Suspension system on an Imagine XLS 22MLE

[Refclown]

Inspection has revealed that it is a leaf spring system with DRY BOLTS. Has anyone looked into having these replaced with WET BOLTS and possibly with a MOR/ryde system (or something similar)?

[Guest]

Refclown,

Yes the MORryde CRE3000 system, and their heavy duty greaseable shackle kit is installed on my Imagine 2600RB. It's a straight forward and simple install.

Jim

[Refclown]

Refclown,

Yes the MORryde CRE3000 system, and their heavy duty greaseable shackle kit is installed on my Imagine 2600RB. It's a straight forward and simple install.

Jim

What size tires are you running on yours?

Thanks

[Guest]

I moved up from a Westlake ST205/75R15 (had no issue with them) to the Goodyear Endurance E rated ST225/75R15. The ST225/75R15 tire has a one inch increase in diameter which means you will lose 1/2inch on the tire to floor clearance. Keep that in mind. Since the E rated tire will provide you with an increase in durability, you will not need to inflate those to the max sidewall pressure on the tire. It would result in a harsh ride with no benefit. I use Goodyear's inflation tables and inflate mine from 60 to 65 psi based on my loading.

MORryde supplies a measurement sheet on their website so you can check several dimensions to see if they will work for you.

GoodYear Endurance Inflation Tables.pdf

Hope this helps.

Jim

[Refclown]

I moved up from a Westlake ST205/75R15 (had no issue with them) to the Goodyear Endurance E rated ST225/75R15. The ST225/75R15 tire has a one inch increase in diameter which means you will lose 1/2inch on the tire to floor clearance. Keep that in mind. Since the E rated tire will provide you with an increase in durability, you will not need to inflate those to the max sidewall pressure on the tire. It would result in a harsh ride with no benefit. I use Goodyear's inflation tables and inflate mine from 60 to 65 psi based on my loading.

MORryde supplies a measurement sheet on their website so you can check several dimensions to see if they will work for you.

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Hope this helps.

Jim

Mine came with ST205/75R14 tires, Load Range 'D'. The 14" tires limit my ability to go to a higher Load Range.... Not sure why they put 14" on this model, but I am not very happy about it......

[Guest]

Not sure what size 14" tire you have but looking on a Goodyear inflation chart shows the ST215/75R15 will handle 2200lbs. With your 7000lb GVW it looks like there is some cushion.

[Refclown]

Not sure what size 14" tire you have but looking on a Goodyear inflation chart shows the ST215/75R15 will handle 2200lbs. With your 7000lb GVW it looks like there is some cushion.

I have ST205/75R tires which are 26.1" in Diameter....and clearance might be an issue if I go for a larger diameter tire The center to center measurement of the axles is 35",. that's not a problem, its the clearance between the tire and the trailer... I cannot figure why they would use a 14" tire on this trailer...

[TucsonJim]

. I cannot figure why they would use a 14" tire on this trailer...

The GVWR of the XLS 22MLE is 6,995 pounds. If 10% of the trailer's weight is carried on the tongue as recommended, the tongue will weigh 700 pounds. 6,995-700 = 6,295#. The Goodyear Endurance ST 205/75R14 tire is rated for 2,040 pounds. 2,040 x 4 tires = 8,160# of tire carrying capacity.

8,160# - 6,295# = 1,865 pounds of excess tire capacity over a fully loaded trailer. That is a huge amount of buffer and shows that the tire meets the minimum needs by 30%! It looks like a very appropriate tire selection.

Jim

[Guest]

Refclown,

You had asked about the MORryde CRE3000 and wet bolts where you will need to take some measurements to see if this is possible where I agree with Jim that your tire capacity is not an issue. Is there a reason you want to move to a 15 inch tire?

Jim

[Tigger1]

Refclown, we have the XLS 22MLE with Westlake ST205/75R14 tires and agree with TucsonJim on capacity. In the future I may replace them with Goodyear Endurance with the same size. I was pleased with the GY Endurance I put on my previous trailer.

I used my Sherline tongue weight scale which was 600# wet on our first camping trip. We always pack light and don’t carry water in the tanks.

As for the suspension upgrade, I am interested in that subject too and may consider that in a year or so. This is our 1st trailer with leaf-springs. When the time comes I would be looking at MORryde CRE3000 as mentioned above by MidwestCamper or Dexter EZ Flex, but I don’t see this as a necessary mod at the moment rather down the road sometime.

[Refclown]

Refclown, we have the XLS 22MLE with Westlake ST205/75R14 tires and agree with TucsonJim on capacity. In the future I may replace them with Goodyear Endurance with the same size. I was pleased with the GY Endurance I put on my previous trailer.

I used my Sherline tongue weight scale which was 600# wet on our first camping trip. We always pack light and don’t carry water in the tanks.

As for the suspension upgrade, I am interested in that subject too and may consider that in a year or so. This is our 1st trailer with leaf-springs. When the time comes I would be looking at MORryde CRE3000 as mentioned above by MidwestCamper or Dexter EZ Flex, but I don’t see this as a necessary mod at the moment rather down the road sometime.

I agree about the suspension upgrade, just concerned that the existing does not have brass/sintered bronze bushings and no grease fittings. I weighed my tongue weight and it came to about 720 lbs...loaded with (2) 30 lb propane tanks instead of the 20 lb units that came with it...Had the trailer weighed and it came to 5,320 loaded (not including tongue weight)

[Cate&Rob]

Refclown

There are two ways to come at "improving" your original nylon bushings and dry bolt suspension. This OE combination is good for a few thousand miles at best.

You can keep the dry bolts if you go to LCI "Never Fail" bushings. These are some kind of high tech plastic and installation instructions are specific that these are NOT to be used with wet bolts or any grease. My personal experience with these is that they didn't fit some of the locations that they were supposed to.

I eventually went with tried-and-true bronze bushing and wet bolts. The MORryde kit that I installed came with shackle plates that were 3x as thick as the originals. This was three years and many thousands of miles ago. Still working as new with very little wear. I grease them twice a year.

Rob

[Tigger1]

Rob

Thanks for the suspension info. After reading a few different forums I’m leaning towards MORryde CRE3000 over Dexter. I’d do it myself but don’t have the jacks etc.

We are attending the Mid Atlantic GD Rally in Urbana VA in October, does anyone know if MORryde techs are there and if they do suspension upgrades?

[Mudhendriver]

Rob,

I noticed that when I did the qualification form from Morryde, my 23bhe would not work because the hangers are not wide enough (you need 3 inch wide hangers, 1.5 inches from center on each side of the bolt). I assume your XLS has the same. Any thoughts on that? The Dexter seems to be a direct fit.
andy

[howson]

Rob,

I noticed that when I did the qualification form from Morryde, my 23bhe would not work because the hangers are not wide enough (you need 3 inch wide hangers, 1.5 inches from center on each side of the bolt). I assume your XLS has the same. Any thoughts on that? The Dexter seems to be a direct fit.
andy

Welcome to the forum. Cate&Rob may not get back to you right away as he's soon headed back north and home, so if you don't get a reply please be patient.

May I also suggest using the QUOTE feature (like I just did) so he gets a notification (like you just did) or "tag" the person by using the @ symbol followed by their forum name, like this: Mudhendriver (I know you're new--just trying to give a few helpful hints!)