Just before Christmas we took the RV to the truck shop for our long awaited rear brake job and suspension upgrades. While in the shop there were also delays because when doing the brakes the differential needed service. Then we had to wait for them to schedule an alignment so we didn’t pick up the RV until after we returned from our vacation.
I took the RV in a few months ago for an inspection and evaluation. They found the rear brakes were worn and a couple minor items, the battery terminals needed to be cleaned and a clearance light cover was broken on the cab. I took care of these minor items myself.
I asked about new shocks and a new stabilizer bar and helper springs. I decided to just change the shocks and add the bar for now. The springs were going to make the cost too high. And I thought it would make sense to upgrade incrementally. It took so long to get parts that I didn’t take it in until the week before Christmas. And it wasn’t finished until after Christmas and then we were on vacation. But the shop held the RV until my return.
Before the shop was ready for the RV, I started having problems losing air in the passenger duallies. When we returned from California it was completely flat. I pumped the two tires up so I could get to the tire shop. The tech measured the tread and said he could not repair them. I bought two of the less expensive Rocky Mountain tires and had them put one new and one old tire, from the less worn drivers side, on each side.
On second thought with advice from Rv.Net, putting the new tires up front and pairing the older tires as duallies made better sense. So I had the shop switch them.
After the new brakes and resulting differential service they installed the new sway bar and Koni shocks. Then there was noise from the rear that concerned them and they checked it out finding nothing. The rear brakes probably had to “set” and the noise went away.
Then they scheduled the alignment I asked for and that took a few days at a different shop. Finally we picked it up the day after we returned. The new Hellwig bar is thicker than the Ford bar.
I asked for the name of the shocks they installed and they told me Lmax. That is an older prioduct name for the Koni shocks. But I could see they were the ones I asked for due to the gold color. These shocks have FSD.
”Koni Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) shock absorbers provide superior handling characteristics without compromising ride comfort. The FSD is firm where you need it, such as through corners, but rides soft over expansion joints and rough roads. A special valve filters out annoying vibrations before they enter the vehicle, resulting in a smooth ride over a variety of road surfaces.” These were the shocks recommended by users of the rv forums.
I really didn’t notice fewer bumps on the road home but I did notice better handling in strong wind. The ride in this newer RV seems to be rougher than our old one. Could be the extra four feet in length on the same e350 chassis. Maybe the helper springs will be the next upgrade.