Adding koni shocks

[LarryJB]

We have a 2018 tiffin phaeton on the freightliner chassis. I added the safe-t-plus not long after we got her, and really like it. She drives and handles pretty well, but I have been reading lately that adding koni shocks would help even more. What would this upgrade give me over what I have now? Would the difference be dramatic? I am not dissatisfied with the way she drives now, but everything can always be improved.
Also, what should I expect to pay for a set of koni shocks? Is this a job a somewhat mechanical guy such as myself can do? I installed the safe-t-plus myself.

[PanJH]

THe OEM shocks in my Freightliner chassis made the ride rough. Going over small expansion joints resulted in a harsh,sharp bump. I put Koni's on and it helped a bit. Installation is just a couple of bolts. Best to have an impact wrench

[LarryJB]

Originally Posted by PanJH

THe OEM shocks in my Freightliner chassis made the ride rough. Going over small expansion joints resulted in a harsh,sharp bump. I put Koni's on and it helped a bit. Installation is just a couple of bolts. Best to have an impact wrench

I do know what you are talking about with the harsh bumps. That would great to reduce that. Was it a dramatic difference or just a small difference? Are there any other benefits? Such as smoother ride or reduced sway? I don't have an impact wrench, but could probably borrow one or rent one. I do have a good compressor. Also, what kind of cost are we talking about?
I don't know what the expected life of the oem shocks are, but we have a little over 45,000 miles on her.

[Flyer15015]

If you have 45K on the OEM shocks you are due for a change.
Try "Shock Warehouse" and maybe "Rock Auto" web sites.

I went with Bilstein's on mine as they are gas filled, and much less expensive compared to the KONI's, and they have a very good rating, so I'm very happy with them.

Lots of discussions here on which is better, but to each his own.

Mike in Colorado

[Alan_Hepburn]

I replaced the OEM shocks on our 2007 Bounder a couple of years ago - went with the Koni FSDs at about $160 per shock. I've heard they are somewhat more expensive now...

[Iceclimber]

My shocks were totally dead and yes new ones made a huge difference. Whatever type you pick you will like the improvement. Interesting that a coach 15 years ish newer than mine has the same basic issues, referring to safe-t-plus. Also a great add.
Just looked up my order and paid about $570 for ze German shocks

[Ben-Jo]

Put Konis on our Kountry Star. The OEM's were bascially shot. It improved the ride some but really improved the porposing. Before after some bridge expansions and places it must have rebounded 4 or 5 times. I now have replaced the springs with Sumos and that really made a difference along with the shocks. Could not believe how worn out the OEM springs were.

[Deznut]

just purchased KONI shocks for my small class A from Super Steer - $185 ea ( free shipping on $175 min order)....gonna need a big socket (1 1/8?) and wrench (7/8?) for the hardware ...a newer impact wrench helps ( and a full tank in the compressor!) . I shot some liquid wrench a day in advance on the hardware before to help with removal ( the nut is self locking on my F53 chassis...gotta run the impact almost all the way)...beware falling hardware (and old shock!) if you're crawling under the coach ( Gravity never stops working!...Ouch!) ...everything is "Super Sized"!...hope this helps

[grldst]

I have a 2000 Freightliner chassis, and switched the front shocks last yr . Old ones were bilsteins new ones konis. No noticeable difference.

[Gary RVRoamer]

The only improvement I would expect (or hope to get) would be reduced or at least less abrupt porpoising. That's the bound & rebound you get when the front wheels hit a major bump or pothole. The shocks are there to control the suspension reaction to that and thus keep the wheels/tires in contact with the road. Despite a lot of internet rhetoric, shocks have very little to do with dive, roll or sway. That's the suspension itself, not the shocks.


The effectiveness of the OEM shock has a lot to do with how well the RV builder (Tiffin) configured the chassis for the expected coach body & load. Freightliner builds the chassis, but the coach maker specs what they want and pay for, and they aren't always building for the ideal handling. Sometimes a more capable shock is an improvement, but not always.

[RVFunlovers]

We put Koni shocks on our 17 Cornerstone. The improvement we got was a reduction in porpoising that Gary just wrote about. It was a noticeable difference.

Smooth road cruising along at 70 = no difference.

[pasdad1]

We put Koni EVO shocks on the front of our 2013 Freightliner DutchStar after 33K miles. The intent was to reduce the harsh bumps we felt on bridge transitions and potholes, etc.

I would say the extreme harshness is gone now, at least a 50-75% improvement. I decided to to just do the fronts first, and then decide on the rears after seeing firsthand any improvement. I had read there is much more improvement to be felt on the front versus rear anyway.

The cost shown reflects only the material costs, we had Freightliner do the install during our normal maintenance appointment, and I believe they charged 1 hour labor total for both to be installed.

[Dutch Star Don]

Your coach has Independent Front Suspension and will be improved by the Koni EVO front shocks, made for IFS front ends. The Koni's will do two things...... they'll reduce that harsh feel you get on some bumps and potholes. They'll also eliminate what I call chop or chatter......which causes your front shades to "dance" while driving.

The fronts are very easy to do on a Freightliner chassis. One of the battery-operated guns will make the installation pretty easy.

The rears take the Koni FSD's (Gold colored shock). Unfortunately, the rears require that the dual rear wheels be removed. Freightliner places the shocks outside the frame rails, between the rails and the duals. I once did it with some specialized tools, but it was brutal. You're better off to remove the duals. If you decide to do the rears, just take it to a tire store that does large vehicles....much cheaper than a repair shop.

Freightliner uses Sachs shocks. They're spec'd by Freightliner and I'm sure Freightliner went with what was reasonably priced.

On both my 2014 Dutch Star and my 2019 Dutch Star, I changed out the shocks in the first few months. I also added Centramitc wheel balancers to all axles. I'm very particular about how my coach rides. Many will spend thousands on electronics yet drive a coach that rides like a tank.

Lastly, Ultra RV has been good on the price of the Koni's and quick to ship. You can install the front and skip the rear or, do the front and wait 6 months to a year and do the rears as the budget permits. I put the Koni's on all three axles.

https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/

[Fiesta48]

Put in Koni FSDs in the front only on my 14 XCS chassis. More controlled ride. Slightly harsher ride from original Sachs, that have no compression dampening.
Really dought rears would improve anything since the OEM chassis has very large anti roll and suspension joints.
Too hard to install also.