Tuesday, September 23, 2008

road king

"Alpine Coach Forum Member"

Posted January 29, 2008 11:58 AM
Can anyone who has put on the Road King shocks tell me how they help when driving on a section of concrete highway that is not even. The type that I am talking about are the ones with a steady chop, which produces a steady hard fast bounce to the coach. There are sections like this on the 101 between Camarillo and Oxnard in Ca and a stretch of 5 going between Tacoma and Seattle in WA.

Dale


Dale Gerstel
Las Vegas, NV
2007 Alpine Limited SE 40FDTS
2007 Honda Odyssey
ACA & SoCal
Posts: 446 | Location: Las Vegas, NV | Registered: December 02, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post

Posted January 29, 2008 01:49 PM Hide Post
Hi Dale

I understand that Louie (the photo & take out the garbage guy) installed Road Kings on his Apex.
Does he monitor this web site?
Henderson's Line Up - installs them - his feedback from owners that installed them was very positive.
I know he sells them - but I believe in his honesty. They are also used on heavy Tractors.
Road King Shocks

I am very interested in them also and would like feedback. I am seriously considering them for my next coach.
Posts: 81 | Location: Where the Redwoods meet the Sea | Registered: January 08, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"Alpine Coach Forum Member"

Posted January 29, 2008 02:18 PM Hide Post
Road King shocks are great on off road vehichles. That is where they built there reputation. I am not at all familiar that they built there shocks primarily for motorhomes. that is not where they got there start unless it was a very well hidden secret. I would be very interested when they truly designed and started to promote a shock directly for the RV industry. There ad reads very well but just when did all of this become RV perfected?


Ted & Carol Ulmer
2005 Alpine 34', 34FDDS
2006 Cruiser GT
Posts: 759 | Location: Abington, PA | Registered: June 02, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"Alpine Coach Forum Member"

Picture of Gail & John
Posted January 29, 2008 05:22 PM Hide Post
We had the Road King shocks installed a few weeks ago at the FMCA Western Area rally in Indio. It was all Louie's fault!! He started it with his testimony on how great they were on his 2005, and then Chuck Czuleger found Henderson's at the rally and had them installed on his 2001. There were a number of Alpine owners at the rally, and we were getting together each afternoon for a wine and whine session, so Chuck invited Henderson's over to talk with all of us. After the demonstration and Louie's testimonial, we decided to "spring" for them. Not cheap! Sweat

In any case, since installation, we have driven on some pretty rough stretches of US95 and I-40 and believe that they have made a substantial difference in smoothing out the ride. You can really feel the difference when you drive across those small "bridges" along the interstate that cross the various washes, where the bridge and roadway have a big dip. Smile

If you are willing to pay the price, we definitely recommend them.


Gail & John Stacy
Sammi, the Great Dane
2007 40FDQS Limited SE
2004 GMC Yukon
ACA & SoCal
Posts: 349 | Location: Las Vegas, NV | Registered: October 19, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"Alpine Coach Forum Member"

Picture of swansnest
Posted January 29, 2008 07:10 PM Hide Post
Yep, Yep, Yep - Gail! We are getting them on in Pomona. Tris's brother put them on his 10yo Beaver at Quartzsite and thought the ride home was remarkabley different (better).

Ted - You are correct that they were originally manufactured for off road and class 8 trucks (18 wheelers). They were so successful that they have now branched into the Motorhome field. We spoke at length to the young engineer who designed them while we were at QZ. They are manufactured in CA. You could probably call the engineer (Lonnie) at 619-766-9207 and ask him questions if you are at all interested. I believe that Henderson's in OR is the only dealer carrying them right now but Louie took his to Texas and had a trucking co. install them.

Daddy Louie is the one who actually convinced us it was worth the cost - he had them installed in TX and then drove back out to QZ with them.

Oh, and Rick - Louie has a '05 40'QS before the Apexs came out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swansnest, January 29, 2008 09:04 PM


The Swans
2007 ALPINE APEX 40'MDTS
2005 Chev Avalanche 4X4
Have Wheels - Will Fly!
Posts: 155 | Location: Huntington Beach, CA | Registered: August 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post

Posted January 30, 2008 12:10 AM Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by swansnest:
Oh, and Rick - Louie has a '05 40'QS before the Apexs came out.


Thanks - Bad memory about Louie's Alpine.
But I do remember at Hendersons Line Up - they handed me an Koni and a Road King to look at.
The Koni looked and felt like a much inferior shock compared to a 'heavy duty' shock.
Road King's look like they are built for heavy vehicles and koni's look like a medium vehicle shocks.
The only reason I had Koni's installed - I'm waiting for someone to build my 'perfect' RV - which no one builds yet. Two of many prerequisites mid door - king bed.
Posts: 81 | Location: Where the Redwoods meet the Sea | Registered: January 08, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post

Posted January 30, 2008 12:28 AM Hide Post
Anything born in Jacumba has to be tough to survive! Wow


Baja-tested '08 2-slide 36'
Alpine: The Ultimate DIY'er Project
Posts: 970 | Location: Auburn, CA, Havasu, AZ & Mulege, BCS | Registered: May 20, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"Alpine Coach Forum Member"

Picture of swansnest
Posted January 30, 2008 03:33 PM Hide Post
Actually, they are built in Garden Grove & Tris has an appointment to go through the plant tomorrow. He is looking into getting them on the police motorcycles!
(Nope - can't put them on cycles - they are too big - maybe police cars and firetrucks!)
Tris toured the factory and was truely impressed with how they are manufactured and the quality of the material and workmanship.
He said that it is like comparing a mercedes to a vw to compare the Road King to a Bilstein or Koni... The technology is far superior.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swansnest, January 31, 2008 11:14 PM


The Swans
2007 ALPINE APEX 40'MDTS
2005 Chev Avalanche 4X4
Have Wheels - Will Fly!
Posts: 155 | Location: Huntington Beach, CA | Registered: August 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post

Posted January 31, 2008 08:48 AM Hide Post
WOW--$400 a piece for heavy duty truck shocks--when only the "best" / most expensive will do? Going from Bilstien to Koni was a dramatic improvement for me--the Road Kings must border on a religious experience [smile]....
Posts: 140 | Registered: November 02, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"Alpine Coach Forum Member"

Posted January 31, 2008 03:33 PM Hide Post
Truly I do not think $ 400.00 is very heavy for a real good truck shock. Consider Koni shocks run in the 200.00 range for motor homes


Ted & Carol Ulmer
2005 Alpine 34', 34FDDS
2006 Cruiser GT

No comments: