Rough Ride May 03, 2006, 02:18:04 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66313Hi Guys,We took our brand new 26.5 MB for our first trip recently and were surprised at how rough the ride is. I know it's due to the Bilstein shocks, and I'm thinking of having them changed out to something softer. I've heard that Bilstein has a comfort shock, but the few local places I called didn't have them. A local RV service center carries Monroe shocks, and says they will give me a more comfortable ride.Anyone have any thoughts? Any pros or cons?Thanks...Jack in So Cal.
Re: Rough Ride Reply #1 – May 03, 2006, 02:50:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66318Quote Hi Guys,We took our brand new 26.5 MB for our first trip recently and were surprised at how rough the ride is. I know it's due to the Bilstein shocks, and I'm thinking of having them changed out to something softer. I've heard that Bilstein has a comfort shock, but the few local places I called didn't have them. A local RV service center carries Monroe shocks, and says they will give me a more comfortable ride.Anyone have any thoughts? Any pros or cons?Thanks...Jack in So Cal.
Re: Rough Ride Reply #2 – May 03, 2006, 02:52:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66319Did you weigh and properly set the tire pressure for front and rear? If not that may be the cause of the hard ride. For a quick experiment, lower the front tire pressure to 70 or even 65 psi and do a test drive. Jack
Re: Rough Ride Reply #3 – May 03, 2006, 03:08:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66320jack5thwheel wrote: We took our brand new 26.5 MB for our first trip recently and were surprised at how rough the ride is. I know it's due to the Bilstein shocks, and I'm thinking of having them changed out to something softer. ----- A "rough ride" can mean different things to different people, but I suggest putting more miles on your coach before deciding to change out the Bilsteins for these reasons:1. You said that this was your first trip; as such, you probably don't have the coach "loaded" with all the equipment, supplies, and whatnot that you may have in and on the coach in the future. (It seems to be a law of RVing that the more you travel, the more stuff you "need" - ;-)) Your current load may also not be "optimally distributed"; if possible, have the coach weighed on all four corners. 2. You will want to have a front-end alignment at about 5000 miles. Although an out-of-alignment front end doesn't *necessarily* translate into being a reason for a "rough" ride, it can be a corollary factor. 3. Check the air pressure in your tires; Lazy Daze delivers the coach with the tires aired to the maximum of 80 pounds, and this high pressure *definitelyy* contributes to a rough ride! Look at the load and tire pressure guide on the Michelin tire website. (Another basic reason for getting your loaded rig weighed!) If after a few thousand more miles, you decide to change shocks, you might look at Koni shocks as well as the Monroes; there was a recent discussion on Konis on this board, and the posts can be found by searching the the "searchable archives" link on the home page of the message board.Joan
Re: Rough Ride Reply #4 – May 03, 2006, 03:12:53 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66321Quote Hi Guys,We took our brand new 26.5 MB for our first trip recently and were surprised at how rough the ride is. Jack, You may find the following archived messages helpful in determining how to achieve a better ride. Tire inflation, load factor and road surfaces all play a role in ride quality. The E 450 rear suspension is not the most compliant.Message # 54792,57333,61884Malcolm
Re: Rough Ride Reply #5 – May 03, 2006, 06:40:05 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66327"I've heard that Bilstein has a comfort shock, but the few local places I called didn't have them."JackThe power of Google.Bilstein Motorhome application http://www.bilstein.com/Motorhomes.pdfThe types of Bilstein shocks http://www.bilstein.com/ProductDescriptions.pdfFront shock -Comfort http://tinyurl.com/q26zmRear shock-Comfort http://tinyurl.com/mxkckBuy them on-line and have them installed.The E-450 is a truck chassis and will never have a car-like ride. After trying the stock Ford shocks, Bilstein Comforts and HDs, my wife and I agreed that the Comforts provide the best ride in our 2003 23.5 LD. Actually, they are very similar to the stock shocks. The Comforts do resist bottoming out better than the stock shocks. Beyond that, there is very little difference other than Bilsteins are known for their long life expectancies. Factory shocks usually start fading at 20-30,000 miles.We put 60,000 miles on the Bilsteins in our 83 LD. They always felt the same. On LDs built on a Chevy chassis, Bilstein HDs make a big difference in the ride. Highly recommended.Larry
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: Rough Ride Reply #6 – May 03, 2006, 07:14:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66329As someone else suggested, check the tire pressure. We have a'99 with the Blisten's and we do not feel that the ride is rough. Tire pressure: Front 60 Back 75, Tire wear has been uniform and no problems in 40K miles both mountain and flat land towing a '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Have switched to a Subaru Outback this year for our summer Rockies trip. NOTE: Have taken out a loan on the national debt to pay for gas this year but who is to say that it may be $5 next year. This is our chance and we're going.Bob In FloridaLarry lw5315us@...> wrote:"I've heard that Bilstein has a comfort shock, but the few local places I called didn't have them."JackThe power of Google.Bilstein Motorhome application http://www.bilstein.com/Motorhomes.pdfThe types of Bilstein shocks http://www.bilstein.com/ProductDescriptions.pdfFront shock -Comfort http://tinyurl.com/q26zmRear shock-Comfort http://tinyurl.com/mxkckBuy them on-line and have them installed.The E-450 is a truck chassis and will never have a car-like ride. After trying the stock Ford shocks, Bilstein Comforts and HDs, my wife and I agreed that the Comforts provide the best ride in our 2003 23.5 LD. Actually, they are very similar to the stock shocks. The Comforts do resist bottoming out better than the stock shocks. Beyond that, there is very little difference other than Bilsteins are known for their long life expectancies. Factory shocks usually start fading at 20-30,000 miles.We put 60,000 miles on the Bilsteins in our 83 LD. They always felt the same. On LDs built on a Chevy chassis, Bilstein HDs make a big difference in the ride. Highly recommended.LarrySPONSORED LINKS Recreational vehicles Automotive maintenance Recreational vehicle dealer Used recreational vehicles Automotive radiatorsTalk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Rough Ride Reply #7 – May 04, 2006, 01:45:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66352jack5thwheel no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote: >Hi Guys, QuoteWe took our brand new 26.5 MB for our first trip recently and were surprised at how rough the ride is. Anyone have any thoughts? Any pros or cons? Thanks...Jack in So Cal......................... Response- Hi Jack, I sympathize with you as our (new to us) 2002MB also had a rough ride until last week when my husband had Koni RV shocks installed by Henderson's Line Up who was in Chico for the Escapade. The Koni RVs are adjustable & ours are set for a comfort ride. We noticed a smoother ride immediately. We recently had the front end alignment, tires balanced, rig completely weighed at the truck scales & new seat base for passenger seat but when we changed out the Bilsteins for the Koni RV shocks- that made a big improvement! We love our Lazy Daze & now can enjoy a nice ride in our wonderful rig. Hope this helps. We are so grateful for all the tips from everyone in this group and appreciate responses when we have asked our questions too.Sincerely, Paula D. 2002MBSPONSORED LINKS Recreational vehicles Automotive maintenance Recreational vehicle dealer Used recreational vehicles Automotive radiatorsTalk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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