B-350 "swimming on the road"

[Ramcamper B-350]

Hi, i am new, my english is bad, but i have a nice B-350!



But he is more "swimming" with his big rig then safty driving.
Feeling is like "play" in steering linkage, but it isn`t!
Any Tips for me?


If you want to see more pics and data (fom the dealer i bought) look at:
My B-350 Camper

Reiner

[Ramcamper B-350]

Does a "Hellwig Swaybar" solve my problem?
Any experience with this?
Reiner

[rwood13]

bigest swaybars you can find, kyb, koni, belstern gas shocks, good tires, prefer michlen myself and get a good mech to do a front end alignment

[Ramcamper B-350]

Thanks for answer!
The only swaybar i found is Hellwig 7166.
I got the van with new harder Gabriel Gas Riders.....good enough?
Good mech is no problem.
Reiner

[rwood13]

if thats the only bar then get one, Gabriel Gas Riders will not last very long, I have a 93 GMC full size custom, I put them on the front, was great for about 9 months then started getting softer

[frankendart]

I would take rwood13's advice on the shocks. You van has a raised center of gravity with that roof on it, and also, the overhange above the windshield adds lift to the front of the van at speed. All of that tends to unlaod the front axle, and add sway to the ride.

Stiffen things up, and align the front end. Another suggestion would be a set of RV coil-overs, but I doubt that they would be any better.

Good Luck.

[bignoisey]

You've had this thread out there for some time but I'll respond anyway. If you've had the alignment checked already and there are no loose bushings, ball joints, or tie rod ends you might install a steering stabilizer. I have one on my '99 Pleasureway conversion which is about the same configuration you show in your photo. Also I responded to another person on shocks with this message:
I have a '99 3500 van that was modified into a van-motorhome. Right away I noticed that the 9000 pound GVW vehicle was too much for the OEM shocks. I saw that Bilstein seems to be the standard shock for the RV industry. I'm happy with the Bilsteins I purchased and if you can find a dealer they may also be right for you. My problem may be similar to yours when you're fully loaded - Heavy and high center of gravity / leans a lot on turns and bounces several times after hitting a dip. And that was with the brand new OEM shocks.
You can probably order Bilsteins on line through an RV parts store like Camping World (http://www.campingworld.com) but it will cost you shipping, and they are made in Germany which may also cause delay. Above all, don't do what I did and order them through a performance car web site. The one I used serves the sports car community, and were very slow for stuff that's not in their routine. I finally got the shocks after 3 months and several phone calls and emails. That's my 2 cents worth. Good luck.
There are probably other options too.