Yahoo Message Number: 88755 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88755)
2006 Allure, 40' w/ tag, GVWR 45,200 lbs. Does anyone with a similar chassis and weight have a recommendation for new shocks?
Thanks,
Denis Vogel
06 Allure #31409
Yahoo Message Number: 88761 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88761)
1st choice would be Road Kings
2nd choice would be Koni Adjustable, be sure they are the SP3 generation
We have Road Kings, with Super Steer Motion Control Units front and rear. Big improvement on handling.
That being said, I did not know about HWH's Active Air until a few days ago. I think from my quick research on this, and some recent posts on this board about Active Air, I would have done things different.
Koni Adjustable SP3's
HWH Active Air
We plan on about a 10-12 year window of usage for this coach, and I'm a firm believer that a good handling rig is a great safety edge.
Best of luck on your search,
Smitty
04 Allure 31017 40' with Tag
Yahoo Message Number: 88810 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88810)
Thanks Smitty.
Good to hear a positive comment about Road Kings (mostly you just hear how expensive they are...).
So they are not too stiff? (another comment is that they telegraph every bridge expansion joint to the steering wheel).
Denis
Yahoo Message Number: 88814 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88814)
We are currently in Dawson Creek BC on our way to Alaska with 24 coaches and 5th wheels traveling together. More than one motor home driver has stated that they installed new shocks for this trip. I won't start a war by saying what kind of shocks they have but we do have Road Kings with over 20,000 miles on them. As most of you know the roads can be a little rough up here.
While following one of these gentlemen I noticed he hit a large bump in the road and his rear raised quite high and it took about three bounces for the rear to settle down again, with new shocks. I told the wife, hang on! All I felt was a small bump then nothing. No bottoming, no bouncing!
Also most of the folks have been complaining about the roughness of the roads. To be honest I felt the roads were not bad at all, so far.
Are the Road Kings expensive, absolutely. Would I buy them again, absolutely! Very happy with them. Can't say if they feel every little bump or are a little stiff. I can say that we haven't bottomed once since installing them as compared to before bottoming was horrible!
That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Barney
07 Inspire 2059
Yahoo Message Number: 88815 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88815)
Hi Denis,
I suppose my ride would be called 'stiffer' then many CC owners like. The Michelin XZE* thicker side wall tires, and Road Kings do provide a 'feel the road' ride compared to the OEM 8 year old Toyo's and Koni SP1 shocks. (On other posts, I mentioned I first tried setting the Koni to the highest setting, but they still did not control the front end.)
Everyone has different priorities, and that for sure is OK. I went with a bit stiffer ride (not bone shaking, and such a nice ride compared to the old F53 Buck Board ride we had before) in favor of better emergency handling capability.
I test drove between 20-23 Class A's in our search. From Beaver Marquis and Patriots, Dynasty, Mountain Aire, Foretravel, Alpine, Travel Supreme, etc. Many had the same chassis underneath them with Spartan. I drove one Winnie with the Freightliner XC chassis too. The best handling was the Alpine, but it was a 36' compared to most being 40-42'. The Roadmaster 10 bag handled well too. We also considered a 'gap to retirement' Class A, and looked at a few UFO's chassis with the 8.1 gasser too.
I consider out Allure with the Road Kings and MCU's to be less 'jarring' then many of these coaches. I believe a CC Magna was the 'smoothest ride' of the bunch, with handling a bit less then I wanted.
Almost all of these were driven on the same route of S curves and hills, about a 45-60 minute drive depending upon where the coaches were. A few I drove or flew to different cities to check out, so not the same on all.
My 'vast' Class A experience was coming from the 99 F53 18K Chassis under a 98 T28 Bounder.
So factor my 'seat of the pants experience' on learning DP's too. Still get a kick on how they build up speed slow but steady, and my DW is still think the brakes are not working as she is nor feeling any pedal pressure (except in the Alpine). I drove enough of these rigs on different chassis to sure tell a difference in them, especially with the tag's vs non tag's - which pushed us into the 'buy the retirement rig now' (along with lower prices due to the economy)...
I do like the handling of our coach. I do not consider it 'too harsh or stiff of a ride'. I would love to improve it more, and wish an after market Comfort Drive was available for it. (Comfort Drive Newmars were out of our budget range.)
I have not ruled out doing some due diligence with HWH on the specific costs of Active Air for our rig. I feel I spent quite a bit of coin for the Road Kings, not as much for the MCU's - and then to add Active Air on top of these, I may not see as much improvement as others. (The MCU's would come off during the Active Air install.) The one think I keep coming back to, is the 'emergency handling' improvements of the Active Air. I believe this would be a dramatic improvement over just my Road Kings and MCU's. It comes down to safety, and what are you willing to spend for each incremental improvement in handling.
And, many, many CC owners drive for many, many years and miles with stock suspensions on their coaches. (I do feel that the a few years around 2004 when National dictated the 'floating ride', makes my era coach a bit different then most CC's.)
I'm long winded as ever on this, but my key point is each owner will do what is important to them - and that is what it is all about:)!
Best to all,
Smitty
04 Allure 31017 40' Tag
Yahoo Message Number: 88861 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88861)
Barney:
Thanks for the note. We went to Alaska last year, and in our opinion, the Canadian roads were in better shape and better marked than the Alaska roads.
If there is no rig directly in front of you to watch, just watch the lines on the road. If they appear to wiggle (like a drunken painter painted it) be prepared for a frost heave.
We also learned to pay attention to the ecosystem...it you are surrounded by Black Spruce...it is an area prone to frost heaves. Drive fast at your own risk.
Enjoy
Denis
Yahoo Message Number: 88862 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88862)
Smitty:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I am seriously considering Road Kings....just not sure about measuring the shocks as they requested...
Active air seems like it could be an $8,000 solution to a 1-$2,000 problem.
Any hints about how to access the shocks to measure them?
Denis
Yahoo Message Number: 88863 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88863)
Road kings don't level a coach in a turn or during an evasive maneuver. They are a passive device and there incapable of handling complex driving conditions. Citroen mastered complex driving situations with their air suspensions a long time ago.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731
Yahoo Message Number: 88868 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88868)
Hi Denis - I was able to get the model number of the existing Koni SP1's that were on my rig. Road King used the spec's from these to determine the proper size. I also gave them my actual 'ready to roll' front/drive/tag axle weights. I may have been luck when I called, as Lonnie (believe he is the main dude) picked up the call and we had a good dialog.
I got a nice PM from Gary yesterday, and he is going with the Koni SP3's and MCU's route. You may want to contact him and get his perceptions on how this combo works, unless you are in a hurry.
You might find out he is OK with that combo. Or, might go with the front Road Kings (The IFS is really doing quite a bit of work on these rigs:)!), and then perhaps the Koni SP3's for the drive/tag shocks? That would save some serious coin, but also give you the more robust shock on the IFS.
Food for thought:)!
Best to all, and remember opinions do vary, and the opinion of the person spending the $$ is what matters most:)! Smitty
04 Allure 31017
Yahoo Message Number: 88869 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/88869)
I agree with the not leveling comment, and also agree that shocks alone will have trouble in emergency complex suspension demanding situations. However I do feel that more robust shocks, like Road Kings, do provide a faster 'stabilization' then lest robust shocks. I also feel the MCU's aid very much in the 'side-to-side' weight shifting control that may occur in emergency maneuvers.
That being said, and at a nice penny (I've read of costs between $4500-7500), the Active Air would sure give you a leg up on both keeping the coach level while driving, and on emergency maneuvers too. What cost is safety along with what costs we can afford - is always the juggle decision to make:)!
And yep, those Citroen's always made me chuckle when seeing them. I drove the Maserati engine SM one, and the front end would raise in hard stops, and the back end would raise in hard accelerations. I tried some 'fun maneuvers' in this car, and I don't think the suspension was fast enough to keep up, lots of body lean... Newer computer anticipating and activated systems do a much better job. Such as HWH's Active Air.
Best to all, be safe, and have fun...
Smitty
04 Allure 31017
(And guys, I'm not Mikee or Don or fill in a RV Veteran here, when it comes to these things. I do my research, and I use my own experiences to make my decisions. I make good ones (got real lucky on my wife, hope her med's don't ware off and she realizes who she is married too...), and bad ones... (I was in and out of Tesla two times last year with good profits, but boy did that stock jump by over three times what I last sold out of it at:)! My message is do your own research, ask around to those that really have vast experiences of knowledge, and then make the best decision you can for the price you are willing to pay.)