MoRryde IS and disc brakes

[TSRig]

I read great reviews on the MoRryde IS and disc brakes but living on Vancouver island in Canada, it is not only difficult to have them installed but very expensive. The closest place for us is Henderson's lineup in Grant's Pass OR, (1200km away). They want $13K USD which is almost $18K CAD. To get it done at MoRryde in Elkhart Indiana is around $8K USD but it is quite a ways away (3900 km). Are there any other options for IS out there that can be done closer to home for me at a more reasonable price? I understand the concept of "you only get what you pay for" but paying $5K more to have the same thing done at an independent shop seems a little steep.

Cheers
Tim

[TucsonJim]

We have a new 310 on order and when we looked at the build options, we priced out the MorRyde IS and disc brake package. The price was $11,700 U.S. to get the upgrade through GDRV. I'm surprised MorRyde is still only $8K U.S. BTW, we went with the 8K axle and disc brake upgrade instead of the IS. I can work on standard axles. IS problems and annual alignment would require a trip to the shop for me.

Jim

[Country Campers]

I do not think the IS is worth the money. The volcanized rubber has been know to fail and is a wear item that will need replaced at some point, along with yearly inspections and alignment as noted above. Regular axles are easy for one with a little experience and a few tools to replace on their own. Just my opinion.

Brian

[Cate&Rob]

There are a lot of reasons that leaf springs linked through an equalizer has been the mainstream suspension for twin and triple axle trailers for decades. This system is simple and it works. There are upgrades to thicker shackles, better bushings, cushioned equalizers, etc. that will help the basic design.

Disc brakes are the best $3K (or $5K with installation) that you can spend on safety for your towing experience.

Disc brakes on your existing axles would be my recommendation . . . actually . . . I have tens of thousands of kilometres on exactly this recommendation .

Rob

[TSRig]

There are a lot of reasons that leaf springs linked through an equalizer has been the mainstream suspension for twin and triple axle trailers for decades. This system is simple and it works. There are upgrades to thicker shackles, better bushings, cushioned equalizers, etc. that will help the basic design.

Disc brakes are the best $3K (or $5K with installation) that you can spend on safety for your towing experience.

Disc brakes on your existing axles would be my recommendation . . . actually . . . I have tens of thousands of kilometres on exactly this recommendation .

Rob

Thanks for that - I am planning a cross country trip next year and worry about the leaf springs, especially as the rig is 5 yr old and has probably about 50K on it. I will definitely do the disc brakes because the brakes we currently have sometimes seem to take forever to slow the rig down.

[Cate&Rob]

TSRig

Not unreasonable to be concerned about springs and the rest of the suspension after 5 yrs and 50K. But . . . relatively easy and inexpensive to put everything back to "like new" before your trip. If your tires are wearing evenly, your axles and spring hanger alignment are good. The disc brake upgrade will bring new bearings. Add new springs and bushings, new U bolts, new cushioned equalizers and new (heavy duty) shackle plates and your running gear is all new for a very reasonable cost. If you are not doing this work yourself, have it done as part of the disc brake upgrade and this should add very little additional labour cost.

Rob

[TucsonJim]

To add to what Rob Cate&Rob mentioned. Earlier this year, I hit 30,000 miles on my rig. I replaced every component in the suspension except the axles. New springs, shackles, equalizers, and bushings ran me about $600 U.S.

I also added three X-factor braces from MorRyde for another $440. All the labor was on my own. So for just over $1K, I had a brand new and beefier suspension.

Jim

[Scott'n'Wendy]

We have a new 310 on order

Jim

Hmmmm?!?......

[JRKJR]

I read great reviews on the MoRryde IS and disc brakes but living on Vancouver island in Canada, it is not only difficult to have them installed but very expensive. The closest place for us is Henderson's lineup in Grant's Pass OR, (1200km away). They want $13K USD which is almost $18K CAD. To get it done at MoRryde in Elkhart Indiana is around $8K USD but it is quite a ways away (3900 km). Are there any other options for IS out there that can be done closer to home for me at a more reasonable price? I understand the concept of "you only get what you pay for" but paying $5K more to have the same thing done at an independent shop seems a little steep.

Cheers
Tim

I guess I'll give you a different opinion. I went with IS on our '21 375. I would do it again in a second. Mine went directly to MORryde after being built, prior to delivery. Though not sure I would pay 13K US for it. I would probably schedule a trip with a stop IN around having it done. Easy for me to say though, I'm not 3900km away. I paid $6100 (2 axle) a little over 2 years ago including upgrading to Timken bearings. They transferred my disks that came from GD.

Every suspension should be inspected/maintained annually, especially the rinky dink stock ones. IMO there are significantly more common failure points on a stock leaf system than IS. Breaking something on a trip sucks regardless, I want the least chance of that happening as possible. If a leaf or hanger breaks its probably going to be easier/faster to fix than if you tear a IS spring but also more probable IMO. I absolutely agree, replacing/fixing all the parts on the stock system is much easier and way less expensive, especially if you can do it yourself. The rubber IS spring can fail as any man made part can but its not very common. There is a video on youtube of one, including how he replaced it at his site. Its not easy and I hope I never need to do it.

I have never heard of an annual alignment being needed for IS. I'm over 2 years now without any abnormal wear on the tires. IS does have alignment capability, what adjustment/alignment can be done on a stock suspension?

I have infinitely more confidence in my IS suspension than I had in the stock one that came on our previous 377. The beefiness of it, the steel subframe, etc. IS adds around 250-300lbs per axle. Its not all in those rubber "springs". The smoother ride is just a bonus. I don't ride back there so its not that important. Though I do have way less issues with stuff being jostled around than I did with our 377.

Personally, the piece of mind was worth the cost for me. But everyone has differing opinions and cost/benefit thresholds. I doubt I will own another one without IS, unless whatever it may be come with is something more stout than what they currently do.

[Cate&Rob]

Over to howson Howard for first hand knowledge of the MORRyde alignment problems and requirements.

Independent suspension means that each axle individually supports most of the weight of the trailer when going over a significant bump in the road. Traditional trailer suspension shares the load with the other axle, through the equalizer. Independent suspension obviously works . . . as long as the increased loads into the frame at each axles are managed.

Rob

[howson]

JRKJR

I agree with your overall analysis in post 9 of the cost versus reward of having robust running gear.

What I think Rob remembers is Morryde failed to align the installation of the IS on my 315RLTS correctly. This caused me to go through a set of tires, but once aligned (at a Hunter-equipped shop north of Tampa paid for by Morryde) it's been great.

The other reason I went with the IS is I knew my 315RLTS was routinely at max GVWR and likely often overweight. After reading too many stories of axle issues I didn't want the hassle of a failure on a trip. I knew (from research) the frame on my trailer is rated to 14K, so the IS and disc brakes were (IMO) a perfect fit for my needs.

According to my tracking spreadsheet I'm just shy of 30K miles towing with the IS running gear. Would I do it again? Absolutely--without question. BUT, I'd insist on an alignment printout before paying and I'd also want to know the experience level of the individuals slated to do the work on my rig. (I definitely had the "B" team.)

For anyone interested, as usual I wrote a long thread on my experience (good and bad) here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...ts-post-1-of-3

Jimmer may also want to chime in his experience now that he's had the IS for a bit, too.

Howard

[JRKJR]

I should also add that this unit is a long term unit for us. A Flex armor roof is on the radar once I can choke down another 7K upgrade.

If I was in the experimenting with camping phase or trading up every few years phase I would probably not do it.

[Jimmer]

I'm happy that I purchased the MORryde IS for my 315 RLTS. However, I take my camper through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia a few times each year. Due to the mountains, I'm now experiencing caliper lockup on at least the front axle of my trailer (might be the rear axle too, but have not yet investigated that). As the calipers that come with the 7,000 pound MORryde IS (Kodiak 225 calipers) cost about $150 each, I'm going to try to rebuilding my current trailer calipers. I picked up the seals for about a dollar per seal. Hopefully a document the rebuild and create a write-up for this forum.

One thing that's kind of surprising is that the axles MORryde installed are 7,000 pound axles, but the calipers are only rated for 6,000 pounds. The Kodiak 250 calipers are rated for 8,000 pounds. If the calipers overheat again after the rebuild, I may upgrade to the Kodiak 250 calipers, which may require new rotors/hubs, and maybe even new wheels/tires.

As I wrote on an eariler thread, the MORryde folks that installed my IS did not know how to bleed the Kodiak calipers. You need to bleed through the top bleeder valve, but they only bled using the bottom one, so the calipers were filled with air. The trailer braked a lot better once I properly bled them.

[Cate&Rob]

Jimmer

Are your brake pads wearing evenly (inner vs outer)? howson Howard has had a problem with his MORryde /Kodiak system wearing one side faster than the other. The calipers slide on rubber bushings around the bolts . . . not on the bolts as some calipers do. I don’t know what this could have to do with these calipers being installed on a MORryde suspension . . . but Howard’s is the only situation where this has been reported. Interesting observation on MORryde not knowing how to bleed the system.

If the calipers release after locking up, you might want to look at how the actuator releases pressure. If the piston seals or the caliper slides are seizing, what would allow this problem to eventually release?

Rob

[howson]

Jimmer

The thread Cate&Rob is referencing is here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...isc-brake-wear

I'll be very interested to read what you learn / results.

Howard