2001 Safari Zanzibar Porpoising

[rsbilledwards]

Hi there, We are new to this RV business and bought a beautiful 26,000 mile 2 owner 40' cat powered Safari Zanzibar. On our first outing, going up to Wyoming we went over a pretty good swail in the highway and had a pretty exciting ride as the coach "porpised" down the highway at 65 miles an hour. It finally settled down smooth as it could be with us wide eyed wondering what just happened. This coach has a torsion bar front suspension. What can be done to mitigate this the next time it meets an unexpected hump or a dip in the road. Could the shocks be weak or shot, does not feel like it and of course more difficult to check than our cars, can't bounce the corner.

Thanks for the input

Bill

[vtbigdog]

Have you checks the shocks or airbags? Sounds like they are worn.

[dickandlois]

Look at the shocks and the mounting points for any indication of wear and traces of oil on the cylinders. Then have a OTR truck center check the torsion bar front suspension and the rest of the suspension while its in the shop. The air bags should be OK. Have the ride height checked also.

The prior owner may have been heavy loaders.

[wolfe10]

Bill.

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

The first thing we have to determine is exactly what suspension you have.

If the B.F. Goodrich Torsilastic Suspension (aka Velvet Ride), discussions about air bags would be moot.

If that is what you have, the first thing you need to do is check ride height. Shims are removed to raise ride height.

Ralph Andrews, owner of http://www.pioneermetalworks.com/ is very knowledgeable about the Torsilastic suspension and has several upgrades for it, including double shock mounts for the front.

Brett

[chucknewman]

Bill,

What Brett said is right on. Unless someone redesigned and modified the chassis you do not have air bags. You have no air system at all.

We had Ralph's dual mounts added to our Serengeti and replaced all shocks with Koni's. Major improvement. You might also ask him about his Tiger Trak enhancements. Well worth the money.

In addition, be aware that Monaco started building the Safari line circa 2000 and put the wrong (too short) torsilastic springs in the front of many coaches. Ralph purchased all the spare stock of Velvet Ride components from Monaco a few years ago. He can help you with that issue also. Friends of ours damaged some components on their '01 Zanzibar due to this issue until they had the front torsilastics replaced.

Around about 2003 Monaco stopped using the Magnum chassis and went to something else. From then on the Safari coaches did use air bags.

Why not join Safari International . You will surrounded with years of knowledge about the Safari line of coaches.

[davemarcia]

Hi I am having problems with suspension on our 2001 Safari Cheetah. It is porpoising bad. We just had new Blistien shocks installed and there are no air bags on this magnum chassis. This is a diesel pusher with only 41000 mi. We really like the Safari and want to keep it. If the is some information about what to do, I would like to hear it.

Thanks

Dave & Marcia Carroll

dwc1646@yahoo.com

[wolfe10]

Dave and Marcia,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

When you say you don't have air bags, I assume that means you have the B.F. Goodrich Torsilastic suspension (aka Velvet Ride).

Have you checked and adjusted RIDE HEIGHT? http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Safarifriends/files/Torsilastic%20Ride%20Height/

You can also measure it yourself and post the measurements AND the number of shims at each wheel position (same number in front of and behind a wheel position, but each wheel position can be different).

What tire pressure are you running? Is it based on your actual weights?

Once you have the basics done, there ARE double shock mounts available: http://www.pioneermetalworks.com/doubleshocks.htm

[JohnQFWB]

On our 1997 Safari Serenget M-4040, New Toyo M-120Z's & Koni Shocks (Per Dear Ralph A's Recommendation before he passed), cured our bad ride totally.

[wolfe10]

John,

Did you go with Ralph's double shock set up or singles-- what Koni part number?

[JohnQFWB]

John,

Did you go with Ralph's double shock set up or singles-- what Koni part number?

Single, I think I posted the part numbers (or maybe Ralph Did) on one of the Yahoo Safari sites.

[rsbilledwards]

2001 Safari Zanzibar Having initiated this thread, I failed to follow up after taking the advise offered. So here is the feedback after nearly 10,000 miles.

It is perfect and a pleasure to drive, wind or no wind, passing a semi or having one pass me. Bumps in the road are almost smooth, no more suspension bottoming and a big bang! I took Ralph's advise completely, all of it!

First checked the ride height and it was off an inch and a half, really all corners were different. So I fixed it by removing shims, each amounting to 1/4 inch with correct ride height at 25 inches measured from the center of the axels to the bottom of the belt line molding. This is approximately 42 inches off of a concrete pad finished flat. The latter being a quick and dirty check.

Next reversed the upper front shock mounts. That is I took the right front and turned it upside down and placed it on the left side, same for the other side. There is a bolt that cannot be dropped so put a wrap of safety wire on it to keep it from dropping back into the dark hole of the chassis and the fuel tank. This fine wire can be left in place when installing the mount. I replaced the shocks with the new generation KONIs Ralph recommended. His last iteration of this change is a single shock, the dual set is out and forget Bilstein gas shocks, hydraulics are better in this application.

His fabrication shop in Washington produces 3 stabilizer bars, 2 for the front and one for the rear. One of these bars is a likeness of the one on the left side installed by the manufacturer. It goes on the right side and aids in stabilizing the front axle under hard braking. Why they left it off is a mystery.

Lastly, with the torsalactics dying a slow death, Mr. Andrews recommended supplemental air bags to help the them live a healthy and long life. Since there are no torsalactic units available, Ralph's stash is gone and none are being made, it seemed to make sense. In addition to all of that I added a 1.5 gallon air tank into the Pac Brake air system which was used to supply the airbags and the air horn.

It all works perfectly. Total cost for parts was under $3000. Sounds like a lot of money but it is safer to drive and puts a big smile on Janet's face.