In continuation of an earlier thread-

I have a '01 E150 with full cargo package (poly innerwalls, bulkhead, etc) that I have been using for camping and hauling dirtbikes....

While plush as a Lincoln Towncar, the van suffered from mushy handling and lots of body lean in the twisties- sometimes scary under certain conditions. I got used to driving quite slowly and waving people by on the backroads.. Moreover, the ***-end sagged quite a bit under load, which increased the negative effects,as one might imagine. I am running OE gas shocks and front sway bar, LTX Michelins. The shocks actually work reasonable well - decent dampning, no wallow....

At the suggestion of some, and partly seduced by the website ads and data, I popped for the Roadmaster suspension system, at about $ 269.00 landed.

These are impressions:

Easy to install- but make sure that you get the correct size curved bracket that fits over the leaf spring "pivot"-mine was too large, and they tried to convince me that it was OK- I complained and they "caved in" and FED-EXed me the correct size bracket- NOT A GOOD START.

However, once installed, the system immediatly tightened up the handling- great reduction in sway, tighter, more neutral handling, more composure over bumps, handles loads significantly better, rides well unloaded.......

How could this be ? I was quite surprised- as the system seems to live up to claims- great reduction in sway with better handling overall and more composure- Semi-quantitative: maybe 35 % improvement in handling, but I have nothing to compare to. Claims are similar to what I experienced....

Now I am tempted to try a larger sway bar in the front.....

Any comments ?

Regards,

Josh

 

I have heard about them. I think I am going to try them on my van. Thanks for the report.

 

I put these on my E350 about a year ago. Took about 1.5 hours to install, loosed the u-bolts, slide in the mounting plate, torque bolts, set up the springs. I noticed less tail sway when I carried a full crew of 15 passengers. The nice thing about them is they work better when loaded and don't effect ride when unloaded. I would buy them again.

 

Did you get the standard or the heavy duty version of the Road Master? The Heavy duty has an X in the model number as I recall.
I put the X version on my '94 E150 that has Michelin LTX and Bilstein shocks. When I adjusted the Road Master to the recommended preload by inserting a dime in the center coil of the LM's springs, it alters the un-laden ride height of my van by a couple of inches and even when paying the most careful attention to this adjustment, my van ends up higher on one side than the other. It is not like that without the system installed. When used for my intended purpose of towing my travel trailer it works great but I don't agree with the manufactures claim that it doesn't affect the ride when not needed. I will have to play around with it and find my own preload for the springs that doesn't jack the rear of my van up when not loaded but still offers the advantages when loaded. A larger front sway bar like the Helwig would probably be a nice compliment to what I have now.
Driving the van smoothly and setting up for the corners is the key to making it handle whether stock or modified.

Gene

 

Thanks for the post.
I am finally back in a van. Mine is a conversion, and yes it sways lots. Really bad in the wind. Wish I would have gotten a E250...The older ones did not
seem this bad.

I have the LTX tires, and have determined that is where much of my problem is. Typical Michelins. Ride great but no side wall to speak of.

I was going to add helper springs to the back and a new sway bar, but will have to check out the Road Master.

 

I pulled the paperwork on the Roadmaster, the part number is Mk II (XXF). My van sits so high in the rear that I didn't notice any difference when unloaded. Perhaps thats because the difference in the stock springs (E350 vs E150). When loaded, however, there was a performance increase in handling and the cost was pretty modest ($269). I was going for the rollover prevention aspect of the Roadmaster and not towing / handling. I've also installed dual wheels. I was thinking about installing those outriggers they use when testing the vehicles, if I could only find a place to buy them.

 

Adventure,

My bad, you are correct about the part number. That is the same one that I have with two Xs. The recomend it for towing or heavy hauling with any E type.

Is your 350 an extended 15 passenger type? They look pretty cool with the duals. Did you use the Quigly "old Dodge" style fenders or the ones that mimic the late model Ford dually trucks? Did you put the spacers in the front for dually style front wheels as well? How does it drive with that set up compared to the original?

I have considered doing the same thing to an E350 for towing the trailer. I haven't seen a standard length van with the duals and I'm not sure how the extended van would be for towing. Any thoughts?

Gene

 

Thanks for the replies-

I have the light duty RAS- the heavy duty bracket did not fit correctly on my leaf spring set (= too big). I am runny a quarter width as the preload vs. dime.

Notably, the rear end is more jacked up, but I believe that this posture is an advantage vs. riding/taking up half the travel before install. I was quite surprised that the van rode very plush unloaded with the RAS installed- Perhaps more of the spring travel and shock travel are available vs. running in MID-STROKE as before....

Was curious about LTX comments- is this tire poorly rated for roadholding ?

What is recommended vs. LTX ??

Thanks,

Josh

 

I have always liked Michelins. They have always given a very good ride, handle and wear great. They just do not have the side wall stability for a truck or van.

That's just my opinion. I will stick with them, as they cme on my van, and Mama wont like it if I start with the excuses to get another thype.

I have been thinking of looking for 16" wheels that will fit the 150. It seems possible with all the aftermarket stuff out there. Then I could put E rated tires on....So much for the speedo and looks.

I thought my Denali with 265/70/17s was a little loose. No where near these LTX. Of course, you see TLX and think "Light Truck Tire". They are P rated. Even the LT rated Michelins are soft though.

I love them on lighter trucks...like compacts.

 

Dually Conversion - It's an extended 15 P ('99, V10, 105K). I didn't like the big pickup type fenders, too bulky. I was going to buy the quigley fenders until I came across some fenders from www.adventurevans.com. They have a few duallys for sale so I called there to ask about their fenders and they sold me a pair of fenders they had in stock. There is no preset location for clearance lights so I just mounted them where I thought they looked the best. I keep the 245/75R16 wheels in the front to keep the costs down. The 225's look so little compared to the 245's. I notice very little difference in everyday driving. I haven't had a full load in it yet. The biggest thing I have noticed is all the ice and snow that gets kicked up on the rear fenders so I need to install some front splash guards. And, when backing up you can no longer see the rear bumper for judging distances. There are so many dually pickups around here that I don't feel out of place and they must have the same issues.

 

unclejosh,
I wonder if they have made some changes in the RAS kit over time because I have the heavy duty version on my E150 and the spring brackets fit snugly. I bought mine in early August I believe.

Adventure,
When I saw your moniker I thought you may be associated with Adventure vans in NC. I looked at your profile and saw that you were not from there. The white 15 passenger V10 dually that they had at ebay for a while was pretty neat. I agree with your choice on the fenders. It looks like Adventure Vans uses the ones that are modified from the old Dodge style like Quigley.

Wiskey6,
My van originally came with Goodyear Wrangler LT tires in '94. They handled well but wore out in less than 25,000 miles. I put the Michelins LTX M&S on it and have never looked for anything else. Of course they aren't E rated tires, so for load carrying or towing a heavy trailer you definitely feel the mushy sidewall. I keep mine at the recommended 41 psi which helps stiffen them up. My dealer mentioned a reinforced version when I bought my last ones but I wasn't towing the large trailer then and wasn't interested. I will check them out when it's time for replacements.

Gene

 

I never put "Adventure" and "AdventureVans" together! Ha Ha on me. "Adventure" comes from the Youth Ministry I am involved with and the whole reason I converted to dual wheels. Talking to Todd at Adventurevans, they had the fenders made locally for them. They are bolt ons like the quigleys and needed no cutting which was really important.

 

Re. correct RAS bracket size for E-150- the XXF bracket was thicker steel and had a curvature that was greater than that needed for a flush fit- the thing that really annoyed me was that the bracket had about a 1/2 inch space under it vs. flush, and the Roadmaster guy said- Oh its Ok, don't worry blah blah-- not very confidence inspiring.....

The only reason why I have mentioned this again is so that nobody gets caught up in this------

I would like to post picture- can anyone guide me ?

thanks,

josh