RV:
2006 Golfstream Endura
2005 Chevy Kodiak Chassis
Vortex 8.1
Alison 1000 Transmission

I am new to the RV world and have not seen many discussions on the Endura w/ Kodiak Chassis, so I thought I would post my experiences and upgrades. Any suggestions, thoughts, comments, and input is highly desired.

Trip #1 (3 days). My in-laws confirmed that that my Endura (Model 6340) does not provide the best in guest sleeping comfort. It has no cab over bed, so the dinnet and couch hide-a-bed are the only options. My wife and I knew that would be the case when we bought it. It’s the perfect size for us two and the dogs and my in-laws have not asked to go again  The queen bed with a 3” memory foam cover is very comfortable and the bedroom cabinet storage space was more than enough.

I found the RV to have lots of power with excellent braking, but the backend would sway considerably in the wind and the ride was rather bouncey. The RV has only 9k miles on it, so I assumed that part ware was not an issue; however, I needed to have a mechanic look at the suspension and I thought a Trac bar was in order. Golfstream claims the Stabil-Ride system resolves these issues, but I think someone at Golfstream was smoking something when they tested it.

Buff,

Try posting on RV.Net at www.rv.net/forum. Under Class C Motorhomes they have a Super C sub-forum with quite a few Kodiak owners.

Buff Dominator, welcome to iRV2.com. We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences. A friend of mine has a plaque on his coach by the door which reads "This coach drinks 6, feeds 4 and sleeps 2". You probably will want to start with weighing the corners independently and setting tire pressure to axle weights. Once you have this correct take it to a suspenion specialist for the needed upgrade.
Congratulations on the Endura and we hope you will be an active partiipant on the forums. Good luck and stay safe.

Paulin,
Will do thanks for the info.

BD

Upgrade (March 2008):
I had a UltraTrac Rear Trac Bar from Redlands Truck & RV Performance Center online. They were very knowledgeable about the chassis and provided other suggestions to improve the suspension. I had a local mechanic look at the suspension and the rubber bumpers were compressed on the leafspring 1 ½ “. After reading the Chevy Chassis documentation, it appears that the rubber bumper is designed to “slow and control” the leafsprings; however, being compressed on the leafspring does not appear to be part of the design. With only 9k miles and that much compression, I think Chevy’s design is not so good.

The mechanic said adding a leafspring or an air system would fix the problem. He suggested a Goodyear Ride-rite system as the best option. I had the Ride-rite system and the track bar installed. The Ride-rite system was installed on a Saturday and because the office was closed I was unable to get the users manual. The mechanic said the air system could be pumped up to 120lbs. I downloaded the manual and it was 50-100lbs and I adjusted it to 80lbs (He pumped it to 120lbs). The lack of knowledge concerned me, but you want to trust your mechanic.