Jayco 31P Ride Quality.

[KHabie]

This question is aimed at you guys who have gone the extra mile to get this F53 Ford Chassis to ride better.
I have installed Koni shocks
I have installed both sway bars
I have installed a track bar
I have installed a 1 inch spacer in the rear springs to raise the rear
I have had it properly aligned

What have others done to get it to handle and ride better. I just came back from Silver Lake in the Sierras and still fight the sway and rough ride. Any suggestions are welcome.

[KHabie]

Lots of people have looked at this post, but no suggestions…..must be nothing can be done.

[longleen]

I also have the 2018 31P. Handling and ride are interwoven seperate issues.
For handling I had the alignment done, trakbar added, and the CHF both ends.
For ride I played with air pressure all corners the same pressure, currently 6 Bars (87#) I’ve had it from 85 to 91#. It’s recommended to be 82# all corners. I find this to mushy for me.
91# is harder and makes it very light handling. After weighing it should be 82ish. I added 3 cases of water each side to get the springs to compress. Then set air to 85#, the 91#, then settled on 87# for the best compromise. It handles pretty good and rides pretty good. I feel safe driving it and DW is ok. Over all happy with the changes and will keep it for a while.

[KHabie]

Thank you for your reply. I am confused with your reply……”separate and interwoven”? I truly feel they are interwoven. The people I am dealing with at the alignment shop are strongly against the CHP. They feel it puts too much strain on the sway bar, I am not sure how, just going on their recommendation not to do it. They have weighed my coach and recommend that I run 90 psi in rear and 85 in front. I have not experimented with tire pressure. I am curious how many people have experimented with tire balance and tire and wheel trueness. How about aluminum wheels? Worth the money? Better ride? Just as strong? I have done a lot and researched quite a bit.
My research has corrected an assumption I had about weight. I thought the coach was overweight when loaded. I am finding out the front springs are actually too stiff for the weight of the box, adding to the rough ride. I am not willing to add weight needlessly to improve the ride. I will continue to research options, thank you.

[hopnhic]

Sir, there are many posts on how to upgrade the suspension. I have a 2020 Jayco Precept 31UL. I can only tell you what I did to help the ride. I highly recommend you call the folks at SuperSteer and ask their recommendations (888 898-3281) for your vehicle. I went with the Supersteer Rear Trac Bar Kit SS401TB $525, the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer 41-180 $528 and the required bracket for my vehicle F-105K2.5. I considered the Cheap Handling Fix (CHP), but after looking at the videos on line and inspecting my front stabilizer bar I determined it wouldn't work on my vehicle, the design is different. Not sure if mine was upgraded before I purchased as I am the second owner, I just put over 4000 miles on my rig towing 4800# truck and am very pleased with the result. My tires were all 90 psi +/- 2 lbs

[hopnhic]

Sorry the picture didn't go through, Pm me if you want more info

Bruce

[Patjjensen]

Are you still happy with your suspension mods? I just purchased a 2016 Precept 31UL and drove it from Ohio to Denver and was concerned about the ride. I need to do something about the ride before the next big trip and was wondering if you kept the mods you’ve made or have you made some additional changes.

[KHabie]

I am not sure who you are addressing. I noticed a big improvement with both the steering stabilizer and the track bar. The Koni shocks in place of the Bilstein was not significant. I feel that the front is so stiff that there is very little travel of the front suspension. If I could solve that issue, I think the coach would ride quite nicely.

[longleen]

I agree. The front end is over sprung for the weight it carries, that is why I added about 300# of water. Two cases each side of the basement as far forward as I could get it and 1 case each behind the drivers and passenger seats. I also moved all the heavy stuff as far reward as I could get it. The light stuff is in the back compartments. The 31P is like a big seesaw with the rear axel as the pivot.

[TGoldsbury]

FYI, Below is a copy of a post I made earlier this year.

I've read many posts on steering issues and what many have done to their coach. Mine is a 2018 Precept 31Ul, new to me in March of 2020. Brought it home with rear trac bar and front steering stabilizer, was still getting significant push with trucks passing on the interstate. Had it aligned, Koni shocks and Sumo Spring (front) and that seemed to help, but I still would get steering wheel wander even without trucks passing. It wasn't terrible, but wanted to reduce it if I could. Read a post that included a link to Michelin's tire pressure chart based on axel loads. Got the coach weighed at the local landfill (you need to weigh all four separately), and called Michelin. I had always set my tire pressures at 90lbs, turned out that was good for the front, but the rear only needed to be set at 70lbs. Note I'm about 4000lbs under my max weight of 22,000. Michelin tech supervisor said I should see an improvement in steering, less pressure means more tire contact with the road. I've had two trips since, and I have seen improvement, there's still some play, but better than before.

[Patjjensen]

Thanks!

[Jmurray65]

Could simply be how your cargo is loaded, try moving some weight closer to the front.

[Alante31V]

On our 2021 V8 Alante 31V;

Steer stabilizer
Rear trac bar
Koni FSD’s
Sumo’s all around
Tires at 82psi all around if not towing car.
Aligned

Still bangs at bridge gaps and horrible roads.

Sumo’s really helped, sometimes I catch myself driving 75mph whereas before maybe 65 was my top speed.

When towing our Equinox, it does get squirlly.

Psi is huge, get that right and drives better. I probably need to go at 87psi cold too. But have stuck to 82 for now per Jayco cab card.

Usually after driving for a couple hours, TPMS shows mid to upper 90’s and drives pretty good.

—

Or Pay about $20k+ for LiquidSprings + a steering stabilizer and be happy going over railroad crossings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqI2...ature=youtu.be

[RoyB]

Thought I'm chime in since no one has mentioned it: Liquid Springs.
Latest and greatest chassis upgrade known to man or so the reviews say.
It makes since they are basically giving the F53 a suspension system equal to or better than the big DBs with air.

That being said I drive a Precept 36A which is a little longer, length and wheel base and heavier so not exactly the same. My MH is 2019 on a 2018 F53 frame that was delivered with J-Ride. At first I was not happy at all with the ride, handling or controllability. I first added the Roadmaster Steering stabilizer which helped a lot, lowered my tire pressures (set at 100 by dealer) to 85. At that point I felt comfortable with handling and controllability. I always carry about 400 gal fresh water which puts me just over 22000# (24,500 gvwr).

After I added my tow vehicle (equinox, 3200#), I was surprised to find a substantial improvement. The added "tail" seems to have added lateral and longitudinal stability reducing wind and truck effects. In fact, found myself on a 300 mile leg with winds up to 30 gusting to 40 mph (crosswinds a lot of the time) and was assuming I'd have to pull over, but it never got scary enough to stop. I actually held my standard 65 mph most of the way. I think the right hitch and rigging is important.

To sum up I and more importantly the wife still do not like the ride, it is too rough on bad roads, sways too much on hard turns and takes several cycles to dampen out large dips at any speed. Therefore, I am limited to mostly Interstates or major state highways. I'm seriously considering the liquid springs front and rear as soon as I see more actual users reviews.

Good luck and hope you get to a point you're comfortable with your ride.