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Old 10-11-2017, 10:47 AM   #1
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Did anyone stick with just the JRIDE?

So I'm planning on buying the Alante and wondering if anyone just stuck with the JRIDE and is happy. So many people have spent thousands more to make changes. I'm hoping not to invest even more money into a new coach. Anyone happy with the JRIDE alone? I'm coming from a small, old class c so I'm not sure what to expect.
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Old 10-11-2017, 11:26 AM   #2
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Just home from a 6,800 mile trek, we found the J Ride fine on good interstate highways but on poorer roads, not. We've talked about upgrading but like you, want to avoid the expense.

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Old 10-11-2017, 01:23 PM   #3
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We purchase our 2016 Alante 26x (New) one year ago. I did the CHF immediately front and back. We traveled to the RGV Mission TX with minor ride issues. We did the Natchez Trace, incredible road and drive, which showed we needed the tires re-balanced. (Dealer paid). Once the balance was done and tire pressure upped to 100 psi the ride was much better. I travel with water tank about 1/3 rd full, and at around 62/63 mph which seems to be the sweet spot. Averaged 8.3 MPG with some generator use. Traveled both interstate and many state highways without being uncomfortable. Biggest thing I had to learn was anticipating crosswinds and semi trucks (don't follow too close). Maybe we got lucky, but I don't think my Alante needs expensive upgrades; I may add Safe-T-Plus just for safety. Pulled our Nissan on a dolly last trip, maybe my imagination but seemed to help with passing trucks. My previous drive was a F350 diesel with 37 ft 5th wheel, I like my Alante more.
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Old 10-11-2017, 02:52 PM   #4
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"I did the CHS immediately.." ??CHS?

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Old 10-11-2017, 03:28 PM   #5
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"I did the CHS immediately.." ??CHS?

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That's CHF for cheap handling fix. I read about it on another forum. It stiffens the anti sway bar. Google "cheap Handling Fix" there is a lot of information and testimonials. Here is a link
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Old 10-11-2017, 03:51 PM   #6
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I hated the ride. I did spend money and I am very happy with my results. Particularly by adding a rear leaf spring and a one inch spacer. The tail end of our 31V dragged and scraped through intersections and driveways. Hell our rear jacks would rub on speed bumps. But that's just me everybody has their level of comfort vs cost.
Good luck
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Old 10-11-2017, 09:44 PM   #7
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I hated the ride. I did spend money and I am very happy with my results. Particularly by adding a rear leaf spring and a one inch spacer. The tail end of our 31V dragged and scraped through intersections and driveways. Hell our rear jacks would rub on speed bumps. But that's just me everybody has their level of comfort vs cost.
Good luck
The jacks can be adjusted if they are too low. I think I read the correct factory setting was 10" clearance to the ground.
I did the CHF front and rear, Koni FSD shocks and a SafeTsteer steering stabilizer. Night and day difference.
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Old 10-12-2017, 05:49 AM   #8
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I only did the chf, properly set tire pressure and had the dealer do an alignment before delivery. After a 5,300 mile trip to the west and back, all but crappy roads were comfortable to drive on. We drive with the fresh tank about 1/3 full, which I think is better than full so the tail is not so heavy.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:18 AM   #9
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Before you switch out your factory Bilstein shocks read this comparison. I know it is dated and shock quality is probably better today than in 2009 but an interesting read. Shock Therapy: RV Shock Absorber Test | Motorhome Magazine
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:54 AM   #10
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With nearly 9,000 miles on my 2016 31ul. I am ok with the performance but wished it was on the longer wheelbase that the newer 2018 comes with. Don't know what Ford would do about a warranty claim on a unit with altered suspension.
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:09 AM   #11
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With nearly 9,000 miles on my 2016 31ul. I am ok with the performance but wished it was on the longer wheelbase that the newer 2018 comes with. Don't know what Ford would do about a warranty claim on a unit with altered suspension.
I guess you haven't read the thousands of posts on RV forums that the CHF and changing shocks is not a chassis alteration. Go to IRV Ford Chassis Forum and do a search on Cheap Handling Fix.
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Old 10-12-2017, 12:40 PM   #12
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So far I have driven 11,000 miles in my 2015 Precept 36UN, I keep the tires at 100 PSI cold, added the 5 star tuning, I absolutely love driving my coach. In August we went from NJ to Badlands, to Mount Rushmore, to Devils Tower, to Yellowstone and back to NJ with no issues at all. Looking forward for our planned Grand Canyon trip! I have made no modifications, on the highway I run at 65 - 68 mph, I got 8.8MPG on our Yellowstone trip for just under 5,000 miles. I have TPMS for the 10 tires down, The Yellowstone trip I did not tow but did run the generator 100% of the time, Had to adjust for altitude a few times, but that was expected.
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Old 10-12-2017, 04:25 PM   #13
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I am not sure what other Alante owners deal with when it comes to the ride height of the rear end but my jacks were set to the correct height, the rear end just sagged. The Alante dips in the rear so significantly that after Redlands Truck and RV corrected it my dealer's service manager noticed the difference immediately and asked for the info on what was done and by whom. He said he had numerous Alante and Precept owners who will be making the same fix. I haven't dragged or scraped through a driveway, gutter or any other road condition since. It is and always will be a F53 chassis and I think they are inherently unsafe as sold. There is a reason the aftermarket upgrade industry is alive and well. I went from towing trailers to this RV, I'd be lying if I didn't admit there are days I wish I hadn't bought it. The factory Bilsteins sucked in comparison to the Koni shocks. It is night and day. Some might think the CHF is the bomb, but until you've made these upgrades I'm not sure the improvement can be properly appreciated. I know very few RVers who have not changed shocks, added a steering stabilizer, added anti-sway bars or airbags as a fix. You buy a coach new and instantly have to spend 500 dollars to 7 thousand dollars to make it ride right and safely. The industry professionals all know this yet they deliver sub standard products daily and we buy them..........
Like I said before I happy for anyone who is happy with their stock coach, but in my opinion they are not as safe as they should be. (This turned into a rant, but it's how I feel)
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Old 10-13-2017, 10:52 AM   #14
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Alante

I purchased an Alante 31P in March 2017. Its my first motorhome and I do love it but it needed help. I had trouble with the back end scraping and the white knuckle ride especially when trucks going the opposite direction on a 2 lane road go by. YIKES!! I to went to Redlands Truck and RV and the lifted the rear about 3-4" and what a difference! Haven't scraped terra firma in a long time. I'm going to bite the bullet and change shocks, add the steering stabilizer, and do the cheap fix. I am presently trying to reduce all the road and motor noise. There are some great posts on how to do this. I tore the carpet out only to find bare wood, thin fiber underlay, and gaps around the doghouse. That is a major project but I'll be done soon and post pics on another thread. If anyone has any feedback or suggestions on any of these projects please let me know. I also purchased some recliners for about $750 to replace the sofa. I have not installed them yet but the dealer wanted $4000 to install the Jayco recliners. These after market recliners almost match perfectly for the grey uphostery I have. One more project is adding a sound bar and sub-woofer.
This is like a house that when you buy it you need to fix dumb things done by the builder!
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Old 10-14-2017, 11:24 AM   #15
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Redlands did a great job for us. In addition to the leaf spring fix in the rear end, we also had the 1 3/4 ant sway bar and the super steer rear track bar. The Koni shocks were a drastic improvement. They also installed new extended valve stems because Jayco made it almost impossible check and inflate the tires. Before we found Redlands we had our dealer put the roadmaster steering dampener on the coach. We recently took the coach back to Redlands after a long trip we felt something wasn't right. I figured we'd need to buy the heavier duty front end anti sway. They reweighed the coach, checked alignment and found a discrepancy from the last time they had it. After they fixed/fine tuned the coach all for free we took it on a 700 mile drive we drove Grapevine up the 5 and 99 to Bishop and then returned on the 395 a windy and often rough two lane road. It was a one hand on the steering wheel ride for 3/4 of the trip. The improvements have made me believe I can actually keep this coach for 10 years as planned. I'm interested in your sound dampening project. I think if I started the project I would have to make sure the doghouse cover is easily removable. Jayco really cheaped out on this. Ford couldn't figure out how to remove it when I broke down. Even the dealer said they didn't know how to remove it. I now know its screwed on with the screws hidden in the carpet.
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Old 10-15-2017, 06:16 AM   #16
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I added sound proofing to my Alante and it made a huge difference.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3/removing-alante-doghouse-49962.html
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Old 10-17-2017, 07:41 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RWK View Post
Redlands did a great job for us. In addition to the leaf spring fix in the rear end, we also had the 1 3/4 ant sway bar and the super steer rear track bar. The Koni shocks were a drastic improvement. They also installed new extended valve stems because Jayco made it almost impossible check and inflate the tires. Before we found Redlands we had our dealer put the roadmaster steering dampener on the coach. We recently took the coach back to Redlands after a long trip we felt something wasn't right. I figured we'd need to buy the heavier duty front end anti sway. They reweighed the coach, checked alignment and found a discrepancy from the last time they had it. After they fixed/fine tuned the coach all for free we took it on a 700 mile drive we drove Grapevine up the 5 and 99 to Bishop and then returned on the 395 a windy and often rough two lane road. It was a one hand on the steering wheel ride for 3/4 of the trip. The improvements have made me believe I can actually keep this coach for 10 years as planned. I'm interested in your sound dampening project. I think if I started the project I would have to make sure the doghouse cover is easily removable. Jayco really cheaped out on this. Ford couldn't figure out how to remove it when I broke down. Even the dealer said they didn't know how to remove it. I now know its screwed on with the screws hidden in the carpet.
RWK Can you give us an idea what all this cost?
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Old 10-17-2017, 10:45 AM   #18
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We bought an Alante in June, I believe the JRide is nothing special. I also believe that any motorhome using the F53 chassis will be almost the same unless you go to something like a Tiffin and get the extra modification done at the factory.

Mine was ok from the factory, it didn’t handle too bad. But longer I drive it the more I would like to have a better ride. So I’m slowly learning and adding modifications to the suspension. I don’t like to spend the extra money either but what can you do. We selected the 26AY because the design met our needs, we look at just about everything out there. The Jayco was also cheaper then some of the other “runner ups”. So I feel I can spend some more on this one to get it the way we want it. We drive it a lot.

The addition of sound deadening made a huge difference in traveling with your wife. Unless you don’t really want to talk to her
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Old 10-17-2017, 11:28 AM   #19
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Sadly, all told after everything I'm in it for about $7500. Far more than I wanted to spend on a new coach. But after having bought it for 80K it seemed a shame to not be able to take it all the places we wanted to go. The whole experience has been less than enjoyable.
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Old 10-22-2017, 05:41 PM   #20
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Does anyone know the dimensions of the rubber bushing that the video speaks about. To replace it with a neoprene one. I would like to get them ordered so when spring comes I can put them in.
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