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Old 07-29-2024, 04:01 PM   #1
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Brutally harsh ride quality

We just traveled across I-70 through southern Indiana. That was possibly the worst road we've been on since buying our RV about a year ago. It actually broke the sunvisor inner mounts free allowing the headliner to drop and rattle for the duration of the trip. Also I replaced all the cab to coach screws this spring in the U shaped cutout as they were loose or missing. On the same trip those screws started falling out.
I am running Laredo HD/H LT225/75R16 115/112S for all six tires. New shocks were installed on the rear last year by me...can't recall the brand. After doing some research and verifying my conclusion with a trusted tire dealer I'm running 55 PSI up front on 3720# axle. The rear is 70 PSI on a 7400# axle. It was scaled at the local recycling yard in travel ready weight. The tires usually run about 120-130 degree range with the inner rears usually slightly warmer. I use an infrared temp gun so these aren't guesses. From what I have learned you gain @ 1# of PSI per 10 degrees of temperature gain. I don't want to go lower due to the increased risk of a dreaded blowout. I'm anal about tires because I usually travel by Goldwing. Any suggestions? FWIW the chassis is a E450 super duty. I'm ready to sell the beast. Tia Rick.
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Old 07-29-2024, 04:25 PM   #2
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Try I 80 from the Indiana border to Joliet
You will break your suspension
It’s worse
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Old 07-29-2024, 04:37 PM   #3
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FWIW, my old C bangs and rattles on every crack when I'm carrying lower weights, and rides much nicer when it's heavier. My "perfect ride" weight is sadly much higher than my Max Allowed Weight, but then I'm right at that weight when empty anyway. And mine's only an E350.

Load up your tanks, invite your fattest friends along, and see if the ride gets better.
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Old 07-29-2024, 04:41 PM   #4
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I hate the ride in my 2018 E450. So far the only thing that helps a little is inflating the rear air bags to 100psi. I’ve had it since 16k miles, now with 44k I’m thinking about new shocks. But the ride has never really changed. So new shocks may not help either.

Been thinking about a B van with single rear wheels. But there’s trade offs like less storage, towing and tank capacity, interior room etc, etc.

First world problems…
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Old 07-29-2024, 06:09 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by RickLisa View Post
.....New shocks were installed on the rear last year by me...can't recall the brand. After doing some research and verifying my conclusion with a trusted tire dealer.......

I'm running 55 PSI up front on 3720# axle.
The rear is 70 PSI on a 7400# axle.

It was scaled at the local recycling yard in travel ready weight.

FWIW the chassis is a E450 super duty. I'm ready to sell the beast.
Hi Rick,

From the weights you state, I am guessing you have a smaller/shorter rig. Simply stated, You Have Way Too Much Weight Margin for an E450 chassis, and you have too much air in the rear tires.

I am going to reference our rig which I assume will directly apply to you. Here is our "During Trip Weight" with us in the front seats, on our 2007 E350-V10 chassis motorhome that measures 23'-8" long. Weight was our "worst case scenerio" taken with the two of us in the front seats, full 55 gallon fuel tank, full 35 gallon fresh water tank, full 5 gallon water heater, full 10 gallon propane tank, and empty waste tanks.

As you can see, we weigh more than you in back, and less than you in front.

I maintain PSI as follows for my weight, based off the chart below which reflects standard E-rated tires.
Front at 3180#, 55 PSI
Rear at 8220#, 62 PSI


I feel that if you are truely at 7400# on your rear axle under a worst case scenerio like I state for us, your rear tires should have around 55 PSI, not 70 PSI. Your front tires at 55 PSI is good, especially important not to reduce further for cornering on mountain byways. You don't want the sidewalls to give so much when braking hard while slaloming down mountain and canyon byways.

Your stated rear axle weight at 7400# (hard to believe it is that little) is 2200 pounds less than the rear axle is capable of carrying. Weigh again making sure to use my worst case scenario. If your worst case matches my worst case, I would consider having a shop remove one (or possible 2) rear leaf spring per rear corner to permanently reduce the excessive weight margin. With so much weight margin in back, it is like driving an empty box truck. Your rig is unneccessarily being thrashed very badly. You could chip a tooth for Pete's sake.

Our E350 rig is about as good as I can get with regards to a soft ride. I actually replaced our front coil springs with the next lower-rated ones which helped immensely with our ride up front. If curious, you can view and read all about it by CLICKING HERE.
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Old 07-29-2024, 06:28 PM   #6
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Ron has good points.. and his rig may be close to yours..

My older 29ft E350 rides like a old caddy.. LOL I run heavy.. as it is E350 .. 12400 is my max.. I try to load my front closer to 3800-3900 and the rear can be 7700-7800 without trailer.. the 600-800 tongue I add at times ,.. pushes the rating.. My Tires are similar to yours cooper made but price branded .. 80psi max I will run 68-75 when trailer is ON,, 60-70 without trailer.. depending on what I stuffed inside...

I have KYB RV 26+ shocks and I added/updated rear swaybar to a Helig Hd.. Handles like a dream but that sucker added stiffness with the shocks that i dropped a a few psi..

I would drop your rears to 65 or even 60.. Run a tank of fuel id they seem hot or sliding around... kick up to 65.. try that..

I did have a 22 foot rig prior B style.. on same E350.. WOW, rattle trap.. Weights close, maybe 800 diff overall.. It was a tanK but had 2 more leafs in rear pack than my 29ft.. IT was stiff... So compare the spring package to others a an option



BUT rear tire pressure will rattle the dishes and spike at every road expansion joint...
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Old 07-29-2024, 07:56 PM   #7
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Our first trip was a bit of a disaster in California with teeth chattering and sounds of all manner coming from the coach. I likened the ride to an old wagon with wooden wheels.
Since then with help from forums I learned to get the beast weighed! Full tank of gas, propane, fresh water and holding tank 1/2 full. Then all our gear as well. Does not need to be a certified scale if one is not close but any material yard will do it for a few bucks.
Ideally weigh front wheels separate from rears. Get the tire manufacturer's weight chart and adjust your tire pressures accordingly. In our rig it made a huge difference in the ride. Keep in mind it's a truck of course but a lot easier on old bodies than full pressure tires.
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Old 07-30-2024, 01:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickLisa View Post
We just traveled across I-70 through southern Indiana. That was possibly the worst road we've been on since buying our RV about a year ago. It actually broke the sunvisor inner mounts free allowing the headliner to drop and rattle for the duration of the trip. Also I replaced all the cab to coach screws this spring in the U shaped cutout as they were loose or missing. On the same trip those screws started falling out.
I am running Laredo HD/H LT225/75R16 115/112S for all six tires. New shocks were installed on the rear last year by me...can't recall the brand. After doing some research and verifying my conclusion with a trusted tire dealer I'm running 55 PSI up front on 3720# axle. The rear is 70 PSI on a 7400# axle. It was scaled at the local recycling yard in travel ready weight. The tires usually run about 120-130 degree range with the inner rears usually slightly warmer. I use an infrared temp gun so these aren't guesses. From what I have learned you gain @ 1# of PSI per 10 degrees of temperature gain. I don't want to go lower due to the increased risk of a dreaded blowout. I'm anal about tires because I usually travel by Goldwing. Any suggestions? FWIW the chassis is a E450 super duty. I'm ready to sell the beast. Tia Rick.

This is why we prefer driving 2 lane State highways rather than Interstates .

The only times we drive Interstates are if we are in a time crunch .

We find the road conditions to be markedly better . Still able to run at 63 mph . Helps support the local economies . Get to see many more local attractions . Local campgrounds , County Fair campgrounds , State Parks , all much more reasonably priced than the RV Parks along the Interstates .

For us , the journey is as important as the destination .

As to tire pressures . Use the manufacturers Tire Pressure charts .
Base your tire pressures on actual weight .
Don't concern yourself about tire pressure increases from air temp .
These issues have been addressed in the recommended pressures .
The pressures in the charts are established by the engineers , not some "media expert" .
No need to monitor tire temps as long as tire pressures are checked daily before pulling out . All recommended pressures are " cold pressure " .

Remember , RVing is supposed to be fun .

I have friends from RVing and boating that couldn't stop thinking about worst case scenarios while operating their rigs . They finally had to stop and find other activities that didn't make them nervous .
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Old 07-30-2024, 01:41 PM   #9
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Interesting to know IN hasn't fixed I-70. It was like that 20+ years ago. Jarred so much it brought down the pilot's side window MCD shade on the Bounder. I thought sure a cabinet or 2 would come loose.

When I picked up my PC, the dealer had inflated the tires to the max air pressure. That was one ROUGH ride home. I wasn't going to spend money on after-market additions/upgrades to smooth the ride. It's a danged box truck & I just wanted to make it tolerable, not ride like a Caddy.

After loading it as I normally travel (full fuel, full water heater, propane & half tank of fresh) & getting it weighed, I played around with the tire pressures for a few trips until I dialed in what worked best for me. I don't remember what I ended up settling on, but I do remember they were a good 10# per tire less than what they started out at.

I, too, started taking state routes over interstates. Our interstate system is woefully inadequate, plus it's ALWAYS orange barrel season. State routes have less traffic, less bad pavement & less repairs going on. Yes, it's a slower pace, but for me, it's about the travel not the destination.

You've got to adjust your tire pressures based on your axle loads if you're going to get anywhere near a more comfortable ride....unless you want to put on a bunch of chassis upgrades.
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Old 07-31-2024, 02:00 PM   #10
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Stay away from eastern Michigan then...
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Old 09-23-2024, 03:58 PM   #11
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I took the RV to a CAT scale and had it weighed. First weighing was done at a recyclers and it didn't sit right with me. Wife and I up front. Full tank of propane, grey tank about empty, black tank approximately 20 gallons and fresh water tank about 30 gallons.

From the chart above I'm going to run 50-52 PSI up front and 60-62 in the rears. Correct me if I,ve misread this chart.



Of all things to happen VERY shortly after we bought this thing there was a family of 5 killed with their dog after a LF blowout caused them to cross the I-81 median and go head on into a semi truck. Trucker also perished. Like anything else it is a risk that I gather information on so I can best manage it...riding motorcycle helps further my risk/management decisions.
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Old 09-23-2024, 08:58 PM   #12
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...riding motorcycle helps further my risk/management decisions.
Sticker on my helmet says, "It's not paranoia if they really are out to kill you."
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Old 09-24-2024, 12:18 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickLisa View Post
I took the RV to a CAT scale and had it weighed. First weighing was done at a recyclers and it didn't sit right with me. Wife and I up front. Full tank of propane, grey tank about empty, black tank approximately 20 gallons and fresh water tank about 30 gallons.

From the chart above I'm going to run 50-52 PSI up front and 60-62 in the rears. Correct me if I,ve misread this chart.

Of all things to happen VERY shortly after we bought this thing there was a family of 5 killed with their dog after a LF blowout caused them to cross the I-81 median and go head on into a semi truck. Trucker also perished. Like anything else it is a risk that I gather information on so I can best manage it...riding motorcycle helps further my risk/management decisions.
Was your main 55 gallon ful tank topped-off?

Post a pic of the scale reading.

Like I said earlier, I would not run less than 55 up front, regardless of what the chart states, so you are close there. 60-62 in back should be fine as long as your actual trip weight matches your experimental weight.

FWIW: I run 55 in my front tires and 62 in my rears. The fronts are over-inflated based on the chart. The rears are within the parameters.
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Old 09-24-2024, 01:27 PM   #14
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Yes the fuel tank was filled when we weighed it. That 50# up front wasn't setting to well with me either. I will give an update sometime within two weeks or so. Again folks thanks for the input!
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