Suspension upgrade

[huntindog]

There is a you tube couple who's name I can't recall, that had the MorRyde IS installed. They put cameras under the trailer to record the suspension. Before and after footage. It was pretty impressive, but I remember thinking as I watched it that the IS reduced the ground clearance a lot. Basically to the height of the tire to the rim... And at the end of the video, they went boondocking and got stuck if the mud. Had to get a tow out. And she was raving about how the IS did not break, like she was sure the previous axles would have.... What anyone with any off road experience knows is that once the under carriage contacts the mud. You are stuck. With all of that low hanging IS hardware, ground clearance is about half of what a stock suspension has. Of course this is not an issue for many, as they do not venture into those situations... But it is something to consider.

[Second Chance]

There is a you tube couple who's name I can't recall, that had the MorRyde IS installed. They put cameras under the trailer to record the suspension. Before and after footage. It was pretty impressive, but I remember thinking as I watched it that the IS reduced the ground clearance a lot. Basically to the height of the tire to the rim... And at the end of the video, they went boondocking and got stuck if the mud. Had to get a tow out. And she was raving about how the IS didnot break, like she was sure the previous axles woulf have.... What anyone with any off road experience knos ie that once the under carriage contacts the mud. You are stuck. With all of that low hanging IS hardware, grounclearance id about half of what a stock suspension has. Of course this is not an issue for many, as they do not venture into those situations... But it is something to consider.

You might be thinking of Changing Lanes... they also filmed while riding in the fifth wheel - not something I would recommend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knG7...=ChangingLanes

Rob

[bertschb]

The Getaway Couple are the ones that got stuck while boon docking. They also did a video on their experience getting MORryde IS installed:

[TheLexx]

AFAIK MorRyde will set your suspension height at whatever works best for your truck so the trailer is level. You are correct about the trailing arm sitting lower, which could be an issue if you needed more ground clearance. The flip side of the coin is with the standard suspension you would not dare venture very far off a paved road anyway. In this case the problem is not the suspension. It's that you should not be dragging a fifth wheel through mud.

That being stated, I am very interested in having a 2" overall suspension lift so that my trailer will sit level when being towed by my truck. I've looked at MorRyde, Dexter Torflex, and Timbrens Silent Ride or air bag systems. All of them could be mounted to a subframe to increase the height of the trailer. The other systems are quite a bit less money than the MorRyde.

There is a you tube couple who's name I can't recall, that had the MorRyde IS installed. They put cameras under the trailer to record the suspension. Before and after footage. It was pretty impressive, but I remember thinking as I watched it that the IS reduced the ground clearance a lot. Basically to the height of the tire to the rim... And at the end of the video, they went boondocking and got stuck if the mud. Had to get a tow out. And she was raving about how the IS did not break, like she was sure the previous axles would have.... What anyone with any off road experience knows is that once the under carriage contacts the mud. You are stuck. With all of that low hanging IS hardware, ground clearance is about half of what a stock suspension has. Of course this is not an issue for many, as they do not venture into those situations... But it is something to consider.

[bertschb]

AFAIK MorRyde will set your suspension height at whatever works best for your truck so the trailer is level.

That is correct. I had them add 2" to my Solitude 310GK.

[huntindog]

You are correct about the trailing arm sitting lower, which could be an issue if you needed more ground clearance. The flip side of the coin is with the standard suspension you would not dare venture very far off a paved road anyway. In this case the problem is not the suspension. It's that you should not be dragging a fifth wheel through mud.

Uh oh.... I guess I have been doing it wrong..... As I said, many do not venture out into such situations,
I do. As my name (Huntindog) would suggest. I hunt. A lot! That means that I do not decide on what the weather will be, or just where I will go. The times and locations are set by whatever tag I was lucky enough to draw.
Besides that.... I hate to be around others whan I am camping. If I can see another camper... It is too close. 100% boondocking.


When I am hunting I get excited when bad weather is in the forcast. It means all of the fair weather campers will be headed home. 99% percent of whom will not return. That is when the best hunting occurs. A little mud will not deter me.

To each his own

[TheLexx]

You're my hero! I've been trying to figure out how to modify my suspension so that I can drag this beastie off-road, at least down fire trails. That's why I've been looking at trailing arm suspensions. Nevertheless, my biggest concern with a fifth wheel is the articulation and how to not get the bed rails of the truck hit by the underside of the fiver when going over uneven terrain. How do you handle this?

Uh oh.... I guess I have been doing it wrong..... As I said, many do not venture out into such situations,
I do. As my name (Huntindog) would suggest. I hunt. A lot! That means that I do not decide on what the weather will be, or just where I will go. The times and locations are set by whatever tag I was lucky enough to draw.
Besides that.... I hate to be around others whan I am camping. If I can see another camper... It is too close. 100% boondocking.


When I am hunting I get excited when bad weather is in the forcast. It means all of the fair weather campers will be headed home. 99% percent of whom will not return. That is when the best hunting occurs. A little mud will not deter me.

To each his own

[huntindog]

You're my hero! I've been trying to figure out how to modify my suspension so that I can drag this beastie off-road, at least down fire trails. That's why I've been looking at trailing arm suspensions. Nevertheless, my biggest concern with a fifth wheel is the articulation and how to not get the bed rails of the truck hit by the underside of the fiver when going over uneven terrain. How do you handle this?

I have 8" of clearance. I did not do anything special to get that. It is all stock. I "think" that many like to lift their trucks for better 4x4 prowess... That will definantly work against the bedrail clearance. Since we use our ATVs for such activities, this has been working for us.

[TheLexx]

Same here. We've got about 8" of clearance. But there have been times where even traversing a driveway with what didn't seem like that severe of a dropoff, that I could see the back of the tailgate get precariously close to the underside of the fiver. I guess that's just the limitation of having a fifth wheel.

I have 8" of clearance. I did not do anything special to get that. It is all stock. I "think" that many like to lift their trucks for better 4x4 prowess... That will definantly work against the bedrail clearance. Since we use our ATVs for such activities, this has been working for us.

[Aridon]

We had disc brakes on our drv with the Morryde IS and now our momentum. I don't notice much difference suspension wise at all but did notice the braking difference. Honestly don't feel it's worth it but I know others swear by it.

I'd consider the brake upgrade the rest in dubious on the value.