Scott9413
New Orleans
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Joined: 10/17/2003
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Is anyone satisfied with their "as delivered" Kodiak chassis ride?
Thinking of purchasing an 06 Seneca, and I have not seen any positive post about the Kodiak.
Scott
2006 Jayco Seneca HD 35GS
2004 F250 Crew Cab (for sale)
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country1nphx
Phoenix
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Joined: 08/27/2006
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Seems to ride fine to me. I have the GS with the Kodiak and tow on a regular basis, works fine...
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ronfisherman
SE Michigan
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Joined: 06/05/2006
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We have a GS on the Kodiak Chassis. I have made some improvments. larger front sway bar and Bilstien shocks. Very happy with the handling of our MH. Jayco does not use the heavier front sway bar (thats the large square tubing hanging down from the springs under front bumper)on the Seneca. It made a big difference in corner handing.
You will note that most of the complaints are on the 2007/8 models. If it's a 2006 you are looking at. Ask for a road test. Then take it out on the highway for a good spin.
2004 Gulf Stream Endura 6340 D/A
Saf-TTE tire monitor
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az99
N.Y.
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Joined: 12/26/2006
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If you are asking about ride quality as in smoothness. They actually ride quite nice. If you are asking about the quality of handling. They need some work.
There has been a lot of constructive criticism on here about the Kodiak chassis but I think if you read deep into the posts most people would still buy them again even knowing that improvements are needed. At least I would. The Seneca is a nice unit. Like Ron said take it for a test drive. I recommend a long test drive. Take it on some twisty back roads,go on a major highway and let some trucks pass you and see if you can find a highway that has truck ruts. Spend some time in it. You are not buying a $5,000 beater car.
Good Luck
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Texas TC
Corinth,Texas
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Joined: 05/28/2007
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Good luck. I never liked the Kodiak when I owned one even after adding a Safety Steer unit. Others have changed shocks, added track bars and other after market devices and said they got a good driving experience. Out of the box, mine never handled well on grooved roads, in high winds, or around other high profile vehicles. I would never consider another class 5 Kodiak. I would like to drive a class 6 Kodiak if the coach manufacturers would step up and use them for motor homes. The heavier duty chassis might be as good as the International class 6 but I have not been able to find one to drive.
2008 Gulf Stream SuperNova (6331)
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az99
N.Y.
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Joined: 12/26/2006
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Texas TC wrote:Good luck. I never liked the Kodiak when I owned one even after adding a Safety Steer unit. Others have changed shocks, added track bars and other after market devices and said they got a good driving experience. Out of the box, mine never handled well on grooved roads, in high winds, or around other high profile vehicles. I would never consider another class 5 Kodiak. I would like to drive a class 6 Kodiak if the coach manufacturers would step up and use them for motor homes. The heavier duty chassis might be as good as the International class 6 but I have not been able to find one to drive. You had a Four Winns didn't you ? What rear springs did it have and did it have the factory sway bars ?
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exfuzz02
Lakewood, WA
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Joined: 03/19/2005
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I don't like the sway and rocking on mine...so the first thing this spring is new shocks to start with. I will see what improvements that makes before adding anything else. Driving straight down the road is ok but going around corners etc. shows need for ride improvement.
2007 Jayco 33DS, Greyhawk/Kodiak Chassis,Chev V-8
Toad: 2004 Jeep Liberty 4x4.
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bowtiebill
Fillmore, CA
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Joined: 04/14/2005
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I have been very happy with the ride of mine. I enjoy driving it, have over 15k on it now. It rides more like a truck then other C's that I have driven. I like that.
But I think it can be improved, just like most vehicles, with some upgraded shocks. I just ordered the Koni FSD's for the rear of mine.
I think some of the complaints have been on the rigs larger then mine. Ours is the smallest one, maybe that has something to do with the ride.
Good luck,
Bill
Bill, Sherry, & Murray
2005 Gulfstream Super C
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dleslie125
Southern Ontario/Palmetto FL in Winter
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Joined: 03/21/2003
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Not unhappy with ours. Sure, it doesn't handle like our Tahoe, but it weights about 19k as we go down the road and it has the 5700 lbs of the Tahoe hooked on the back.
Just remember you aren't driving a car. Compared with our previous MHs it seems fine over the 3400 miles we've gone to date. No plans to change anything at this time but I might add a Safe-T-Plus for security.
We've found it good in windy (20 mph) conditions (but headwinds sure knock the stuffing out of mpg) and 18 wheelers passing are barely noticeable. Haven't had to experience it in severe winds yet. I always disregard the comment one reads here from time to time about a MH being "rock solid in heavy winds." As I watch 80k lb trucks moving around I wonder how something with a huge side area and frontal area like a MH that is also much lighter won't move around.
In summary, happy at this point.
From what I've seen, the units with handling problems are primarily Seneca's that are heavier and may be suffering a bit from weight balance problems or springs that do not have adequate capacity. Mind you, a Four Winds gasser on a short wheel base has been found to have serious weight distribution problems as you've no doubt read on the threads here.
Don, Bev & Phil
07 Jayco 32SS on Kodiak May 07 Yahoo Kodiak Group
06 HR Amb 40PLQ ISC 330/950 9/05-5/07
04 Winnie Jrny 39W CAT C7 7/04-9/05)
00 Triple E Commander 5/03-5/04
Toad - 07 Tahoe LTZ 12/06 -
04 Colorado Z71 04- 06
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bakersontheroad
Cleveland, Ohio
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Joined: 08/09/2004
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I have the FW 32B on the 213.5" wb and I would not say I am unhappy with the handling. I have posted about bad handling on rutted roads and am planning on shocks and a track-bar. I would buy this unit again. It handles far better than my previous '95 27' E350 and better than my fathers '90 30' GMC A. The kodiak/duramax/allison are just hands down better than my E350 in GVW/GCW/torque/breaking/hills/acceleration and those were my primary reasons for buying the kodiak. I can deal with the handling issues. I did shocks and tire upgrades on my E350 and afterwards it was still not as good as my kodiak is now, pre mods.
Texas TC has a point. If you are concerned about handling/GVW/GCW the class 6 chassis is the way to go. But the cheapest I could find one was 26K more than my unit and I have been told for one third that difference the kodiak can be made to handle like a sports car.
Like the previous posts said, take it for a test drive and put it through its paces, then you decide. The harsher the driving conditions the better. I think I might be more concerned about the larger units.
I guess it all depends on what your other options are, what you're comparing it to and what your needs are.
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