2800BH Tire Contact - Lippert Lift Kit?

[emelch]

I purchased a used 2016 2800BH, and knew when I bought it that it had some light tire rub under the kitchen side of the trailer which seems to be pretty common. We plan to tow this trailer on long distance trips, so the CRE3000 and new leaf springs and better shackles/bushings are a given. In addition to this, I'd like to do something to increase tire clearance. I've gone back and forth on options to address it, reading through this forum, and have called Lippert and Grand Design. Options seem to be:

1. Upgrade the suspension with stiffer 2,200# leaf springs (vs the factory 1,750# springs), increasing clearance and reducing compression.
2. Do some sort of lift using blocks between the springs and axles.
3. Lift the trailer using Lippert's Lift Kit

Lippert and Grand Design seem to discourage #1 , as adding stiffer springs could lead to other long term issues due to increased stress on the trailer (despite later models having 4,400# axles and 2,200# springs). Lippert discouraged #2 , using lift blocks, despite others reporting on the forum that it worked fine for them. Lippert recommended #3 , the lift kit, which looks similar to the old correct track system, minus the little octagons to manipulate the alignment.

So I originally leaned towards option #3 , as I prefer to go with something that is "factory", or at least an aftermarket part recommended by the original manufacturer. However, it seems that a lot of folks have had spring hanger issues when they used the old correct track system to lift their trailer since lengthening the hangers increases leverage on their welds. Of course you then go down the rabbit hole of strengthening the hangers/frame by adding "v-clips" and/or cross braces between the hangers to strengthen them.

Is there some magical 4th option I should be considering? Is #3 , the Lippert Lift Kit a bad idea? It gets pretty heavily recommended on etrailer and has only positive reviews.

I'd like to avoid breaking a hanger in the middle of Kansas on a family road trip. I'm still a working man with limited vacation days, so I don't have time for that! Thanks for any advice you can give.

Thanks,
Eric

[Flip94ta]

I would do option 1 if it were me. If the current springs have sagged that much, anything but option 1 will probably end in broken leafs or more sag down the road. Your trailer loaded has about 6000lbs on the wheels, and 7000lbs of spring, so like 85% of max load? 8800lbs seems like it should have been the right setup in the first place.

[emelch]

Well, I'm going to take the leap on option #3 this weekend. I called Lippert tech support and the guy said they sell a lot of these lift kits, and he's only heard of two issues, both when people installed it on unsupported hangers (too short or boot style).

Our plan is to do the following:
Lippert Tandem Axle Lift Kit
Morryde CRE3000 Equalizer
Never Fail Shackle and Bolt Kits (Note: The Morryde wet bolts/shackles aren't compatible with the Lippert lift kit, as the wet bolts aren't long enough with the added width from the lift kit brackets)
New 1750# springs

We'll also be re-packing the wheel bearings, adjusting the brakes, and addressing some surface rust while everything is taken apart.

I'll take some pics of the install and share in case it helps someone else facing these same issues. Of course if we run into any issues down the line, I'll post some updates. Biggest concern remains some form of hanger failure down the line with the hangers extended. We'll see.

-Eric

[2019SD]

Well, I'm going to take the leap on option #3 this weekend. I called Lippert tech support and the guy said they sell a lot of these lift kits, and he's only heard of two issues, both when people installed it on unsupported hangers (too short or boot style).

Our plan is to do the following:
Lippert Tandem Axle Lift Kit
Morryde CRE3000 Equalizer
Never Fail Shackle and Bolt Kits (Note: The Morryde wet bolts/shackles aren't compatible with the Lippert lift kit, as the wet bolts aren't long enough with the added width from the lift kit brackets)
New 1750# springs

We'll also be re-packing the wheel bearings, adjusting the brakes, and addressing some surface rust while everything is taken apart.

I'll take some pics of the install and share in case it helps someone else facing these same issues. Of course if we run into any issues down the line, I'll post some updates. Biggest concern remains some form of hanger failure down the line with the hangers extended. We'll see.

-Eric

Eric,
Any update on your project? Just picked up our 268BH and the aft level jacks are way to close to the ground..5 inches.
Thanks!

[emelch]

It's been a couple months since we did the big undercarriage upgrade to our 2800BH. Here's the rundown:

- New 1750# leaf springs (not upgrading to stiffer springs since we don't want to "stress" the trailer, risk having panels pop, etc.)
- Lippert Never Fail Bushings (Note that you can't use the Morryde heavy duty shackle and wet bolt kit with the Lippert lift kit. The lift kit plates and thicker shackles combined make the wet bolts too short. I could have ordered even longer wet bolts, but it started getting complicated, so I punted and just used the never fail bushings, standard shackles, and the hardware that came with the lift kit)
- Morryde CRE3000 (lesson learned, this comes in two sizes, a 33 and 35. I ordered the 33 without realizing it. Realized this on Sunday when we started mounting it, and they were too short. We had to leave the trailer on blocks in the driveway for 3 days until I could get the right size delivered. Very classy.)
- Cleaned surface rust and painted parts of frame using POR-15
- Cleaned and re-packed wheel bearings
- Did a proper setup on our weight distribution hitch (we just sort of guessed the setup when we bought the trailer used, and were quite a bit off)

It was a full weekend of work, plus a couple hours Thursday when the 35" Morryde CRE3000 arrived. We set our trailer hitch at max height and used the truck as an anchor, which worked really well. We then jacked up each side of the trailer using a bottle jack on the frame and dropped it on jack stands, with some cinder blocks as backup. We were a little nervous as we'd never jacked up a vehicle that large completely off the ground, but it was rock solid.

The lift kit is A LOT of work as you have to be careful drilling holes in your spring hangers, 12 holes in all. The inside ones are a pain as you have to crawl under the trailer. We took our time to ensure everything was plumb and square since you'd be screwed if you messed up your hangers by mis-drilling them. Other than that, it's mostly pretty standard bolting and torquing. It's not rocket science.

The rust and paint work added a good bit of time since you had to wait between cleaning, etching, and two coats of paint. But the frame looks SOOO much better now. We did all the parts near the axles since it was all taken apart. There's some sections we still need to circle back to, but at least the main structural areas are rust free and new looking now. If you want to get rid of rust, I highly recommend the POR-15 system. It's expensive, but the results were awesome.

The trailer has since been driven about 4K miles, including a trip from Georgia to Colorado with some pretty nasty roads. So far so good on the lift kit. No signs of issues on the spring hangers being stressed by the additional torque from being lengthened by the lift kit. I'll continue to keep an eye on it, but I think that since we have a "smaller" travel trailer versus a 5th wheel, the overall strain on the hangers is probably a little lower. We're about 7K lbs when travelling, whereas even small 5th wheels are 10K lbs+. So I'd be more leery using the lift kit on a larger unit where the forces are even greater. Regardless, lengthening the spring hangers and increasing the risk of hanger failure remains the only real drawback of the lift kit (other than the cost/effort to install).

We went from about 2.5" of wheel clearance to 5-6" between the top of the tire and the undercarriage. The lift kit accounts for 2", and the rest is due to new springs that haven't flattened, and I'm guessing a little from the Morryde Equalizers.

The additional lift is also great when going through big dips in roads and campgrounds as it gives a little more wiggle room before the back of the trailer bottoms out. We had one "pull-through" site with a big gulley on the way out, and we were about 1" from the back bottoming out with the lift kit. We definitely would have dragged our stabilizer jacks without it.

The trailer is definitely smoother with the Morryde Equalizers. Less chattery on railroad tracks, etc.

It's also nice knowing that if I burned a bearing, broke a leaf spring, or basically anything else, I have the tools and knowledge to repair anything we run into assuming I can get the parts. I now carry a set of new bearings/races just in case.

Hope this helps someone. Happy to answer any questions. Some pics below of the finished result.

-Eric

[Thorvald]

Watch those springs carefully. Ours managed to crush those springs in less than a year. They are not big enough for the 2800 BH later models, hopefully the 2016 is lighter.