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Old 12-03-2021, 03:50 PM   #1
rvman
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Suspension Upgrade

Anyone have any experience or opinions about the Roadmaster Comfort Ride slipper springs/shock absorbers? After watching the video from the manufacturer, I am impressed by the engineering. Kind of a poor man's independent suspension. Looks like a decent shade tree mechanic with the right tools could easily handle the install.
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Old 12-03-2021, 05:19 PM   #2
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I do give the company credit for realizing they have to get the shocks mounted more vertical than many OEM shock mounts that prove virtually useless. I will say that after having "never fail" bushings on my 30' gooseneck trailer that I haul my JD tractor and equipment on ... they DO fail ... just not as soon as regular nylon bushings. It's foolish for any manufacturer to include "never" in any product promotion.
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Old 12-03-2021, 05:22 PM   #3
RK & Jen
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On a recommendation from Bill at the Coos Bay 2019 regional rally I had the Road Master Slipper Springs with Shocks and Disk Brakes installed at the 2019 National Rally. The slipper springs and shocks did not improve the ride of my 2018 3790, I think it may be a little worse than the Road Armor suspension. I have an appointment to have Independent Suspension installed which I should have done in the first place, but hay this is my first 5th wheel and now I know better. The disk brakes are great and I would not travel without them.
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Old 12-03-2021, 07:56 PM   #4
rvman
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On a recommendation from Bill at the Coos Bay 2019 regional rally I had the Road Master Slipper Springs with Shocks and Disk Brakes installed at the 2019 National Rally. The slipper springs and shocks did not improve the ride of my 2018 3790, I think it may be a little worse than the Road Armor suspension. I have an appointment to have Independent Suspension installed which I should have done in the first place, but hay this is my first 5th wheel and now I know better. The disk brakes are great and I would not travel without them.
Good information. You say you thought it might be a little worse. Are you seeing more overall ride roughness, more chucking?
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Old 12-05-2021, 05:46 AM   #5
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It is a rougher ride. After installing the slipper springs with shocks we had the upper wood trim in kitchen and den area fall, items in rear end cabinets take quite a beating, and first trip after the install started experiencing wear on the inside and outside of tires. That's just me, others may have had a better experience.
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Old 12-05-2021, 07:59 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by RK & Jen View Post
On a recommendation from Bill at the Coos Bay 2019 regional rally I had the Road Master Slipper Springs with Shocks and Disk Brakes installed at the 2019 National Rally. The slipper springs and shocks did not improve the ride of my 2018 3790, I think it may be a little worse than the Road Armor suspension. I have an appointment to have Independent Suspension installed which I should have done in the first place, but hay this is my first 5th wheel and now I know better. The disk brakes are great and I would not travel without them.

I know a few guys with this upgrade including me ,and the results have been positive , you are the first I've heard of talking ill about the Comfort Ride . Thats unfortunate .
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Old 12-05-2021, 07:54 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by rvman View Post
Anyone have any experience or opinions about the Roadmaster Comfort Ride slipper springs/shock absorbers? After watching the video from the manufacturer, I am impressed by the engineering. Kind of a poor man's independent suspension. Looks like a decent shade tree mechanic with the right tools could easily handle the install.

We have done a couple of these upgrades , one on mine ,and a friends. Not hard at all do ,just a bit of drilling ,and wrenching . Along with the disc brakes , my fifth tows great ,have not experience ANY problems with it .
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Old 12-05-2021, 08:02 AM   #8
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I'm just commenting on what I see in my mirrors as I pull heavier stuff on my 30' Starklite goose neck trailer with slipper springs. It sure seems to be a pretty stiff ride, but I realize it's not an RV.
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Old 12-05-2021, 08:04 AM   #9
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My question is, what is happening that indicates that the trailer suspension needs to be changed?
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Old 12-08-2021, 04:55 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by rvman View Post
Anyone have any experience or opinions about the Roadmaster Comfort Ride slipper springs/shock absorbers? After watching the video from the manufacturer, I am impressed by the engineering. Kind of a poor man's independent suspension. Looks like a decent shade tree mechanic with the right tools could easily handle the install.
Have you looked at Sumo Springs?? Easy to install. I have a gas line that would be a major project to move so I could not install them or I would have.
Great reviews.
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Old 12-08-2021, 09:44 PM   #11
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I am a very happy user of the slipper spring/shock combo. We have the rear kitchen 295RKD and could not keep the fridge shelves in place while traveling. Much smoother ride and no scrub when turning tightly.

We now just load and go. No more shopping once we get to the destination or ready shaken barley pops on arrival.

I wish I could tell you what helped more, the springs or shocks but did both at the same time.
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Old 12-09-2021, 09:33 AM   #12
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My first upgrade was the Lippert Center point system with independent adjustability and routed the air lines to a small panel in the front bay of my 3790. That made a huge difference in ride quality/how much stuff I had to fix at the end of a trip. I did, however, get a little bit of "air bag bounce" with the center point alone. I installed the roadmaster shocks and that took care of the bounce completely. No experience with the slipper spring components but my little "hybrid" setup works really well and greatly reduced "travel damage"
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