P30 Shock recommendations?

[cncsparky]

Hello! Just joined your forum.  We inherited our first RV, a Sportscoach Cross Country on a 1987 Chevy P30       The inlaws owned it about 6 years and only used once.  They purchased from the original owner but it looks like it hasn't been taken care of very well.  Last weekend I sealed up, hopefully, most roof leaks with eternabond. Now I've started looking at the chassis, engine, suspension, etc.  Pulled the carb and sent to SMI for a rebuild, should be back next week.  Noticed that virtually all the vacuum hoses are cracked open, so thats the next project when the carb gets home.  Planning all new hoses, belts, fluids, tuneup etc.  Any suggestions on an old RV like this?  I figure its going to take me most of a year to get to the point where I trust driving it some distance, so short trips by next summer. 

BTW - the shocks appear orginal, what brand are you peeps using for the P30?

-Tom.

[LJ-TJ]

Well welcome aboard Mate you came to the right spot. Sounds like you got everything under control. DON'T FORGET THE PICTURES. It's winter we like pictures.

[HandyDan]

I went with Monroe because they seemed like a good match for my motorhome and weren't astronomically expensive.  If I used my MH more often or went farther than I do I might have looked at more expensive alternatives but the Monroes work well and improved the ride tremendously from the old originals that were on it.  Do you have a tag axle on your Sportscoach?
Welcome to the group.

[cncsparky]

Thanks Dan.  No tag axle, I think its 29'.   I've put monroes on everything I've owned over the years, surely good enough for the RV!  I know if you watch their promotions they can be picked up with a rebate.  We are just warm weather lake peeps, won't be traveling cross country (despite the name of my rv  :)rotflmao )

-Tom.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I'll be posting pics eventually of my shock installation project, with the right rear axle shock numbers from Monroe.  The ones I got for the front required me to heavily modify the shock mounts rather than try to find the right ones...so you'd be on your own there...lol

Welcome to the best vintage RV forum ever!

Kev

[tiinytina]

Search the forums for all the info.. Bilsteins or Monroe on fronts, airlifts in front springs but you can read all about that... lol... Welcome!!! all you need to know is here.. and of course a group of us all have our 2 cents about everything RV...
tina

[cncsparky]

Monroe's website has these numbers for a 1987 P30 RV:
Front  557003
Rear   557004
Stabilizer  555944

[HandyDan]

http://www.monroeheavyduty.com/assets/catalog/MCV_Recreational_Vehicles.pdf

This is the list that I always refer to.

[Randy_in_Ohio]

Welcome Tom!

I just installed KYB shocks all around on my '84 P30. Haven't driven it much with the new shocks but the little I did I was impressed. 

Here are the part #'s:

Front -  KG6407

Rear -   KG6410

Whatever you go with, make sure that they are intended for use on a motor home and not a bread truck. Both are out there...

I ordered some Pro-Comp shocks for the front but took them back because they didn't include the mounting hardware and seemed pretty weak for a big MH. then I went with the KYB.

You may want to get a steering stabilizer as well if it's original. I went with Bilstein on the stabilizer

[Oz]

AWE-some!   

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I found my little note book that I jotted down all my shock info into when I did the shocks in New York this year.  It was full so it was stowed in a cabinet, but I found it while looking for something else.

Just to make sure my notes weren't wrong because of everything jumbled and scribbled and all the cross outs in the notes, I went to my purchase history archive on eBay to confirm the part numbers.

Okay, the rear tag axle shocks, which were a perfect fit.  This is the part number Dan listed which helped me find it: 

Monroe 34792. 

The drive axle, a near enough fit, even though I did shim it a bit around the mounting bolts, since the bolt hole was slightly bigger than the stock Delco shocks I took off.  By the way, this is the direct replacement Monroe lists for the Delco shock based on Delco shock number 22007253 which I finally found on the original shocks after cleaning all the undercoating off of them.  I didn't HAVE to shim them, they probably would have been fine, but I had the tools and the know how, and went ahead and did it anyways:

Monroe 555028

The front shocks were FAR from a perfect fit, although the travel and load capacity were perfect.  I had to shim the bottom holes, spread and widen the lower shock mount brackets, and replace the upper shock mount altogether with a larger grade 8 bolt and lots of spacer washers and locktite:

Monroe 555012

The front steering stabilizer was also a perfect fit, no mods at all:

Monroe 555944

And in case you have a Safe-T-Plus steering control damper additionally like we do, if you HAD to replace a stock number 12884520, model number 35001, the new replacement number for that is:

Safe-T-Plus 31-140

They are VERY expensive, like 320 bucks, but Safe-T-Plus told me they never really wear out, so I probably didn't need a new one as long as the shaft was still shiny coming out of it.  It was shiny so I left it alone.

In a nutshell, here is what I did to make my own shock shims, modify the mounts, and make everything work...and why!

First the why.  The only shocks that weren't stock on our rig when we got it, recently replaced when we bought it, were the front shocks and the rear tag axle shocks.  The previous bonehead owner had replaced them with Trailblazer shocks, very light duty things made for light 4x4s.  They worked for a while, but eventually failed utterly this past year.  The only shocks not completely collapsed and leaking were the stock original Delco shocks on the drive axle.

So I did the best I could with cross referencing and the Monroe catalog, etc.

Finally found the ones I thought were the best, committed to it, and bought them.

Like I said, the rear tag axle shocks were a perfect fit, as was the steering stabilizer.

The drive axle was close enough, but I didn't like the loose fit of the mounting bolts in the sleeved eyelets of the new shocks.  The originals were a very close fit.  So I took my Porter Cable grinder with a cutting wheel, but the old shocks in the vice, and cut off the top and bottom of both shocks so I could get the old steel sleeves out of them.  Then I put THOSE in a vice and cut one lengthwise slit in them on one side, to make them sort of like a big roll pin.  They were the perfect size to slip over the mounting bolts on the RV chassis, and make a nice tight fit inside the new shock sleeves.

The front was the most challenging.

I shimmed the bottom bolt just like I did the drive axles, and after widening and bending the mounting bracket to just the right width and angle, installed new grade 8 mounting bolts that were the stock size, but longer, with big washers on either side of the shock eyelet.

The upper mounts were completely replaced, with much larger grade 8 bolts that didn't require a shim, and again, large washers on both sides of the shock eyelet.

All bolts on all the shocks were secured with new lock washers, new grade 8 nuts and or bolts as applicable, and of course a liberal amount of lock tite!

The ride was remarkably  improved, right from the getgo.  Still have to raise the rear of the RV by lowering the rear tag axle, but that is a job for Mor/Ryde on our summer vacation after May.

Hope that helps!

Kev

[cncsparky]

http://www.monroeheavyduty.com/catalog/docs/MCV_Recreational_Vehicles.pdf

This is the list that I always refer to.

Great list!  I noticed two different styles for the front end on my 1987 model.  One with monobeam and the other without.  How can I tell which one I have?

Ohh and thanks Kev for the essay 

-Tom.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

No problem Tom!  I'm usually long winded!  And it proves that anything can be done with enough creativity...lol!

Kev

[HandyDan]

No, you do not have a monobeam axle.  You have independent A style suspension.  Monobeams were found sometimes on stepvans and Workhorse chassis (What is plural for chassis?  We went through this before somewhere.) Have you checked the airbags in the front coil springs.  If those are not in good shape, shocks aren't going to help a lot.  You haven't really lived until you've had the opportunity to replace those plastic balloons.  Do a search and you'll find how much fun people have had wrestling them into place.  You are not a REAL RVer until you've replaced them. (Anyone agree?)

Old shock                                                                                                                                 New Shock

[cncsparky]

Thanks Dan.  I haven't had a chance to check out the air bags yet, but have read about replacing them     .  If they are holding air, they must be ok?  Also, I can't find any documentation on how much air to put in them.

[HandyDan]

Do a search on the "entire forum" for air bag pressure and you will find a lot of info.  I run mine at 50lbs because it just "feels" right.  The documentation that came with my air bags says for motorhomes the minimum is 40 and max is 90.  I had to do a little experimenting to get the right "feel".  Too much air gives a harsh ride and too little makes things sloppy.  With new air bags and new shocks, it makes the old motorhome ride and handle a LOT better.  If yours is holding air, don't mess with it except check the air pressure. 

[TripleJ]

I have replaced bad shocks on vehicles with gabriels and felt no difference in the ride.  Literally no difference, except maybe the new shocks were equally crappy from side to side, rather than left being worse than right, etc.
 
Monroe has been a 50-50 shock in my experience. Ive never been blown away, but Ive usually noticed an improved ride.  Sometimes not...

The bilsteins I just installed on the front of my 85 have actually blown me away with how much they've improved the handling and control.  If I was completely ignorant and had no idea what mechanics were about, and had just given a shop $2000 to fix everything in my front end, I would probably be walking away happy right now.  THATS how much the bilsteins have improved my ride. 

Uneven roads, gas station driveways(evil kinevil ramps!), harsh dips in the road taken at speed, these shocks are excellent.  Ive never shelled out for bilsteins before, and Im VERY happy that I spent the extra $30 per side, and will probably go there when I do the rears, even tho I swear, the fronts made it feel like I already replaced the rears 

FWIW I have 1 year old airbags in the front. I replaced some old gabriels - and you know how I feel about that brand - and I bought Bilstein B6 HD Monotube shocks, P/N 24-011730 from amazon. http://amzn.com/B007HRWWS2




Also found this Bilstein motorhome catalog

http://www.bilsteinus.com/uploads/tx_templavoila/motorhome_0811.pdf