let's talk shocks

[nana25k]

Its time for new shocks on our 2000 Dynasty. I know Bilstiens and Koni are popular but what about Monroe's?? Because these aren't cheap We need to get it right not put something on and then change them again. We are on a roadmaster chassis with 8 air bags and having had all four corners weighed,knowing we are actually under weight and plan to stay that way

Where did you find the best prices??

[nana25k]

OK guess no takers on this subject. Thanks to all who looked!!!

[Pat & Pete]

It's only been one day ... Give it a chance .

[Bill Joyce]

Years ago some chassis manufacturers put on Monroe shocks and after a couple years of complaints, went back to Bilstien and Koni. Many owners replaced their Monroes. I do not know if Monroe is now a better product, but it was not in the past.

[BeltoneMagoo]

We have a 2001 HR Imperial. It had 60k+ on it when we bought it. The ride was horrible. I read a lot about the shocks on various forums and decided on the Koni's. I finally got something right as it sure has made a vast difference in the ride and handling. Expensive but no regrets as their warranty which is for as long as you own the vehicle that they are installed on. So far so good and would do it again. FWIW, In my investigation on shocks it seems that the Monroes on RV's would only last about 40,000 miles or so. I am not knocking Monroe as they are really good on and the only thing I use on my dailey driver, a 2002 Ford F-250.

Good luck, good health and safe travels!

 

P.S.

Bought mine locally because they had them in stock. When I was checking prices I found that there was very little difference in prices.

[kathydavidb]

Does anyone have a ballpark figure on costs for a class A MH ? Thanks, Dave.

[nana25k]

My net search show around $170 per shock. We need 8 so a grand for the shocks.. Haven't checked local install prices here on MS Gulf Coast yet. I know when we were in the RGV a few years ago we needed them for our 5th wheel. Install prices were pretty outrageous at the big places but after some research we found a local tire shop that did them really cheap. Of course the MH is another story!! Will be looking for a local biug rig tire place hoping for a good price

[docj]

I guess my first question is how do you know you need shocks unless you are actually seeing leakage? Our Beaver has its original Bilstein shocks and I'm in no hurry to replace them. The consensus of the Beaver owners seems to be, if you're not getting excessing porpoising then you may find that changing the shocks doesn't make all that much of a difference. You can always replace just the front four and see how that affects the ride. There's no reason why you can't do 4 at a time.

 

BTW, we had Henderson's install SuperSteer Motion Control units on our coach several years ago and those substantially reduced motions that we might otherwise would have attributed to shock absorber issues. We had thought we needed shocks until those were installed, afterwards we saw no need.

[nana25k]

We had a visit at Henderson last spring. They recommended then that we needed shocksin our future. Our rig has over 100K miles so that's not surprising. We have plans to start with the front 4 others in a couple months.

[horizon36]

I also had a set of Hendersons Motion Control Units installed on our coach and they made a huge difference in ride and handling. The following year we had them install a set of Koni FSD shocks and again the ride substantially improved.

[nana25k]

So there seems to be a consensus about the Henderson Motion Control units. How are they compared to source engineering CCV units.

[Steve n Jan]

I replaced the Koni's on our Country Coach with Road Kings and would do it again, they make a great shock.

[rorr1821]

Not sure if you have taken action to replace your shocks, however here are some things you may want to consider. I have a 2008 Diplomat which had 8 OEM Monroe shocks which I replaced at about 20,000 miles, after a trip to Alaska. There was no noticeable ride issues but I aired on the side caution. Keeping in mind a trip to Alaska is hard on vehicles. Also when you have air suspension, as do most Diesel motorhome, it can be difficult to pin point the cause of ride or suspension issues. I replaced the shocks myself which I do not recommend unless you have the tools, work place, and experience. After removing the shocks it was very apparent they were totally worn out. The rod would move with little or no resistance. I replaced my shocks with Koni, however after reading an article in Motorhome Magazine April 2, 2009 I would have used Bilstien shocks. At that time they were noticeable less expensive than Koni. That is not say Koni are not great shocks. I would steer clear of Monroe.

Hope this helps.

[nana25k]

Still researching and saving up our pennies. Does look like Monroe's are off the list and its now a toss up between the other two brands

[Kevin H]

I put a set of Koni FSD on my '99 Dolphin on a Ford F53 chassis. The ride improvement was dramatic. I got them from Shox.com. Here is a link to their pricing for a variety of shock brands for F53 installations.

 

http://www.shox.com/appguide/shoxshop/productsdisplay.php

 

I can't speak to any other brands than Koni.

 

On edit:

 

Well. Rats. The link did not work. Try this link and navigate to your platform.

[Ray,IN]

MotorHome magazine tested 3 brands of shocks in 2009. Monroe was not tested. Bilstien and Monroe shocks are the same price on Shockwarehouse.com

for my MH, for comparison purposes.

[run2]

When I replaced my OEM shocks with with Koni shocks 3 years ago, as I recall there was a lifetime guarantee on the Koni's. .

[Ray,IN]

When I replaced my OEM shocks with with Koni shocks 3 years ago, as I recall there was a lifetime guarantee on the Koni's. .

Bilstein also has a lifetime warranty

[RNF03]

Went to factory this last summer. Have 2004 Country Coach Allure 36 feet. Max gross weight 33,000 lbs. Have KONI shocks and factory said they were good. Have over 127,000 miles including Alaska.

[djnorton]

Blistering are valved to collapse with high resistance and extend easily. Koni are valved to compress easily and have high resistance on extension.

 

Blistens are fabulous handling shock, but harsh ride on hitting potholes.

 

Koni, great handling shock, but less harsh on pot holes... Front end may porpoise more on highway, I call it jiggling your belly. Not moderate or severe porpoising. Spartan chassis recommended I change out my OE Bilstein and try the adj. Koni on the front, giving me a much smoother ride, albeit a little belly jiggle on certain highways.

 

2006 Travel Supreme Select

[ChetParks]

Call Jim at Source Engineering in Coburg. He is more than willing to talk about shocks and make a recommendation.

[Smitty77_7]

I agree that calling and taking with Source Engineering will give you solid info to consider in relation to replacing shocks and possibly adding the air check valves for a Monaco coach.

 

If doing on your own, I'd go with the Koni Adjustable SP3 all around, and the Super Steer MCU's check valves (As they work well, and are less expensive then Source Engineering, the last time I checked.) The Adjustable's give you the option to change the settings to sort of tune the ride.

 

FSD's are good shocks, and really make a difference on the F53 and Workhorse chassis. But on larger IFS coaches, the FSD's did not seem to have enough grunt to keep things under control. This could have changed now, so another good call for info would be with Justin at Koni. Nice man, and knows his stuff. If you do call and talk to Justin, you might ask if the Koni "99" shock would be an option for your coach. (Some Alpine owner's are now able to get the 99 for their chassis.)

 

I also recall a thread several years ago now, where a Monaco owner with the eight shocks, only replaced his fronts and the outside shocks on the rear. Leaving the rear inside OEM in place. Been awhile, but believe this was on with the older SP2 generation of the Adjustable. A visit to the IRV2 Monaco forum, would get you a larger response from Monaco owners with he Roadmaster chassis.

 

Best of luck to you:)!

Smitty