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The Official report from the original post:

Bilstein 186605 on the front, Bilstein 186612 on the rear.  That's what I installed.  There is a pile of information and multiple recommendations from others in this thread, all of which are greatly appreciated.    

The new Bilstein shock absorbers cured the porpoising issue that I was experiencing.   That was the original complaint and the original reason I started looking for Koni shocks for my coach.  I did not have any other handling concerns and did not set out to make the coach ride any different than it did.   With 40K miles on the factory installed Monroe shocks, the coach rode very smooth.  The new Bilsteins have not changed that at all, the coach rides as smooth as it did before. IF ANYTHING changed with the handling, it would be the way the coach handles in a sweeping curve at highway speed, I think it may rebound slightly better (this could just be in my head since I know I have new shocks LOL).

All in all, if anyone out there has a 2008 Monaco Camelot on the RR10S chassis and they strike out to replace the shock absorbers... and of course run into the same issue that I did finding the correct replacement shock - please note for the record that the Bilstein 186605 & 186612 fit correctly, and at least in my case were a suitable replacement for the worn out Monroe 557034 and 557035 shocks which are no longer available.   

Would the Koni shocks have done any different?  Maybe so, Maybe not.  The Bilsteins were $107 each shipped, the Koni's would have been $177 each shipped.  Both have a lifetime warranty.  

 

Again THANK YOU to all those that posted their experiences, as it truly helped me make my decision.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Great thread: At 17K miles on our 2008 HR Endeavor the monroe shocks could be pressed down and pulled up by a four year old. Wife was complaining about motion sickness and I did not like the ride either.

Had read about the Bilsteins that had been tested I believe in the Sacramento area. I already had the Source Sway bars that had made quite a difference in ride. I dare not use the word "handling" or the experts will slap my hands. Don't know another word to use but I first installed the rear Sway Bar and liked it. The Front one went on very soon after that. 

The shocks were replaced with the Bilsteins but what a pain. Can anyone tell me why they didn't put a welded nut on the top stud so you can hold them while tightening them??? 

My wife no longer got motion sick: I will leave that part alone for now.

Additional things done later of course. While in Oregon I had the check valves in the airlines installed. A tiny bit of improvement in the cornering is about all. I would not spend the money again on that.

To date I have a new steering box, watts links, cross bars, sway bars, check valves, and sway bars.

The wife is grumbling about motion sickness again. I figure after 30-40K miles the Bilsteins could be tired. Thinking they have a lifetime warranty was a hoot. They have to leak or break. Nothing covers any wear and tear of course. I think I will just take the front ones off one at a time and see if any are mushy and just replace those. 

Now if someone can share how they easily took theirs off. Stem on top. Bottom eyes are easy. Stems were a bugger. 

 

Myron HR Endeavor 2008

 

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1 hour ago, myrontruex said:

  

Now if someone can share how they easily took theirs off. Stem on top. Bottom eyes are easy. Stems were a bugger. 

 

Myron HR Endeavor 2008

 

Vice grips clamped way up at the top of shaft (so that any burs they make will never reach the seal).

Then just turn the nut. The vice grips will turn until the handle gets wedged against something.

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43 minutes ago, 96 EVO said:

Vice grips clamped way up at the top of shaft (so that any burs they make will never reach the seal).

Then just turn the nut. The vice grips will turn until the handle gets wedged against something.

Vise Grips are the way to go. Be a BIG spender. Order the Needle Nose design from Amazon (get the REAL Vise Grips of the Crescent Apex Tools brands). That leaves a smaller burr on the top and the handles are usually shorter. The Torque is LOW. There will be a metal ferrell or sleve in the space between the upper and lower bushing. You just keep torquing until you can't torque anymore. MOST people will also pop for a 19 (or maybe 18mm) or a 3/4" ratcheting wrench. Purchase the kind that you flip over to reverse. The ones with the flip switch are usually longer. The shorter, the better as there will be limited working room. With the right size wrench, you typically work via feel. 

These are the tricks that the Source Engineering installer told me that he uses and he does about 3 or so sets a day, so he probably knows how to do it.

I would also say that if I was going to do it again, that I would probably opt for a SMIDGE (not a LOT) of Loctite GREEN (NOT RED or BLUE). That will be enough to hold them. ESPECIALLY the fronts. My Fronts loosened up in about 30K and needed to be retightened. The Green is what you can also use on the terminals of the ATS and a Surge Suppressor, if you have one.

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I used “chain type” vice grips.  I clamped them around the shock and they will turn until they wedge against the frame.  Once you get the top nut loose, go ahead and remove the bottom eye bolt.  You should be able to turn the shock by hand and remove it.  As far as installing the new shocks, I just tightened them until the rubber bushing compressed.  Note: look closely at the bushings.  There is a slight difference and 1 goes on the bottom and the other on the top of the stud.  
Dan D

2012 Diplomat 43DFT 

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11 hours ago, dandick66 said:

I used “chain type” vice grips.  I clamped them around the shock and they will turn until they wedge against the frame.  Once you get the top nut loose, go ahead and remove the bottom eye bolt.  You should be able to turn the shock by hand and remove it.  As far as installing the new shocks, I just tightened them until the rubber bushing compressed.  Note: look closely at the bushings.  There is a slight difference and 1 goes on the bottom and the other on the top of the stud.  
Dan D

2012 Diplomat 43DFT 

I do the same as Dan.

Chain vise grips:

https://tinyurl.com/ycmu76nx

Gear wrenches:

https://tinyurl.com/y8fwum4l

 

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16 hours ago, myrontruex said:

Great thread: At 17K miles on our 2008 HR Endeavor the monroe shocks could be pressed down and pulled up by a four year old. Wife was complaining about motion sickness and I did not like the ride either.

Had read about the Bilsteins that had been tested I believe in the Sacramento area. I already had the Source Sway bars that had made quite a difference in ride. I dare not use the word "handling" or the experts will slap my hands. Don't know another word to use but I first installed the rear Sway Bar and liked it. The Front one went on very soon after that. 

The shocks were replaced with the Bilsteins but what a pain. Can anyone tell me why they didn't put a welded nut on the top stud so you can hold them while tightening them??? 

My wife no longer got motion sick: I will leave that part alone for now.

Additional things done later of course. While in Oregon I had the check valves in the airlines installed. A tiny bit of improvement in the cornering is about all. I would not spend the money again on that.

To date I have a new steering box, watts links, cross bars, sway bars, check valves, and sway bars.

The wife is grumbling about motion sickness again. I figure after 30-40K miles the Bilsteins could be tired. Thinking they have a lifetime warranty was a hoot. They have to leak or break. Nothing covers any wear and tear of course. I think I will just take the front ones off one at a time and see if any are mushy and just replace those. 

Now if someone can share how they easily took theirs off. Stem on top. Bottom eyes are easy. Stems were a bugger. 

 

Myron HR Endeavor 2008

 

Myron,

I was one of the first to install sway bars on a Monaco diesel pusher. When we first purchased the coach it would jump a foot in the lane from a gust of wind and when you saw an 18 wheeler approaching from the rear you would grit your teeth and whiten your knuckles. I was desperate to find solutions to the handling issues and when I ask on this board if anyone had tried the sway bars I was told they would not do any good and I had the best handling coach in the industry. That is like the guy laying in the street with a gunshot wound bleeding like a river and the EMT telling him not to worry he is going to be alright. Wayne Wells with Roadmaster (the tow bar company) had made a set of sway bars for his mother's Diplomat and the company decided to make them a product. I may have been the last person to purchase the sway bars from Roadmaster because they decided to market them thru Source. Because I was desperate I ignored the advice from this site and ordered the sway bars. After installing them the coach was more relaxing to drive and the ride improved. Wayne had noticed the same on his mother's Diplomat. He explained the ride improvement by theorizing that a single wheel event would have some of the impact transferred to the other side of the axle by the sway bar. He could not explain the improvement in handling. When I mentioned either of these improvements on the boards I was usually scolded by someone who explained that sway bars would not have any affect on straight line handling. Thanks to Van Williams we now know that because of the way the sway bars attached they partially stabilize the H-frame. The Watts link does a much better job of this and should be everyone's first choice.

Edited by Bob Nodine
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Hi 

Just replaced all the shocks on my 2003 Beaver Marquis from Bilstein to Koni. We were experiencing extreme proposing. What a difference this change made. I am not sure if we were to replace them with Bilstein we would get the same results. there were two other items we added. Steering stabilizer and Supersteer. 

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1 hour ago, Dr4Film said:

Is what you are calling the Supersteer the Henderson Trim Kit which is added to the Safety Plus Steering Stabilizer?

The Henderson "Trim kit" is what was either the Chicken or the Egg for the Blue Ox TruCenter. Blue Ox hired the Steering Stabilizer Guru from one of the two players....Super Steer or Safety-T-Steer and then the engineers reverse engineered and Blue Ox came out with their version.

I have had mine since 2010 and love it. 

The addition of the Watts Link (see other posts) made it MORE sensitive or more effective.  You could literally tell the difference.  David Pratt, when he put on a test Watts that Van made said the same thing.

 

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Yes, it was the Safety Plus Steering. It looks like a shock. The other part of fixing issues with drivability  was making changes to the air bag system adding air  SuperSteer®  Motion Control . From what I can tell these units restrict the air going in an out of the individual air bags.  This helped in reducing side sway. All done by Henderson's in Grants Pass Organ. Really great working with the office and the technicians. One more item, that was to have the coach wheel alignment. 

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