shock kit installation

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

I'm in a big load of hurt then as I've torqued mine every time I've packed the bearings, maybe not a good idea, but they haven't fell apart yet.

I'm talking about removing them, reinstalling them, and then re-torqueing them - not maintaining torque. It's on page 3 of the attached.

[gvtahoe88]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

I have decided on the JoyRider system... when you installed yours , did you need new U-bolts ? Or were the stock ones long enough ? I thought that I read somewhere thea the stock U-bolts were too short ??

Old u bolts work fine very easy to get the angle needed. Take wheels off it makes the job easier. Good Luck

[Ford truck guy]

After researching the shocks, and comments here about shocks, I Made a great call to Sonny , only to get further confused as to what to do..
He told me that in about a week there would be a Joy Rider 2 out to choose from, and he recommends that one... It gives you the ability to perform an alignment on your axles, something the RW sometimes needs per him..

Great guy , he said that whichever kit I buy (he reccomended Tweety's) to call him after ordering and he will send the longer lower brackets free of charge, as all the Redwoods need that lower bracket...

Now , do I do the original Joy Rioder , or wait for the 2?? he would not give me any pricing available on the 2 , nor could he give me any links to see it...

[atom ant]

I wonder if they incorporated the Correct Track into the design.

[Beechguyjim]

He told me that nine months ago and he also said to check my alignment and how to do it so here goes

Move trailer back and forth on level ground make sure the center rocker between the axles is neutral disconnect and level with only front legs then use a plum bob drop down from front or rear face of pin on center right to left
Place a mark on the ground at tip of plum then go to right front tire put plum line against front of tire at center line put another mark on ground repeat on left side then with help use a tape measure the distance from the mark for pin to the two tire marks should be very close to the same mine where off 1/8 inch also check the distance between the right tires and then the left tires
After all that he said putting a adjustment kit on mine would be a wast of time

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

After researching the shocks, and comments here about shocks, I Made a great call to Sonny , only to get further confused as to what to do..
He told me that in about a week there would be a Joy Rider 2 out to choose from, and he recommends that one... It gives you the ability to perform an alignment on your axles, something the RW sometimes needs per him..

Great guy , he said that whichever kit I buy (he reccomended Tweety's) to call him after ordering and he will send the longer lower brackets free of charge, as all the Redwoods need that lower bracket...

Now , do I do the original Joy Rioder , or wait for the 2?? he would not give me any pricing available on the 2 , nor could he give me any links to see it...

I just saw an advertisement for the Joy Rider 2 system just in the past week. It looked intriguing. Based on the pricing that I saw, it appeared that it will be about $100. more than the original Joy Rider system.

So, did Sonny give you any explanation as to why the Redwoods require the extra extension bracket? Also, is Sonny at the original manufacturer and how would we contact him?

Thanks.

[travelin' texans]

IMO the only alignment the CT system would do would make the axles truly parallel, nothing for the castor/camber. While at the service they sent me to an axle shop & mine were 3/8 - 1/2" off on all 4 wheels castor & camber, nearly wore out 1 tire from Texas to Indiana, now 2 1/2 years & 30k+ miles later the tires still are wearing evenly. Don't think there's any way shocks would've helped that situation regardless of what sytem comes with them.

[Beechguyjim]

When I did mine I told him I could not get the shocks at the correct angle and still be at the center of travel on the shocks I think I did the first Redwood install so he sent me the extensions

[Beechguyjim]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

IMO the only alignment the CT system would do would make the axles truly parallel, nothing for the castor/camber. While at the service they sent me to an axle shop & mine were 3/8 - 1/2" off on all 4 wheels castor & camber, nearly wore out 1 tire from Texas to Indiana, now 2 1/2 years & 30k+ miles later the tires still are wearing evenly. Don't think there's any way shocks would've helped that situation regardless of what sytem comes with them.

That's correct but what Sonny has found is that the front two and rear two welded spring hangers have not been welded a the correct location so when pulling the trailer down the road it crabs to one side or the other that's all the adjusting kit is for and as I posted earlier you can check that your self

[Char & Steve]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

After researching the shocks, and comments here about shocks, I Made a great call to Sonny , only to get further confused as to what to do..
He told me that in about a week there would be a Joy Rider 2 out to choose from, and he recommends that one... It gives you the ability to perform an alignment on your axles, something the RW sometimes needs per him..

Great guy , he said that whichever kit I buy (he reccomended Tweety's) to call him after ordering and he will send the longer lower brackets free of charge, as all the Redwoods need that lower bracket...

Now , do I do the original Joy Rioder , or wait for the 2?? he would not give me any pricing available on the 2 , nor could he give me any links to see it...

So, are you saying the extensions are a have to have or only on the Joy Rider 2 kit? You now have me confused. My kit isn't here yet but got the camper apart so now I need more parts?

Steve

[Ford truck guy]

Steve, i am as confused as you.... Just when i thought i was ready....

Sonny is in fact the creator of the joyRider.. He now resides in Arizona. And was upset that his web manager has not added the 2 onto the site yet... According to him, all Redwoods will probably need the longer bottom bractets , and he will ship for free..

His small website is RV improvements.com... Great guy to talk to.. I think i will just wait and check out the new system before ordering..

Steve, call him and tell him what you are doing, i am sure he will get you in the right direction...

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

After researching the shocks, and comments here about shocks, I Made a great call to Sonny , only to get further confused as to what to do..
He told me that in about a week there would be a Joy Rider 2 out to choose from, and he recommends that one... It gives you the ability to perform an alignment on your axles, something the RW sometimes needs per him..

Great guy , he said that whichever kit I buy (he reccomended Tweety's) to call him after ordering and he will send the longer lower brackets free of charge, as all the Redwoods need that lower bracket...

Now , do I do the original Joy Rioder , or wait for the 2?? he would not give me any pricing available on the 2 , nor could he give me any links to see it...

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

I just saw an advertisement for the Joy Rider 2 system just in the past week. It looked intriguing. Based on the pricing that I saw, it appeared that it will be about $100. more than the original Joy Rider system.

So, did Sonny give you any explanation as to why the Redwoods require the extra extension bracket? Also, is Sonny at the original manufacturer and how would we contact him?

Thanks.

There is an article about the Joy Rider II suspension system in the March 2016 Trailer Life Magazine. It describes the installation of the system. It is significantly different than the Joy Rider shock absorber system in that it also adds replacement of the spring bundles and equalizer with a "slipper style leaf springs and roller bearings.

[Beechguyjim]

Originally Posted by Char & Steve

So, are you saying the extensions are a have to have or only on the Joy Rider 2 kit? You now have me confused. My kit isn't here yet but got the camper apart so now I need more parts?

Steve

Call Sonny he'll send them to you for free

[Shane Wood]

The new joyrider 2 will not work on my trailer with the centerpoint. I have the shocks coming mon to add to the centerpoint. Total for centerpoint and shocks will be 1600.00 much cheaper than moreryde. I am very happy the way the trailer rides. The shocks should help even more.:

[Beechguyjim]

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

The new joyrider 2 will not work on my trailer with the centerpoint. I have the shocks coming mon to add to the centerpoint. Total for centerpoint and shocks will be 1600.00 much cheaper than moreryde. I am very happy the way the trailer rides. The shocks should help even more.:

I'm with you but I did it first

[Shane Wood]

Ordered the joyriders last thur from tweedys. Arrived today guess what I have planned for the weekend

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

Ordered the joyriders last thur from tweedys. Arrived today guess what I have planned for the weekend

So, now you need to contact Sonny to get the bracket extensions?

And, I still haven't heard how we contact Sonny...........text, email, telephone, snail mail...............pony express???

[Shane Wood]

Jim
AKA BEECHGUYJIM has the phone # I will be able to tell when I start whether I need extensions or not. I want the shocks as upright as possible so they do there job

[Ford truck guy]

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

So, now you need to contact Sonny to get the bracket extensions?

And, I still haven't heard how we contact Sonny...........text, email, telephone, snail mail...............pony express???

Call 574-370-4515... That is his direct number.. He moved from Indiana to Arizona not too long ago... He was a great guy to chat with and very helpful.. He will answer , I had to ask if it was him , as just answers Hello.. Real scruffy..

[5th_Time]

Just installed the "big three" this weekend... Timken Bearings, SRE4000 and Joy Rider Shock Kit.

Doing the Joy Rider install, it wasn't quite as strait-forward as the youtube video. Probably the first thing you'll notice is the extra thick lower shock/spring plate bracket - and the fact that you will definitely need longer U-bolts. Redwoods (at least w/7K axles) come with 7" and you need 8". Just to complete the install, I reused my 7" OEM U-bolts, but had to re-use the thinner Redwood cross plates instead of the beefier Joy Rider cross plates from the kit. Even so, the U-bolt threads don't even protrude to the top of the nut when torqued. Lastly, over time, the OEM U-bolts have been sprung slightly open by the factory install - but that's enough to make them about 3/16" too open to line up with the holes in the Joy Rider spring plates. Ended up prying the U-bolt ends closer together while hammering down on the top plate - but it was a barely plausible, killer of a two person job. Be prepared with a heavy duty vise handy so you can bend them back slightly during the install.

Some people have noted that there are special extensions for the lower shock mounts on the Redwood (see comment below) and that Sonny will send you the extensions for free. There is a delay - so don't start taking your unit apart the day you make the phone call. Once you receive them, prepare to make a trip to the hardware store for (4) 1/2" stainless bolts/washers/nylock nuts first as they don't come with the extensions.

When locating the upper shock mounts, you can do it by pre-assembling and "test fitting" as shown in the video and instructions, or you can save a lot of time by using the measurement that I got from Steve of 4 5/8" on both sides of the center equalizer bracket (see picture that he posted).

When you have to drill the frame for these brackets, everyone has noted the difficulty of drilling the frame. 12" long drill bits in 1/8", 1/4" and finally 11/32" will help you clear the leaf springs & equalizer - but they're difficult to find locally so I ordered mine in advance from Amazon. Since we were installing the SRE4000 anyway, we just removed or moved those components out of the way. That let us use a new Milwaukee Helix metal drill set I found at HD for $29 that drilled through the frame in seconds - literally like butter... Amazing!

Feel free to cut the wires holding the shocks collapsed during the install if needed to line up the holes. Just takes a little muscle to collapse them back down, but easily done.

The standard lower shock brackets do necessarily decrease your ground clearance substantially - and although they do decrease the shock angle slightly, the "Redwood Extensions" just makes this worse. Regarding the extensions, you should consider carefully whether "the cure is worse than the disease." I'm considering removing mine to gain back that 1.5" of ground clearance in trade for the small increase in shock angle.

Looking for feedback from those of you who've towed with the completed install.