wolfe10 Report post Posted July 13, 2016 John, I am familiar with your chassis, had a 1997 Safari Sahara on Magnum chassis with leaf spring suspension. And I did a reasonable amount of suspension work to it. Lets back up a minute. What are you wanting to change/fix? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbrunson Report post Posted July 14, 2016 Like I previously stated, I really have no clue how well/ poor my coach drives because it is the only one I ever driven. My confidence level is somewhat low... I have only exceeded 70 mph one time... I stop often and look, checking tire temps etc... I don't know if the pops and creaks I hear as the chassis moves are normal... I have about 1500 miles of experience now. It would be great to increase my driving comfort level ... I fancy myself as doing this to relax... I know there is no magic wand to instantly do this... and foolishly throwing money at the thing is easily accomplished... if you have direct experience... any remarks about the "Personality" of this chassis would be awesome... problems to watch for? current focus is on cheap things like tire pressure and weight... /john Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted July 14, 2016 John, First, 70 is well faster than most of us drive, particularly with older coaches. The good news is that your leaf spring suspension is one any spring shop that works on OTR trucks will be very comfortable checking out for you and/or working on. I am not "anti" Sumo Springs, but not sure adding spring rate is what you need. As far as checking, nothing beats a good "crawl under" the coach. Since you are not on air bags that could fail and trap you, you are pretty safe going under there. Check things like sway bar bushings (inexpensive and easy to replace AND a high failure rate item), check spring shackles, U bolts for torque, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted July 14, 2016 BTW, for those of you who will be at the FMCA Convention in W. Springfield, the Suspension Seminar will be: Suspensions/Coach Ride and Handling Thursday, Aug 4, 1:15 p.m. Seminar 8 (Young Building) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbrunson Report post Posted July 14, 2016 58 minutes ago, wolfe10 said: John, First, 70 is well faster than most of us drive, particularly with older coaches. I guess I intuitively knew that within milliseconds! The good news is that your leaf spring suspension is one any spring shop that works on OTR trucks will be very comfortable checking out for you and/or working on. I am not "anti" Sumo Springs, but not sure adding spring rate is what you need. me either... this is an educational process for me. As far as checking, nothing beats a good "crawl under" the coach. Since you are not on air bags that could fail and trap you, you are pretty safe going under there. Check things like sway bar bushings (inexpensive and easy to replace AND a high failure rate item), check spring shackles, U bolts for torque, etc. I have spent three afternoons under there looking for stupid things wrong like loose shackles missing bushings etc. I want to develop enough confidence in this machine to drive it long distances... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted July 14, 2016 There is really only one way to get too know your coach...go! It's kind off like getting a new pet...none are perfect and it takes time for each to train the other...go bite the bullet ! You can crawl under that Beaver until death do you part and know nothing more than you do now... DP's don't like to just sit...you need to run them and noise in the house is normal...home on wheels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted July 14, 2016 jbrunson, I did a post on replacing my sway bar bushings. Sometimes they can look ok but not be stiff enough to do their job. I used polyurethane bushings. I don't have good enough wifi to search for it tonight. I think it might be beneficial to go test drive a couple of coaches to gain more experience. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted July 15, 2016 Quote Bill. He has his OWN coach ! He want's to get to know and feel secure in his coach... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted July 15, 2016 44 minutes ago, Manholt said: Bill. He has his OWN coach ! He want's to get to know and feel secure in his coach... I understand but the OP said he doesn't know how it should drive. By driving several different coaches he can get a better idea on how it should drive. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted July 15, 2016 I would start by having a good HD truck alignment guy go over the suspension with you. Another option is to have someone else familiar with your coach drive it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbrunson Report post Posted July 15, 2016 Since I still have to work for money, about twice a month we spend the weekend somewhere nice... I have the basement loaded with tools and usually spend at least one day doing "Projects"... minor issues abound... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbhotaling Report post Posted November 4, 2016 On 3/19/2016 at 9:20 AM, manholt said: Kay. Back to the original "mouse trap"! If it isn't broke, why fix it?" Carl OR..... if it ain't broke fix it till it is... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbrunson Report post Posted November 13, 2016 Ok guys... after much deliberation, I added Centramatic balances to all wheels..... huge huge difference... better ride and drives 100% better.... I just got back from a long Florida weekend, stress level from driving hit an all time low.... $100 a wheel and worth every penny... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted November 13, 2016 I put Centramatics on my '88 Prevost a few months back and only recently had a chance to see how they did on a drive. I got new tires which the dealer did not balance and they installed the Centramatics. I only installed them on the drive but I can see them on all 3 axles in the future. Even at 75 MPH the ride is smooth whereas in the past anything above 70 (with balanced tires) we had a noticeable vibration. Good purchase, good results and money well spent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted November 14, 2016 Bill, I have been looking at them and talked to a couple people who have just done it this weekend. I have a feeling there will be some in my future. You do know your tires are only rated for 75. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbrunson Report post Posted November 14, 2016 Clearly the best money spent to date- at least for me... do not delay... lots of driver fatigue gone just by adding these... simple to install... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted November 14, 2016 13 hours ago, WILDEBILL308 said: Bill, I have been looking at them and talked to a couple people who have just done it this weekend. I have a feeling there will be some in my future. You do know your tires are only rated for 75. Bill I have only been driving this bus like I do for 17 years. Not likely going to stop now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted November 14, 2016 55 minutes ago, BillAdams said: I have only been driving this bus like I do for 17 years. Not likely going to stop now! Drive any way you want just so you know the risk. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted November 14, 2016 Having tires rated to 75 and driving 75 does not sound like a big risk to me. YMMV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted November 14, 2016 Since most coaches have a governor set at 86mph these days (stupid), it's a mote point Bill. BillA has a coach that will do about anything you ask of it, speed wise...first thing I did, was remove the governor...darn things are dangerous ! Most speed limits now are 65 to 80 Nation Wide...if your limited to 85, you'll take a county passing someone that's going 65. Most of the time, I'm at 64, West of Kerrville, TX, to Van Horn, I'm at 73+! That is 350 miles plus of nothing... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted November 14, 2016 At this point in time, what does it matter!Famous quote! And I'm not tellin who. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickandlois Report post Posted November 14, 2016 The item that is burned into my memory is how quickly centrifugal force can destroy things once a critical point is reached. For a time in my life I worked on systems that required extreme 'G" force survivability and when they failed in the centrifuge, one needed hi speed imaging to study what happened. So specification charts are taken seriously and when things spin at high speed ! Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted November 15, 2016 I will admit....I have walked ours up to 80 before, then I looked down at the speedometer and backed it off. Its easy to get complacent, I just started to keep up with traffic flow on a long and boring highway. I certainly didn't feel like I was going that fast. I use cruise now to stop the itch to pick up the pace. Funny, I have been passed by tour busses pushing 90 and up before, they have the same size tire as me which unless there is something I am missing they are also rated at 75 MPH Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted November 15, 2016 The 75 mph ratting, makes no sense to me...truckers in TX, NM and AZ. blow past that regularly...on my trip down Hwy 118 to Lajitas, you have about 40 miles of flats to run and I was at 67 on CC. Tour Buses and 18 wheelers blew by me...speed limit is 70! Someone is blowing smoke! Carl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
