This leaf spring suspension kit prevents shock transfer between axles, increasing traction while braking by as much as 70 percent. Heavy-duty shocks reduce bouncing, chucking and porpoising of your trailer up to 50 percent. Fits 3" axles.
Features:
Specs:
Note: Your existing U-bolts may not be long enough for this install. U-bolts also suffer from wear and tear, so we recommend changing the U-bolts during this installation.
Upgrade your current trailer suspension setup with the Comfort Ride system from Roadmaster. The Comfort Ride provides an improved towing experience for your tandem-axle trailer. Unlike traditional equalizers, the center hanger boxes in this system prevent shock transfer between axles, creating a smoother ride. In order to absorb and dissipate any road-induced shock that occurs, heavy-duty shock absorbers are included.
One end of each of the included leaf springs will attach to a hanger welded onto your trailer. The eye of the front spring will attach to your existing front hanger, and the eye of the rear spring will attach to the rear hanger. The flat slipper end of each spring will slide into the provided center hanger box.
This center hanger box differs from a traditional equalizer, which typically connects the 2 springs on a tandem-axle trailer. In a standard equalizer setup, any vibration or road-induced force gets transferred between the axles until it eventually dissipates. This occurs because standard equalizers are built with pivot points at their center. So each time the front axle hits a bump in the road, the movement of that axle causes the spring to jump. This pivots the equalizer, which transfers movement to the rear spring and, in turn, to the rear axle, creating an ongoing wave of motion.
With the Comfort Ride setup, the center hanger sits flush with your trailer frame, preventing any movement of the box itself. This isolates each spring, thus eliminating any connection between the axles. To ensure that each spring is still able to move along with the axle, preventing an overly stiff ride, the flat end of the spring mounts in the center hanger box between a roller and a safety bolt. Having a roller positioned above the flat end will keep the spring from hopping inside of the box. Any up-and-down motion the spring incurs will be translated into front-to-back motion to create a smoother, quieter, more controlled ride.
The independent axle operation will improve handling and braking performance as well. Axle roll up occurs when the trailer's rear tires are lifted off the ground while braking, resulting in weight and traction being lost on the rear tires. With the Comfort Ride system installed, tire traction increases by as much as 70 percent during braking because there is no axle roll up. The result is a safer, more comfortable towing experience.
Instead of transferring shock between axles, the Comfort Ride setup ensures that each spring freely absorbs and dissipates any road-induced force on its own. In order to do this, heavy-duty shocks are included.
The gas-powered springs inside of the shocks' sealed cylinders compress and extend as you drive. The compression and extension of the springs creates enough force to offset the amount of incoming force or vibration that occurs when you tow over rough or uneven terrain.
You'll experience up to a 50 percent reduction in the force that's transferred to your trailer while traveling on paved roads. You'll also receive up to a 76 percent reduction over cobblestones and a 94 percent reduction over gravel roads. This means improved handling, even over potholes and uneven pavement, and the contents of your trailer will stay in place during travel.
Many trailers will have shocks mounted at around a 40-degree angle, but this positioning doesn't compensate very well for the up-and-down movement of the trailer's suspension. Roadmaster's patented adjustable frame brackets are specifically designed to allow these shocks to be mounted at an optimum angle between 20 and 40 degrees. As a result, these shocks will have the leverage necessary to limit up-and-down and lateral movement during both compression and rebound.
This Comfort Ride system has endured rigorous testing to ensure its durability and longevity. This testing includes computerized Finite Element Analysis, which establishes guidelines to ensure superior product quality and safety. Roadmaster also tested these shock absorbers at the Navistar Proving Grounds, a private test facility that provides real-world handling and safety testing. The result is a safe, long-lasting product that you can trust.
Installation of the Comfort Ride system is fairly straightforward.
The eyes of the slipper springs attach to the welded hangers on your trailer's frame using your existing suspension bolts. The center hanger boxes bolt over your existing center hangers and secure in place with the provided hardware. Once the safety bolts and rollers are installed in the center boxes, just slide the slipper ends of the springs in so that they rest between the bolts and the rollers.
To install the shocks, begin by replacing your U-bolt tie plates with the plates included in this kit. You will need to retain your existing U-bolts and nuts for installation. Once the tie plates are installed, bolt the upper mounting brackets to your trailer's frame with the included hardware. Some drilling is required when mounting the brackets to the frame. Finally, attach the shocks between the tie plates and the frame brackets.
Alternate Instructions
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (218 Customer Reviews)
This leaf spring suspension kit prevents shock transfer between axles, increasing traction while braking by as much as 70 percent. Heavy-duty shocks reduce bouncing, chucking and porpoising of your trailer up to 50 percent. Fits 3" axles.
The cabinet doors aren't flying open and everything rides much smoother!
Love the comfort ride system! Definitely greatly improves the ride. Pulling a 30ft. Camper with a half ton truck. Used to get a lot of the porpoising now it has almost eliminated it. Very noticable. Took longer than I thought it would for install....but got it done in a long weekend. Customer service was great.
Install wasn’t bad. Grand design welds a V bracket inside the spring hangers for more strength so that was my only challenge on install. This caused a problem on the center hanger as the spacer wouldn’t fit. Had to grind about a quarter inch off the spacer so it would fit as I could only bend the bottom of the hangers so much. Will be towing about 100 miles this weekend so it will be nice to hopefully not have broken drawers in the back of the trailer as well as shelves in the fridge door dislodged. I also did the X factor cross braces on the front and rear hangers for more strength. Will post back after we get more miles on it, but given all the other positive reviews I don’t think I’ll be unhappy.
What a great product. The difference it made in our ride was outstanding. You almost forget you are towing a 35 ft 5th wheel behind you. We travel from West coast to East coast over all type roads and this product made such a difference. Sorry we didn't have it installed sooner. Definitely made a differance and would highly recommend to all Rv owners.
I had a tech install the shocks on our 2019 Shasta Phoenix 37FE fifth wheel. He did an excellent job and now we experience a better ride and a lot less surprises when we arrive and open our camper door. Railroad crossing, terrible Georgia interstates, and ruff roads are allot smoother now with less bouncing.
Installed a year ago, I made a drilling template to help locate the frame mounting bracket screw holes. Installed a set on (2) fivers, spent average of 2.5 hours for total installation per fiver. Helped the ride of the trailer. Would certainly recommend the shock kit.
7-28-2023
1. The impression from "people" was usually "why shocks on a camper", which I would answer "why shocks on your car".
2. The ride was much better; as you may imagine driving your car without shocks. And the sway was minimized & the braking effectiveness increase.
3. We've sold that RV and on our new one already planning the install; and including the wet bolts and mod on the leaf-spring hangers.
All travel trailers should be equipped with shock absorbers. Roadmaster nailed it with the brackets which fit perfectly. Be sure to order the longer u bolts.
We installed these on our 2022 Riverstone Legacy 39RKFB and without a doubt they have saved us on broken rims (many have this issue) and the ride was an instant upgrade. We drove a 6500-mile trip over the summer to ZION and Rockies and no issues at all. I installed them myself and recommend them as an inexpensive solution to expensive independent suspension.
This is a great kit! Everything needed is included. Be sure to purchase the heavy duty wet bolt kit for the shackles.
OMG! After having the trailer bottom out on the stock springs while traversing a RR crossing, this system has proven to be amazing. Returning from a VA campground I crossed multiple RR crossings and traveled some rough pavement. I found I had left a bottle of shower soap on the ledge in the shower! It was still there when I set up in my yard. Not possible with the stock suspension!
Along with the new springs....everything works as advertised. Well satisfied. No complaints.
I had to modify the one set of shock brackets to fit, as I have raised the trailer 5 inches
to match up with the 4 inch raised truck.
Otherwise...no swaying....no bouncing........no problems.
Thanks etrailer for your help.
The suspension system is amazing! It feels like the 5th wheel is riding on coil springs. The shock absorbers make such a noticeable difference; why these aren't installed at the factory will forever puzzle me.
Installation was straight forward. The length and quality of current U-bolts allowed for reuse.
I was skeptical about the fasteners, until the first one was torqued to specs...it was soon apparent that the provided hardware was more than adequate for the job.
I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this system again, and I promote it as often as possible.
Thank you, and all the etrailer staff!
After much research and evaluation I found the Road Master to be my first choice for our 2023 Grand Design Reflection Tandom Axle RV. The engineering, manufacturing and quality is demonstrated in this product. The components are heavy duty with clear instructions. I’ve not had the opportunity to install yet however before we embark on a 2 month tour, I’m confident in this added suspension package to assure a safe, comfortable ride.
This kit made a huge difference in the ride of our fifth wheel and we would recommend the product.
So far so good on my 2015 Open Range 3X427BHS!
Overall, the old suspension system was just rusted and worn out and the tires were a maximum of 1" apart, which made me really nervous while pulling. It was tough to remove, but nothing a little WD-40 and some praying couldn't fix!
Installation was pretty straight forward using the included directions and [online video] University. Looking forward to seeing how it rides this weekend on our next trip.
Best upgrade you can do on your toy hauler! It’s a little stiff at first unloaded but man what a difference when fully loaded! Smithed out the ride tremendously even on the washboard highway! A huge piece of mind when comparing it to the stock set up. Definitely recommend it!
This is a great product, it smothered out my fifth wheel nearly eliminating the chucking.
I spent considerable time researching how to improve the towing experience of my 5th wheel camper without breaking the bank. This is an excellent product and it performed exactly as I had hoped. It improved my trailer's handling over the very rough roads we travel in just about every state in our country. If you are looking to improve your towing experience, then this is a reasonably priced product.
I was looking for shock absorbers when I discovered this kit. I installed it in about a day and a half. The instructions are pretty good if you read them and follow them. We took the trailer about 100 miles last weekend. It seemed to ride smoother with this kit. Overall, I'm happy with it.
Just finished installing the Roadmaster shock system on my Momentum 398M tri-axle. The kit arrived well packaged and all items were included. The instructions that come with it are pretty straight forward and easy to understand. This would probably be a lot quicker install with some helping hands, but I did it by myself in about 6 hours. The hardest part of the entire setup is all of the overhead drilling, but with a little redneck ingenuity I was able to make that bearable. As far as this kit goes, the ordering process and the outstanding customer service from Angela W, etrailer.com rocks!! This could be the start of a wonderful relationship..
It works well, it was easy to install but the screws that go to the frame loosen with the vibration of the road even using Loctide 271 red, I had to stop on the road to tighten them every 2 hours. As soon as I returned home, I welded them and the problem was solved. The next problem was that the assembly was very close to the ground. I had to raise it about 2 inches more for safety. In conclusion, I give it 4 stars because the comfort is excellent and the price is a little high. taking into account all the extra work it took me until I got a proper balance.
Less bouncing, furniture doesn't move around when traveling on rough roads, better stability.
great product, I'm a fabrication/designer, well thought out and much better than the original factory suspension. I also added structural kickers to the suspension hangers to help side load generated while turning and not relying on the hangers for strength. I also replaced the original factory u bolts, might as well have all new going back on
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