Mor-ryde suspension

[Gramps]

My Montana didn't come with the Mor-ryde suspension, and I'm interested in doing the upgrade. Has anyone done this to their coach, and if so, how involved was it?

[stiles watson]

Some have done it. The Mor/Ryde will require welding. It doesn't just bolt on. Some who have traveled in particularly rough roads experienced failures that required a stiffening of the frame to better accommodate the stresses on the frame.

If you go to the Mor/Ryde factory, I understand that they do an outstanding installation including the wet bolts on the springs. They are also aware of reinforcing that may need to be done on the frame.

[8.1al]

Gramps,
Morryde is not a do-it-yourself project, you must have them do it and unfortunately they are a long way from you. They used to have a few dealers in the west but I don't know if they still do. The factory installed system is not too involved, they cut of the equalizer between the springs and weld in a new one. The independent system which is far superior, involves cutting off the axles and springs, throwing them away and installing a whole new assembly

[up2nogood]

quote:Originally posted by stiles watson

Some have done it. The Mor/Ryde will require welding. It doesn't just bolt on. Some who have traveled in particularly rough roads experienced failures that required a stiffening of the frame to better accommodate the stresses on the frame.

If you go to the Mor/Ryde factory, I understand that they do an outstanding installation including the wet bolts on the springs. They are also aware of reinforcing that may need to be done on the frame.

On the subject of wet bolts , I have the MorRyde suspension on my 2008 3400RL .Do I also have the wet bolts ?? I don't think I do it looks like I have the conventional shackle bolts, but then I do not know what wet bolts look like.

If I don't have wet bolts is it a good idea to change to them, and is it a do it yourself job.I have read where the conventional wears pretty fast ??

[bsmeaton]

Just to echo what everybody said above, easy enough if you're at the factory, but a real pain to find somebody else to do the work.

What we found out while trying to upgrade our 2003 is the authorized installer list from Mor-Ryde simply means any shop that ever bought parts from Mor-Ryde. Even in Denver, I could not find a shop that had any clue what I was talking about even though they were on the list. I did find one shop that was willing to try, but I chickened out.

Instead we just upgraded to a new Monty. However, we now also inherited all of the disadvantages of having the Mor-Ryde!

• The Factory Mor-Ryde LE suspsension option still leaves you with the cr*%$^ shackle/bushing/bolt and spring mount system Lippert has always used, so you still face the problem of shackle bolt failure, enlarged holes, and torn or bent spring mounts unless you replace everything at once.
  
• The Mor-Ryde sheer blocks have been known to tear and fail, leaving you down for the count until the parts get in
  
• The shear block housing is actually wider and stronger than the Lippert frame and sets taller off the bottom of the frame than the old system. In some cases this has caused damage to the 10" I-Beam frame given the additional stress in turns the Mor-Ryde system puts on the frame. Keystone/Lippert added additional support to the frame in 2008, but unfortunately I have a 2007
  
• The design of the Mor-Ryde extends the vertical travel of the suspension to twice the original travel, which results in some serious rocking of the trailer when going through dips in intersections, serious enough to make the slides tip out and slam shut and in some cases the nose tips far enough to the side to hit the bed rails of the truck. In the same dip by our storage lot that our 2003 traveled through many times, this 2007 tips to the point of being scary and I now use a different approach

The Mor-Ryde has a nice ride overall, but I don't think I would go out of my way to retrofit it, or you will inherit all the disadvantages as well. All of the issues discussed above have been experienced by MOC members, and can be found using search. Looking back, there was nothing wrong with the ride on my 2003, AND I had shocks.

[H. John Kohl]

quote:Originally posted by up2nogood

-snip-

On the subject of wet bolts , I have the MorRyde suspension on my 2008 3400RL .Do I also have the wet bolts ?? I don't think I do it looks like I have the conventional shackle bolts, but then I do not know what wet bolts look like.

If I don't have wet bolts is it a good idea to change to them, and is it a do it yourself job.I have read where the conventional wears pretty fast ??

The wet bolts have a grease zert fitting on the end of the bolt head. The center of the bolt is hollow like the axle with two holes out of the shank about half way down. You will find them facing toward the center of the trailer meaning you have to crawl under neath to get the grease gun on the fittings without removing tires if they were facing out.
The shackles are heavier duty and there is a brass sleeve insert instead of nylon.
You do not need them until you need to replace them. I did pick up the replacement kit at Goshen and yes they can be a do it yourself as long as you are comfortable removing or detaching the springs to the trailer and shackles.
I will try to remember and take pictures when I do the job.

[ols1932]

In September 2003 I traveled to Elkhart to the Mor/ryde factory and had them install their Individual Suspension (IS) axles on our 2000 Montana. I now wish I could have had it done in the very beginning. The ride of the Montana is so much smoother -- no bouncing -- no jostling of internal goods.

Stayed right in the garage with the rig over night. It required cutting the old axles off and welding the new ones on. These people know what they're doing. Haven't had one tire wear unevenly since the installation of the IS. Before the installation I went through two sets of tires which wore badly. The original set was Uniroyal which split the sidewalls. Apparently the tires were rather "old" when put in the new rig at the factory.

The major reason we went with the IS was because we intended to keep the rig as long as possible and I didn't want to damage the aluminum structure of the rig due to the number of miles we intended to put on the rig (and we have put on the miles). So far we have been well pleased.

Orv

[exav8tr]

quote:Originally posted by ols1932

In September 2003 I traveled to Elkhart to the Mor/ryde factory and had them install their Individual Suspension (IS) axles on our 2000 Montana. I now wish I could have had it done in the very beginning. The ride of the Montana is so much smoother -- no bouncing -- no jostling of internal goods.

Stayed right in the garage with the rig over night. It required cutting the old axles off and welding the new ones on. These people know what they're doing. Haven't had one tire wear unevenly since the installation of the IS. Before the installation I went through two sets of tires which wore badly. The original set was Uniroyal which split the sidewalls. Apparently the tires were rather "old" when put in the new rig at the factory.

The major reason we went with the IS was because we intended to keep the rig as long as possible and I didn't want to damage the aluminum structure of the rig due to the number of miles we intended to put on the rig (and we have put on the miles). So far we have been well pleased.

Orv

I, too, had this done at MorRyde for the same reasons as Orv. We also had disc brakes installed and Kodiak, never lube hubs. This is a costly retrofit, but one we were willing to take. We are having a little tire wear that I noticed. I do not recall if the tire was like that before the retrofit or not. I have contacted MorRyde and they will set us up with someone who can check the alignment in Ocala, when we leave here for Orlando. So far, we are happy with the suspension. We did this the week before the Fall Rally this last year, so we don't have alot of time or miles on the system yet, but are looking forward to many years in our 3400. Only time will tell....

The folks at MorRyde couldn't have been nicer or more professional. Also spent the first day in their park and the second day in the garage, they said we could stay in their park for the weekend but we opted to drive to the Fairgrounds and check in early for the Rally.

Hope this helps.....

[up2nogood]

quote:Originally posted by H. John Kohl

The wet bolts have a grease zert fitting on the end of the bolt head. The center of the bolt is hollow like the axle with two holes out of the shank about half way down. You will find them facing toward the center of the trailer meaning you have to crawl under neath to get the grease gun on the fittings without removing tires if they were facing out.
The shackles are heavier duty and there is a brass sleeve insert instead of nylon.
You do not need them until you need to replace them. I did pick up the replacement kit at Goshen and yes they can be a do it yourself as long as you are comfortable removing or detaching the springs to the trailer and shackles.
I will try to remember and take pictures when I do the job.

Thanks, I will keep an eye on them. I have heard they wear out pretty fast.I will worry about the wet bolts when the time comes

[rames14]

Gramps -
Going to the rally would be a good place to both meet more Montana owners and also get your suspension installed. At the earlier rallies, many people had Mor Ryde come right out to the campground to install their pinbox. It didn't used to be offered as an option.

[Gramps]

Thanks for all the replies, they are filled with food for thought. It is sounding like the IS is the prefered upgrade, so for now it will have to wait. We plan on keeping our Montana for a good long time, as such are looking at anything that will ease the road abuse on it. Unfortunately, we are preparing for our first long trip with it and the money has already been earmarked for things like fuel, campgrounds, a new clutch, and brakes for the truck. The upside is, we're going to see the wifes family in Toledo, so we will be in the area and may be able to make a side trip to the factory where we can pick some brains and plan our budget to have the upgrades done.

rames14, we would love to make the rally, but this next years travels have pretty much been planned for us, but the 2010 calender is already in the works. Quartzite, a hotair balloon festival, and taking the loop around the Olympic peninsula in Washington, are leading the list at this time.

Thanks again for all your insight, you guys rock.
Dave and Leslie