06 View rockin n rollin side to side

[RayJorg]

We have a 2016 View, and got serious about chassis upgrades for our 10K trip this year. I did it one step at a time, SUMOs first then Fox shocks, then Helwig rear sway bar. It turns out I should have done the reverse order!
The SUMOs did almost nothing - waste of money. After spending a lot of time on the Sprinter forum, the Fox shocks seemed to be the clear brand winner for Sprinters. So I had them put on and they helped a fair amount. Did the Helwig sway bar last, and it helped a LOT, more than the shocks.
But it's still not ideal, but probably the best it can be. Unfortunately, the Sprinter rear shocks are mounted closer to the center than on most vehicles, and same for the sway bar, so there's not much leverage to be had for such a tall heavy vehicle.
All that said, I don't find it particularly bad except when exiting driveways at an angle. It's certainly much, much better than our previous 32' Ford based Class C.

[sajohnson]

As others have said, there is a limit to how stable a Sprinter-based class C can be, even with multiple suspension upgrades.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the degree of improvement from suspension mods is highly subjective. Opinions vary widely.

Our View has Firestone airbags; a Hellwig anti-roll bar, SumoSprings in the front, Koni FSD shocks & struts, and General Grabber tires. Each of those items seemed to make a modest improvement, but there is still some push from passing semis and stronger crosswinds. For the most part it is a pleasure to drive.

I included the tires because they actually made the most noticeable difference. The Michelin LTX tires the Generals replaced are of course very good tires, but they have relatively soft sidewalls (especially for a Load Range E tire). The Grabbers have a much stiffer sidewall and do not allow the View to get blown off course as much. Surprisingly, the ride quality feels about the same. So more stability with no downside to speak of.

Tire pressure and air bag pressure can make a substantial difference. The best way to determine the proper tire pressure is to weigh the RV and then consult the tire mfr's "load and inflation tables". Air bag pressure is done by feel.

Our rig still rocks some when entering and exiting parking lots, or going over diagonal speed bumps, but it is more tolerable. At the end of the day, the rocking is only an issue (and a small one at that) for a tiny fraction of the time most people are driving. In order to completely eliminate it, the owner would need a HUGE anti-roll bar and incredibly stiff shocks. Those parts do not exist, but if they did they would make the ride quality incredibly harsh.

In short, I would suggest that people not make the 'rock & roll' their primary focus.

[Marty57]

I have a 2004 32' Minnie on a Ford E450 V10; bought it with 32k miles in 2017. I had some issues with tires and specifically the tire stems but I got that ironed out. Everything else is as it was when I purchased it. I've been from CA to the midwest; half with a towed jeep half without; 55k on it now. Unless I have a direct crosswind the coach handles great. I drive 60-65 mph, with and without the Jeep. Unless it was highly modified before I bought it, it drive like a big car. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

[sajohnson]

Originally Posted by Marty57

I have a 2004 32' Minnie on a Ford E450 V10; bought it with 32k miles in 2017. I had some issues with tires and specifically the tire stems but I got that ironed out. Everything else is as it was when I purchased it. I've been from CA to the midwest; half with a towed jeep half without; 55k on it now. Unless I have a direct crosswind the coach handles great. I drive 60-65 mph, with and without the Jeep. Unless it was highly modified before I bought it, it drive like a big car. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

An E450 is a serious chassis. My guess is that generally speaking, RVs built on it -- and maybe the E350 -- get tossed around less than the Sprinter-based RVs.

The only RV we've owned is the View (since 2012) so I don't have any personal experience with the Ford chassis. I know both of them have a higher GVWR than the Sprinter.

[NeilV]

Before modifying the vehicle with upgrades its best to inspect it and actually find out whats if anything is worn out. Too many times I see people spend thousands on upgrades when the simple problem was they had tires with the wrong ply rating or tires that were underinflated for the load that they were carrying. When you by an RV new or used you also need to get it aligned to match how you have it loaded with people, provisions and your gear/stuff when you travel. Then there is always the chance that if its swaying too much that a sway bar bushings or links may be worn or broken so in need of replacement. You really do not want to mask an issue with worn suspension parts by adding a costly suite of aftermarket doo dads when the root cause might only be the need to correctly inflate the tires, replace a $25 set of rubber bushings and get an alignment.

On the Bilstein shocks, well many find them way too stiff for use in a motor home which can put a lot of additional stress on the House part of it along with your dishes, etc. Many will go with the Monroe RV shocks for their combination of smooth ride and control.

I put the Roadmaster Heavy Duty Sway Bar on my previous coach with the stiffer Polyurethane Bushings and while it did eliminate the sway it introduced a very busy ride where the coach instantly reacted to any change in pitch in the roadway. Just replacing the worn out bushings on the original sway bar would have been a better choice. The stiff Bilstein shocks only made it worse.

I drove and maintained local and short haul highway delivery trucks before getting a motor home so I am accustomed to driving vehicles where your sitting several feet above the roadway which to many car drivers feels like being pitched about in the crows nest of a tall ship.

So before rushing about to buy a load of add-ons that you may not really need load it the way you will travel with it, get it weighed (correcting any overweight issues) filling the tires to support that weight per the tire manufactures load chart and get the alignment checked. If there is a problem with worn suspension components the alignment shop should tell you and once that is done then consider if you need to make any other improvements.

[Rick 99037]

I see a lot of good advice given here. When I was younger, I drove trucks of the size of my motorhome. I didn't expect any problem driving my 2005 29ft Class A. But I did at first. I was over-correcting, and intimidated by being blown around; and my self-talk had me heading in the wrong direction in my head. And I hear that in your writings too.
There's no getting around the fact it's a long tall box when wind hits it. Yet even though you see motorhomes crossing you path on every highway, reports of motorhome crashes are very rare. Right? And I agree with one writer that the previous owners of our rigs put on many miles safely, and that we will too. Though I haven't driven my unit a lot in the two years I've owned it; I notice it continues to get more comfortable doing so for me. Here are some tricks I've used, that will also work fore you.
I noticed that putting the arm rest up and resting my arm on it, not steering with both hands on the wheel, (which amplified the overcorrecting,) forcing myself to relax, and most importantly keeping my eyes focused farther down the road - really improved my comfort level, and built my confidence. Focusing too close causes over-reacting.
Trust yourself. Expect driving it will become more automatic and normal for you, like everybody else did - very quickly. And yes, you'll still get slapped around at times. Everybody does!

[DesertRatt]

IMHO, the Ford E-450 supplied to MH companies is utterly unsuited to the job. It's intended to haul plumbing and carpet supplies to job sites. It's a gross truck with very unsophisticated suspension, and under-designed for carrying a top heavy and tall load. But, it's what was available to the MH industry, themselves having little to no automotive engineering capabilities. All they do is make sure they don't exceed the gross weight ratings. They deliver rigs that the owner must finish out by patching the poor ride quality.

The RV industry is apparently way too small in unit volume to entice the truck/van companies into designing a proper Class C chassis. Consider, for example, the GM motor home of the 70s which was intentionally designed as a whole vehicle: lower, lighter, better suspension design, etc.

I suspect that very few first time buyers of a Class C expect such a crude driving experience. I've been reading RV forums for a decade and the number of "white knuckle driving" stories is always high among people new to RV.

This doesn't lessen my enthusiasm at all--I love RVing, but I know it would even be more enjoyable in Class C if there was a proper designed chassis! On my 2004 Ford changing out the factory sway bars to the Hellwigs (way bigger) made a huge and startling obvious difference. Ford could have spent an extra $30 to supply heavy enough bars, but that would require volume enough to warrant a special "RV model". For example.

[stew]

Hello,

Hope everyone is well. Merry Xmas and holidays. I got several things, already, but I haven't had them put on b/c we're gonna have Xmas in Nashville as it turns out, where I have a place to stay. So I'm gonna put it off until after then.

I got everything though, listed below. What do you think?

With you guys input, I'm not too worried about the sway. All your stuff needs to be secured inside in the RV anyway! When I moved it recently I had tools everywhere, and a string of lights inside. I just wanna go ahead and improve the rockin-n-rollin somewhat, and live with it. (I'm getting old, but I can't give up my rockin-n-rollin completely! See Three Dog Night reference above.)

So I threw the kitchen sink at it and got everything except maybe Firestone airbags. They would be in addition to the Sumos and Timbrens? I found someone, a semi truck guy who's got a pit to do all the work except the tires. The tires may not be the best, but they should do, I hope. I know inflation and good tires, as y'all have mentioned, is perhaps the most important thing.

-Lippert 283280 Heavy-Duty Replacement Suspension Gas Shock Yellow
-Roadmaster Rear Anti-sway Bar
-SumoSprings Solo Custom Helper Springs - Rear Axle
-Timbren Front Suspension Enhancement System
-6 C225/75R-16 CONTINENTAL VANCONTACT A/S

Thanks!