W-22 trac bar questions

[edgray]

Perhaps Gary B. or DriVer will offer their opinions on which would be better. I have decided to NOT add any of the various steering dampners, but still have an itch to try to improve the stability and reduce the wind/truck induced movement. Therefore the question is : IF the choice is between adding a front spring to chassis frame bar OR adding a rear differential housing to Chassis frame bar, which would you install? All suggestions will be appreciated.

Newmar 2003 KSCA 3740, W-22, being pushed by a 97 Accord,chasing a Blue Ox. 2Golden retreivers and muttsmom.

[edgray]

Perhaps Gary B. or DriVer will offer their opinions on which would be better. I have decided to NOT add any of the various steering dampners, but still have an itch to try to improve the stability and reduce the wind/truck induced movement. Therefore the question is : IF the choice is between adding a front spring to chassis frame bar OR adding a rear differential housing to Chassis frame bar, which would you install? All suggestions will be appreciated.

Newmar 2003 KSCA 3740, W-22, being pushed by a 97 Accord,chasing a Blue Ox. 2Golden retreivers and muttsmom.

[Brigadoon]

I'll offer my 2 cents.

I put on the Henderson rear track bar, the Davis Tru Trak on the front, Monroe shocks on the front, and the Saf T Plus steering stabilizer.

If I did it over again, I would stick with the Henderson rear bar, and change the shocks. This will get you what you are looking for. Since I already have the Davis front bar in place I will leave it there, but the Henderson bar is what did the trick(along with the shocks).

I will also leave the Saf T Plus on since I do not entirely trust the Michelin XRV tires. It may help in the case of a blowout.

As far as shocks are concerned, the Monroes did the job, but I think they are a little harsher in the ride department than they need to be. Therefore, I have acquired a set of the adjustable Koni shocks for the front end. I just have not had the time to install them. I'm hoping that they will maintain good dampening characteristics with a somewhat softer ride.

Terry

Terry & Linda; plus LeMieux & Hurakan the Burmese cats
'03 Kountry Star 3740 W22, US Gear Unified tow brake, Blue Ox Aventa II tow bar, '02 Jeep Wrangler
'89 HD Ultra Glide, '00 Vulcan Classic FI, '03 Honda ST1300

[CAD-Man]

Since you and Str8Shooter have the same coach. I tend to agree with him as far as what to do. But you might want to try just the shocks first, and then go to the rear track bar. I put everything on my Kountry Star front and rear track bar, shocks and Safe-T-Plus. I am VERY happy with the results, but I think I could have held off on the front track bar, but I'm not going to remove it and test the theory.

cad_man

2003 Newmar Kountry Star KSCA3301
Workhorse W22, Vortec 8.1L, Allison 5 Speed
Koni Shocks, Super Steer Track Bar, Davis TruTrack, Safe-T-Plus
FMCA 322927
KG6JIY

[sccaracer]

I found that the Monroe Magnum shocks on the front and the Henderson Rear Track Bar cured all of my handling problems. While adding the front track bar and steering stabilizer will probably produce more improvement, I think the improvement would be minimal in relation to adding the rear track bar. I talked to a Henderson representative, and he said if you choose to add only one of the front devices, you should add the track bar. He said that you should not add the steering stabilizer without installing the front track bar. He said that the stabilizer produces force on the front spring assembly and will produce front end movement unless the track bar is in place to anchor the suspension to the chassis.


Chuck Sample
2003 Pace Arrow 37A
Work Horse W22 with 22.5 Wheels

[CAD-Man]

Chuck, so based on your theory, I ended up better off by adding thet front track bar because I added the Safe-T-Plus. I never thought of the forces that the Safe-T-Plus creates on the front suspension during a turn, but you are pushing or pulling against the frame on a suspension design that has side movement. Thanks for the great insight.

cad_man

2003 Newmar Kountry Star KSCA3301
Workhorse W22, Vortec 8.1L, Allison 5 Speed
Koni Shocks, Super Steer Track Bar, Davis TruTrack, Safe-T-Plus
FMCA 322927
KG6JIY

[This message was edited by cad_man on Wed January 14 2004 at 01:40 PM.]

[edgray]

WCC has already paid to replace the front shocks with Monroes, and the excessive bounce is gone. The rear trac bar seems to be the consensus to my "IF only one" question, so I thank you all for your opinions.

Newmar 2003 KSCA 3740, W-22, being pushed by a 97 Accord,chasing a Blue Ox. 2Golden retreivers and muttsmom.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cad_man:
I never thought of the forces that the Safe-T-Plus creates on the front suspension during a turn, but you are pushing or pulling against the frame on a suspension design that has side movement. Thanks for the great insight.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>cad_man, Hello from Sunny Tampa Florida.

In my past posting about the Davis bar and the Safe-T-Plus, I have always maintained that both pieces work as a system. I ran with the Davis alone for a couple of months before I installed the STP. Running with the Davis alone won't hurt anything or cause any problems. Adding the STP does mello out everything and puts a great finishing touch on a soup to nuts chassis upgrade.

Addressing the question; the best single piece of equipment that can be added to most conventionally leaf sprung gas-powered RV chassis, aside from a set of working shock absorbers, would be a rear track bar.

<font color=blue>03 Winnebago 38G/Workhorse W22 "¢ 22.5" Tire "¢ Adventurer
02 Chevrolet TrailBlazer LS
Aventa II "¢ Brake Buddy
Nor'Easters
"We Will "¢ 343 "¢ Never Forget"</font color>

<font color=red>88 "¢ Robert Yates Racing "¢ 38
</font color>

[Brigadoon]

cad_man,

I see that you have the Koni shocks on your rig. Did you by chance try the Monroe shocks first and then switch to the Koni? If so can you make a comparison of the ride between the two. Thanks.

Terry

Terry & Linda; plus LeMieux & Hurakan the Burmese cats
'03 Kountry Star 3740 W22, US Gear Unified tow brake, Blue Ox Aventa II tow bar, '02 Jeep Wrangler
'89 HD Ultra Glide, '00 Vulcan Classic FI, '03 Honda ST1300

[Gary RVRoamer]

I have only the Davis bar on mine and it locked everything down to perfection, but each coach can be different. Since other Newmar owners have complained about a rear yawing effect, the Henderson bar may be the best choice for you

If you feel a yaw movement, go with the Henderson. If the steering is just nervous or twitchy, go with the Davis. Either one should be equally effective against wind action.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX - W22 chassis
2003 Chevy Tracker ZR2 4WD
Homebase in the Ocala Nat'l Forest near Ocala, FL

[CAD-Man]

To DriVer,
I think what sccaracer (Chuck) was saying, that the Safe-T-Plus, not the Davis track bar would be better if used in combination with the track bar. If I understood him correctly, the Save-T-Plus could push the axle slightly in the opposite direction of the steering direction because of the pressure of the Safe-T-Plus on the steering link which is attached to the axle via the control arms. So if you have a track bar, it will cancel out any forces that the Safe-T-Plus creates. I would wager even with the forces the Safe-T-Plus creates the affect on the axle without a track bar would barely be measurable.

To Str8Shooter,
I went straight for the Koni shocks. I did not spend the time messing with Workhorse and the time involved in weighing the coach submitting my request waiting for approval and then taking a day off from work to have shocks put on. I ordered them, got in less then a week, and installed them in one afternoon. The time involved in going through Workhorse would have cost me more in time and money then ordering them from Henderson's.

cad_man

2003 Newmar Kountry Star KSCA3301
Workhorse W22, Vortec 8.1L, Allison 5 Speed
Koni Shocks, Super Steer Track Bar, Davis TruTrack, Safe-T-Plus
FMCA 322927
KG6JIY

[Stew Squires]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cad_man:
To DriVer,
I think what sccaracer (Chuck) was saying...,
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Makes sense to me. The front axle isn't 'fixed' without the trac bar so any work done by the STP is distributed to both tires and to axle.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I went straight for the Koni shocks.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I would point out that having WH solve the shock issue would best be accomplished in concert with some other service related issue, ie, since you're going there anyway, get your shocks replaced under warranty. The more important effort is your verbal discussion as to why you need them replaced, and especially if you can make the case for all four, more worthwhile financially.

Stew

[CAD-Man]

Stew,
I would tend to agree with you as far as the shocks, but the closest Workhorse dealer is 30 miles away, not open on the weekends and is very slow to get work done. I have not been back to the dealer since the first service call (almost a year), I do all of my own maintenance, Oil changes and lube myself. To give you an instance of the length that things take around here my motorhome has been at the dealership for a month just to take care of 4 minor warranty problems. This is the norm at all the RV service centers around here, even automobiles can take up to a week for minor warranty problems. So if I count my time as money, I spend an awlful lot of it wating on RV and car dealerships.

cad_man

2003 Newmar Kountry Star KSCA3301
Workhorse W22, Vortec 8.1L, Allison 5 Speed
Koni Shocks, Super Steer Track Bar, Davis TruTrack, Safe-T-Plus
FMCA 322927
KG6JIY

[Stew Squires]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cad_man:
I have not been back to the dealer since the first service call (almost a year), ... So if I count my time as money, I spend an awlful lot of it wating on RV and car dealerships.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I understand completely. After getting essentially no response from my selling dealer location on my ding list (new coach), I called their sister dealership 52 miles away. They took a month, but cleaned up 40 odd problems we put on the list. Very happy with their response. And we stored the coach right across the street from them to fascilitate getting it all done with minimal hassle. We will be shifting storage 2nd quarter this year and I don't expect to see much of them again either.

Your comments do focus on the timing of the shock issue. Bring up the complaints prior to delivery!!!!!!. Get all four replaced under warranty as a part of the purchase deal or don't take delivery. I would bet the selling dealer would be pretty darn motivated to get it done if you made a large point of it.

Stew

[This message was edited by Stew Squires on Thu January 15 2004 at 07:15 PM.]