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Old 09-09-2020, 10:02 AM   #1
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Hellwig anti-sway bar opinion...

Does the Hellwig anti-sway bar make a difference? YES.
I installed it on our 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24M, a Class C. The Hellwig is part No. 7254.
We drove about 700 miles this past week, on smooth four-lane roads and on rough two-lane back roads. It was our first outing with the new bar.
The Hellwig does not eliminate rocking side to side or rocking front to back.
But it does minimize it, a lot.
Instead of rocking down and up and then down and up, it just rocks down and then comes back to center. It does not flatten the road.
As for front-to-back rocking, it minimizes that too.
We bought our Hellwig online from a truck parts firm in Florida. At Hellwig, in California, I dealt with Maria, who is very good at customer service.
We live in Albuquerque.
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Old 09-09-2020, 03:14 PM   #2
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Thanks for the update. I installed the Sumo bump stops at the same time as the Hellwig and I was not sure which one helped the most. Replacing the bump stops with Sumo's should help with what is left.
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Old 09-10-2020, 12:31 PM   #3
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Thanks for the update. I installed the Sumo bump stops at the same time as the Hellwig and I was not sure which one helped the most. Replacing the bump stops with Sumo's should help with what is left.
I did the same. Same thoughts on results too. Since both were installed at the same exact time, there's no telling which was "better".

But I'm SUPER happy with the results and highly recommend the Hellwig bar right out of the gate across the board.
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Old 09-10-2020, 01:21 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by thirdktm View Post
Does the Hellwig anti-sway bar make a difference? YES.
I installed it on our 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24M, a Class C. The Hellwig is part No. 7254.

That looks like the rear bar. Did you replace the front one too? That will make an even bigger difference.
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Old 09-13-2020, 08:26 AM   #5
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Installed the Hellwig sway first. It was a big improvement. Some weeks later I installed the Fox shocks. To my surprise that was also a big improvement. The end result is that we sit and drive totally relaxed in 65 mph on the freeway. No big deal if a big semi truck passes. Before installing the above parts you grabbed the wheel quite hard when you saw a semi in the mirror. Side winds is also less problematic.
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Old 09-13-2020, 06:37 PM   #6
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Now if u have a class c with jride plus, is it recommended to upgrade any of the sway items??? Id love to get feedback as we just got a 2018 29mv and i want it to ride as smooth as possible with as little sway as possible...
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Old 09-13-2020, 08:20 PM   #7
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Now if u have a class c with jride plus, is it recommended to upgrade any of the sway items??? Id love to get feedback as we just got a 2018 29mv and i want it to ride as smooth as possible with as little sway as possible...
Jride Plus comes with the upgraded rear sway bar. The front is the stock OEM Ford. So, if you want to start improving the sway, replace the front sway bar and add a Roadmaster Reflex steering stabilizer.
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Old 09-13-2020, 08:23 PM   #8
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I installed front and rear Helwig sway bars on our old Tioga 31ft Class C. It made the crosswinds here in Nevada much more tolerable and less white knuckled.
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Old 09-14-2020, 01:51 PM   #9
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Jride Plus comes with the upgraded rear sway bar. The front is the stock OEM Ford. So, if you want to start improving the sway, replace the front sway bar and add a Roadmaster Reflex steering stabilizer.
RetiredOne, I have had a different experience. I am the second owner of a 2014 31FS model with about 30k miles. When I bought it it was very difficult to drive because of the body roll. I put Hellwigs swaybars on both the front and the rear. Now with the Hellwigs in place we have zero rocking side to side. It still has the original shocks and steering stabilizer.

Although the rig said it had JRide Plus the original equipment rear sway bar was much smaller in diameter than the Hellwig 7180 sway bar I purchased to replace it.
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Old 09-14-2020, 02:35 PM   #10
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RetiredOne, I have had a different experience. I am the second owner of a 2014 31FS model with about 30k miles. When I bought it it was very difficult to drive because of the body roll. I put Hellwigs swaybars on both the front and the rear. Now with the Hellwigs in place we have zero rocking side to side. It still has the original shocks and steering stabilizer.

Although the rig said it had JRide Plus the original equipment rear sway bar was much smaller in diameter than the Hellwig 7180 sway bar I purchased to replace it.
According to the brochure in 2014, J-Ride Plus just lists "rear sway bar". It doesn't say anything about whether it's a "standard" or "upgraded".

In later model J-Ride Plus equipped models, the rear sway bar is an upgraded Hellwig model, while the front is a Ford "standard" sway bar.

So upgrading front and rear sway bars where either Ford standard equipment is used, or nothing at all, should net some pretty significant benefits.

Added: FWIW, the J-Ride plus package for the past few years has advertised "standard" sway bar on front, upgraded bar on rear. Standard Ford front sway bar is a waste of steel IMO. Sounds like standard rear sway bar on older J-Ride Plus packages was about as good as the standard front one we get now...
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Old 09-15-2020, 03:41 AM   #11
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Installing my helwig front sway bar this week. Just got back from a long trip after installing roadmaster reflex steering stabilizer and adjusted rear helwig helper springs and what a huge difference in wind and passing trucks. Thinking by the time i also install rear helwig sway bar and super steer track bar our 29xk should ride like a semi down the road.
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Old 09-15-2020, 09:24 AM   #12
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Installing my helwig front sway bar this week.
Once you get both of them on, you're going to notice a big change. I felt the difference making the first turn in my neighborhood after install.

Here's the comparison pictures to the OEM sway bars and the upgraded Hellwigs. You can see, specially on the front, the difference in size. Plus, I believe the front OEM is hollow, while the Hellwig is a solid bar.
Attached Thumbnails
front sway.jpg   rear sway.jpg  
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Old 09-15-2020, 10:00 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by thirdktm View Post
Does the Hellwig anti-sway bar make a difference? YES.
I installed it on our 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24M, a Class C. The Hellwig is part No. 7254.
We drove about 700 miles this past week, on smooth four-lane roads and on rough two-lane back roads. It was our first outing with the new bar.
The Hellwig does not eliminate rocking side to side or rocking front to back.
But it does minimize it, a lot.
Instead of rocking down and up and then down and up, it just rocks down and then comes back to center. It does not flatten the road.
As for front-to-back rocking, it minimizes that too.
We bought our Hellwig online from a truck parts firm in Florida. At Hellwig, in California, I dealt with Maria, who is very good at customer service.
We live in Albuquerque.
Sway bar is not designed to stop front to back rock. That is the job if the WDH. tighten up the bars. tighten up the awy bars to stop sway.
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Old 09-15-2020, 12:37 PM   #14
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Sway bar is not designed to stop front to back rock. That is the job if the WDH. tighten up the bars. tighten up the awy bars to stop sway.
Motorhomes are being referenced in this thread.
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Old 09-15-2020, 12:41 PM   #15
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Motorhomes are being referenced in this thread.
My bad
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Old 09-15-2020, 12:44 PM   #16
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My bad
No worries!
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Old 09-17-2020, 08:17 AM   #17
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I have a 2017 Melbourne L, just installed the hellwig rear and noticed “some” difference. Still sways like crazy on my semi rough drive way and entering highway/exiting highway to a parking lot with sloping drive. So, sumos next or front sway bar? Btw, my Melbourne out of the box handled really well on multi lane highway, no problem with wind or passing semi trucks.

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Old 09-17-2020, 05:07 PM   #18
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Once you get both of them on, you're going to notice a big change. I felt the difference making the first turn in my neighborhood after install.

Here's the comparison pictures to the OEM sway bars and the upgraded Hellwigs. You can see, specially on the front, the difference in size. Plus, I believe the front OEM is hollow, while the Hellwig is a solid bar.
Did u buy these off amazon? Do u have the part #'s by any chance??

Thanks id appreciate it
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Old 09-17-2020, 05:13 PM   #19
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Did u buy these off amazon? Do u have the part #'s by any chance??

Thanks id appreciate it
You can get the part numbers just by doing a net search or ebay on your vehicle. From memory I got mine from an ebay seller that had better prices. But that was 4 or 5 years ago.
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Old 09-17-2020, 05:17 PM   #20
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You can get the part numbers just by doing a net search or ebay on your vehicle. From memory I got mine from an ebay seller that had better prices. But that was 4 or 5 years ago.
Ok thanks, im new to fords, i just dont want to buy the wrong ones is all.... Do u search for the ford 350/450 chassis? Or something else?
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