Safe T Plus

[Joe-FL]

Thanks for posting updated info Dave. Heading out this morning for 9am appointment at Safe-T factory Monday for install. I am putting my torque wrench on board after reading your posts.

[Mitch S]

Find a heavy duty truck parts store, they should have what you need. On u-bolts on a class 7 or 8 truck, we always used hi-nuts with a hardened flat washer between the nut and mounting plate. Most any heavy truck parts should be able to help. Most parts counter people have no clue how different a large truck is from a car or truck. When I was working, at certain stores there were people I wouldn't talk to because they though they knew it all. I don't know every thing but 99% of the time I knew what was needed, and most of them had no idea what I needed. I hated to have to break in a new counter person. Heavy truck specialists can usually offer suggestions as to what will work.

[Joe-FL]

Had the Safe-T-Plus factory install mine this week. Drove a little over 700 miles so far with them. Both days on the road were moderately windy, around 15 with higher gusts. They helped but it could be a steadier ride. I guess what I am saying it that I feel the Safe-T-Plus was worth the money but it is going to take more to steady the suspension on this F53 IMHO. Going to have to get serious about looking at Sumo's or air bags.

[vkb]

Originally Posted by Joe-FL

Had the Safe-T-Plus factory install mine this week. Drove a little over 700 miles so far with them. Both days on the road were moderately windy, around 15 with higher gusts. They helped but it could be a steadier ride. I guess what I am saying it that I feel the Safe-T-Plus was worth the money but it is going to take more to steady the suspension on this F53 IMHO. Going to have to get serious about looking at Sumo's or air bags.

Joe... Ron installed Sumo Springs on our 24.1 ... replacing the bump stops . Ron decided to do this prior to the Safety Plus install to see if this would be the difference maker. We shopped the Sumo Website before purchasing to make sure we got the correct Sumo. They definitely have them for the F53 chassis.
Ron showed me the bump stops which he pulled out ... there was so much room for play...there is no way they would have been effective. We have not been out on the road yet with the new front and rear Sumos installed, but Ron is sure they should make the difference.

I will post our findings as soon as we are able to get away.

[Pete'sMH]

I checked the alignment and installed the Safe-T-Plus on my 26 ft Freedom Elite class C just before we headed for the Grand Canyon. We had wind advisories in Oklahoma that warned of 35 mph wind with gusts to 50 mph. It kept me busy but never felt unsafe or tense. I don't know how it would have been without the device as this was our first significant trip with the RV but I'm certainly happy with my coach's handling.

[Hudsoner]

I have Sumo Maxims installed. I called the Sumo factory and talked with their application engineer. he told me that the only Sumo's they recommend for the F53 chassis are the Maxims (the blue colored ones).
I have no steering stabilizers installed, but have the Steer Safe unit down at the axle. Between the Sumo's, the CHF on all four corners, Koni shocks, and a rear Tiger Track track bar, I have a pretty stable ride. I might install a standard Ford truck steering stabilizer to reduce the jitters in the steering wheel.

I think that the most important changes that I made were the CHF in the front, the rear track bar and the Sumo's. Everything else was just more icing on the cake.

[Chance]

Bump stops, like those used by Ford, are designed to have clearance so that the suspension can move freely through a certain range with less stiffness (for softer ride). It's only if the vehicle hits an unusually large bump that the bump stop would make contact to prevent the suspension from bottoming out in an extremely harsh manner. If not for bump stops, a large bump or pot hole could cause a metal-to-metal impact no one would want, or likely forget.

The role of bump stops are not the same as that of Sumo springs, so their effectiveness shouldn't be compared directly.

[Joe-FL]

After purchasing my Challenger in the fall and bringing it over 1300 miles to Florida I knew suspension upgrades would be required. I have read a lot of information on this forum and others. I'm not convinced that installing sumo products would have the same result on different models of Thor motorhomes, or would have the same effect on a Class A as compared to a Class C. My rolling box is 38' long and 12'8" tall, that is a lot of fiberglass and not much weight to catch wind. My wheelbase to length ratio isn't the best either. I believe the key is to stiffen the suspension enough that you don't get so much body roll, but yet the ride isn't so harsh you jar all the cabinets off the wall.

If Sumo springs (front and rear) would do that on a F53 chassis then that could be a solution. If air bags (Firestone for example) front and rear would be better than maybe spending $1,000 to $1,500 for those could be worth it. I'm not sold on changing shocks for any benefit because it has Bilstein that are almost new.

I had Firestone air bags on my F350 when we were pulling a heavy fiver full time. I used them more to level the truck. However, if after unhooking I left 30 or 40 pounds of air in them it certainly stiffened up the rear of that vehicle. In my mind having air bags on all four corners of one of these rolling boxes would work. Thoughts?

[Kev]

Originally Posted by Joe-FL

After purchasing my Challenger in the fall and bringing it over 1300 miles to Florida I knew suspension upgrades would be required. I have read a lot of information on this forum and others. I'm not convinced that installing sumo products would have the same result on different models of Thor motorhomes, or would have the same effect on a Class A as compared to a Class C. My rolling box is 38' long and 12'8" tall, that is a lot of fiberglass and not much weight to catch wind. My wheelbase to length ratio isn't the best either. I believe the key is to stiffen the suspension enough that you don't get so much body roll, but yet the ride isn't so harsh you jar all the cabinets off the wall.

If Sumo springs (front and rear) would do that on a F53 chassis then that could be a solution. If air bags (Firestone for example) front and rear would be better than maybe spending $1,000 to $1,500 for those could be worth it. I'm not sold on changing shocks for any benefit because it has Bilstein that are almost new.

I had Firestone air bags on my F350 when we were pulling a heavy fiver full time. I used them more to level the truck. However, if after unhooking I left 30 or 40 pounds of air in them it certainly stiffened up the rear of that vehicle. In my mind having air bags on all four corners of one of these rolling boxes would work. Thoughts?

Joe I know the Sumo Springs worked well for me on the Vegas. It stopped the swaying I was getting when being passed by large trucks or heavy winds. I liked the Sumo over air bags because they are made from a polyurethane which is very durable and you don't have to worry about air leaks. I have a new Windsport due in June and I intend to put Sumo
Springs on in addition to the Safe T Plus. If you haven't done any upgrades by then I will let you know how they are working on a F53 frame.
s

[halfprice]

Originally Posted by Kev

Joe I know the Sumo Springs worked well for me on the Vegas. It stopped the swaying I was getting when being passed by large trucks or heavy winds. I liked the Sumo over air bags because they are made from a polyurethane which is very durable and you don't have to worry about air leaks. I have a new Windsport due in June and I intend to put Sumo
Springs on in addition to the Safe T Plus. If you haven't done any upgrades by then I will let you know how they are working on a F53 frame.
s

Kev keep me updated on the sumos also. Ive been thinking about them also but not sure i need them now after installing the rear track bar.

Jerry

[Kev]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Kev keep me updated on the sumos also. Ive been thinking about them also but not sure i need them now after installing the rear track bar.

Jerry

Will do Jerry. What I intend to do is have an alignment and CHF but no other upgrades until after my first shakedown trip. This way I will have a better idea of what impact they have on the handling.

Kev

[halfprice]

Thats good planning Kev. If youre doing the chf yourself you may want to remove the sway bars and lube the poly bushing with poly lube. It fairly easy to remove the sway bars. Just remember to use bkue loctite and torque all bolts to 66lbs

Jerry

[Kev]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Thats good planning Kev. If youre doing the chf yourself you may want to remove the sway bars and lube the poly bushing with poly lube. It fairly easy to remove the sway bars. Just remember to use bkue loctite and torque all bolts to 66lbs

Jerry

Ok will do, thanks for the tip. Is the poly lube available on Amazon?

Kev

[halfprice]

I bought four tubes on eBay for 7 or $8 you use one tube per bushing

[Kev]

Originally Posted by halfprice

I bought four tubes on eBay for 7 or $8 you use one tube per bushing

Ok thanks. Ordering them now.

Kev

[croused]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

A couple of places to consider: Goodyear Commercial Tire Service - they did our alignment.

Onan/Cummins Service - they replaced the fuel pump in our genny when it went bad but the tech told me that they had full service for RV owners (including servicing the Ford V-10).

Ford Fleet Center (Bill Brown Ford) did alignment and did a great job...$160 well spent....made a big difference after installation of the Safe-T-plus stabilizer and bump stops.

[Hudsoner]

Originally Posted by Kev

Joe I know the Sumo Springs worked well for me on the Vegas. It stopped the swaying I was getting when being passed by large trucks or heavy winds. I liked the Sumo over air bags because they are made from a polyurethane which is very durable and you don't have to worry about air leaks. I have a new Windsport due in June and I intend to put Sumo
Springs on in addition to the Safe T Plus. If you haven't done any upgrades by then I will let you know how they are working on a F53 frame.
s

This is exactly why I went with Sumos over air bags. Sumos kind of mimic airbags because of their progressive rating, but they do not have the possible problems air bags could have (leaking, defective compressor, etc).
Currently I have Sumo Maxims in the front, i am still contemplating to put Sumos in the back. But I think the back is not such a problem, because the CHF and the track bar do a good job there.

[Joe-FL]

Originally Posted by Hudsoner

This is exactly why I went with Sumos over air bags. Sumos kind of mimic airbags because of their progressive rating, but they do not have the possible problems air bags could have (leaking, defective compressor, etc).
Currently I have Sumo Maxims in the front, i am still contemplating to put Sumos in the back. But I think the back is not such a problem, because the CHF and the track bar do a good job there.

I know I have read about others just putting Sumo's on the front, but it just seems my whole coach sways/rolls in moderate winds and in my mind only additional support at all four corners would start to correct that. Maybe I will start with front application of Sumo's and see what happens.

[montana mike]

2016 Axis 24.1 Last year had front end alignment, next I installed a safety-plus. Did 8,000 miles. Helped a great deal.
This year I installed Helliwig front and rear sway bars with front SumoSprings. What a great pleasure to drive now. Money well spent.
Winner winner chicken dinner.

[vkb]

Today Ron drove the back roads near us...turns, dips n dives...before Sumo installed...Today, he was pleased/noticed a marked difference in control...but is still considering the Safety Plus. Attached are photos of the factory bump stops and the Sumo's installed front and rear. The black are front...photo is slightly distorted due to location...those sit tight....the rear have about 1/2 inch clearance...but that will change when we are fully loaded..only about 20 gal of fuel and a few lawn chairs/chocks etc in rear compartment. No water on board.
He is looking forward to a bit of Interstate travel to see how it responds to passing truck wind/push.
In addition...the steering assist which came installed on the Axis is about 3" diameter....what is the size of the Safety Plus ?

I am posting photos of the bump stops he removed and the new Sumos in place...

factory bump stops small is rear.. large is front Ron sez these had more than 2 inches of space before they would come in contact

Rear

Front

factory installed steering assist