Texas TC
05-05-2011, 02:48 PM
I finally got a little road time with the new shock addition. My wife and I did a 450 mile casino trip over the Shreveport, La. and returned today.
I am pleased to report that the shocks are great. I don't know if it is me getting accustomed to the new suspension or the shocks actually have broken in a bit but the little road bumps and irregularities I noticed on my test drive are now gone. With the ACE air suspension system and the RoadKing shocks, I now have the ride and drive I have wanted since purchasing the SuperNova.
From an engineering standpoint, the addition of the ACE system gave me essentially the same suspension that is on the Jayco Embark and Dynamax Freightliner chassis. They have air on the rear and shock/springs on the front. During my research, I found that the Embark owners were having some of the same issues I was having. It seemed that the coach was being cantilevered from the rear axle and floating in the front. The RoadKing shocks, being much stiffer, seem to transfer the load back to the airbags where I want it. I knew I was getting a great ride and drive experience on this trip but I began to watch other cars and especially large trucks on the interstate as they hit dips and wear patterns in the road. When I would get to that portion of the road, I was getting a nice smooth ride. It got to be a game of trying to find abnormal road conditions and potholes. I would aim the Nova at them to see how it would effect the ride and I was extremely pleased.
During my research, I found two outlets for heavy duty shocks for the International chassis that I felt would give me what I wanted. RoadKing was one and Henderson suspension was the other. I went with RoadKing because they built the shock for my chassis. Henderson was willing to try to make a stock brand shock work for me. The price was comparable so I made my decision on RoadKing. Henderson would have most probably supplied me with a good shock package because I always heard good things about their suspension equipment.
Bottom line, I am extremely pleased with the RoadKing shocks. I wish I had found them sooner.
I am pleased to report that the shocks are great. I don't know if it is me getting accustomed to the new suspension or the shocks actually have broken in a bit but the little road bumps and irregularities I noticed on my test drive are now gone. With the ACE air suspension system and the RoadKing shocks, I now have the ride and drive I have wanted since purchasing the SuperNova.
From an engineering standpoint, the addition of the ACE system gave me essentially the same suspension that is on the Jayco Embark and Dynamax Freightliner chassis. They have air on the rear and shock/springs on the front. During my research, I found that the Embark owners were having some of the same issues I was having. It seemed that the coach was being cantilevered from the rear axle and floating in the front. The RoadKing shocks, being much stiffer, seem to transfer the load back to the airbags where I want it. I knew I was getting a great ride and drive experience on this trip but I began to watch other cars and especially large trucks on the interstate as they hit dips and wear patterns in the road. When I would get to that portion of the road, I was getting a nice smooth ride. It got to be a game of trying to find abnormal road conditions and potholes. I would aim the Nova at them to see how it would effect the ride and I was extremely pleased.
During my research, I found two outlets for heavy duty shocks for the International chassis that I felt would give me what I wanted. RoadKing was one and Henderson suspension was the other. I went with RoadKing because they built the shock for my chassis. Henderson was willing to try to make a stock brand shock work for me. The price was comparable so I made my decision on RoadKing. Henderson would have most probably supplied me with a good shock package because I always heard good things about their suspension equipment.
Bottom line, I am extremely pleased with the RoadKing shocks. I wish I had found them sooner.