Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 11-12-2015, 08:34 AM   #41
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Thank y'all. Got 2 more Windows done yesterday and ran out of stuff. 2 Windows to go. The wet bolt and shackle kit is one of those things you wonder why they don't provide it as a standard. Dexter and MorRyde both make kits for under $100. You're gonna give me a MorRyde CRE3000 set up, and skimp on what to me is very important. All about the eye candy and what you can see. The stuff you can't see, doesn't sell or attract the average buyer, even if is for safety, to make it last longer, or is just all around better.
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 09:51 AM   #42
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 3,204
Hey John, would this be the correct kit? Mor Ryde UO12016 Heavy Duty Shackle Kit | eBay
__________________
2012 Eagle 320 RLDS
2017 Ford F-250 FX4 Crew STX 6.2l
3.73 E-locker
TCNashville is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 12:27 PM   #43
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Yes sir that would be it.
Attached Thumbnails
image.jpg  
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2015, 04:14 PM   #44
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Finished the last 2 Windows up about an hour ago. Here's a picture of the foam seal removed. Not much to it. Was planning on heading out Sunday, but weather's looking not so great. May just stay home and start on suspension.
Attached Thumbnails
image.jpg  
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2015, 08:28 PM   #45
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Quick question I'm hoping somebody can give me a little feed back on. Not sure how many people have installed the wet bolt / shackle kits, but there is conflicting information all over as to which way to have the grease hole in the bolts facing. Some say down, some say forward or aft. Dexter's kit is pretty much the same thing, they say forward or aft. MorRyde says down I believe.


Anybody know?
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2015, 06:32 AM   #46
Senior Member
 
RoyBraddy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: King George
Posts: 2,761
Great mods.... We do the step problem a bit different here. Our OFF-ROAD POPUP is alot higher off the ground and the manf only provided two steps. It is pretty far from the bottom step to the ground so you have to be aware of it haha...

We purchased one of those folding steps from AMAZON that has a heavy duty grated top. This can either lay flat on the ground or extend up three inches with its fold out legs.

The heavy duty grate on it is perfect to stomp your boots on it big time helping to keep you from bringing in leaves and other woodsy items...



Roy Ken
__________________
Roy and Carolyn
I claim Horse Creek Country in Southern Ill - Momabear is from North Texas
We live in King George VA
RETIRED DOD DOAF DON CONTRACTOR Electronics Tech 42YRS

"We're burning daylight" - John Wayne
2008 STARCRAFT 14RT OFF-ROAD POPUP with PD9260C and three 85AH 12VDC batteries
2010 F150 FX4 5.4 GAS with 3.73 gears - Super Cab - Towing Package - 2KW Honda EU2000i Gen
K9PHT (since 1957) 146.52Mhz
"We always have a PLAN B"
RoyBraddy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2015, 08:00 PM   #47
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Hey Roy. We've actually got one of those racks, or kind of like it. Had it for one of previous motorhomes. Good as a step (We used it for same reason you do), though doesn't serve well for shoe "storage", which was the purpose of the rack we have installed under the stock steps.

Pictures here are of the latest. This is a solid panel CNC'd out of aluminum. It replaces the stock Norcold vented panel. Really no need for the vented panel at this time since we have the residential fridge. I'm still a little concerned about temps in the compartment, so just testing right now with a couple of sensors in there. I left the roof vent open to allow any heat to escape. I figure all will be good. Still have to paint to match.

If anybody ever does the fridge mod like we've done, shoot me a PM and I'll let you know where to get a panel like this. It's plug and play.

Also, never seen a response to the wet bolt question. Hoping somebody on here knows which way to have the grease hole facing when installed? Up, down, forward, aft?
Attached Thumbnails
Fridge Panel 1.jpg   Fridge Panel 2.jpg  
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2015, 08:55 PM   #48
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
In an attempt to combine all of my mods on this rig into one thread, I'm posting some pictures of mods that were on other threads earlier this year.

So, first up, kitchen skylight delete, with a little twist. I don't like skylights, at all. But, this rig had most everything I wanted, so.... We bought it, but the brain started churning as usual. So, this is what I came up with. Outside dome is coated with a product from ProGuard Coatings, 2 coats. Inside is insulated with batten, then a layer of reflectix bubble foil insulation. Then of course the decorative panel, led lights etc. There is a switch that is hidden to switch the LED's off if you want. Power is fed from the light just aft of the skylight.

Bathroom skylight is blacked out / whited out as well, but without the bling. Just painted the inside of the inner dome and reinstalled.

In the bathroom, achieved keeping the headroom, with absolutely no heat in the summer. In the kitchen, got a little bling, a little cool lighting, and lost all of the heat. Skylights = heat, at least in a RV. All this is part of a few things we've done to maintain 70 deg in our rig in 105 deg temps in the summer, with ONE AC.
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_4508.jpg   IMG_4513.jpg   IMG_4514.jpg   IMG_4526.jpg   IMG_4547.jpg  

__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2015, 09:09 PM   #49
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Swivel TV delete. Our swivel TV outfit was loose from the get go (sloppy install in my opinion), plus I just don't like the concept. Why? Just mount one on both sides. This is what I did. Gutted the whole swivel deal, installed a solid wall, and put a TV on both sides. Now, I can watch my History or Discovery channel on one side, and kids can watch their kid movies on the other if they want. Funny thing though, we hardly ever watch any TV at all. I guess the shoddy install just ticked me off enough to do this. I like it now. Sorry for the sideways pictures.
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_4082.jpg   IMG_4083.jpg   IMG_4084.jpg   IMG_4088.jpg   IMG_4095.jpg  

__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 08:30 PM   #50
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
All Jacked Up

Finally getting around to installing the MorRyde wet bolts / shackles and the X-Factor bracing on the spring mounts. More pictures to come, but for now here's the rig up on piers, blocks, jacks and everything else. Took a whole 10-15 minutes maybe to get it up in the air with the help from my wife. I'm an overkill type person, so including the tongue jack, there are 15 points of contact from frame to ground. I feel a little better about crawling under it the way I have it supported. Hard to see everything in the picture, but there's a lot of support. Anyway, more to come in the next day or so as time allows.
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_5804.jpg   IMG_5805.jpg  
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 09:41 PM   #51
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 3,204
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigJohnD View Post
Finally getting around to installing the MorRyde wet bolts / shackles and the X-Factor bracing on the spring mounts. More pictures to come, but for now here's the rig up on piers, blocks, jacks and everything else. Took a whole 10-15 minutes maybe to get it up in the air with the help from my wife. I'm an overkill type person, so including the tongue jack, there are 15 points of contact from frame to ground. I feel a little better about crawling under it the way I have it supported. Hard to see everything in the picture, but there's a lot of support. Anyway, more to come in the next day or so as time allows.
Subscribed. When you're done, can I borrow your shop?
__________________
2012 Eagle 320 RLDS
2017 Ford F-250 FX4 Crew STX 6.2l
3.73 E-locker
TCNashville is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 09:46 PM   #52
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
I love doing this stuff, so yes, I'd probably let you borrow a bay. Way more room than what's in the picture.
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2015, 08:59 PM   #53
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
I usually don't do much work on Sundays, but decided to get started on the suspension. A couple of hours into it at a very slow take my time pace and I'm over half way done with it. It is very simple and straight forward in my eyes, but, if you're not mechanically inclined, I'd steer clear of this project completely, or hire someone to do it. Things can go wrong. I'd be happy to help someone do it if they don't mind driving to the boonies, and I wouldn't charge over $100 / hr like the RV dealers do.

You can do google searches and find all kinds of feedback and posts on doing the wet bolts, but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
There are a few things I would suggest having on hand. If you don't have them, I'd consider getting them. If you decide not to get them, there are other ways of doing it, but there will be less cursing and effort using what's in the pictures.

First Picture: Tools. It's captain obvious you'll need a few sockets, socket wrench and box / open end wrenches, but there are a few more things that will keep it easy. First, keep at least one of the old bolts that you remove from the shackles. Grind off the serrated portion of the bolt. You will use this later to help tap in the new bronze bushings. Second, I highly recommend having one of these ball joint service kits. You can pick one up at Harbor Freight, or I'm sure other places have them. This tool will be primarily used to press in the new bolts, and believe me, it makes it simple. Yes, you can beat the bolts in with a socket or pipe over the grease zerk, or use a C-Clamp with a few sockets, but trust me, if you just get the ball joint tool, you'll thank yourself. And, of course the torque wrench, if you have one. I suppose you can always roughneck tighten it or go by feel. I went by torque specs, and maybe a little more. Not pictured, but you know you'll need them, jacks. I've had the luxury of 6 point hydraulic leveling jacks before, but not this time. This time, 2 - 12 ton bottle jacks and an awesome wife to help. Of course you'll need a few floor jacks to suspend the axles when you start taking stuff apart. So, at a minimum, 2 bottle jacks, 2 floor jacks.

Second Picture: Here's the ball joint tool being used to press the bolts into the shackle halves. The same concept will be used on the spring hangers on the frame. Now that you see how this works, imagine using a C-Clamp. The ball joint tool is open on the end where the C-Clamp would be closed. This open end allows the bolt to come through. The piece on the threaded end is open in the middle allowing the grease zerk to fit without getting damaged.

Third Picture: Here's one of the old bolts I kept for installing the bronze bushings in the leaf springs. I had put the new bushings in the freezer for a good while to try and shrink them a tad for easier installation, but they were still snug. Take one of the bolts, and a die grinder made quick work of getting rid of the serrated part. Now the bushing will slide right over the bolt, and you can use this to gently tap the new bushing in. Works very well. I cleaned and greased the spring hole and the bushings before installation.

Fourth and Fifth Picture: Here's what was done today. Wet bolts on the center hanger, new wet bolts and shackles, and of course the center MorRyde X-Factor transverse brace. Tomorrow will be the forward and aft X-Factor brace and of course the wet bolts / bushings on the forward and aft springs / hangers.

To Be Continued. I'll be finishing up tomorrow, and I'll take more pictures of installing he bushings, using the ball joint too, installing the X-Factor bracing and all that good stuff. Today just wasn't a picture day.
Attached Thumbnails
1.jpg   2.jpg   3.jpg   4.jpg   5.jpg  

__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 12:15 AM   #54
Senior Member
 
Jhowemca's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Boston Suburbs
Posts: 302
Looks great. Thanks for the tips!
__________________
2015 Jayflight SLX 287BHSW
2002 F-250 Extended Cab 4x4 6.8
Teconsha Prodigy P3 Brake Controller
Reese SC Weight Distrubition with sway control (12,000lb)
Jhowemca is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 09:21 AM   #55
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Western, Maryland
Posts: 105
Outstanding work! Thanks for all the write ups with pics. You should put an article in the rv magazine each month.
__________________
Nancy-7 year US Air Force vet married to Joe-22 year retired US Air Force vet
2008 Nissan Pathfinder
2014 Jayco Jayflight Swift 264BH
my toys is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 11:27 AM   #56
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 3,204
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigJohnD View Post
A couple of hours into it at a very slow take my time pace and I'm over half way done with it. It is very simple and straight forward in my eyes, but, if you're not mechanically inclined, I'd steer clear of this project completely, or hire someone to do it. Things can go wrong. I'd be happy to help someone do it if they don't mind driving to the boonies, and I wouldn't charge over $100 / hr like the RV dealers do.
You can do google searches and find all kinds of feedback and posts on doing the wet bolts, but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
I'll be finishing up tomorrow, and I'll take more pictures of installing he bushings, using the ball joint too, installing the X-Factor bracing and all that good stuff. Today just wasn't a picture day.
Gee, and I thought all I had to do was to jack up the trailer on one side and start replacing stuff. Silly me. I'd love your help John but a 1400 mile round trip isn't likely. Keep the info coming, greatly appreciated.
__________________
2012 Eagle 320 RLDS
2017 Ford F-250 FX4 Crew STX 6.2l
3.73 E-locker
TCNashville is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 08:12 PM   #57
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Alright, it's done. I did take a lot more pictures and will have to make several posts to get them all in here, but if it helps someone out, it's worth it.

First Picture: This is one of the original nylon bushings. Some say they can come out easy. Not the case with mine. They all required persuasion.

Second Picture: This is one of the old bolts I talked about in yesterday's posts, with one of the new bronze bushings on it. Now you see the purpose in grinding off the serrated part.

Third Picture: This is the spring eye with the nylon bushing removed, cleaned up and greased up.

Fourth Picture: Here's the old bolt with new bronze bushing. You can lightly tap on the bolt and in the bushing goes.

Fifth Picture: And here's the new bushing installed.
Attached Thumbnails
6.jpg   7.jpg   8.jpg   9.jpg   10.jpg  

__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 08:25 PM   #58
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
First Picture: Here's the spring eye with new bolt installed through hanger. The serrated part still has to be set.

Second Picture: Here's that ball joint tool in use. Makes it SOOO much simpler pressing the bolt in.

Third Picture. Here's the bolt seated in the hanger.

Fourth Picture: When installing the X-Factor bracing, the kit comes with longer wet bolts. This picture shows the longer bolt with the part next to the hanger ready for the bracing.

Fifth Picture: The X-Factor bracing comes in 2 pieces. This is the first piece put on the bolt and hand tightened for now.
Attached Thumbnails
12.jpg   13.jpg   14.jpg   15.jpg   16.jpg  

__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 08:34 PM   #59
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
First Picture: And here's the second half of the X-Factor brace, along with my beautiful knee I had surgery on (The reason I'm just now doing this stuff).

Second Picture: And here's the bracing secured. There are 8 bolts in the center of the X-Factor. Everything is pretty much loose fit, then the wet bolts torqued on each side, then I tightened up the upper clamp straps seen in next picture, then torqued the 8 bolts that tie the 2 halves together.

Third Picture: Here's the strap on the bracing that clamps the upper portion to the hanger.

Fourth Picture: Here's the finished shackle installation with the load back on the wheels. Yes, I cleaned the grease off of the fittings.

Fifth Picture: Another shot of the finished product from underneath.
Attached Thumbnails
17.jpg   18.jpg   19.jpg   20.jpg   21.jpg  

__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2015, 08:47 PM   #60
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
And one more shot of the finished product.

So here's a breakdown of the cost for those interested:
MorRyde Wet Bolt Kit: $101.80
MorRyde X-Factor Kit: $419.40 (This is for 3 braces)
Total Project Cost: $521.20

I debated making vs. purchasing the bracing. I do a good bit of welding / fabricating, so duplicated the X-factor would have been pretty simple. Somewhere around that debate, I received a generous donation to the cause, therefore I purchased. All parts were purchased from Tweety's with free shipping.

For those that follow my threads / posts and for those that compliment, thank you. I hope we cross paths, and just know that if you're ever in west central Louisiana, look me up please. I love to talk shop, or RV.


If you've asked, why the wet bolts, why the X-Factor? Preventative measures. The wet bolts should be a standard thing on ALL RVs. I was fortunate and only had 2 cracked nylon bushings, and no worn shackles. Of course ours is only a year old with 6000 miles. Do a search on Google and you'll see some bad stuff, some as quick as arrival to dealer. X-Brace? Just because any LCI frame needs all the help it can get. They do have some flat bar welded from the web to flange on the I-beam, which should be OK to prevent the I-beam rolling or flexing too much, but I had to go beyond that since I still don't trust it.

As for the thread, I'm not done. To be continued.........
Attached Thumbnails
22.jpg  
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:28 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.