Rear watts

[JDCrow]

Just started adding my rear Watts today as we are headed to AZ next month and have a good trial trip This week. 
 

I must say, very stout, and the finish is nice. The instructions need to be updated to show the current set up, it doesn’t match the pictures, but self explanatory. 

[MyronTruex]

They are a work of art for sure and built like railroad tracks. Solid.

Did you or can you change your steering box? My buddy has one of those years/models that there is not a direct replacement for. 

[JDCrow]

28 minutes ago, myrontruex said:

They are a work of art for sure and built like railroad tracks. Solid.

Did you or can you change your steering box? My buddy has one of those years/models that there is not a direct replacement for. 

I did replace my box with a TRW from Weller 

[Rikadoo]

Hey JD morning, wow the rear link looks almost identical to the front one i just put on this weekend! And yes the pics were not helpfull AT ALL! I take it you already have the front one, how has that done for you if you have? So where in Az are you headed?

[JDCrow]

1 hour ago, Rikadoo said:

Hey JD morning, wow the rear link looks almost identical to the front one i just put on this weekend! And yes the pics were not helpfull AT ALL! I take it you already have the front one, how has that done for you if you have? So where in Az are you headed?

I do have the front watts, and it helped a bit. By far the biggest improvement on the front was the TRW Box. 
 

My coach is super short at 34’. I believe the weight distribution is way to much to the rear given it’s length. 
 

She squats in the rear, very noticeably. She is a little more squirrelly with a toad, well the F150 anyway. 
 

I’m going to drop some pressure out of the front bags this next trip.
I’ve commented on this in past posts and have not received favorable comments. In my class 8 semi days, we had to adjust air to keep the weight correct on axles when we had oversized/heavy loads. 
 

My hope is to lower the front and get the weight of the fuel tank over the front axle more. 
 

Again, I’m well aware of the spec in the manual. At this point I don’t think Monaco took the time to actually look each length of their lines to see what was needed. One manual for all coaches in a line.

 

 

 

[RoadTripper2084]

24 minutes ago, JDCrow said:

I do have the front watts, and it helped a bit. By far the biggest improvement on the front was the TRW Box. 
 

My coach is super short at 34’. I believe the weight distribution is way to much to the rear given it’s length. 
 

She squats in the rear, very noticeably. She is a little more squirrelly with a toad, well the F150 anyway. 
 

I’m going to drop some pressure out of the front bags this next trip.
I’ve commented on this in past posts and have not received favorable comments. In my class 8 semi days, we had to adjust air to keep the weight correct on axles when we had oversized/heavy loads. 
 

My hope is to lower the front and get the weight of the fuel tank over the front axle more. 
 

Again, I’m well aware of the spec in the manual. At this point I don’t think Monaco took the time to actually look each length of their lines to see what was needed. One manual for all coaches in a line.

 

 

 

There is certainly no harm in some experimentation. I found an old Monaco factory service record in my manual box where the original owners had complained about ride harshness and the tech had lowered the ride height by .5" or something, so these stock height numbers aren't written in stone.

On my 36' it does seem to be a bit more stable when the diesel tank is full with more weight over the front axle.

 

[JDCrow]

29 minutes ago, RoadTripper2084 said:

There is certainly no harm in some experimentation. I found an old Monaco factory service record in my manual box where the original owners had complained about ride harshness and the tech had lowered the ride height by .5" or something, so these stock height numbers aren't written in stone.

On my 36' it does seem to be a bit more stable when the diesel tank is full with more weight over the front axle.

 

Thank you for the insight and vote of confidence. 
 

Yes, always filling up the tank to keep weight up. I only have 1 bay for storage, it’s behind the tank. We don’t pack much in it, I might try and stuff some more in it. 
 

Everything else is rear bias, propane, then fluid tanks are right in front of rear axle. 

[FLynes]

Is the Watts comparable to the TigerTrak?

[JDCrow]

12 minutes ago, FLynes said:

Is the Watts comparable to the TigerTrak?

I’ve never heard of Tiger Track. Let me look 

Looks like Tiger Trak is a sway bar. It’s a different application. Sway is different than “wandering” which is what the RR8R chassis seem to suffer from. 
 

I’ve yet to achieve the “one hand” steering that is claimed in some instances. Hoping to find that right combo. 
 

I have a Source Front sway bar on, and a rear one on the shelf. The front was an easy install. The sway bar is Frame to axle, it doesn’t take into account the H-Frame and airbags like the Watts does. 
 

I’ve been putting off the rear sway bar until I have a shop and time. It involves drilling of the frame. 

[JDCrow]

And we are installed. 
 

1 hang up. 
 

The instructions called for the base plate to sit about an inch above the braces. Because I had long gussets, I couldn’t make that happen. I’m about 1/4”

The instructions also mention trimming gussets if the flat bars of the linkage rub. I don’t have that issue. 
 

Anyway, I’ll be running I tomorrow for a 4-5 hour spin 

[RoadTripper2084]

5 hours ago, JDCrow said:

I’ve yet to achieve the “one hand” steering that is claimed in some instances. Hoping to find that right combo. 

The biggest improvement for me was when I had my sloppy tie rod tube replaced. They also adjusted the alignment after that, but I have no idea what they actually changed, if anything, on that front.  I can one hand the wheel 80% of the time now, unless there's a cross-wind, then things get a bit more challenging.  I also have the TRW steering box, but no other non-factory alterations to the chassis.

 

 

[JDCrow]

25 minutes ago, RoadTripper2084 said:

The biggest improvement for me was when I had my sloppy tie rod tube replaced. They also adjusted the alignment after that, but I have no idea what they actually changed, if anything, on that front.  I can one hand the wheel 80% of the time now, unless there's a cross-wind, then things get a bit more challenging.  I also have the TRW steering box, but no other non-factory alterations to the chassis.

 

 

That’s pretty awesome. Been to 2 alignment shops and both say the steering linkage is great.

 

As far as ride height, seems I’m maxed out on both ends. 
 

1/2” shorter in front and 1/2” taller in rear. Going to let that lay 

[FLynes]

6 hours ago, JDCrow said:

I’ve never heard of Tiger Track. Let me look 

Looks like Tiger Trak is a sway bar. It’s a different application. Sway is different than “wandering” which is what the RR8R chassis seem to suffer from. 
 

I’ve yet to achieve the “one hand” steering that is claimed in some instances. Hoping to find that right combo. 
 

I have a Source Front sway bar on, and a rear one on the shelf. The front was an easy install. The sway bar is Frame to axle, it doesn’t take into account the H-Frame and airbags like the Watts does. 
 

I’ve been putting off the rear sway bar until I have a shop and time. It involves drilling of the frame. 

Makes sense. The Workhorses suffers from tail wag, and the TigerTrak eliminates it completely. I also installed a Safe-T-Plus up front and I can now drive with one finger, even with the wind blowing pretty good. We don’t have airbags on ours, but sometimes I wish we did.

[JDCrow]

11 minutes ago, FLynes said:

Makes sense. The Workhorses suffers from tail wag, and the TigerTrak eliminates it completely. I also installed a Safe-T-Plus up front and I can now drive with one finger, even with the wind blowing pretty good. We don’t have airbags on ours, but sometimes I wish we did.

On your Lapalma there no bags at all? 

[Rikadoo]

Mornin JD, hey im very intrested in your customizing your air bags when you do it. Cause saturday when i went to adjust mine the rear adjusters were maxed out with a air bag heigth of 8.0 inches however my front is at 9 inches, so i know the butt is draging cause my “mud flap” is almost to the metal. The front is a lot higher which makes me believe that may have something to do with my wandering and harsh ride. I have drivin other coaches with same suspension that were alot easier goin down the road, however they were 40 ftrs, mine is a 36ftr. One of the things im looking at is air bag inflation, by that i mean where is the place the lower portion of the rubber of the bag supposed to ride for best position. 
if you could when you customise yours please give me a update.

[JDCrow]

11 minutes ago, Rikadoo said:

Mornin JD, hey im very intrested in your customizing your air bags when you do it. Cause saturday when i went to adjust mine the rear adjusters were maxed out with a air bag heigth of 8.0 inches however my front is at 9 inches, so i know the butt is draging cause my “mud flap” is almost to the metal. The front is a lot higher which makes me believe that may have something to do with my wandering and harsh ride. I have drivin other coaches with same suspension that were alot easier goin down the road, however they were 40 ftrs, mine is a 36ftr. One of the things im looking at is air bag inflation, by that i mean where is the place the lower portion of the rubber of the bag supposed to ride for best position. 
if you could when you customise yours please give me a update.

So I measured the bags, I’m 1/2” shorter than spec in the front. (Spec is 9 1/2) It’s maxed out on the adjustment 

I’m 1/2” taller than spec in the Rear (spec is 11.5)

Given that I’ve done the rear watts and adjusted tire pressure per scale weight, I’m going to fly with this set up this trip to see how it does. I also adjusted 1/4 turn on the TRW box as well. I’ll go for a quick test run after work before I hook up and head out. 
 

My folks 5vr blew a gear box on one of their slide outs. Part is in before noon and I have to install it and realign the slide before we can all go. 

Edited September 12, 2023 by JDCrow

[FLynes]

12 hours ago, JDCrow said:

On your Lapalma there no bags at all? 

Nope, no Workhorse got them, just really big parabolic leaf springs, front and rear, and Bilstein shocks.

[JDCrow]

18 minutes ago, FLynes said:

Nope, no Workhorse got them, just really big parabolic leaf springs, front and rear, and Bilstein shocks.

Ahhh yours is gas. I’m not up in the workhorse chassis. Have you been to Henderson’s website? 

[FLynes]

38 minutes ago, JDCrow said:

Ahhh yours is gas. I’m not up in the workhorse chassis. Have you been to Henderson’s website? 

I have not, I've never heard of it.

[JDCrow]

Here ya go 

 

https://supersteerparts.com

[FLynes]

2 hours ago, JDCrow said:

Here ya go 

 

https://supersteerparts.com

Brooke just walked by and saw me looking at Henderson's site and replied with one word, "No". Our budget for this month has apparently reached it's limit, LOL!

[JDCrow]

12 minutes ago, FLynes said:

Brooke just walked by and saw me looking at Henderson's site and replied with one word, "No". Our budget for this month has apparently reached it's limit, LOL!

Yeah, I get that from mine time to time. Especially with the coach. She’s not a fan of my baby Pearl 

[JDCrow]

Update:

4 hour drive to the coast. Vastly improved. The rear is solid, the squishy, squirrelly feel is gone. 

I got a little 1 handed driving down the freeway.

Noticed my safety steer is biased to the left. Will make the adjustment tomorrow before I head home. 
 

Wifey is skeptical, but I think our trip south to AZ will be great 

[Rikadoo]

Awsome! So im leaving Sunday for SC, im hoping the front watts link i installed helps with the trucker ruts so i dont have to focus on the road sooo much. Thanks for the update👍

[Tom Cherry]

On 9/11/2023 at 12:18 AM, JDCrow said:

Just started adding my rear Watts today as we are headed to AZ next month and have a good trial trip This week. 
 

I must say, very stout, and the finish is nice. The instructions need to be updated to show the current set up, it doesn’t match the pictures, but self explanatory. 

@vanwill52 & @David Pratt

This topic has been ongoing and I never questioned the title.  I assumed that the “rear” suspension stabilizer was the X or cross braces.  But, when I looked at the pictures, It becsme obvious that my recollection of such did not look like the picture. However, maybe my ignorance? Are there two types of stabilizer for the rear now?  A true Watts link as well as the more traditional X braces.  I think it would be beneficial if one or both of you could comment and explain and perhaps, if there are two different strategies, the differences and advantages and such.

No rush, but I think that members considering suspension upgrades would benefit.

NOW, if it is a bit more complex and/or a separate topic is needed, then please choose the best method to get information out.

Thanks….