Shocks

[Pat Meleski]

What are the best shocks for a 2006 HR Neptune.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi Pat! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Most folks use either Bilsteins or Koni. The Bilsteins are about half the price of the Koni. I went with the Bilsteins after reading the comparison below:


Shock Testing.pdf

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[andy29847]

I bought Koni shocks this spring for my coach. They have a heavy duty front shock that has gotten rave reviews. My coach drives much better.

[txcpl]

Thanks MSHCampers the review was very interesting. I too am in the market for shocks and that review helped me understand the difference in the shock brands.

[S-n-L]

Ms happy campers,
Thanks for posting the article.

My coach came from the factory with Bilstein shocks. The ride was very harsh and would rattle your teeth going over pot holes. I had Koni FSD socks installed last year. After driving about 8,000 miles I cam say the ride has improved dramatically.

Oddly the article would suggest the opposite. My chassis is unique being the 10 shock and 10 airbag model and this could be the reason.

It is too bad you can't test drive the shocks. I think each coach has a diffent personality. Good luck with your choice as it is a bit of a gamble without knowing the outcome before they are installed. Hopefully you can get some feedback from someone with the same chassis as you have.

[georgew48]

That shock test article is just opposite of what many of us that have switched to the Koni FSD shocks have experience. I went from Bilstein to Koni FSD and the ride is much better on rough roads with the Konis.

[CountryB]

Many post that the Koni shocks are rougher ride than the Bilsteins.

But how many actually tried both brands back-to-back?

Going from bad shocks to new shocks will change the ride. So going from worn out shocks with a "boat like porpoising" ride to a new set of working shocks is going to feel stiffer.

[PandS]

We have a 2017 Ventana 4369. Does any one know what brand of shock absorber Newmar uses for that Coach?

I can't find that info anywhere in the specs. Thanks in advance! -Paul

[georgew48]

Originally Posted by CountryB

Many post that the Koni shocks are rougher ride than the Bilsteins.

But how many actually tried both brands back-to-back?

Going from bad shocks to new shocks will change the ride. So going from worn out shocks with a "boat like porpoising" ride to a new set of working shocks is going to feel stiffer.

My Blisteins only had 10,000 miles on them so we’re not anywhere near worn out. Just my personal expierence is the Konis handle the rough interstates and pot holes much better then the Blisteins did. I kept the Blisteins just in case I was not happy but now will get rid of them.

[andy29847]

My coach was new to me in FEB. It was a 2001 with just 17,500 miles. It would porpoise too much on highway bumps/joints and it was squirrely in the wind. My coach came with Bilsteins, but I didn't want to buy new Bilsteins because they are gas charged and can be hard to install. I bought the Konis. When I pulled off the Bilsteins, I checked them over. I didn't see any leaks, but 1 shock from each axle was much easier to compress than the other shocks. HA! Now I know why my coach was handling poorly. The new Konis have given me a good ride, and the handling is much better than my old shocks. FWIW, internet research will find that many big coach RV shocks give up around the 15,000 mile mark. Koni advertises that their new front shock (Koni 99 series) is much bigger and stronger than other shocks on the market. I am hoping they will be more durable than the old shocks.

[AKIQPilot]

I swapped out the factory Bilsteins for Koni FSD’s when the coach had 5000 miles on it. The Koni’s offer a much better ride, greatly reduced porpusing and much less harshness on rough roads and bridge expansion joints. The Bilstein’s were no comparison to the Koni’s on my coach. I wouldnt install Billsteins if they were free.

[Dutch Star Don]

Pat....I've been reading and responding to posts on here for over ten years. As a casual observation over that period of time, I've found that the Bilsteins seem to work better on the gassers and the Koni FSD's work better on the DP's, as reported by owners. My old Diplomat was greatly imporved by Koni FSD's.

Unfortunately, your Neptune was built on the RR4R Roadmaster chassis. Roadmaster made a great chassis, but on the Knight (and HR equivalent) and above, they came with four air bags and shocks per axle (RR8R). Roadmaster tried just two bags and shocks per axle on the Neptune and it suffered with a rough ride.

We have some friends with a 2007 37' Neptune that found the ride horrible. It bounced so bad the clothing would come off the rack in the closet. I set out to try and improve it. I added the Koni FSD's and then made sure their ride height was set correctly. Ride height on a Roadmaster chassis is pretty easy to check. You may have the adjustment numbers in your manual. You measure from the bottom of the top plate to the top of the bottom plate that sandwiches the air bag. In correct ride height can really make a coach ride poorly.

Lastly, they had the coach weighed and then we set the tires to the bare minimum weight the tire chart calls for. Their ride was more tolerable, but not as nice as other coaches.

Lastly, there is a company called Source Engineering, a sponsor on here, that sells an upgrade kit for your coach. It adds different air bags, a ping tank (holds additional air) and changes out the shocks. The last I heard it was about $3K.

[Gdawgs]

I have the 10 air bag Roadmaster chassis that came with Monroe shocks. Front tires began to show cupping on tire outer edge, classic indication of tire and outer edge bouncing. Moved front tires to tag and tag to front. Much better ride and no more tire cupping with the Koni FSD.

[Dennis_K]

Koni FSD's