Independent Suspension

[ALLOY]

Hello

 

First post.....After being tent campers for years last Nov. we move (2 adults 2 kids and a dog) into the world of RVs.. Over the last year we moved from pop-up to bumper pull and now a 5th. Being here has us feeling like we are novices on the pro circuit.

 

Our 5th is a 2011 34' Cameo (no slide motor issues) with the Morryde 4000 suspension. We haven't been able to figure out why but the trailer sit 2"-3" lower than other 34' Cameo trailers. When the trailer is set up the bottom step is only 4" off the ground.

 

The axles could be flipped but budget is not the No.1 factor so we are considering independent suspension. We would upgrade to 8000lbs axles and 17.5 wheels/tires.

 

From the looks of things Morryde is the first choice for people but it is 4 day drive there and back so we've been looking a the Timbren STI that can be installed locally.

 

Both the Morryde and Timbren will lift the trailer up 3"-4" but the Trimben allows us to increase the pressure in the air bags to lift the trailer up an additional 2-3" when the roads get tough.

 

We look forward to hearing your advise.

 

Thank You

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Nothing like independent suspension. Watching you trailer just wobble over railroad tracks will make you a believer.

 

Perhaps you do not understand air suspension. The amount of air pressure in the bags is set to provide a spring action for the weight on them. If you increase the air pressure to rise the trailer, you are making the air springs harder.

 

At some point, the air bags will become like solid rubber with no spring action. Your trailer will be higher in the air and being beat to pieces.

 

RV trailers, after loaded tend to be a rather static weight load. This is unlike trucks where the weight load radically changes with the trailer on and the trailer off. Or commercial trailers being loaded or not loaded. With this in mind, air springs do not offer that much more than the rubber springs used by MOR/ryde in the IS suspension.

 

What is not described is the STI spring travel. The MOR/ryde IS has 5"of spring travel compared to the 3" of standard springs or the 2" of the TorqyeFlex axles.

[Big Greg]

Don't automatically say you want MOR/ryde 8K IS for more weight capacity. MOR/ryde will first weight your Carriage to determine which IS system is best, it might be 7K as 8K might be too stiff. They have different rubbers which can fine tune their IS. 17.5" tires and wheels is a good decision. Greg

[rpsinc]

I would go back to square 1 and check the current 5YO suspension for wear or failure. You just may need to replace some worn parts and add shocks. Just because the car needs tires may not be a GOOD reason to replace the car.

That being said your approach to go to heavier axles and 17.5" wheels/tires is a good move but consider that the frame MAY not have been designed for that. Kinda like those guys out there that use F250/2500 trucks with lifts kits towing 40' loaded/overloaded toyhaulers that say they have a diesel that can easily tow that rig. They are ALMOST always over weight for their tow vehicle and put others on the road at risk in high winds or panic situations.

Hope you find out what is going on.

[D&J]

Hello

 

First post.....After being tent campers for years last Nov. we move (2 adults 2 kids and a dog) into the world of RVs.. Over the last year we moved from pop-up to bumper pull and now a 5th. Being here has us feeling like we are novices on the pro circuit.

 

Our 5th is a 2011 34' Cameo (no slide motor issues) with the Morryde 4000 suspension. We haven't been able to figure out why but the trailer sit 2"-3" lower than other 34' Cameo trailers. When the trailer is set up the bottom step is only 4" off the ground.

 

The axles could be flipped but budget is not the No.1 factor so we are considering independent suspension. We would upgrade to 8000lbs axles and 17.5 wheels/tires.

 

From the looks of things Morryde is the first choice for people but it is 4 day drive there and back so we've been looking a the Timbren STI that can be installed locally.

 

Both the Morryde and Timbren will lift the trailer up 3"-4" but the Trimben allows us to increase the pressure in the air bags to lift the trailer up an additional 2-3" when the roads get tough.

 

We look forward to hearing your advise.

 

Thank You

John

 

Lesson to what Greg said about upgrading to 8K axles from 7K, we have the original Mor/Ryde RE and the rubber springs were bad so I replaced them with 10s instead of the 8s that were on it originally and gained no height but the ride went south.

 

I didn't know Timberlin made a trailer suspension but after looking at their site I would go with the Dakota Air Suspension so you can use your axles and still have shocks, you can raise your trailer by using a subframe to get the desired ride height and still have independent suspension.

 

Denny

[ALLOY]

Thanks Everyone

 

We check the existing Morryde suspension. According to the specs both sides are o.k.

 

Currently the trailer has GVRW of 15000lbs, dry weight of 12,400lbs and a GVW of 14,250lbs (no water).

 

The 8000lbs axles (and Dexter disc brakes) would allow us to legally (we have an engineer) increase GVRW so we can add batteries, solar, inverter....

 

Agreed, full airbags are hard as rock. We would used an Airlift remote. Max air pressure would be temporary use.

 

The STI travel is 5"

 

The ride and the air bags don't change from 7000lb-1000lbs axles but the spindles do. Like a HD truck as the load increases so does the pressure in the airbags

 

On the forums a 3/4 ton never ever has a problem pulling a 40' toy hauler....but has anyone heard of 3/4 ton to stopping a 40' toy hauler

 

One failing we see is that at the campsite the air bags will need to be drained so the trailer drops onto the bump stops before we can use the hyd leveling.

[Big Greg]

Be sure you have 8K axles. Ours came with 7K axles but the Dexter disc brakes were 8K. Greg

[ALLOY]

The 8000lb spindles we'd like to used will have 5/8" wheel studs and we are considering Alcoa 661401 wheels.

 

We just found out that Dexter calipers have can have an ABS sensor.

 

Is anyone using ABS brakes?

[Ronbo]

You also need an ABS master cylinder assembly.

[ALLOY]

 

1st pieces  made before tackling the big job of installing the Timbren suspension. The trailer will be 4" higher once the suspension is on.

There are 2 -16" for the front and 2- 12" for the back. The bottom is not fixed so the stands nest together

https://goo.gl/photos/ZBPA3uSuZgg8myiB7

[gjhunter01]

On Monday, November 7, 2016 at 11:28 PM, J-T said:

 

On the forums a 3/4 ton never ever has a problem pulling a 40' toy hauler....but has anyone heard of 3/4 ton to stopping a 40' toy hauler

Are you saying you don't have brakes on your trailer?? Some people are concerned about a tow vehicle being able to stop a trailer in the event the trailer brakes fail. If you check and maintain your equipment, brake failure should not be that big of a concern. There are a lot of things that could go wrong, you can't over plan for everything that might possibly fail or you will never leave the garage.

Greg

[Itinerant1]

11 hours ago, J-T said:

 

1st pieces  made before tackling the big job of installing the Timbren suspension. The trailer will be 4" higher once the suspension is on.

There are 2 -16" for the front and 2- 12" for the back. The bottom is not fixed so the stands nest together

https://goo.gl/photos/ZBPA3uSuZgg8myiB7

Did you measure from the tallest point on the roof, what is your height of the 5th wheel? The Morryde 4000 suspension must have been added by previous owner because they came with LRE suspension. 

I can understand wanting a little extra hieght. I fulltime and mainly boondock, the length of the trailer can be a challenge at times dragging the bike hitch. 

I do have a Carriage 2010 34ck3 which is basically the same as yours (34SB3 ?) except for the bathroom area.s

ystemsl

[ALLOY]

11 hours ago, Itinerant1 said:

Did you measure from the tallest point on the roof, what is your height of the 5th wheel? The Morryde 4000 suspension must have been added by previous owner because they came with LRE suspension. 

I can understand wanting a little extra hieght. I fulltime and mainly boondock, the length of the trailer can be a challenge at times dragging the bike hitch. 

I do have a Carriage 2010 34ck3 which is basically the same as yours (34SB3 ?) except for the bathroom area.s

ystemsl

Thanks for double checking..... height of the AC was checked before ordering the axles. Can't remember the exact number.

Trip this WE I pulled a really stupid move and ripped a hole in bottom of the back cap....one more thing to fix.

Pulled the basement apart today. While I'm there I may change things around so 120gal black / grey tanks will fit. The 120s are the same height and length but wider  

The Morryde 4000 was factory on ours but the trailer sat low. First thing was to move the leaf spring to the lower hanger holes. This lifted the trailer up 1/2". As a temporary fix while waiting for the new axles I changed the 3000lb leaf springs to 3500lb. This lifted the trailer up another 1" - 1 1/2" 

Last week I did a re&re on the bedroom slide. All new seals, an aluminum flashing at the bottom and invented a way to shim the rollers. The slide was 1/2" out of plumb and 1/4" out front to back. The rollers were sitting on 5/8" plywood.  The vertical double wall seals were too short and there was nothing to stop the water from running inside at the bottom of the slide opening.

   

 

 

 

[ALLOY]

The tires shop installing the TOYO 1430M on the Alcoa wheels called asking if I really wanted the tires balanced as the 1st tires needed a strip of weights about 6" long.  We decided to try balancing beads instead. 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

21 hours ago, J-T said:

The tires shop installing the TOYO 1430M on the Alcoa wheels called asking if I really wanted the tires balanced as the 1st tires needed a strip of weights about 6" long.  We decided to try balancing beads instead. 

 

I would have them take that tire back and be replaced or have it trued/shave it to help balance it,  6 inches of weights means a rim or tire is seriously out of round.  

[ALLOY]

I had that thought this morning so I asked them to spin up 2 of the others. Those were O.K. so they pulled the tire off the bad one and spun the wheel alone. It was O.K. so they ordered a replacement tire. The beads where already ordered so we are going with those. 

[ALLOY]

One side of the old HSS coming off