Question A better ride

[lostinfla]

I would have to disagree with Neal on the Active Air. I think our coach rides better with it installed, (may be psychosomatic) but I wouldn't spend the money just for the ride as it does so much more. Our coach originally had the Sachs shocks up front and it rode like an old dump truck. I changed them out to Koni Evo's and it made a remarkable difference in the ride. That said, ours has IFS so it's basically apples to oranges with your's being a straight front axle. Not even sure if they are available for your configuration, but I'd look into it. Another thing that really helped the ride was when I installed Centramatic active wheel balancers. Our coach is a joy to drive now on all but the worst of roads.

 

[Neal]

I would have to disagree with Neal on the Active Air.

If you think about what Active Air is doing it's simply controlling the air bags and has nothing to do with shocks or support of the chassis in that aspect. In windy conditions especially with non-tag coaches, yes you'll get help with the side forces keeping the "box" level. All coaches have air bags at ride height, i.e. inflated, Active Air compensates air pressure for lateral forces and continually works to maintain proper ride height. I don't believe it's going to affect the actual ride (comfort) such as a calm day straight ride down the road no matter how rough. My $.02

 

[lostinfla]

True enough. I believe the system holds a truer ride height than the old ride height valves which contributes to better handling of the bumps.

 

[Dutch Star Don]

"sheridany"......I'm big on always improving the ride on my coach. I'm also big on quieting down things, so the cab is quieter. On both my Dutch Stars, I changed out the shocks in the first few months. Your straight axle WILL benefit from the Koni FSD, available for your coach (part #8805 1020). I'm sure on the California roads, you'll often notice what I call short chop. It makes the front shades want to dance. The Koni FSD's (gold colored shock) will eliminate about 75% -85% of that chop. They'll help with other road conditions, but big potholes are just too big sometimes and you're going to feel them.

Next, make sure the front door is closed to second lock position to eliminate any rattle. When I set the front shades for travel. I make sure both shades are at the same length. The reason why......with both shades at the same length, the bars in the bottom of the shade are together and take up more space in the trough, which gives them less room to move. A also chase down rattles and noises to eliminate everything I can. As an example, we use a silicone mat in the microwave, on top of the glass plate. I will often lift the plate, put the mat down and the plate back on top. This eliminates the microwave rattle. Another example.....the corian cover on the televator TV was banging against the top of the corian counter. I applied door foam, under the top piece so it had a cushion. So......you have to chase down some of those rattles and you'll eventually quiet up the coch.

Lastly, your tire pressure sounds about as low as it can safely be for best ride.

 

[sheridany]

Thank you @Dutch Star Don for that excellent information especially about the shades. The shades have been a problem rattling especially in the front near driver and copilot seat.

To start, I finally found a place that can do a 4 corner weigh the correct way as I have been chasing my tail trying to get a good set of numbers side to side.

I think my pressures are close to where they need to be but i want to make sure they are right. then next step will mostly likely be the shock upgrade as you suggested.

 

[Dutch Star Don]

I got a phone call and forgot to add. Make sure your ride height is correct. Improper ride height can cause a rough ride by putting too much weight on the front or rear. I know it's not easy to check, but if you really think your ride is rougher than most, it might be worth checking.

We're going up to Oregon in May and there is a great Coach Care shop there. I'm hoping to get the coach in for a 3 axle alignment and ride height check, just to make sure everything is on the money.

 

[sheridany]

Thanks @Dutch Star Don. I did a ride height check at the shop I use last month and it was right on the money. I have to mention as you can probably appreciate I should use better judgment to pick roads to travel on too. We chose 99 last time as we wanted to go around LA. Bad choice. Nevertheless, the challenge to get a better ride remains.

 

[Dutch Star Don]

We always use 99 when we travel the state. I prefer it over I-5. There are some new sections that are nice and still a lot of old sections that are rough.

 

[Old-RV'er]

I can relate to the OP. The BH hates the sway the Ventana rides versus our old MH. I don't see much difference, but I am not bothered by windy roads or things like that. I would not waste the money if it was me, unless the shocks are bad. Have them checked at FL. MH's are huge, bulky blocks going down the road. Faster is worse, slower can also be worse. Check corner weights as suggested, but I leave 110# around, since I don't want real hot tires when at interstate speeds (65 normally). We have the 3407, so some say shorter is worse as well. My other coach, (2007 Alpine APEX @ 40') was stiffer in turns, but much harsher on rough roads. Nothing is perfect.

Oh, CA roads are now in my opinion the worst in the country. We went from Yuma, AZ last November to Mesquite, NV, taking AZ-95 north and cutting over to CA-95 heading into Searchlight, NV. The CA roads were the worst in the land, as we came from GA (home) to get to Yuma, AZ. Once we hit NV roads improved by 1000%. LA, MS, AL used to have bad roads, but lately they seem to be spending the money on making them better. So CA gets my vote for the worse ones in the land, but then we (me & BH) both agreed, we are never going into or through CA ever again, the state is being ruined by the people running it, and it's sad to say, because one of our most favorite campgrounds was in CA, oh well, life changes.

 

[sheridany]

@Dutch Star Don Per your suggestion; Are you recommending Koni front only or all the way around? I was under the impression front only but wanted to clarify...

Your straight axle WILL benefit from the Koni FSD, available for your coach (part #8805 1020). I'm sure on the California roads, you'll often notice what I call short chop. It makes the front shades want to dance. The Koni FSD's (gold colored shock) will eliminate about 75% -85% of that chop. They'll help with other road conditions, but big potholes are just too big sometimes and you're going to feel them.