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10-15-2022, 05:56 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Davie, Fl.
Posts: 1,020
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Shocks and Sumo Springs
After six cross country summer trips my 2018 37 TS (M2) is approaching 50,000 miles. Either our roads are getting worse, which I know they are, or my suspension is getting tired.
What is the life expectancy of the Bilstien shocks? And is there a way to check them without removal?
I know several of our members have gone with Sumo Springs which means I probably will too. (I need to add up how much this forum has cost me over the years-LOL). Do these go front and rear? Worth it?
Thanks for any input.
__________________
Mark and Joanne
2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS (M2)
2023 Jeep Rubicon XT Recon
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10-15-2022, 06:37 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Manchester Center
Posts: 1,519
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Mark I added the sumo springs and they seem to have a made a difference on the roll I experience when entering the road, how ever they have not done anything for the bounce that I feel is a result of the load shocks starting to fail. I have reached out to bilstien with my shock number but never heard back. Most of the information I have seen has been from people with s2 chassis which have a heavier axle so I not sure if the shocks they used are compatible with our units, additionally some of the suggestions such as fox shocks are not even available any longer. I know Rob posted on here a while but about using fire truck shocks but have not gone through to find his post.
Recently I have seen some posts on air dampeners for the air bags but I am not really clear on what they do or don't do.
Please post what you find out if you find something off line
__________________
Paul
2018 37TS
Jeep JL
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10-15-2022, 07:29 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Davie, Fl.
Posts: 1,020
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Hi Paul. Nice to hear from you. I think I’m more concerned with the bouncing right now, I think. I guess with close to 50K miles shocks should be the first step. Hopefully we will get some answers here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RVermont
Mark I added the sumo springs and they seem to have a made a difference on the roll I experience when entering the road, how ever they have not done anything for the bounce that I feel is a result of the load shocks starting to fail. I have reached out to bilstien with my shock number but never heard back. Most of the information I have seen has been from people with s2 chassis which have a heavier axle so I not sure if the shocks they used are compatible with our units, additionally some of the suggestions such as fox shocks are not even available any longer. I know Rob posted on here a while but about using fire truck shocks but have not gone through to find his post.
Recently I have seen some posts on air dampeners for the air bags but I am not really clear on what they do or don't do.
Please post what you find out if you find something off line
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__________________
Mark and Joanne
2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS (M2)
2023 Jeep Rubicon XT Recon
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10-15-2022, 10:38 AM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: lhc
Posts: 94
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVermont
Mark I added the sumo springs and they seem to have a made a difference on the roll I experience when entering the road, how ever they have not done anything for the bounce that I feel is a result of the load shocks starting to fail. I have reached out to bilstien with my shock number but never heard back. Most of the information I have seen has been from people with s2 chassis which have a heavier axle so I not sure if the shocks they used are compatible with our units, additionally some of the suggestions such as fox shocks are not even available any longer. I know Rob posted on here a while but about using fire truck shocks but have not gone through to find his post.
Recently I have seen some posts on air dampeners for the air bags but I am not really clear on what they do or don't do.
Please post what you find out if you find something off line
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Fox may not be available but HDshocks.com are and they are using King shocks which I think are better than fox anyway. I hope to get a set soon.
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10-17-2022, 06:36 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Panama City
Posts: 567
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVermont
Mark I added the sumo springs and they seem to have a made a difference on the roll I experience when entering the road, how ever they have not done anything for the bounce that I feel is a result of the load shocks starting to fail. I have reached out to bilstien with my shock number but never heard back. Most of the information I have seen has been from people with s2 chassis which have a heavier axle so I not sure if the shocks they used are compatible with our units, additionally some of the suggestions such as fox shocks are not even available any longer. I know Rob posted on here a while but about using fire truck shocks but have not gone through to find his post.
Recently I have seen some posts on air dampeners for the air bags but I am not really clear on what they do or don't do.
Please post what you find out if you find something off line
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Hi Paul,
Did you install the Sumo Springs yourself? Was looking at the install instructions for the M2 106 and the install process seems rather easy.
__________________
Dave & Patricia
2017 Seneca 37FS
2016 Toyota Highlander
Kar Kaddy SS
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10-17-2022, 10:59 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Manchester Center
Posts: 1,519
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Dave
On the drivers side the spring took less than 5 minutes. The passenger side took a little longer as the wire for the positive jumper cable stud runs under the frame exactly where the spring needs to go. I had to loosen the misc parts to slide the wire loom out of the way.
__________________
Paul
2018 37TS
Jeep JL
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10-17-2022, 11:21 AM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Denver
Posts: 43
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I"m in the exact same position. Have 75K miles and have noticed to be a really rough ride the last few trips. I did install the sumo springs last spring which did help with the roll, but does nothing for the bounce. Still have the original Bilstien on the front and whatever comes the back. I'm trying to figure out if I want to get on the waitlist for the fire truck shocks (Bilstien), just try the Gabriel's, or King shocks which I believe are around $500 each. I'm kind of leaning towards just trying the Gabriels and see how it goes.
As for the sumo springs install, mine was exactly the same as RVermont explained.
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10-17-2022, 09:53 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Lakewood, WA.
Posts: 4,520
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I install the Koni Shock and wow; they help a lot thinking about adding Sumo on the front and maybe Timbren on the rear.
__________________
2023 Jayco North Point 310RLTS
2022 GMC Denali Ultimate DRW
Retired Army MSG
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10-20-2022, 04:16 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Davie, Fl.
Posts: 1,020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big1
I install the Koni Shock and wow; they help a lot thinking about adding Sumo on the front and maybe Timbren on the rear.
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#9
Mark S
Senior Member
What reference did you use for the shocks to get the right ones?
Did it go by weight or model?
And if you don’t mind sharing, what was the cost of new shocks?
Also, why are you thinking Sumos on front and Timbren in the rear instead of Sumo on both? Thanks.
__________________
Mark and Joanne
2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS (M2)
2023 Jeep Rubicon XT Recon
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10-20-2022, 04:17 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Davie, Fl.
Posts: 1,020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVermont
Dave
On the drivers side the spring took less than 5 minutes. The passenger side took a little longer as the wire for the positive jumper cable stud runs under the frame exactly where the spring needs to go. I had to loosen the misc parts to slide the wire loom out of the way.
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Did you go with Sumo on the front only?
__________________
Mark and Joanne
2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS (M2)
2023 Jeep Rubicon XT Recon
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10-20-2022, 04:34 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Manchester Center
Posts: 1,519
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I just put them on the front. I did not realize that they made them for the rear as well. I will have to do some research on those.
__________________
Paul
2018 37TS
Jeep JL
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10-20-2022, 04:40 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Manchester Center
Posts: 1,519
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S
#9
Mark S
Senior Member
What reference did you use for the shocks to get the right ones?
Did it go by weight or model?
And if you don’t mind sharing, what was the cost of new shocks?
Also, why are you thinking Sumos on front and Timbren in the rear instead of Sumo on both? Thanks.
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Mark I am sure Big1 will get back to you with his specific reasoning however based on his signature it appears to be a precept which has a completely chassis and I don’t believe air ride.
__________________
Paul
2018 37TS
Jeep JL
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10-20-2022, 10:57 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Oregon Coast
Posts: 3,077
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVermont
I just put them on the front. I did not realize that they made them for the rear as well. I will have to do some research on those.
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They do not make then for the rear of the Freightliner chassis with the airliner type suspension.
__________________
Brian & Jeannie
2018.5 Seneca 37RB with to many mods to list
2015 Jeep JKU Rubicon
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10-20-2022, 11:25 AM
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#14
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Denver
Posts: 43
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Would be curious on the Koni model as well. I haven’t seen that they make shocks for the M2.
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10-20-2022, 01:12 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kingman AZ and where our Seneca is today.
Posts: 3,112
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Mark S. It's good to hear from ya... hope things are going well down there.
I'm wondering why you are considering Sumo Springs on your freightliner... Is your front end suspension sagging?
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Steve & Stacy with Jasper (Australian Cattle dog)
2015 Seneca 36FK
Custom 27' flatbed trailer hauling:
07 Toyota FJC & Yamaha Kodiak 400 ATV
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10-20-2022, 01:44 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Oregon Coast
Posts: 3,077
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SloPoke
I'm wondering why you are considering Sumo Springs on your freightliner... Is your front end suspension sagging?
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Because they are an awesome improvement for the front suspension. They don’t lift or support anything, they are more like a progressive bump stop that slows down body roll….I really noticed the difference on the first drive. Well worth the money.
__________________
Brian & Jeannie
2018.5 Seneca 37RB with to many mods to list
2015 Jeep JKU Rubicon
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10-20-2022, 09:15 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kingman AZ and where our Seneca is today.
Posts: 3,112
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustynuts
Because they are an awesome improvement for the front suspension. They don’t lift or support anything, they are more like a progressive bump stop that slows down body roll….I really noticed the difference on the first drive. Well worth the money.
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I'm still struggling with this...
I don't sense any body roll... (except when crossing a curb diagonally across the dip with the drive axle - the steer axle with the recalled sway bar feels a little flex) My factory front axle bump-stop's show no signs of any contact either...
We just finished a trip with some moderate cross winds, and our Seneca tracked true... This trip was predominantly on US93 between Phoenix and Vegas that needs re-paving really bad.
Are you all saying that you are bottoming out on the factory bump stops on the steer axle?
__________________
Steve & Stacy with Jasper (Australian Cattle dog)
2015 Seneca 36FK
Custom 27' flatbed trailer hauling:
07 Toyota FJC & Yamaha Kodiak 400 ATV
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10-21-2022, 01:41 AM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Lakewood, WA.
Posts: 4,520
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S
#9
Mark S
Senior Member
What reference did you use for the shocks to get the right ones?
Did it go by weight or model?
And if you don’t mind sharing, what was the cost of new shocks?
Also, why are you thinking Sumos on front and Timbren in the rear instead of Sumo on both? Thanks.
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Here you sir, https://supersteerparts.com/ just put in your make and model and year and you will be set.
__________________
2023 Jayco North Point 310RLTS
2022 GMC Denali Ultimate DRW
Retired Army MSG
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10-21-2022, 03:13 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2022
Location: Wandering
Posts: 125
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SloPoke
I'm still struggling with this...
Are you all saying that you are bottoming out on the factory bump stops on the steer axle?
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I put the Sumo's on my 06 Kodiak Chassis and it made a huge difference. It keeps the springs from getting a "run at the stops". While the S2RV I have does not hit the stops the progressive rate of the Sumos keep the harsh jolts down when hitting expansion joints, pot holes and also slow down any porpoise effect.
Basically it calms the action of the spring down. I have had them on 2 MH and a 3500 Silverado and they work well.
__________________
2022 Seneca 37K pulling a 28FT ATC
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10-21-2022, 08:45 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Davie, Fl.
Posts: 1,020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SloPoke
Mark S. It's good to hear from ya... hope things are going well down there.
I'm wondering why you are considering Sumo Springs on your freightliner... Is your front end suspension sagging?
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Hi Steve, Things are going really well and I hope the same for you.
No, no sagging, just thinking about shocks and ride improvements. I’m just under 50,000 miles and I don’t know if our roads are getting worse or time for some replacement parts.
A few members here speak highly of the Sumos and Rob just mentioned “Motion Control” devices for the air bags. Exploring the options.
Regards to Stacy. Hope to catch up soon.
__________________
Mark and Joanne
2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS (M2)
2023 Jeep Rubicon XT Recon
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