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Old 07-23-2020, 10:24 PM   #1
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2020 Redhawk 29xk J-Ride Helper Spring Not Set From Factory

Gettng ready to upgrade the swaybars on my 2020 Redhawk 29xk and found the J-Ride helper spring (Hellwig) were not set at the Jayco factory. Did some research and found that the chassis comes from Ford and then sent to MorRyde to be lengthened and add floor supports. During the process at MorRyde, the Hellwig helper springs are installed. The helpers are not adjusted at MorRyde as the vehicle is not at it's final weight. There's a few older treads on this topic but it still appears to be an issue. A 7/8" ratchet wrench or extra deep socket is needed to adjust. My passenger side was loose, not giving any support. Hellwig has commented that these should have between 2-3" of clearance between the end of the help and main spring. I adjusted mine to 3" and then adjusted the drive side a little further to level the vehicle. Hasn't been on the road since the adjustment.
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Old 07-23-2020, 10:38 PM   #2
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Gettng ready to upgrade the swaybars on my 2020 Redhawk 29xk and found the J-Ride helper spring (Hellwig) were not set at the Jayco factory. Did some research and found that the chassis comes from Ford and then sent to MorRyde to be lengthened and add floor supports. During the process at MorRyde, the Hellwig helper springs are installed. The helpers are not adjusted at MorRyde as the vehicle is not at it's final weight. There's a few older treads on this topic but it still appears to be an issue. A 7/8" ratchet wrench or extra deep socket is needed to adjust. My passenger side was loose, not giving any support. Hellwig has commented that these should have between 2-3" of clearance between the end of the help and main spring. I adjusted mine to 3" and then adjusted the drive side a little further to level the vehicle. Hasn't been on the road since the adjustment.

I have a 2017 GreyHawk 29W. I adjusted mine to 2”, as the Hellwig tech said to do so. They are just fine, although I didn’t notice any ride or height difference from the way they came from the factory, which were like yours, as well. I will say though, I don’t overload my coach to the point of having them stressed, so maybe that is why I didn’t notice a difference after adjusting them. At least now you will have the overload springs adjusted where they should be when you need them. Be safe and enjoy the ride !!
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Old 07-23-2020, 11:12 PM   #3
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Hellwig has commented that these should have between 2-3" of clearance between the end of the help and main spring. I adjusted mine to 3" and then adjusted the drive side a little further to level the vehicle. Hasn't been on the road since the adjustment.
My front side of the helpers looked like yours, the rear side was fine. I cranked the front down to about 2-1/2" of gap. Can't say I really felt any difference.

Regarding the rear sway bar. When I replaced mine, that top bolt that holds the sway bar down rod was blocked by the helper spring (like it is in your picture). I originally backed the nuts all the way off, to get the necessary clearance. I didn't know about the 2" gap at that time. Then I had to run them all the way back up... what a PIA..

Once you crank down on the nuts and close the gap, that should give you access to that upper bolt that holds the sway bar mount.
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Old 07-25-2020, 02:52 PM   #4
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PPOSS, Mine looked exactly like yours. New 24B, no preload whatsoever on these springs. Worse, they rattled around and made horrible pinging and knocking noises during suspension travel. I installed them correctly and set the preload to just over 2" front and rear. Took a while, and my arms are still sore, but used an impact wrench where I could. I then drove it down the road to an empty parking lot and proceeded to do donuts. There is a marked difference in the handling of the rig, and oddly enough, significantly less rattling from the chassis and other the other misc. stuff bouncing around. Hellwig says 2", that's where I went. On the few I had to tighten all the way by hand (no impact wrench), it took a while, but it wasn't a massively dangerous amount of preload, as such I can't think of a reason to not go the full preload amount they recommend. It certainly didn't make the ride harsh or anything.
I find it absolutely ridiculous that these rigs are making it out of the factory without these being set correctly. I've since looked under 2 other Jayco rigs i've seen in town, and they were both like ours were. My guess is that every single one is leaving the factory this way.

Nothing makes me happier than spending 70K+ on something, then lying in the dirt under it turning a nut 1/12 of turn over and over again to do something someone else should have done, bloody knuckles added for a bonus.
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Old 07-25-2020, 03:02 PM   #5
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Nothing makes me happier than spending 70K+ on something, then lying in the dirt under it turning a nut 1/12 of turn over and over again to do something someone else should have done, bloody knuckles added for a bonus.
Ha...

Just wait until you get to lay down in the dirt and upgrade that rear sway bar. Then the fun will really start!!
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Old 07-26-2020, 06:14 AM   #6
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Thanks for the heads up on the swaybar bolt location.
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Old 07-26-2020, 06:43 AM   #7
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My 2020 Redhawk 24B was in a similar condition to yours, watermonkey's and others on the helper springs. One side loose and doing nothing, the other barely doing anything at all as set from factory. I set mine to either 2 or 2.5', I can't remember now as it was last year. It did help with body roll and making things more solid without becoming harsh. I noticed a difference, Recommended. Also recommended are the suspension upgrades Retired One is helping with here. Even bigger difference there to add to driving pleasure, stability and not having to micro correct the steering wheel as much. Lots of super helpful posts on these upgrades.
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Old 07-28-2020, 06:31 AM   #8
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Just finished this yesterday. Never buying another RV without it pre-installed. Heading out for three days. Should be a much better ride. Disney here we come.
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Old 10-10-2020, 06:08 PM   #9
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Add me to the list of Jayco improperly adjusted springs

My helpers were set to 41/2" on the front of each and 3 on the rear.

I just adjusted the front side to 3" and left the rears alone.

I did not realize how much these things were off and I wondered if I was using the correct measuring approach. That's a lot of cranking nuts!

In the attached picture I have them at 3".
Is this the correct way to measure this?

According to what I have read I should take them to 2" or another 1"???

Am I doing this right?

Oh and BTW one locking nut was missing and another was aligned with the nut above it ... doing nothing.


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Old 10-11-2020, 05:19 AM   #10
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Hi Don-- Yes you are measuring correctly. Vehicle length, weight and rear overhang impact your spring needs so that's why they are adjustable and everyone's needs are different. I found the rear adjustment had more influence than the front, Mine I set to 2 inches, then went to 1 3/4 on the left to level the vehicle due to having more weight on that side, (water/holding tanks)
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Old 10-11-2020, 05:39 AM   #11
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OK then 2" it is.
I get to roll in the dirt again today !
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Old 10-11-2020, 05:51 AM   #12
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Hi Don-- for me, I sprayed the bolts with penetrating oil the day before I started. Being a retired auto tech, I had power tools but even my deep impacts ran out of reach, then I used a ratcheting wrench for the rest. On mine the RH rear was hard to get a tape measure in, so I cut wooden blocks to 2 1/4-2-1 3/4 inches to use as quick "go no go" measuring. I also found with leveling, the trim on the body varies, so I used the frame rails behind the rear axle, but before the Jayco frame extension.
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Old 10-11-2020, 08:00 AM   #13
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I like the measuring block idea.
I will also use the frame rails to set the level.
Thanks again for the help.
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Old 10-12-2020, 06:01 PM   #14
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Got the springs adjusted ...

Randy,

Thanks again for your suggestions.
The wood block idea worked great.
I used two wrenches, 7/8 rachet and 7/8 box wrench (what I had) and alternately cranked the two nuts up, front/back both sides.

Took about 30 min per side and its done!

Interestingly one of the locking nuts was missting so the only place I could find a replacement was at ACE ...... it uses a 9/16 fine thread!!!
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Old 10-13-2020, 06:51 AM   #15
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I have a 2020 26XD and have been looking at these springs. Mine are at 5 1/2 inches on the front and 4 1/2 on the rear. So should I adjust these with a full tank of water and gas and the RV not leveled up (ready to drive)?I don't carry more than a few gallons of black or gray water so that shouldn't matter I guess. This is a great post!!
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Old 10-13-2020, 06:58 AM   #16
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I talked to Hellwig a couple of times and they said to just adjust to the gap and that there was nothing to do to prepare the RV for this adjustment.
I checked the grnd to frame as suggested by @Randy and in my case the adjustment did nothing to that dimension.
I think I still would make the 2" adjustment unloaded ......
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Old 10-15-2020, 12:31 PM   #17
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Not quite as bad

Mine didn't look quite as bad as OP's.
I went with about 3 inches. It does take some of the sway out.
Kind of sickening when you think what leaves the factory.
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Old 10-16-2020, 05:59 AM   #18
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I adjusted the springs on my 2020 26XD yesterday. I looked up some of the older posts here on this subject and added a couple of those suggestions to the ones offered on this excellent post. So here's what I did. Sprayed the nuts well with or Kroil (some folks like PB blaster) the night before. Used 2 wrenches to break the nuts free, mount 1 on each nut and pull in opposite directions at the same time. Made a 2 1/2" spacer, as suggested in the above post, and slid that into place. Used a 7/8" deep socket and alternately tightened until I reached the limit of the sockets reach. Then I used a ratchet box wrench to finish running the nut up to the spacer. That ratchet box wrench is the lifesaver here. Took me 10 minutes to adjust each U bolt, and they were 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 inches out. As I was working I noticed one of the rear splash guards was missing ( now I know what that odd noise was a few weeks ago) and the other was literally hanging by a thread. So I made a new one and secured the other. Anyway, heading up to Vermont this weekend so we'll see how this spring adjustment feels.
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Old 10-16-2020, 07:26 AM   #19
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Docsouce,
Yes I noticed how feeble my splashgards are but they are still attached albiet bent!
Be interested in if you think it rides better after the spring adjustment.
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Old 10-20-2020, 06:28 AM   #20
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Follow up on the helper spring adjustment, 2020,Jayco 26XD. Well we went for a 3 day 500 mile run up to Vermont Green Mountains. What I found is that in general it rode smoother, handled the corners much better (didn't roll as much), smoothed out most of that big hit I was getting from those bridge expansion joints, and oddly, quieted down most of the interior noise. It was a bit better with the cross winds. I'm planning to install the Helwig sway bars this spring so that will help alot with that issue too. As mentioned, interesting that these rigs are released without this being done, and that I had to find out on this forum about this very important and necessary work. Oh for this trip we started with approximately 3/4 tank of fresh water, full tank of gas, gray black water empty, reefer loaded and the usual amount of interior stuff. Well that was our last trip for this season and thanks to you folks, ended on a good note.
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