E450 Liquid spring suspension

[Gumpster808]

Hi all,

Rather than upgrade to something bigger for retirement we are kicking around keeping our Forester 3051 on the E450 chassis.

There are a few things we would do as part of that and the suspension is high on the list.

Have the Firestone rite ride air bags but they don’t make much difference in the ride.

Wondering if anyone has had the liquid springs installed on this chassis and how much difference they made?

It does handle nice now but the frost heaves etc bang a lot and it gets tiresome depending on the road conditions. Traveling with a full water tank takes some of that out. Taking a lot of that out would make he longer trips much more enjoyable.

It was at 13,700 when we took her across the scales and I know this would add some weight probably putting us close once we took on full water etc.

Thanks in advance.

[Tom_M]

I took a test drive of a 24ft Born Free that had Liquid Springs about 5 years ago. It was at the Born Free factory and a brand new model. I didn't notice much of an improvement. Certainly not worth the $8,000 cost of the option. I installed Bilstein shocks on my 2005 coach this year and it was a big improvement of the ride.

[Indy Glenn]

Originally Posted by Gumpster808

Wondering if anyone has had the liquid springs installed on this chassis and how much difference they made?

It does handle nice now but the frost heaves etc bang a lot and it gets tiresome depending on the road conditions. Traveling with a full water tank takes some of that out. Taking a lot of that out would make he longer trips much more enjoyable.

Hi Gumpster......I do not have a F-450 but an F-53 chassis.

I can tell you without a doubt......it defiantly helped our ride.

We have a very tall profile, I can now take curves at speed and not have to slow down, many of the rattle and noises on the inside have ceased, I can raise and lower the rear end to adjust for driveways and road entries, which may have a low dip or high entrance..

With this said - the Liquid Spring system is currently only for the rear end, although the company keeps promising a front end version - soon I hope.

So - the frost heaves will still be a concern, but what is noticeable, is it only happens once - when the front end rides over it - smooth(er) as the read tires go over the heave.

I looked at it this way - - we were very happy with our motor home - I had Sumo springs, which helped with body roll but did nothing to smooth the ride.
It was a lot of money to invest, knowing we were going to keep the RV, reading many articles and reviews, we took the chance. We have not regretted it one minute.

I would suggest having it installed at the factory. It is roughly 1 hour northwest of Indianapolis. These guys are the experts. Most of the unit is made on-site, including all machine and fabrication.If you can - ride over for a factory tour, the area has some neat things to see and do if you want to make it a mini-vacation.

Good luck on your decision....

g