 07:05 AM

The P32 rear Sumos are still working fine for me after 10k miles.

Bullitt 2021 · 07-10-2022, 11:18 AM

Shocks are Bilstiens.

Snubbers are very close to touching the Spring pads. The leafs may be shot. Anyone have a pic of how they should sit?

Took a pic of mine. Don't mind the rusties, it's Canada, obviously someone used in the snow and salt.

CamJam1 · 07-10-2022, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullitt 2021

Shocks are Bilstiens.

Snubbers are very close to touching the Spring pads. The leafs may be shot. Anyone have a pic of how they should sit?

Took a pic of mine. Don't mind the rusties, it's Canada, obviously someone used in the snow and salt.

Those look like Timbren aftermarket bump stops. Much bigger than stock. I remember reading complaints before where someone posted that Timbrens made the ride too harsh. They're even beefier than the Sumos, and my take was that they seem to be better suited for commercial trucks.