Suspension/Handling Evaluation 2011/E450/2552 w/s

I took our E450/2552 to one of the top Professional Suspension Evaluators around, Henderson Line-Up/SuperSteer Products of Grants Pass, Oregon.  The M/H was loaded with a full tank of gas and water and not fully loaded with food and clothing.  At first they took it out on a short road test for a thorough evaluation.    Basically, the observations were slight wander, tail wag, poor return to center(steering), sway(lane change).   When we returned they then weighed all four corners.  Weights were: LF 2300, RF2100, TF 4400--LR 3850, RR 4150, TR 8000--LS 6150, RS 6250, total weight 12,400.  MFG GVW Front 5000, GVW Rear 9500.  Based on these weights the recommended tire pressures are 70 PSI for front and rear.  The evaluation of the shocks said they are marginal for the weights and the recommendation is the Koni FSD shocks which are Frequency Selective Damping which means they are firm where you need it like through corners, but soft over expansion joints and rough roads.  We then had a front end alignment check.  Not too far out, but brought to spec.  Alignment is warranted for 24 months/24,000 miles.  We then had the front and rear Roadmaster Sway Bars installed, a Rear Track Bar and a Safe-T-Plus Steering Control installed.  So, back on the road(same route) to evaluate the performance.  Impressive to say the least.  A worthwhile investment to make your drive more comfortable.  Will be installing the Koni's in the near future.  They also did some other evaluations like the rear overhang/wheelbase ratio and a computation of the weight ratio.  So, all in all, it was a very thorough evaluation.
    Bob

Hi Bob.

I inflate my tires to 75 PSI front and 80 PSI rear and, fortunately, other than a little sway with hard wheel use, our 2552 does not exhibit those tendencies.

Regarding the FSD Koni shocks: I installed them on our Alpine and they were great. I am happy to hear they make them for an E450 and will replace the Ford OEM shocks in about 15,000 miles.

Bob

Very good, thank you for all the wonderful info. With the 3100 the fresh water is under passenger bed. All the rest is behind the rear wheels. I have a slight wonder, did it seem to help?

I have been very satisfied with Henderson's. Purchased a couple of trac-bars, one for the class a and Cruiser. I let time get past me and miss the sale date and still received the special. Great people!

Billy,
    On our 2552 the fresh water is also under the passenger side bed which puts it close to being over the rear axle which is a good location.  Unfortunately, the holding tanks are all the way to the rear, but can be minimized by how much you allow to build up before dumping.  The Trac Bar and the beefed up sway bars did make a big improvement.
       Bob

I too had such upgrades done 4 years ago on our 2007 2350, Roadmaster bars, Safe-T-Plus, rear Henderson trac bar, and Koni Shocks.  I have the Koni-RV adjustables set to the stiffest.

Koni-FSDs are now available for the E-Series??????  They really seem to be ideal.