Suspension Issues of Any Type

[mhs4771]

I would like to get an approx count of Suspension Failures, I.E.
Broken springs, flattened springs, broken Wet Bolt, broken shackles anything of that nature.
Redwood seems to think there are no suspension issues since there has been few warranty claims submitted. I know many have fixed their own issues, or simply paid for the repair or even had Lippert do the repairs.
I would like to get a list to present to RW Management since they feel there are not enough issues to warrant offering the MORryde Independent Suspension as an option on new units.
Tks in advance for any and all info.

[travelin' texans]

Not sure if this counts??
On our '13 FB in approximately 5-6k miles all 4 brake drums full of grease from dealer or factory, while replacing all the brake assemblies chose to upgrade to the MorRyde heavy shackle wet bolt kit & found all of the spring eye plastic bushings shredded with the OEM shackle bolt holes already elongated to about 50% the original size. All were replaced by me with reimbursement for the brake assemblies. No broken springs, hangers or broken wet bolts.

[mromaner]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

I would like to get an approx count of Suspension Failures, I.E.
Broken springs, flattened springs, broken Wet Bolt, broken shackles anything of that nature.
Redwood seems to think there are no suspension issues since there has been few warranty claims submitted. I know many have fixed their own issues, or simply paid for the repair or even had Lippert do the repairs.
I would like to get a list to present to RW Management since they feel there are not enough issues to warrant offering the MORryde Independent Suspension as an option on new units.
Tks in advance for any and all info.

Last year, while at the factory in Indiana getting other repairs done, they discovered that one of my hanger brackets was bent. They called lippert in to replace it. Two months ago while driving on an interstate in Tennessee that same hanger bracket broke loose and my rear axle came off and it was a near disaster. Fortunately we were at an exit when this happened that had a dealership that could repair the problem. Lippert covered all expenses.

[hoosierguy]

Redwood Management has their collective heads in the sand about the their suspension system.

My coach is a 2012 (built in September 2011) Redwood 36RL. In 2015, after 16625 miles, I upgraded the suspension on our 2012 36RL to the Mor/Ryde SRE 4000 and Heavy Duty Shackles Kit. I discovered that the coach had been built with nylon bushings for the wet bolts and all of them were shredded. While installing the new shackles kit, I discovered that one of the spring packs on the left side had been damaged. The damage was likely caused by the extremely rough interstate around Birmingham, AL while we were returning to Indiana from Florida that Spring 2015. I was able to repair the spring pack myself, but it is obvious to even the casual observer, that the suspension system is way under designed for a 16,000 lbs. coach. As an Indiana farm boy, I would not put plastic bushings on a 1000 lbs. utility trailer. As a retired technician and engineer, I really wonder if Redwood has an engineering department. But, I understand.........the RV industry is all driven by the marketing/sales departments.

I originally ordered the coach with the Kodiak Disk brakes and I also decided to upgrade the wheel bearings to Timken bearings/races and packed the bearings myself. Should only require repacking each year for the next few years.

[Jim & Mary]

We purchased our Redwood in April of 2013 and used it for short trips the first year. When heading to AZ to winter in fall 2014, we stopped for fuel in southern Utah at a truck stop. One of the spring hangers had broken, so we were able to have someone there work on it right away. All the spring bolts were loose and the plastic bushings were non existent. $1600 later, we were on our way. It took me 4 months of haggling with Redwood management for reimbursement, and then they were only going to pay $400. I said I was going to give the president of Redwood a call who we had met at the last rally. I got a call back within 4 hours that Redwood would be sending me a check for the full amount, and they did. Before attending the 2017 rally, we had the IS installed at MorRyde, and the peace of mind knowing we don't have that inferior suspension underneath is wonderful. Best money I've spent yet on the coach.

[MuddFlap]

Perfect timing on that subject MHS. I just discovered both rear spring hanger brackets were cracked and failure was imminent. I contacted Redwood warranty and spoke with Tom Woodiel. Even though I’m 3 months out of warranty, Redwood not only agreed to cover the replacement hanger brackets but recommended and agreed to cover additional bracing for all the brackets. I took the RV to a local trailer repair shop (not an RV dealer) that promptly did the repair. I’m still waiting for Redwood to reimburse me for the bill though. We’ll see how that turns out.

[Garyl53]

I just spent the weekend straightening the center bracket and frame above the Lippert equalizer on the drivers side of our '17 36RL. This must have happened on out last trip through Utah in late August and September. No accident for sure and no hard turns that I can remember, just normal driving. The lower flange of the frame is so thin it is easily bent without much pressure. There is a gusset above the hangers on the outsides above but when making turns the pressure is applied inward so it does not really help. There should be much more bracing of the hangers or there should be cross members (e.g. MorRyde X-Factor) at least on the center hangers due to the lever created by the equalizers. Not sure if this counts as a "failure" but it required repair.

[XCMARK]

2015 RL38 , 7000 lb rated axels with drums.
both driverside springs needed replaced they where flat .
broken wet bolt on the pass side rear
2 drums full of grease , I thinks it was the previous owners over greasing .
the springs and lack of shocks has caused MANY repairs inside the coach , loose trim, cabinets coming away from the walls, closets doors coming off the tracks and screw pulling out of the tracks.
the trailer has roughly 18,000 miles on it now. I will say I have had ZERO rough road related issues since MorRyde IS 3500 miles ago.
on a side note disk brakes for those of you that don't have them and still have 7k axels are a life saver, they stop in half the distance of drums!

[RWJSIM2003]

2015 38RL I replaced all springs in 2018 with heavier springs and added the x factor cross bars to each Hanger 3pcs. I add the SRE 4000 and heavy duty shackles and wet bolts. I had not had any problems with the springs but after reading all the problems others had I made the change while I was able.

[GTXRAS]

2015 39MB purchased 2/2015. Installed the SRE 4000 in 10/2015. Broke the right rear spring in 9/2018. All springs were flat. I replaced all 4 with 4K springs, new ubolts and wet bolts.

Rick

[mhs4771]

Thanks so far everyone, keep them coming.
I realize I should have mentioned to include year and model of Redwood.
I see many have already included that vital info, so thanks again.
Not sure if anything will come of this, but I hope maybe we can open the eyes of Redwood Management to the short comings of the suspension on these units.

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

Not sure if this counts??
On our '13 FB in approximately 5-6k miles all 4 brake drums full of grease from dealer or factory, while replacing all the brake assemblies chose to upgrade to the MorRyde heavy shackle wet bolt kit & found all of the spring eye plastic bushings shredded with the OEM shackle bolt holes already elongated to about 50% the original size. All were replaced by me with reimbursement for the brake assemblies. No broken springs, hangers or broken wet bolts.

Forgot to add that in Nov '16 I had Performance Trailer Braking install Titan disc brakes, WOW what a huge upgrade, well worth the $$$!

[Jim & Mary]

I also had Performance Trailer Braking add disc brakes while we were parked at our winter site in AZ. MorRyde was still able to install the 8K IS by itself. The difference in stopping power is amazing.

[drj564]

2018 39MB. I had a broken wet bolt this summer I replaced myself with parts I ordered and paid out of pocket directly from Moryde.

[r time soon]

I am going to have put 2 replies in because there is only room for 4 pictures or attachments. Our Unit is a 2012 36RL. We purchased in April 2014. After first trip out it was apparent the brakes were pretty much useless and The truck was doing all or most of the braking. Raised wheels off ground one at a time to adjust the adjustment on the brakes. When raising the door side rear tire and trying to spin it to see if it was off the ground to spin freely the wheel had tons of play and movement that shouldn't be there. MOved probably 3/4" in and out. Purchased bearings and race, went to install and that wheel had tons of grease on all surfaces. Either from a bad seal or previous owner or dealer just pumping or dumping lots of grease in the easy lube zerk. Had to replace all 4 backer plates and drums. Great improvement. Noticed when parked and loaded with our part time stuff inside that the trailer leaned to the street side. Flat leaf springs. Equalizers took a beating also. Replaced the spring packs. Had issues with brake wires blowing fuses under truck hood. Determined that wiring was pinched between the end of the frame Zig Zag bars or bracing that keeps the frame and I beams square to each other.





More to follow.....

[r time soon]

Continued post on Suspension related issues:


Purchased the newer tow vehicle and since our side yard is sloped it wasn't ideal place to measure to determine hitch height or pin box height since newer tow vehicle was significantly higher than the previous tow vehicle. Unit was about 3 or 4 inches from bedrails.Decided to drive less than 3 miles to a mostly abandoned mall near us. 35 mph max all the way there. 2 roundabouts to avoid most traffic to get to the mall. When I got to the mall I saw smoke coming from the tires and noticed the street side was about 2 to 3 inches lower than the curb side. Our yard is sloped some but not like this almost flat mall parking lot should have been. Didn't even bother getting measurements. Didn't hit the rounded curbs or no accidents, but something was terribly wrong. Looked underneath after parking in our driveway and saw what had happened. Both rear hangers had shifted and bent and the wet bolts broke. One tire was rubbing on the I beam and the other was gouging the fender skirt and bracing for the fender skirt. When the axle came off the hanger, the leaf spring pack went up through the corplast underbelly and ruptured a hydraulic line for the slide outs and leveling. What a mess. Insurance covered the needed repairs and even though there was no other vehicles involved I get hit with increased rates on our insurance due to suspension and frame failures, being 2nd owners and no warranty left. 2 new axles, 2 new Goodyear G614 tires, 15' or more of corplast underbelly. Tons of new bracing and heavier steel to keep the frame looking like a rectangle instead of shifting into a parallelogram or Quadrilateral. Apparently the I-beams twisted enough and the axles shifted enough break the hangers from the axles. Sure glad we weren't going 65 mph through the mountains when this happened. Glad that is behind us....



I do believe that heavier running gear should be offered if not mandatory. Pretty sure there are more problems similar to ours out there. Please post them, maybe we can get Redwood and Lippert to address the problems with these heavy rigs.

[Char & Steve]

After 5,100 miles 3 breaks were oil soaked and probably that way from day one as I had never used the bearing grease fittings
One broke wet bolt which is the reason I got into it and all bushings were almost non existent. Springs holding out so far but our travels have slowed and only about 24,000 miles on it. My opinion is all the original suspension is weak and unsafe for the road with the weight. Just like the Marathons that came on our 14.

Steve

[piper guy]

2013 36RL. We did MorRyde IS at about 3000 miles on the coach. When Sergio at MorRyde started taking it apart he called me over and said my timing was good. 2 spring hangers were badly cracked and ready to fail and one of the springs had a broken leaf. Pure junk. That was over 40,000 worry free miles ago. IS was hands down best $$$ spent. Never would own anothe fifth without it and disc brakes.

[XCMARK]

Originally Posted by piper guy

2013 36RL. We did MorRyde IS at about 3000 miles on the coach. When Sergio at MorRyde started taking it apart he called me over and said my timing was good. 2 spring hangers were badly cracked and ready to fail and one of the springs had a broken leaf. Pure junk. That was over 40,000 worry free miles ago. IS was hands down best $$$ spent. Never would own anothe fifth without it and disc brakes.

Honestly Because of comments like this and a few issue we had I took the leap and jumped in with both feet. I pulled into Morryde with a broke wet bolt on the pass side rear leaf spring. Don't know exactly where it broke but it was some place between the morning circle check in central PA and the after arrival at Morryde just before 4:00 pm. The tires showed some odd wear so it was a good apart of the day it was SNAFU.... (situation normal all FuXX up) .

[rckormendy]

We bought our 2014 38GK used in 2016. Oct 2017 on the way to Nashville the springs on the rear axel broke. Tech suggested replacing all 4 springs as the front set had bent. We were also told that in their opinion the axels were not heavy enough for the size of the Redwood.

Roger Kormendy