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Old 09-25-2019, 08:30 PM   #1
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front rear sway bars?

Got a intent 26m,have done the chf and added a roadmaster steering stabalizer.Thoughts on front and rear sway bar and summo springs.Are they worth the money?Thanks for any thoughts
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Old 09-25-2019, 09:38 PM   #2
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I have the sumo’s and feel the bigger bang for the buck was a rear track bar. The Sumo’s make it ride a bit more cushy but there is still some harshness to the ride. The track bar made it feel a bit more precise when driving. The back end isn’t all over the road and the truck/rv/bus “push” basically goes away. I couldn’t see a reason to add more sway bar than I already had with the CHF.
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Old 09-26-2019, 08:11 AM   #3
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You need to look at the specific issues you are trying to solve and address those issues in a step by step, systematic fashion. I assume that prior to the CHF, you were experiencing excessive lean in the RV. Are you still experiencing that problem? If so then adding a second rear sway bar will help. If the lean issue has been resolved but you are still experiencing excessive truck push, then the rear track bar would be a good next step. If you are still experiencing a loose/floating feel to the steering after the steering stabilizer install, then make sure that the front end has been properly aligned. Make sure you tell the alignment shop what your concern is.
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Old 09-26-2019, 05:31 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by BROAD ST View Post
Got a intent 26m,have done the chf and added a roadmaster steering stabalizer.Thoughts on front and rear sway bar and summo springs.Are they worth the money?Thanks for any thoughts
My 2 cents worth. Did the chf, roadmaster front back stabalizer and sumo front.
Have to say... now finally it drives like it should.

Some say the rear anti-sway helps. Don't know. I put it on my last 26 foot class C. Didn't notice much punch for the buck there.

I virtually don't have much trouble with semi's passing, crosswinds and the like now with the above improvements.

Denny
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Old 10-02-2019, 04:24 PM   #5
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Did you do the CHF on the rear or just the front? Even Roadmaster's video says you should add a rear sway bar before you add a front sway bar.

I use an Android Bubble App and placed it on the doghouse. Subtracting out the angle of the doghouse it shows a 15 degree lean in turns. I'm about to do the CHF on the rear first and see how much, if any, that measurement changes.
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Old 10-02-2019, 04:27 PM   #6
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I put a steering stabilizer and front and rear sway bars on my 26M. Sway bars made a big difference in cornering, and sway back and forth down the road, and sway over uneven surfaces like pulling into a gas statuib. Big difference for us. Probably will do the trac bar on the rear next.
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Old 10-02-2019, 04:44 PM   #7
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YES, YES & YES. I also installed Helwig front and rear anti-sway bars. SUMO keeps the rig from porposising leaving parking lots and driveways. Plus smooths out the bumps.
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Old 10-03-2019, 12:45 PM   #8
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The Sumo spring performance was not noticeable. I expected as better, softer ride which didn't happen. The sway bar upgrade (Hellwig) was very noticeable in cornering; much less roll... as advertised. They are much thicker than the stock bars. Upgraded shocks (Bilstein) also did not improve the ride. I guess my 28' class C will always ride rough. I was able to silence it a bit by sound insulating the "dog house". Next I'll be trying to insulate the excessive heat transfer through the passenger side floor board. Good luck.
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Old 10-03-2019, 04:51 PM   #9
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Yes my only front Sumo refused proposing. But the sway bars sure did the trick. On the F53 we don't remove the original rear sway bar. So we end up with double coverage in the back. Wish the front was the same. ��... I have to think that we don't need to design drivability when we purchase an RV. The company should have it setup for us. But I know this isn't going to happen with gas models. Diesel pushers hav air ride. ��
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Old 10-03-2019, 05:30 PM   #10
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Yes
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Old 10-03-2019, 05:33 PM   #11
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If you've never heard of the Cheap Handling Fix (CHF), there's a bazillion posts on it starting here: Cheap Handling Fix - iRV2 Forums

When you look at your factory F53 sway bars you'll probably see they have two sets of holes and the factory install has the bolt in the outermost hole. Back in 2010 someone discovered that you could very measurably improve sway performance simply by moving the bolt to the inner hole. There is no warranty, express or implied, on my comments and I assume no liability for any changes you may make. I'm just regurgitating what I've read in case you do not want to go through all 5,800+ posts. Salient points:
  • The torque setting is 66 ft lbs and you must torque the nuts appropriately or they will make loud clunking and other noises.

  • While many people have simply moved the front bolts, others have found that this causes the front wheels to lift off the ground 2" earlier when using jacks. Others have not. A fellow named TeJay on that topic welds up extension brackets for about $60 a set so this does not happen. Other people have taken their sway bar links to a welding shop and had about 2.5" added. Others have just used the stock links.

  • The rear sway bar bolts usually can be moved with no impact on when the wheels come off the ground.

  • Some people have asked Ford and the response they posted was that the second set of holes is there so the motorhome builder can tune the suspension, but apparently none do.

  • Some people had clearance problems with the relocated bolt hitting the springs so they simply flopped the bolt 180 degrees.

  • Pretty much everyone has reported an immediate noticeable improvement and in nine years no one has reported any type of failures.

  • If you have the stock Ford rear sway bar and a VIN year prior to 2012, look closely at your sway bar bushings. Many, many people have reported their bushings had fully or partially disintegrated and just replacing the bushings helped a lot. 2012 and later models use a polyurethane bushing.

  • Many, many people have reported their sway bar bushing brackets had come loose, had missing bolts or missing nuts. This appears to be a manufacturing defect. Replacing the missing bolts or nuts and torquing to 66 ft lbs fixes it.

  • The coach must be level for the bolt move to be a smooth process. If it is not level then there is tension on one side and the bolts are hard to remove or install. if this happens, install the bolt that is the highest and use a bottle jack to force the other end of the sway bar into alignment so the bolt slides in. Or just start off level.

  • Some model years use a "Z-Bracket" on the rear bolts. This was most common around 2000-2004 and one of the posts has a Ford TSB that says the bracket was added to stop clunking. Later model years, such as my 2019 chassis, also have this Z-bracket but the bolt is splined to the bracket. That means there is no bolt head to put a wrench or socket on. It looks like this was done to improve clearances. If you have this, you can just tap the bolt and bracket out and flip it 180 degrees so you can relocate the bolt.
So if you're even moderately mechanically-inclined and have a good torque wrench, consider giving it a try. At worst you'll probably have lost a few hours making the change and then moving it back. Some people have reported a noticeable improvement just making the first turn out of their driveway.

Again, no warranty, express or implied, and I assume no liability for any changes you may make.
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Old 10-04-2019, 09:41 AM   #12
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Winnebago buys generic Econoline chassis from Ford. Those chassis could be use to make a van or other light truck. Therefore, Ford will not put in maximum duty suspension components into their E450 and F53. It should be on Winnebago to modify the suspension to match the RV being built. Of course, they don't. So we the consumers are left with inadequately suspended motorhomes, unless you are buying into the big diesel class RVs.
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Old 10-04-2019, 10:02 AM   #13
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Winnebago buys generic Econoline chassis from Ford.
Sorry, I'm not understanding the Econoline note. Would you please elaborate? The F53 is a purpose-built chassis for Class A motorhomes although it in itself is generic. https://www.ford.com/commercial-truc...f53-motorhome/

If you click Models & Specs on that page you'll see different specifications for the E-350, E-450 and F-59 commercial chassis. Perhaps it was not always this way?
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Old 10-04-2019, 08:15 PM   #14
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The "E" in E350 and E450 is short for Econoline. Winnebago buys these generic Ford chassis and builds various lines of Class C motorhomes on them, up to 31+ feet long.

Issues have been reported on the 31 footers stating that there can be too much weight in the rear which would unweight the front wheels potentially making the vehicle unstable. After doing suspension work on my 28' class C, it was clear to me that the suspension should be more robust to properly support the weight of a loaded motorhome. Even after beefing up the suspension, the big rigs still push the RV around while passing.
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Old 10-06-2019, 04:06 PM   #15
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I done the chf on our Winnie 29 ve and I am very happy with the difference it made from the stock set up..The vendor suggests the best bang for your buck is definitely an additional Rear swaybar.. I saved the $$$$ $950.00 gulp!... but I just can't pull the trigger on it...seems like a lot of money for a bunch of nuts and bolts and bushings and just one bar!..We had the rig out in Colorado this past summer and I figure we handled the mountains and traffic pretty good...There is never any time I feel unsafe or out of control.. in fact I really enjoy the ride....am I being a cheapskate....
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Old 03-01-2020, 06:59 PM   #16
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Well we just returned from our annual snowbirding in sunny Florida a total of 2100 miles The big difference from the Colorado trip last year was the fact that this time I was towing our Mini Cooper and although the handling was O.K there were times when the rig would try to steer itself..so I have ordered the HD. Roadmaster front and rear swaybars..I am not looking for sports car performance but I have to admit the F53 Ford chassis does leave a little room for improvement..Hoping this will do the trick...
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Old 03-01-2020, 07:27 PM   #17
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You won't be disappointed by this improvement. Also consider front Somo springs.
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Old 03-01-2020, 08:14 PM   #18
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Reniram: The sway bars will only reduce the degree of roll around corners or uneven ground keeping the rig more parallel to the ground which may have some small affect on steering. They also make it more difficult to level the rig with hydraulic levelers on really uneven ground or slopes, as they will try to raise the opposite (higher side) as the lower side is raised.

I hope this will help you understand what sway bars will do for (and against) you.
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Old 03-02-2020, 03:52 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reniram View Post
Well we just returned from our annual snowbirding in sunny Florida a total of 2100 miles The big difference from the Colorado trip last year was the fact that this time I was towing our Mini Cooper and although the handling was O.K there were times when the rig would try to steer itself..so I have ordered the HD. Roadmaster front and rear swaybars..I am not looking for sports car performance but I have to admit the F53 Ford chassis does leave a little room for improvement..Hoping this will do the trick...
Do you already have a rear track bar? That’s what helped us stop “the tail wagging the dog”.
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Old 03-02-2020, 09:53 AM   #20
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Thomb..Installing the new larger Front sway bar and adding the second rear will be the first step, I already have the trac bar up front. Next will be a trac bar on the rear. Not having too much trouble as is, but the two long days returning from Florida got a little tiring with steering wheel correction so I am leaving my upgrades open for any further suspension as needed...I am relying on the expert advice to add the rear first , then change out the front for the larger diameter and if there is still a problem, the rear trac bar and ultimately Sumo springs
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