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Topic: Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD (Read 8 times) previous topic - next topic
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Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD
Yahoo Message Number: 49983
I have just returned from a 2400 mile round trip down the Mexican Baja.

My 87, which I bought especially for the trip, got a real workout....but performed well overall.....averaged 7.8 mpg pulling a 2800# mini SUV. Had to replace the engine battery and a smog pump siezed and burned up the drive belt.

The roads....especially the "tepes"... are somewhat rough in places and caused, what seemed to be, a severe bottoming of the suspension.
Investigations revealed a set of air bags installed inside the coil springs of the Chevrolet 30 chassis. Increasing the air pressure of the bags helped the bottoming problem but aggravated an already apparent "nose down" attitude.

My questions: Is the Chev P30 suspension overloaded by weight of the LD? Were the air bags offered as a factory option or have they been installed by an owner? Is the nose down attitude a common trait of this model of LD or is mine unusual in this respect?

I have a couple of other questions relating to other minor problems but will save them for later.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Roger
Re: Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49995
"Is the Chev P30 suspension overloaded by weight of the LD?"
 The short answer: no. The '87 22' rig has plenty of payload capacity (sorry, I can't quote exact numbers, but see your weights placard near the driver's door).
 Now, can you overload the P30 suspension? Sure. Just fill up the rig with lots of heavy stuff. Until you have this rig weighed, you won't know whether you're overweight or not. I'd recommend doing that as soon as you conveniently can.

"Is the nose down attitude a common trait of this model of LD?"
 Again, no. LDs are built to ride and park level--not only for your comfort, but for the sake of the fridge, which in these older models is especially sensitive to fore-aft imbalance.
 Others here know a lot more about suspensions than I do, so I'll let them fill in the details and figure out what's causing the problems you described.

Andy Baird
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50008
Quote
The roads....especially the "tepes"... are somewhat rough in places and caused, what seemed to be, a severe bottoming of the suspension.
Investigations revealed a set of air bags installed inside the coil springs of the Chevrolet 30 chassis. Increasing the air pressure of the bags helped the bottoming problem but aggravated an already apparent "nose down" attitude.
The 'nose down' seems to be a characteristic of this chassis with the 22' LD. I replaced the front springs on ours with an oem spec with no measurable change at all in ride height. Our '83 does not have airbags, but I don't see how increasing their pressure would make the tilt worse.
 Changing the shocks should make the most difference in the bottoming - the Bilsteins are cool-running monotubes and excellent. Since some bottoming could be aggravated by sway, stiffening that should help too. I installed a rear sway bar and stiffened the front with polyurethane bushings.
 Although not related to these problems, the Chevy steering is plagued with an overloaded linkage design that MUST be inspected for excessive wear. The idler arm and pitman arm are the replacement items. Note this is the G-30 or G-3500, not the P-30.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50018
"My questions: Is the Chev P30 suspension overloaded by weight of the LD? Were the air bags offered as a factory option or have they been installed by an owner? Is the nose down attitude a common trait of this model of LD or is mine unusual in this respect?"

Roger

It is my opinion,  based on owning a 1983 FL LD for nine years,  is that the G-30 chassis is just barely adequate when loaded to it's GVW.
Ours was always loaded right at the limit.
I rebuilt the front suspension, added air bag springs to the front and rear, added Bilstein shocks, added a rear sway bar and polyurethane sway bar bushings to the front end.
The front air bags were a waste of money. They blew out within 18 months. They were removed and replaced with aftermarket HD front coil springs. The new springs, combined with the Bilsteins, ended most of the bottoming out.
The rear sway bar and Firestone air bags were a great investment, helping to eliminate most of the side-to-side swaying. Our rig was top heavy because of the two 17' sea kayaks that we carried on top.
No matter how much you try to improve the G-30, it will never compare to a stock E-450 chassis.

The 'nose down attitude' is common to all LDs built on the G-30 chassis. The long wheelbase chassis, used by LD, puts more weight on the front end, compared to the shorter models used by Winnebago and other RV builders of the period. The longer wheelbase provides a better ride and handling at the expense of having the front end bottom out occasionally.

I can give you more info on upgrading if you are interested.

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
: Suspension questions on GP-30 30 footer
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50030
Quote
Larry:
Can you comment about the suspension of GP30 chassis used in the first 30 ft. LD's ? It had 208 inch wheelbase, just 3 inches less than the new 30's, but it came like that from the factory... The P30 was used extensively in Class A's...It has the same problems?

Eudoro
Re: : Suspension questions on GP-30 30 footer
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50058
"Eudoro"  wrote:

Quote
Can you comment about the suspension of GP30 chassis used in the first 30 ft. LD's?
The GP30 is a Chevrolet P-30 commercial chassis with a van-like cab.
It has a different suspension design than the G-30 one ton cutaway van.

The P-30 and the longer P-32 are the basis for many Class A motorhomes.  If you search the Web for information, you'll find several companies that offer suspension upgrades.  A typical setup is to add stronger front springs, front roll bar, Bilstein shock absorbers and a rear track bar.  I suspect that a Lazy Daze built on the GP-30 chassis will handle better than a Class A using the P-30 due to the Newtons' attention to lower center of gravity and weight distribution.
 Chevrolet sold the P-30 product line to Workhorse in 1998.  Workhorse maintains a parts catalog of chassis pieces back to 1989, so you should be able to replace worn parts with OEM equivalent pieces without difficulty.

The GP-30 is one of the rarest of LD coaches.  It was used as the chassis for 30 foot models from 1994 through 1996.  I particularly like the 19.5 inch tires and the way the hood tilts forward for easy access to the engine (a Chevrolet 454).  I'm not certain, but I believe the GP-30 had a bigger gas tank and larger holding tanks than the stretched Ford E-450 chassis that replaced it in 1997.
 Here's a web site with a good set of photos of the GP-30.  This coach was advertised in November, so it may be sold.
 http://www.rvup.com/lazydaze/

--oryoki
Re: : Suspension questions on GP-30 30 footer
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50063
"Can you comment about the suspension of GP30 chassis used in the first 30 ft. LD's ? "

Eudoro

oryoki told you just about all is to know about the GP-30.
The front suspension looks very similar to the G-30, just more substantial. It suffered from the similar front-end bottoming problem as the G-30 and P-30. Front air bags are found in many of them, in an attempt to prevent this.
Too bad it did not catch on. With the taller wheels, longer wheelbase and higher GVW, it seemed to be a natural. The ride should be better than either the G-30 or F-series chassis. Unfortunately, it looked strange. I remember seeing one in the LD showroom and thinking how out of proportion it appeared.

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
Re: Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50071
Thanks for the prompt replys,
 Larry, further investigation reveals that my 87 22' does indeed have rear, heavy duty airbags mounted between the frame and the axle, orange rubber airbags inside the front coil springs.....left one is ruptured...and bilstien shocks at all four corners.

I investigated the site you offered for heavy duty coil springs but I am confused as to which chassis model my 87 uses. Is it a G30, A P30 or a GP30?

Overall, I am satisfied with the handling of my LD. It is OK for my intended occasional use and I doubt that it will ever be severely overloaded. I may investigate replacing the ruptured front airbag
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: : Suspension questions on GP-30
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50073
Is the GP30 chasses the one with solid front axel and a hood that hinges forward like a freightliner and looks like it could go into combat? Thanks Robert

Larry lw5315us@...> wrote:

"Can you comment about the suspension of GP30 chassis used in the first 30 ft. LD's ? "

Eudoro

oryoki told you just about all is to know about the GP-30.
.

Robert & Roberta, Rozie and the Horney Toad, SKP#702   

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: : Suspension questions on GP-30 30 footer
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50092
Gals and Guys:

It's persons like oryoki that makes our group GREAT!
 oryoki: Thanks...as allways, your messages are complete and precise!

Eudoro
Re: : Suspension questions on GP-30 30 footer
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50093
Quote
"Can you comment about the suspension of GP30 chassis used in the first 30 ft. LD's ? "

"oryoki told you just about all is to know about the GP-30....."

"It suffered from the similar front-end bottoming problem as the G-30 and P-30..."
Larry, Thanks! You added still more (and very intersting)information!

Eudoro
 
[Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: Suspension questions on 1987 22' LD
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50023
"Larry I have a 94 TK 22' G-30 chassis will your upgrades fit?"

Gene

Yes, they will.
Have the front suspension checked out to be sure that everything is tight before installing any new parts. If you change the front springs, get it aligned afterwards.
The needed information is below

Front coil springs http://www.coilsprings.com/rv/

Sway Bars http://ipdusa.com/productscat.aspx?CategoryID=18&NodeID=1297&RootID=637 Or http://www.hellwigproducts.com/antiswaybars/vans_gm.html

Rear air bags http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/0830CM11.html

Shocks http://www.bilstein.com/pdf/Motorhomes.pdf

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)