Community Forums

Dutch Star Don · 03-12-2019, 11:00 PM

I've been reading on these forums, almost nightly, for ten years. I love Koni shocks and have put them on my last three diesel pushers. With that said, over the ten years of reading, the Bilsteins are reported as a better fit/ride on gas coaches.....Koni's on diesels.

oscarvan · 03-12-2019, 11:30 PM

FWIW..... Freightliner's official position is that if you weigh every corner of your coach and use the tire pressure per the tire manufacturers chart for that weight you would be wasting your money on shocks, stabilizers, air restrictors etc etc.

Of course they have to stand behind their product. That said I don't think there would be any serious cost increase for them to put in the Konis or Bilsteins so I have to accept that what they put on there is the best ride.

I believe many people spend money and thus experience an improvement (placebo effect). I also believe that a lot of people DO experience improvement because they are replacing older shocks with fresh ones. I also believe that there is an expectation from people about how these coaches should ride with as their only reference a half ton pickup truck. It's a bus..... it rides like a bus. Handling and ride comfort are trade offs. One wants comfort. This is not NASCAR. If you want BWM handling the china is gonna rattle out of the closets. (Even more than it already does.)

I am quite satisfied with the way my coach rides from the factory and see zero point in spending money on doodads to fix what isn't broken.

danhannah · 03-13-2019, 12:42 AM

Don't beat me up, but I couldn't stand the ride with the factory Bilsteins.

I put the softest shock on that I could find: Monroe RVs

Very cheap to install, and may only get 20-30 K miles. BUT the ride is 100% improved. Floats down the road. Of course, the soft ride is not the best for handling, and it wallows like a big pig getting in and out of parking lots with severe entrances. But I won't go back...

Wizard · 03-13-2019, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscarvan

Oh, now you've done it......

Just my opinion, of which I have many

Dutch Star Don · 03-13-2019, 01:11 PM

Some people can drive down the road with square tires and never notice it. I've changed out the front shocks, within months of purchase, on my Freightliner XC chassis for the new Koni EVO's and found a substantial ride difference. They remove the harsh ride and what I call short chop or chatter at the dash.

I'm very conscious of how my coach rides and handles. The new Koni EVO's, made for IFS front ends, is a great improvement ad certainly not a placebo effect. Personally, I find many will give dozens of reasons why they don't need shocks because they're too cheap to replace them.

Pirate · 03-13-2019, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpinva

Shocks on RVs don't last long. 20K on OEM shocks I'd bet they are due for replacement.

Uh huh. I am still on my stock Bilsteins from 2006. My RV rides like a caddy. I see no need to change them. I pay particular attention to a rather large dip I have to drive over. The shocks perform as they should so why waste the money.

deandec · 03-14-2019, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpinva

Shocks on RVs don't last long. 20K on OEM shocks I'd bet they are due for replacement.

Oops......guess we did not get the memo.

24 years and 108,000 miles OEM adjustable Koni shocks work fine no leaks.

jackreno · 03-14-2019, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danhannah

Don't beat me up, but I couldn't stand the ride with the factory Bilsteins.

I put the softest shock on that I could find: Monroe RVs

Very cheap to install, and may only get 20-30 K miles. BUT the ride is 100% improved. Floats down the road. Of course, the soft ride is not the best for handling, and it wallows like a big pig getting in and out of parking lots with severe entrances. But I won't go back...

X2

I installed the Monroe RV shock and the ride was less stiff and bumps were a little softer, not perfect but much better, Monroe RV shocks also cost less than all other shocks..

Charlie and Martha · 04-04-2019, 08:02 AM

Tuesday I got my new Koni shocks put on our 2005 Northern Star. I am really glad I didn't do the job myself.

The front upper shock bolts on the old Sachs shocks were mounted on the upper shock brackets prior to being placed onto the chassis at the factory.

When the bracket and shock were added to the chassis it prevented the length of the bolt (for removal) to slide completely clear of the bracket because it hit the HWH leveler mounting point. (not enough room to pull the length of the bolt out).

It took a really good mechanic working diligently two hours on the driver side and an hour and a half of the passenger side just to get the shocks out. This included cutting the bolts loose to get the shocks off the chassis.

I'm really happy that I chose the shop I did, their labor rate was 25% less than Freightliner. Shout out to Solano Truck Repair in Cleburne Texas.

The nex day (Wednesday) I drove 360 miles from Cleburne, Texas to Amarillo, Texas in heavy wind, a variety of farm to market roads, interstate and city streets and I can say with confidence that the coach performed brilliantly.

The Porpoising is gone completely, the body roll is almost non-existent and the ride is firm but cushy. I love these new shocks. However, the wind convinced me that I could still use a Safe-T-Plus system on the front end to help with those strong blasts of wind from the side.

Overall I am very pleased with the upgrade. BTW the old Sachs shocks were original. Yep, 14 years old and as shot as they could possibly be with the left front completely blown.

Thanks bunches previous owner! NOT