I followed your lead and got my 2023 class c motorhome suspension upgraded. I had Performance Ford Truck Country in Woods Cross, UT install the equipment. That consisted of Koni FSD shocks, Hellwig sway bars, Sumo springs and a roadmaster reflex steering stabilizer. Parts were $2,700 and install w/ an alignment was $1,100. It was 3.5 hours of labor. My coach drives fantastic now. The new shocks soak up the bumps much better and no more swaying coming out of parking lots or driveways. Also the steering stabilizer tightened up the steering and it tracks straight down the highway now. I would recommend these upgrades to anybody with a class c E-450 chassis motorhome. The way it drives down the road is dramatically improved!
Awesome video! I bought a 2006 Pleasure Way Excel on a Ford E350 chassis and it was a real boat in the curves or making a turn, scary in fact. I put Wheel Adapter wheel extenders and a Road Master sway bar on the rear ( there was no sway bar in rear originally ) and it made a lot of difference. Only problem now is the steering works you to death. I want to do what you have done in your video. Thanks for the great information.
Thanks for the video. 6 months ago we traded in our 2014 Forester 3171. We loved the coach but had put a lot of hard miles on it and wanted to try a class A. Even though we’ve now owned 8 motor homes over 35 years the only suspension upgrades we ever did was shocks and air bag suspension. These two items definitely made an improvement to the three coaches we had previous to the class A and wish we would have added more of these upgrades. When we purchased our 2022 Winnebago Vista 29V we were pleased to find the factory had gone to a larger front and rear sway bar. But we added Koni shocks, a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer and a SuperSteer trac bar. We are very happy with the results and only wish we did this to our Forester years ago. We did not install the Sumo Springs on our 30ft long class A on the advice of the local RV suspension shop we use. Their recommendation was that it would stiffen our ride too much. If anyone has installed them on an 18K F53 chassis please Le me know what you think of them. Thanks again. Good video
Thanks Anthony for your comments. I actually installed front and rear Sumo Springs on my 2014 Winnebago Voyage on the F53 chassis after installing a full set of Bilstein’s. We were experiencing severe side to side rocking when entering and exiting many gas stations and especially leaving our driveway. The springs improved the issue 75%. We really didn’t notice any changes in the overall ride other than the plushness of the new shocks. Hope this helps!
Just did the rear Hellwig Sway Bar on my 2017 Thor Chateau today. Took much longer than expected, but with the help of my 2 teenagers lifting it into place it wasn't too bad. Took a few minutes to find the stock torque specs because they didn't itemize them in the directions.
I just watched your video and while it was good advice, you know that old song "you got no one to hold them, got no one to fold them and when to run. I decided to run. there's no point in getting so upset you want to throw stuff and break things. That's where I was with that front shock and I started on it first thank goodness, I just hate blowing money on something that you should be able to do yourself. Again I thank you for your advice cuz it really was down the right street but just wasn't going to work for me.
Love your video, very informative. Question? Where did you get the grill that's on your front bumper, above the Green Bay Packers Plate? What is it called? Part#? Give my regards to Ms. Brenda... Thank you in advance...
Hi, I just did a search on Ford E450 bumper trim and it came up. I couldn’t stand that opening. Had it for 4 years so can’t remember where I got it. Btw, it’s not Green Bay, it’s GA Bulldogs! 2022 National Champions!
I just returned from our 1st trip on our 2023 E450 28ft coach. Luckily, it was only about 400 miles as the ride was horrible and scary AF on the highway as we also flat towed our F150. Needles to say, that was how I ended up here. I will be doing these upgrades as soon as I can. Hopefully, before our next trip. Any other suspension upgrade necessary?
Hmmm, on that new of a coach, it shouldn’t have been a white knuckle drive! Can you elaborate on the specifics? My first thoughts are tire pressures and weight distribution issues.
@@SafeTravelRV it was unstable with very soft suspension when trucks passed by, driving into gas stations, while at the camp ground, etc. I feel the sturdier shocks and sway bar should help alot
Good video. I have a 2018 Forester 3271S E450 based Class C. I have done the Roadmaster steering stabilized and had the front end aligned. It made a big difference. How long did it take to put the SumoSprings in? Which version of SumoSpring did you put in? I see a lot of different ones listed on the SD Truck Spring site.
SSF-106-47 from Amazon. 10mm bolt. Once you remove stock bump, rethread bolt all the way in to clean threads. The sumos hand tightened. Easy 20 min job. Huge improvement on those exits from gas stations and Walmart’s. Watch Part 2 and see what the alignment shop discovered on the Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer.
I just had the Ford dealer align my 2023 Thor Chateau E450 based class c and then they installed the Roadmaster steering stabilizer. That was backwards. When I drove off the Ford lot it was pulling to the right. So they quickly made the adjustment - no big deal and now it tracks straight down the highway. I also did Sumo springs both front & back and they really take the rock-n-roll out of your drive especially when exiting a driveway onto a road. Did you have to make an adjustments to your steering stabilizer when you first installed it? Do you still like it?
Good video. I have one question. I removed the driver side nut already...But the shock is impossible to come straight out. Seems like the frame and the lower stud is in the way. I wrapped it up after 1 hour and will try again later in the week. Thanks. 2013 E450
Hi Reggie, it’s possible the shock piston is fully extended preventing you from removing the shock. I don’t remember that being an issue with mine. You’ll need to figure out a way to push the piston back down some into the body. Let me know how it goes!
I don't see black sumo springs for the front....only for the rear. Looks like front is blue or yellow? I'm assuming this color difference is spring rates... Did you pick the black for a reason?
I ordered from Amazon and the black ones were recommended for my E450. I only installed them on the front. The rear came with factory air bags which essentially do the same thing and install in the same location.
Do you mean the Bilstein shocks? If so, they're installed correctly. They only install one way with a vertical bolt on the top and then a horizontal on the lower.
Great video sharing your experience with these upgrades. If your looking for additional ground clearance or even better ride check out WELDTEC DESIGNS.
I followed your lead and got my 2023 class c motorhome suspension upgraded. I had Performance Ford Truck Country in Woods Cross, UT install the equipment. That consisted of Koni FSD shocks, Hellwig sway bars, Sumo springs and a roadmaster reflex steering stabilizer. Parts were $2,700 and install w/ an alignment was $1,100. It was 3.5 hours of labor. My coach drives fantastic now. The new shocks soak up the bumps much better and no more swaying coming out of parking lots or driveways. Also the steering stabilizer tightened up the steering and it tracks straight down the highway now. I would recommend these upgrades to anybody with a class c E-450 chassis motorhome. The way it drives down the road is dramatically improved!
I'm having WeldTec upgrade my Forester 3011DS suspension to a 6" lift with bigger all-terrain tires. Can't wait! Thanks!
Awesome video! I bought a 2006 Pleasure Way Excel on a Ford E350 chassis and it was a real boat in the curves or making a turn, scary in fact. I put Wheel Adapter wheel extenders and a Road Master sway bar on the rear ( there was no sway bar in rear originally ) and it made a lot of difference. Only problem now is the steering works you to death. I want to do what you have done in your video. Thanks for the great information.
Thanks for the video. 6 months ago we traded in our 2014 Forester 3171. We loved the coach but had put a lot of hard miles on it and wanted to try a class A.
Even though we’ve now owned 8 motor homes over 35 years the only suspension upgrades we ever did was shocks and air bag suspension. These two items definitely made an improvement to the three coaches we had previous to the class A and wish we would have added more of these upgrades. When we purchased our 2022 Winnebago Vista 29V we were pleased to find the factory had gone to a larger front and rear sway bar. But we added Koni shocks, a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer and a SuperSteer trac bar. We are very happy with the results and only wish we did this to our Forester years ago.
We did not install the Sumo Springs on our 30ft long class A on the advice of the local RV suspension shop we use. Their recommendation was that it would stiffen our ride too much. If anyone has installed them on an 18K F53 chassis please Le me know what you think of them.
Thanks again. Good video
Thanks Anthony for your comments.
I actually installed front and rear Sumo Springs on my 2014 Winnebago Voyage on the F53 chassis after installing a full set of Bilstein’s. We were experiencing severe side to side rocking when entering and exiting many gas stations and especially leaving our driveway.
The springs improved the issue 75%. We really didn’t notice any changes in the overall ride other than the plushness of the new shocks.
Hope this helps!
@@SafeTravelRV thank you for the information on your experience with Sumo Springs. I am thinking I want to try them. Thanks again.
Thank you for the video, I want the number of shocks Bilstein
thank you 🌷🌷
Just did the rear Hellwig Sway Bar on my 2017 Thor Chateau today. Took much longer than expected, but with the help of my 2 teenagers lifting it into place it wasn't too bad. Took a few minutes to find the stock torque specs because they didn't itemize them in the directions.
Great! Did you do any previous upgrades prior to this?
Let us know how it does on the test drive!
I just watched your video and while it was good advice, you know that old song "you got no one to hold them, got no one to fold them and when to run. I decided to run. there's no point in getting so upset you want to throw stuff and break things. That's where I was with that front shock and I started on it first thank goodness, I just hate blowing money on something that you should be able to do yourself.
Again I thank you for your advice cuz it really was down the right street but just wasn't going to work for me.
Love your video, very informative.
Question? Where did you get the grill that's on your front bumper, above the Green Bay Packers Plate? What is it called? Part#?
Give my regards to Ms. Brenda...
Thank you in advance...
Hi, I just did a search on Ford E450 bumper trim and it came up. I couldn’t stand that opening. Had it for 4 years so can’t remember where I got it.
Btw, it’s not Green Bay, it’s GA Bulldogs! 2022 National Champions!
Best repair videos, subscribed
Thanks Buddy! Let me know what other RV upgrades you want to see!
I just returned from our 1st trip on our 2023 E450 28ft coach. Luckily, it was only about 400 miles as the ride was horrible and scary AF on the highway as we also flat towed our F150. Needles to say, that was how I ended up here. I will be doing these upgrades as soon as I can. Hopefully, before our next trip. Any other suspension upgrade necessary?
Hmmm, on that new of a coach, it shouldn’t have been a white knuckle drive! Can you elaborate on the specifics? My first thoughts are tire pressures and weight distribution issues.
@@SafeTravelRV it was unstable with very soft suspension when trucks passed by, driving into gas stations, while at the camp ground, etc. I feel the sturdier shocks and sway bar should help alot
What are your air bags set at? 75-80 psi is typical. check pressure before each trip as they can bleed down.
Have you looked at the sway bar they installed? maybe only need shocks, sumo’s and steering stabilizer
Good video. I have a 2018 Forester 3271S E450 based Class C. I have done the Roadmaster steering stabilized and had the front end aligned. It made a big difference. How long did it take to put the SumoSprings in? Which version of SumoSpring did you put in? I see a lot of different ones listed on the SD Truck Spring site.
SSF-106-47 from Amazon. 10mm bolt. Once you remove stock bump, rethread bolt all the way in to clean threads. The sumos hand tightened. Easy 20 min job. Huge improvement on those exits from gas stations and Walmart’s.
Watch Part 2 and see what the alignment shop discovered on the Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer.
I just had the Ford dealer align my 2023 Thor Chateau E450 based class c and then they installed the Roadmaster steering stabilizer. That was backwards. When I drove off the Ford lot it was pulling to the right. So they quickly made the adjustment - no big deal and now it tracks straight down the highway. I also did Sumo springs both front & back and they really take the rock-n-roll out of your drive especially when exiting a driveway onto a road. Did you have to make an adjustments to your steering stabilizer when you first installed it? Do you still like it?
Good video. I have one question. I removed the driver side nut already...But the shock is impossible to come straight out. Seems like the frame and the lower stud is in the way. I wrapped it up after 1 hour and will try again later in the week. Thanks. 2013 E450
Hi Reggie, it’s possible the shock piston is fully extended preventing you from removing the shock. I don’t remember that being an issue with mine. You’ll need to figure out a way to push the piston back down some into the body.
Let me know how it goes!
@@SafeTravelRV Thank you and I did push the shock in and secured it. When I released the jack, the old shock came right out. 👍
Yah, I have a 1987 Ford E350, and my RV doesn't have that trap door inside. 😭😭
Remove front shock top stud with a sawzall
I don't see black sumo springs for the front....only for the rear. Looks like front is blue or yellow? I'm assuming this color difference is spring rates... Did you pick the black for a reason?
I ordered from Amazon and the black ones were recommended for my E450. I only installed them on the front. The rear came with factory air bags which essentially do the same thing and install in the same location.
Off topic question, did you add the wood grain on the E450 dash? I have a 2020 Jayco RedHawk 31F
No, it came that way.
Where did you find rear air bag psi works best I’m finding 73 psi loaded is working best do you find different
Agree, 75-80 psi works for me.
@@SafeTravelRV thanks for feed back I’m going to poss 80 psi with scooter on back rack
What if that bear wants in?
He has a key.
Total cost of your upgrades?
Please see Part 2 for breakdown. I tried to keep it around $1,000.
th-cam.com/video/UtOubSYEXlY/w-d-xo.html
I know it's none of my business but I think those shocks may have been installed upside down; but I could be wrong.
Do you mean the Bilstein shocks? If so, they're installed correctly. They only install one way with a vertical bolt on the top and then a horizontal on the lower.
Your RV must be overloaded more than my Thor 23h
Mine steers fine and it's never hit the stops
Really did not see how you do it. Just talking
Great video sharing your experience with these upgrades. If your looking for additional ground clearance or even better ride check out WELDTEC DESIGNS.