MORryde UO21-003 X Factor, CRE3000, and UO12-016 Heavy Duty Shackle Upgrade on Grand Design 311BHS 

Good luck and thanks!

I had the camper unloaded (no need to make it heavy with water, etc), leveled, wheels chocked on both sides in both direction, then I used Jack stands to support the side when I removed the wheels just as overkill, a jack stand with a bottle jack built in (my personal favorite for working on the camper or truck) to support and raise the axle, and then I believe I also used a floor jack with the block on occasion to manipulate the leaf springs into place. It's been a few years, so my memory might not be perfect on where I was using bottle jack vs floor jack. Good luck! Still very happy I did it.

Agreed. Those tight turns are what got me thinking about the upgrade as well. I'm glad I did it. Good luck!

I have wondered if throwing some sand on ground in turning area. Allow tires to slide sideways a little. I love my pull through storage. But I will probably be leaving some sand behind at campgrounds.

RH63, Thank you, that's very kind! I've been doing a lot of camping this year and less improving / fixing things. I'm open to ideas though if there's anything you'd like to see or want some tips on?

@@rvengineer2300 At the moment, I only have one issue in my RV and that is I can't receive any OTA channels. I traced every coax, I bought a new plate with the booster button in case the original was bad and I used a Klein Coax tester to follow which cable went to where. The only thing I didn't find was a coax that goes to the Winegard antenna on the roof. I don't know if there's a splitter in the wall somewhere or there wasn't a cable added when the RV was built. Short of taking the antenna off the roof, I'm stumped. Any ideas what I should try next?

​@@robh063 Sounds like you've done everything I'd try. I'd also be reluctant to take the unit apart at the roof unless it was leaking. Maybe at end of season, put on your warranty work list? Else, get a lot of Dicor and get ready to scrape :) Good luck!

Thanks!

Thank you so much!

Thanks for the feedback and good luck!

I noticed that too. I went to the website and looked through the install instructions. There were actually three installation variants addressed - one was the full strap version. They illustrated that as the center support, with the others for forward and rear having different end bracketing for correct track and a drop down variant. I did not see the half bracket strap variant - but it could be due to when they were produced or some other factor.

I had the camper unloaded (no need to make it heavy with water, etc), leveled, wheels chocked on both sides in both direction, then I used Jack stands to support the side when I removed the wheels just as overkill, a jack stand with a bottle jack built in (my personal favorite for working on the camper or truck) to support and raise the axle, and then I believe I also used a floor jack with the block on occasion to manipulate the leaf springs into place. It's been a few years, so my memory might not be perfect on where I was using bottle jack vs floor jack. Good luck! Still very happy I did it.

@@rvengineer2300 Thank you. I hadn't heard of these until the shop foreman tried to sell me on some. After I saw what he was charging I thought I can definitely do this. Just wasn't sure on lifting one side at a time and getting everything to line up.

Correct, one side, then the other. Just takes a little patience. Good luck and thank you for your Service!

I agree the stress seemed to be worst when backing. I've very happy with the product 2 years in. I made another video about the disc brake installation. I did it all myself. The wiring was probably the trickiest part because I wanted to use some existing wires to the pin box. I found a great diagram that helped me out a lot that I cite in the video. In general, suspension, terrible tires, and braking systems seem to be not robust enough if you really want to use your camper. I feel a lot more confident towing knowing I've made the upgrades (even though the second you touch something, Lippert won't warranty it). Good luck!

Hi Jack, yes I did put 3 on. I think it does make a difference. Stability on rough road feels better and tight backing also better. The Middle seemed to be the most important, at least based on how bent mine were. I've also heard of a lot of people breaking the rear brackets, so I'd rate that one high too. If I bought another camper tomorrow, I'd install them again. Good luck!

Scott, good question. Reason 1 is clearance to the tire on my rig. Depending on leveling, the zerk can be hidden behind the tire, making access difficult. Reason 2: In genral more road debris will end up on zerk if it's close to the tire. To the inside, they are protected some. The X Factors have to be to the outside, but they have good clearance to the tires. Happy camping!

I do notice a difference in tight back in turns and in general, based on how much the middle bracket was bent I feel safer. I drive it ~1,200 miles in a few weeks, so that will be a real test as some of the roads I'll be taking aren't the best. I'll update after that.

Michael, thanks for the questions. The MORryde X Factor comes with the properly sized wet bolts. You need the included extended size only if you do the X Factor. I really should have cleaned up enough to take a video of how bent my center brackets were. I talk about it in the video, but we are talking about a light 5th wheel camper ~11k unloaded, 13k at my heaviest recorded and I had to get another jack to align the center X Factor set. The heavy duty shackle upgrade from MORryde has everything you need except the extended bolts that come w/ X Factor if you decide to add that. You can do the shackles w/o doing the X Factor. You can see in the video how damaged my brass bushing were, so I think at least new bushings should be evaluated. Whether or not you need the shackle upgrades is more a preference since you'll have it all taken apart anyway. If it was my dollars, I'd do the X Factor and bushings only if I was trying to save money, but the $100 for the shackle upgrade is *relatively* small when you think about what you spend on a camper, diesel, truck, etc. The $100 includes the bushing, so really it's even less of an add on. I use the Lucas X-Tra Heavy Duty Grease (green). Once the wet bolts are properly lubed, I give them 1~3 pumps (just until I see it ooze) at end and middle of my camping seasons. I'm doing 5k to 8k / year. One final thought, on really light campers, sometimes the bushings aren't even metal, they are plastic / nylon. If that's the case, the I could see the shackles being more important. Hope this helps!

@@rvengineer2300 Sorry to bug you with more questions - but, seems good advice that might help others. Am I able to do the MorRyde CRE3000 and shackles first (the parts are here) THEN do the X Factor crossmember afterwards? Perhaps a stupid question - does the rig need to be jacked up to do the X factor? Guessing "Yes" because you are taking a chance the center bolt holding the equalizer on the rig doesn't shift it out of place Also, I am considering - all the time and effort - picking up some new leaf springs. The standard 1,350# capacity 4 leafs are what's on it and what I can replace them with. but their max is 7,000 lbs (all 4 together) which is our trailer max. Should I consider going up with a heavier spring OR "No, because the ride will be too stiff - they are designed for a weight range." Also, @8:18 nut has to be on inside/zerk(?) lube access to outside. Seem that might be a tight access for a torque wrench - but I trust it is for a reason...

@@idsullymichaels You can do the shackles and CRE3000, then go back and add the X Factors, you'll just be repeating some of the work at the CRE3000 center attachment when you put the longer wet bolt in. You definitely want the trailer properly supported. Mine has 6 point leveling and then I used some jack stands as well for extra support. You'll need jacks on the axles too move the suspension up and down to align things. Leaf springs I think is a preference. I haven't heard of many tailers failing bc of them (I'm sure you can find examples if you look hard enough, but it seems there are weaker points in the suspension like the hanger brackets). It will probably ride stiffer, but not sure how much you'd notice and depends on how you load the truck and trailer. I personally would put replacing leaf springs low on my list unless I saw an issue or excessive corrosion. Tires, drum brakes to disc brakes, supporting the hanger brackets all rate much high on my list. Drum brakes may be ok on your size trailer, but I hate the bearing design x drum brakes bc as the bearing heat under normal usage, some of the grease always turns to oil and leaks onto the drum. It's like they just get a little worse with every single use. I'm also sure there are people that swear by their bearing maintenance and have no issues, but I'll take my stopping power of disc brakes any day. I'd also probably upgrade my truck suspension bf looking at trailer leaf springs. I added the rear suspension airbag system to my truck. That does way more for comfort than anything to the trailer. Good luck!

I think that would help if your main concern is the weld breaking. What you would lose is the side to side stability where the bars essentially act like stabilizer bars in a vehicle. Up to you to decide if that's worth it.

I didn't know anything about V Clips when I did the install. Still really pleased with the upgrade. No issues.

Always safest to assume it only takes away based on the weight it adds. Tires, axles, and Pin box are typically near their limits at max CCC, so I wouldn't push it.

Honestly, I didn't put a ton of research in the CRE3000 vs LCI. I figured going all MORryde would fit well together and in general, I like their build quality.

Based on my sample size of 1 (my 5th wheel), the middle seems to be the most important one to do. That also seems makes sense from a geometry standpoint as well. If I was going to do 1, I'd make it the middle. Whether you need all 3, that more a matter of preference. Good luck!

Micah, yes I ordered the 35".

I personally like to use the "Lucas X-TRA Heavy Duty" grease that comes in the green can. Easily found at walmart. Most other common one is the Lucas "Red N Tacky #2."

There is definitely a little movement to allow for the suspension to flex. I'd just reconfirm the torque after your next trip for piece of mind.

@@rvengineer2300 ok,then I feel much better. Lol... I'll check torque after my next haul. I put all this on my carhauler. Lol... I don't even own a rv. I figured it'd still help the ride. Definitely way better build quality over stock. And should last a whole heck longer

RV’s, trailers, horse trailers, it’s generally all the same under built stuff. I once tried to stop a car haller with 3 vehicles loaded bc he had lost a tire and was riding on the rim. Upgrading and an umbrella policy are always worth it. And never cheap out on tires (tires were my 1st commodity as an engineer)

@@rvengineer2300 ohh yea definitely. I'm ways overkill when I mod and tinker. Just for the safety aspect. I don't want any problems while pulling a trailer!

In what direction? In 'H' (up and down), my middle ones didn't align, so I had to jack them into alignment. If you are talking about in 'L' (front to back) I didn't have any real issue, but it could maybe be how you temp tightened the outer bracket that goes over the hanger bracket? Good luck!

Jim, they were sold individually. I bought 3 because of the 2 axle setup on my camper.

@@rvengineer2300 thats what I thought they should be sold as a set of 3 or 4 depending on how many axles .

I didn't measure before and after. I didn't see any noticeable difference, but I can't be certain.

Yeah I know, like riding around in a Dodge with the mirrors stuck out and fog lights on in the daytime..Lol.

Why bother watching then, another keyboard warrior with nothing to add