New Owner 1993 Ivory

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billybob
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:47 pm

New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by billybob »

Hi all,

Just retired and I'm restoring a 1993 34' Ivory "High Tech" edition. 95k miles, 8.3 Cummins with a banks stinger upgrade. Getting ready for our first trip in two weeks. So far it has been an interesting adventure figuring out this vehicle. Put on new brakes and tires. Looking at shocks now. Quite an adventure.

- Warren
1993 Safari Ivory 3430
Oshkosh VC-22, Cummins 8.3 with Banks Stinger Kit
6 Speed Allison World Transmission, Leaf Springs
TDJohn
Posts: 552
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 11:34 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by TDJohn »

Welcome to the group Warren,

What suspension do you have? Leaf springs or the VelvetRide torsional suspension?
What chassis is the coach on? I'm guessing the Oshkosh Chassis?

Don't order shocks, just yet. I will get you the proper part numbers for the shocks, once I know what suspension you have.

If you have questions, don't be shy, ask and we will do our best to help.
John
'95 Serengeti, Cummins C8.3-300
Allison 6spd.
billybob
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:47 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by billybob »

John,

Thanks, so great to have an active, knowledgeable group. I have the 3430 Ivory on the Oshkosh VC-22 chassis, leaf springs. It has Bilsteins front and rear. The rear ones were replaced about 15k miles ago. I have pretty good maintenance records and no indication that the front ones have ever been replaced.

I have new Toyo 245/75 22.5 R tires and I'm still getting more vibration from the front than I would like. I haven't found any other worn suspension parts so I'm guessing if the front shocks are original that could be the cause.

Also, right now it only has seat belts for the front two seats. I'm planning to put two in on the sofa. Any reason not to? What have other owners done?

- Warren
1993 Safari Ivory 3430
Oshkosh VC-22, Cummins 8.3 with Banks Stinger Kit
6 Speed Allison World Transmission, Leaf Springs
TDJohn
Posts: 552
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 11:34 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by TDJohn »

Warren,

Most of the older Safaris that were on the Oshkosh chassis had the VelvetRide torsional suspension, so to make sure my old info is correct, please get me the numbers off of the Bilstein shocks so I can double check and cross reference the Koni numbers. Certain model Koni shocks work much better on our Safaris then Bilstein shocks. Bilsteins tend to give a very jarring harsh ride.
Now when you say vibrations, do you mean vibration like your tires are out of balance or the coach rides harshly???

The tire size you gave is not common on our coaches, if you could look on the tire inflation/GVWR sticker and let me know what the original tire was, and what your GVWR is and GAWR ratings are.
What tire pressures are you running?
Tire pressure needs to be adjusted according to the weight you are carrying. If there is too much pressure, it will give a very harsh ride and poor handling (it will wander all over the road). Too little weight and you can overload the tire which can cause tire failure.
What tire brand and model do you have on your coach?

Have you had your coach weighed fully loaded for travel? If yes, what were the axle wights?

Regarding the seat belts, ass long as the couch is anchored into the steel sub-frame structure and the couch has a robust sub-frame where the seat belts can be anchored to, there should be no problems. On my coach, the two fronts seats, the couch and the armchair all have seat belts.
Here is a link where you can get various types of seat belts for your needs.

https://www.seatbeltsplus.com/

BTW, this site has a signature feature that is automatically added every time you post. It would be very helpful and greatly appreciated if you could add your year, make and model of your coach, other info like the engine, transmission, chassis and suspension to your signature. It will help others keep track of what coach you have when they are trying to provide information. See my signature as an example.
John
'95 Serengeti, Cummins C8.3-300
Allison 6spd.
john777
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu May 06, 2021 9:38 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by john777 »

billybob wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:33 pm John,

Thanks, so great to have an active, knowledgeable group. I have the 3430 Ivory on the Oshkosh VC-22 chassis, leaf springs. It has Bilsteins front and rear. The rear ones were replaced about 15k miles ago. I have pretty good maintenance records and no indication that the front ones have ever been replaced.

I have new Toyo 245/75 22.5 R tires and I'm still getting more vibration from the front than I would like. I haven't found any other worn suspension parts so I'm guessing if the front shocks are original that could be the cause.

Also, right now it only has seat belts for the front two seats. I'm planning to put two in on the sofa. Any reason not to? What have other owners done?

- Warren
Warren,

I installed a pair of seat belts on my couch for my kids. I anchored them into the steel frame of the couch, not into the floor, since its located on the slideout. I also removed my small couch behind the passenger seat (front door model) and installed a set of these for my kids, so I don;t step on them in the morning when I have my coffee in the captains chairs. I got them in Tan to match the "Ivory" interior...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Z59MM6/re ... UTF8&psc=1
John in Sonoma CA
'00 Safari Serengeti Ivory 3706 Front Door
Cat 3126 330HP / Allison MD3060
Magnum Air Ride chassis
Owner since 5/2021
john777
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu May 06, 2021 9:38 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by john777 »

John in Sonoma CA
'00 Safari Serengeti Ivory 3706 Front Door
Cat 3126 330HP / Allison MD3060
Magnum Air Ride chassis
Owner since 5/2021
john777
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu May 06, 2021 9:38 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by john777 »

john777 wrote: Sun Jun 06, 2021 11:31 am viewtopic.php?f=15&t=40031
These were a little tight, you might want to get he next size up. Anyone larger than a kid and they way I set these up, won't work adultwise.

I got the 60", get the 74"
John in Sonoma CA
'00 Safari Serengeti Ivory 3706 Front Door
Cat 3126 330HP / Allison MD3060
Magnum Air Ride chassis
Owner since 5/2021
JoeyD
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2020 6:23 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by JoeyD »

We went long(70”-~90”) on three pairs of belts. At the time I bought our coach, both of my children were in child safety seats. The belts needed to come through the rear of the couch as well as under the front in order accommodate mounting the seats backwards to vehicle travel. You should be able to tag two crossmembers. If you can’t, you’ll need to bridge the two crossmembers from underneath in order to provide a secure belt attachment point. I also went with Grade 8 fasteners and double nuts with Loctite.
Stay safe
--JoeyD
'95 Safari Sahara 3530
Cummins 5.9
Conifer, CO.
billybob
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:47 pm

Re: New Owner 1993 Ivory

Post by billybob »

Thanks for the great advice!

74" seat belts are on order with mounting hardware to bolt the through the floor and I'll put some flat steel below and grade 8 bolts. It has a recliner which looks like it matches the sofa but isn't attached to anything. I was planning to install a stout anchor ring and strap it to that for travel - no riders. Does that seem like the original recliner?

On the vibration, I'm new to class A coach so not sure what is normal. The old front tires had some vibration like they were out of round or balance. It had been sitting for many years so that was expected. The new tires are much better but still some vibration. There is a leak in the steering box - a Sheppard M80. Looks like the top input seal. I have a kit on order and at least that one seems easy to replace.

The new tires are Toyo M 154 245/75R22.5 G/14PR. They are rated at 4675/110 single and 4300/110 dual. The GVWR is 22500, 7500 front, 15,000 rear. The manufactures plate specified 80 psi front and rear. The previous tires were 9R22.5 Toyo. I see in the manual it also lists 235/80 22.5 as an option. from the Toyo chart it looks like 80 psi front and 90 psi rear would be sufficient for the GVWR. I guess by weighing it I can see if 80 front and 80 rear is ok?

I test drove it after the tires were installed with 85psi front and the installer recommended 100psi rear. I had a full tank of fuel, full propane and 20 gallons of fresh water. Empty gray and black tanks. Not sure that is the right pressure but the shop seemed to know there way around big trucks so I'm hoping they did a good job on mounting and balancing the tires. It was harsh and yes it wandered more than I liked.

Any chance the vibration is from the steering box? Might tire pressure adjustment resolve this?

- Warren
1993 Safari Ivory 3430
Oshkosh VC-22, Cummins 8.3 with Banks Stinger Kit
6 Speed Allison World Transmission, Leaf Springs
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