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Old 09-24-2020, 01:21 PM   #21
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Quick question...why did you guys choose not to use the Roadmaster sway bars over the Hellwig since you were already using Roadmaster's steering stabilizer? I am having a hard time figuring out what the difference is between Roadmaster and Hellwig's sway bars...
It was all about cost for me. Roadmaster was more expensive for the same thing Hellwig was offering on the sway bar. So I bought on price; both are good brands.

For the stabilizer, again it was cost. The Roadmaster stabilizer was a good value IMO over the competitors for something I wasn't entirely sure would solve my problem. I might have gone with a Saf-T-Steer if I had the $$ and knew what I know now about the improvement a true stabilizer offered in my application. Of course, maybe not too, I am really satisfied with the Roadmaster.
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Old 09-24-2020, 01:31 PM   #22
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Sumos and roadmaster reflex made a huge handling difference. But am I the only person that did not notice much difference after tightening down the springs to 2"??
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Old 09-24-2020, 01:40 PM   #23
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Sumos and roadmaster reflex made a huge handling difference. But am I the only person that did not notice much difference after tightening down the springs to 2"??
I didn't either. And it wasn't just tightening them down for me. The jam nut ruined the threads, so I had to cut the U-bolts off and replace them. It was A LOT of work for not much payoff IMO.
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Old 09-24-2020, 05:17 PM   #24
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Quick question...why did you guys choose not to use the Roadmaster sway bars over the Hellwig since you were already using Roadmaster's steering stabilizer? I am having a hard time figuring out what the difference is between Roadmaster and Hellwig's sway bars...

For me, I went with Hellwigs and the Reflex based on numerous positive comments here about them. Hellwig has a good reputation. Not many people had installed the Roadmaster sway bars, and Jayco installs the Hellwigs on the Greyhawk as part of the JRide Plus package.
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Old 09-24-2020, 05:18 PM   #25
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But am I the only person that did not notice much difference after tightening down the springs to 2"??
I didn't either. It was the last adjustment I did, and I made it separately before going out on a trip. I didn't notice any difference.
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Old 09-24-2020, 10:38 PM   #26
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If you can handle basic tools, it's not a difficult project. The tough part is laying on your back on the driveway, trying to hold up the bars as you start to bolt them in. The rear was the worst, because I had to unbolt the helper springs to get the support bolts in.
Ok cool good to know, i just didnt want to get into a situation where something pops or moves on the suspension and then being stuck not being able to get stuff back into place.... Thank you
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Old 09-24-2020, 10:39 PM   #27
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+1



Just watch those passenger side bolts on the sway bar. I stripped one of mine out, and since I didn't have the stuff on-hand to fix it, it became a PITA.
Ok good to know thank you!
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Old 09-24-2020, 11:00 PM   #28
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Ok cool good to know, i just didnt want to get into a situation where something pops or moves on the suspension and then being stuck not being able to get stuff back into place.... Thank you
If you have your rig parked level, the sway bars are static and have no load on them. So when you unbolt and rebolt, you're not putting any force on any suspension part.

Just like Bob said, the rearward bolt on the front sway bar is a smaller diameter thread, and threads into the frame. It's easy to strip out, so don't over torque it.

For us "older" guys, that crawling under the rig, specially in the rear, ain't all that much fun.. . I do it, because I like a challenge..
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Old 09-25-2020, 08:39 AM   #29
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It was all about cost for me. Roadmaster was more expensive for the same thing Hellwig was offering on the sway bar. So I bought on price; both are good brands.

For the stabilizer, again it was cost. The Roadmaster stabilizer was a good value IMO over the competitors for something I wasn't entirely sure would solve my problem. I might have gone with a Saf-T-Steer if I had the $$ and knew what I know now about the improvement a true stabilizer offered in my application. Of course, maybe not too, I am really satisfied with the Roadmaster.
Can you expound on the differences between the Roadmaster and the Saf-T-Steer stabilizers? I appreciate you being active here and the help...I want to make sure my new rig is tight & safe to drive.
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Old 09-26-2020, 12:09 PM   #30
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I have a 2019 Redhawk 31XL and it was a bear to steer. When a truck would pass I was pushed into the shoulder and any dip in the road it would oversteer. Because I live in Ontario, Canada with the exchange the parts are a lot more money. I put on all the Roadmaster parts and Bilisten shocks. Made a very big difference. I can now steer it and keep it on the road. Well worth the investment. Ford and Jayco should not be putting units like this on the road without steering improvements.
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Old 09-26-2020, 01:10 PM   #31
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Can you expound on the differences between the Roadmaster and the Saf-T-Steer stabilizers? I appreciate you being active here and the help...I want to make sure my new rig is tight & safe to drive.

From what I've read by people who have installed both, the biggest difference is the Saf-T-Plus has an internal spring that re-centers the wheel, while the Reflex spring is external. Function wise, they do basically the same thing.
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Old 09-26-2020, 01:13 PM   #32
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I went with a Super Steer Trak Bar. Helped me tremendously on towing a 5k Jeep and also without tow vehicle as far as keeping me straight down the road without much rolling motion and with passing trucks.
We have a 2020 Entegra Odyssey 24B.
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Old 09-26-2020, 01:51 PM   #33
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Can you expound on the differences between the Roadmaster and the Saf-T-Steer stabilizers? I appreciate you being active here and the help...I want to make sure my new rig is tight & safe to drive.
I seen an article about Roadmaster parts in the Motorhome Magazine and also read the reviews. I guess read the reviews on both companies and then make the decision. I put the steering stabilizer on first and it made a difference, but the sway bars made the big difference.
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Old 09-26-2020, 02:51 PM   #34
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I just got back from my first extended outing with my new to me 2018 22J. All told, about 580 miles, round trip. Plenty of power and loud, which I knew going in.

I did find it to be a lot more tiring than driving my old truck trailer combination. The white knuckle events were limited to the fairly tight curves in the VA mountains, both on the interstates and the 2 lane country roads, plus when I was forced to change lanes on the interstate. To me, it felt like the 22J had a large left lean when I moved to the left lane, and was on the other side of the road crown.

My first order of business, now that that she is loaded for travel is to get the front aligned. Don't know if or when the previous owner did so. I plan on insisting on a +5.5 or better caster adjustment, if it already so.

I can't afford all the suspension fixes at one time, and I am not able to do the installs myself.

I'm thinking a steering stabilizer, such as Roadmaster Reflex would be my first improvement.

My question is which suspension improvements do you Class C owners believe offers the most bang for the buck? The possible improvements include the steering stabilizer (Roadmaster Reflex), front and rear sway control (Hellwig), shock absorbers (Bilstein), track bar, air bags (Firestone).
We have a 2019 Redhawk 25R class C. As I’ve written before, I’ve done all the suspension upgrades you can think of, I even did rear air bags, the best bang for the buck that INSTANTLY gave me results was the Super Steer track bar by Henderson line up. And I was an suspension and alignment specialist in my younger years, so take this advice for what it’s worth. This in my 3rd RV if I were to buy another rig I would immediately install a track bar!
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Old 09-26-2020, 04:55 PM   #35
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In order Steering Stablizer, rear trac bar, sumo springs. If you going for shock remember Bilsteins are performance shock, will ride a little hard. If you want control and smoother ride use Koni's. If money is tight try changing the sway bar bushings to Polyurethane. Good Luck
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Old 09-29-2020, 07:29 AM   #36
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SO GLAD to see feedback on the track bar in this thread! That's probably my next move on suspension and handling upgrade. Now that I've seen several positive posts on the improvement of that particular piece of gear, I feel a lot more comfortable looking at it closer for my rig.

As for the difference between Roadmaster Reflex and Safe-T-Steer, again, for me it came down to price. The Roadmaster is functionally the same thing, just a little different design. I'm sure the Safe-T-Steer is a high quality piece of kit, but being that at the time I wasn't even sure it would make a difference, I couldn't see paying that much more. And again, I'm happy with what I installed (Roadmaster Reflex).
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Old 09-29-2020, 08:01 AM   #37
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SO GLAD to see feedback on the track bar in this thread! That's probably my next move on suspension and handling upgrade. Now that I've seen several positive posts on the improvement of that particular piece of gear, I feel a lot more comfortable looking at it closer for my rig.

As for the difference between Roadmaster Reflex and Safe-T-Steer, again, for me it came down to price. The Roadmaster is functionally the same thing, just a little different design. I'm sure the Safe-T-Steer is a high quality piece of kit, but being that at the time I wasn't even sure it would make a difference, I couldn't see paying that much more. And again, I'm happy with what I installed (Roadmaster Reflex).
My opinion is the road master has a spring and the S-T doesn’t. I would think that having a spring would help the steering return to center better than a damper without one. On the other hand the S-T looks like a heavier designed damper, having a bigger cylinder
More fluid etc.. so the road master is a happy medium. Just MO, with a little knowledge of physics.
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Old 09-29-2020, 09:16 AM   #38
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My opinion is the road master has a spring and the S-T doesn’t. I would think that having a spring would help the steering return to center better than a damper without one. On the other hand the S-T looks like a heavier designed damper, having a bigger cylinder
More fluid etc.. so the road master is a happy medium. Just MO, with a little knowledge of physics.
The Safe-T-Steer actually does have a "return-to-center" spring, it's just INSIDE the body of the device. The Roadmaster has the spring on the outside.

FWIW, some have installed just an upgraded damper (like Bilstein) and have been happy with it. To me, it was worth going up a bit on cost to get the additional spring in addition to the upgraded dampener that the Roadmaster offers, but I just wasn't willing to get spendy enough to get the Safe-T-Steer...
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Old 09-29-2020, 09:34 AM   #39
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The Safe-T-Steer actually does have a "return-to-center" spring, it's just INSIDE the body of the device. The Roadmaster has the spring on the outside.

FWIW, some have installed just an upgraded damper (like Bilstein) and have been happy with it. To me, it was worth going up a bit on cost to get the additional spring in addition to the upgraded dampener that the Roadmaster offers, but I just wasn't willing to get spendy enough to get the Safe-T-Steer...
Oh, did not know S-T had a spring. Wonder if there is a real life comparison out there?
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Old 09-29-2020, 03:05 PM   #40
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Oh, did not know S-T had a spring. Wonder if there is a real life comparison out there?
I don't know that I ever found a really good side-by-side comparison back when I was looking. I saw the 2 products, determined that they essentially did the same thing, wasn't sure that it would help, so opted for the cheaper one.

Had I been sure of the benefits (of which I am sure now), I may still have chosen the Reflex, again based on price. I also looked at the S-T as perhaps being more beneficial on a larger rig like a Class A. I remember thinking I didn't need "that much" on my Class C? I dunno, it's been a while since I went through all that...
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