Suspension system enhancements

[TheLexx]

I was looking for the best way to level out the truck/trailer combo and the shop here was very well reviewed and commented on. The owner came out with a tape measure and made a lot of measurements while hooked up. My 2019 F350 is not lifted but has 35’s on it so we wanted the trailer to ride level. He said we easily could go to a 5 inch lift but I did not want to go that high. 3.5 was the magic number and the heavy steel he used was great. I only had those two pictures to post but could get some more with additional detail if needed.

Oh so he basically built a subframe? From my reading, it seems a metal subframe is the best way to raise a trailer. It's welded and bolted in place so it's super secure. And of course we don't have to worry about those darn Lippert hangers afterwards!

[2019SD]

Oh so he basically built a subframe? From my reading, it seems a metal subframe is the best way to raise a trailer. It's welded and bolted in place so it's super secure. And of course we don't have to worry about those darn Lippert hangers afterwards!

‘zactly....��

[RSteele]

Just finished a major refit on my Momentum. 8k dexter axels, Roadmaster comfort ride slipper springs and shocks and disc brakes. The best way to lift a trailer is with a subframe, generally a rectangular heavy guage steel tube is welded to the trailer frame and the spring hangers are the welded to the new tube. Just watch the overall height of the trailer. Haven’t taken mine out for a spin yet but it has got to be better than it was. The springs were totally flat with just my Rzr in the garage. Yes it was under the maximum weight but it is close. You don’t get much ccc on a tandem axel toyhauler. I like a little extra capacity built in. Why run stuff at the maximum all the time? that is asking for trouble. Found some really cool oil caps made by a company called Valcrum, all aluminum instead of the cheap plastic ones that came with the Kodiak brake kit. I cracked one installing it, took me a few days to figure out why it was leaking. Oil bath is the way to go for sure, only thing different between grease and oil hubs is the seal you use in the hub. I sprung for Timken bearings and 9/16 studs with the kit also. The guys at performance trailer braking will set up whatever you need suspension or brakes. I adjusted my 20k Goosebox to fit my truck, it has 35” tires on it. Still 1.5 inches nose high. My intention is to now order 17.5” rims and h range tires. The tires I am looking at are 1.5 inches taller than the g range Westlake I have now so that should get it closer to level. I have taken this trailer down some pretty bad dirt roads and it worked ok but that stock suspension was not liking it much. I put a cross brace in between the slipper spring box just because it can’t hurt. I can’t use cross braces on the front and rear spring hangers because of the plumbing obstacles so I will be boxing them with 1/4 angle and flat bar that will be welded to the frame. I do not like the small amount of weld surface area on those lippert hangers. Everytime you beef something up you move the failure point somewhere else. I suspect with the roadmaster system I moved the failure point to the spring hangers. COVID is costing me a fortune finding ways to stay busy.

[Overtaxed]

Rsteele,

What's your height after the lift? GD lists the 351M at 1" under max allowable height, I've been afraid to lift mine because of clearance. Are you over 13'6" now?

I have the same problem, my truck is a little too high and there's no way to lower the truck, so... Love to get a little more height on the trailer, but don't want to get stuck under and overpass!

[RSteele]

Mine was 13’4” to the top of the front Ac unit with the trailer loaded. The rear ac was 2” lower with the trailer loaded before I changed the axels and springs. The roadmaster springs are definitely shorter than the stock springs but may not compress as much loaded. Now you have me thinking. I am going to go out and measure it tomorrow just to be sure. I don’t want to go over 13’6”. The tires I’m looking at come in several different sizes so the height will weigh in on which ones I get. Be nice if one of these companies would come out with some mini split AC units that were not on top of the roof. I had a DP with basement AC and it was great. Lots of room for solar and 1.5 feet shorter than other motor homes. I did not lift the trailer just moved the height on the Reese Goosebox and changed the axels and springs.

[jjbbrewer]

Good discussion!

Personally, I think the leaf spring/straight axle/hanger/equalizer suspension system on our RVs is profoundly inadequate from the get go. If I compare it to the suspension on my 2020 F-450 (with a much lower GVW than my RV), well, there's no comparison in the size and structure of the components.

On my current toy hauler (not a GD - still waiting to get my 349M!), I've had to replace 3 hangers, 3 leaf springs, and all of the pivioting equipment 3 times over the span of 12 years. The hanger and leaf spring failures were all in-field, so not fun. (Aside - I use my toy hauler a lot for both work and fun and I've boondocked quite a bit)

IMHO, putting on better equalizers, shackles, & wet bolts are band-aids on a bad design. But that's just my opinion based on my experiences.

So, I've been looking at replacing my suspension with something like these. It'd be nice to hear if anyone has experience with 'em --

https://timbren.com/p-35855-sti-trailer-suspension.html
https://www.southwestwheel.com/p-301...uspension.aspx
https://timbren.com/p-35853-axle-les...uspension.html

When I get my 349M (next week) I'll probably use the stock suspension for a year or so, but I'm strongly looking at one of these options to make it better.

[Second Chance]

Good discussion!

Personally, I think the leaf spring/straight axle/hanger/equalizer suspension system on our RVs is profoundly inadequate from the get go. If I compare it to the suspension on my 2020 F-450 (with a much lower GVW than my RV), well, there's no comparison in the size and structure of the components.

On my current toy hauler (not a GD - still waiting to get my 349M!), I've had to replace 3 hangers, 3 leaf springs, and all of the pivioting equipment 3 times over the span of 12 years. The hanger and leaf spring failures were all in-field, so not fun. (Aside - I use my toy hauler a lot for both work and fun and I've boondocked quite a bit)

IMHO, putting on better equalizers, shackles, & wet bolts are band-aids on a bad design. But that's just my opinion based on my experiences.

So, I've been looking at replacing my suspension with something like these. It'd be nice to hear if anyone has experience with 'em --

https://timbren.com/p-35855-sti-trailer-suspension.html
https://www.southwestwheel.com/p-301...uspension.aspx
https://timbren.com/p-35853-axle-les...uspension.html

When I get my 349M (next week) I'll probably use the stock suspension for a year or so, but I'm strongly looking at one of these options to make it better.

The geometry (trailing link) on the Timbrens above is the same as that of the MORryde independent suspension (although the Timbrens appear to use compression springs while MORryde uses shear springs). I don't have any experience with the Timbren trailer suspension systems, nor do I know anyone who has. We've had the MORryde independent suspension on two fifth wheels now and have been extremely pleased with it.

Rob

[TheLexx]

Your system looks sweet! Yeah, from everything I've read the subframe method is the best way to raise the trailer. Since I only need about 2", I'm thinking it should be fairly straightforward. Fortunately my Reflection isn't quite that tall, so I've got a bit of room to go before I hit the 13'6" max. I need to figure out which suspension system I'm going to go with and then find a trailer suspension shop near me. MorRyde is just too far since I'm in Northern California. I know there's a good place up in southern Oregon, but they charge over $10k for the MorRyde and install. So I'm leaning towards the Roadmaster, Dexter TorFlex, or Timbrens suspensions.

Just finished a major refit on my Momentum. 8k dexter axels, Roadmaster comfort ride slipper springs and shocks and disc brakes. The best way to lift a trailer is with a subframe, generally a rectangular heavy guage steel tube is welded to the trailer frame and the spring hangers are the welded to the new tube. Just watch the overall height of the trailer. Haven’t taken mine out for a spin yet but it has got to be better than it was. The springs were totally flat with just my Rzr in the garage. Yes it was under the maximum weight but it is close. You don’t get much ccc on a tandem axel toyhauler. I like a little extra capacity built in. Why run stuff at the maximum all the time? that is asking for trouble. Found some really cool oil caps made by a company called Valcrum, all aluminum instead of the cheap plastic ones that came with the Kodiak brake kit. I cracked one installing it, took me a few days to figure out why it was leaking. Oil bath is the way to go for sure, only thing different between grease and oil hubs is the seal you use in the hub. I sprung for Timken bearings and 9/16 studs with the kit also. The guys at performance trailer braking will set up whatever you need suspension or brakes. I adjusted my 20k Goosebox to fit my truck, it has 35” tires on it. Still 1.5 inches nose high. My intention is to now order 17.5” rims and h range tires. The tires I am looking at are 1.5 inches taller than the g range Westlake I have now so that should get it closer to level. I have taken this trailer down some pretty bad dirt roads and it worked ok but that stock suspension was not liking it much. I put a cross brace in between the slipper spring box just because it can’t hurt. I can’t use cross braces on the front and rear spring hangers because of the plumbing obstacles so I will be boxing them with 1/4 angle and flat bar that will be welded to the frame. I do not like the small amount of weld surface area on those lippert hangers. Everytime you beef something up you move the failure point somewhere else. I suspect with the roadmaster system I moved the failure point to the spring hangers. COVID is costing me a fortune finding ways to stay busy.

[TheLexx]

The hangers are flimsy! I saw one installation where the guy welded a steel beam into the slot of the hangers as a brace. Then he welded cross members to complete the subframe box. This had the effect of raising his suspension. And being welded to the frame and hangers, those weak hangers were no longer a problem!

Good discussion!

Personally, I think the leaf spring/straight axle/hanger/equalizer suspension system on our RVs is profoundly inadequate from the get go. If I compare it to the suspension on my 2020 F-450 (with a much lower GVW than my RV), well, there's no comparison in the size and structure of the components.

On my current toy hauler (not a GD - still waiting to get my 349M!), I've had to replace 3 hangers, 3 leaf springs, and all of the pivioting equipment 3 times over the span of 12 years. The hanger and leaf spring failures were all in-field, so not fun. (Aside - I use my toy hauler a lot for both work and fun and I've boondocked quite a bit)

IMHO, putting on better equalizers, shackles, & wet bolts are band-aids on a bad design. But that's just my opinion based on my experiences.

So, I've been looking at replacing my suspension with something like these. It'd be nice to hear if anyone has experience with 'em --

https://timbren.com/p-35855-sti-trailer-suspension.html
https://www.southwestwheel.com/p-301...uspension.aspx
https://timbren.com/p-35853-axle-les...uspension.html

When I get my 349M (next week) I'll probably use the stock suspension for a year or so, but I'm strongly looking at one of these options to make it better.

[TheLexx]

Rob, don't the Timbrens and MorRyde both use rubber for their compression?

Timbrens:


MorRyde:


Actually the Dexter TorFlex seems to use a similar principle as well:

The geometry (trailing link) on the Timbrens above is the same as that of the MORryde independent suspension (although the Timbrens appear to use compression springs while MORryde uses shear springs). I don't have any experience with the Timbren trailer suspension systems, nor do I know anyone who has. We've had the MORryde independent suspension on two fifth wheels now and have been extremely pleased with it.

Rob