Specific questions about Melbourne Prestige 24LT REAR suspension

[rickj514]

Hi Everyone,

We recently bought a 2018 Jayco Melbourne Prestige 24LT and absolutely love it. As is typical of a used vehicle purchases we are working out a few issues, with the rear suspension being the most important. Let me explain.

The rear of the motorhome sits 6.25" higher than the front as measured from the bottom of the frame right behind the axles (Rear 27.25" / Front 21"). This obviously causes a lot of challenges trying to level the motorhome at campsites.

I was able to get an invoice from the previous owner for the suspension work that was done at La Mesa RV Center in Phoenix in 2021. They used parts from Agile Offroad which is a company that specializes mainly in suspension components for Class B Mercedes Sprinters, Ford Transits, and Ram Promasters.

Here's what our motorhome has on it:
Front: Koni Struts with coils
Rear: 7500 Lb leaf spring set (9 leaf springs!)

I contacted Agile Offroad to discuss and they said that the system seemed appropriate since the Sprinter 3500 has a rear axle with a Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) of 7720 lbs. Hmmm. As a side not the GAWR of the front axle is 4410, but it appears to be sitting like a stock unit.

I'm told that the stock unit has 3 leaf springs, but I don't know what they're rated it and that's what I'm trying to determine.

I'd appreciate any information you have, as I want to get the motorhome leveled. However, I also want to control the wallowing that the original owner was trying to address, and will likely consider some anti-sway bars after I get the rear suspension "normalized".

Many thanks!
Rick

[Pfflyer]

I don't know what the standard leaf springs are rated for but the standard leaf springs and tuned Fox Shocks (from Agile Offroad), tuned to my specific travel weight works as far as handling is concerned. Last I looked they no longer offer tuned shocks for the class C motorhome, but I haven't checked lately. Bad news is, from the Jayco factory the front end is still going to be about 3" low. On "level" ground, I need to raise the front about 3". I installed hydraulic levelers and I still need to drive up on blocks, on level ground, to keep the front wheels from dangling in the air. I would like to find a solution to this but for now I am just accepting it. I can't imagine 6.25" on level ground though. Before I got the tuned shocks, I installed Sumo bump stops and a Hellwig HD sway bar. This set up helped with handling so there is hope if you get rid of the extra leaf springs.

[rickj514]

Originally Posted by Pfflyer

I don't know what the standard leaf springs are rated for but the standard leaf springs and tuned Fox Shocks (from Agile Offroad), tuned to my specific travel weight works as far as handling is concerned. Last I looked they no longer offer tuned shocks for the class C motorhome, but I haven't checked lately. Bad news is, from the Jayco factory the front end is still going to be about 3" low. On "level" ground, I need to raise the front about 3". I installed hydraulic levelers and I still need to drive up on blocks, on level ground, to keep the front wheels from dangling in the air. I would like to find a solution to this but for now I am just accepting it. I can't imagine 6.25" on level ground though. Before I got the tuned shocks, I installed Sumo bump stops and a Hellwig HD sway bar. This set up helped with handling so there is hope if you get rid of the extra leaf springs.

Thanks, Pfflyer. I neglected to mention this, but they also had the Fox 2.0 shocks from Agile Offroad installed along with all the other stuff so it sounds like our front ends are set up identical.

Over the weekend I sent a message to Jayco to ask what the rating is on the rear leaf springs, so I'm hoping to hear from them today. I also sent an email message to the guy at Agile Offroad asking what they do with their take-offs when they do these upgrades, as I'm not too far away from them and can go down and buy them if they're willing.

In talking to a friend who knows much more than me about this stuff, I've come to the conclusion that it's not the rating of the leaf springs that is the reason for the lift on my motorhome - it's the physical size of the leaf set, which is huge since it has 9 leaf springs. Even if the stock leafs springs (3 in total) are rated the same, this kit of 9 leaf spring would provide a lot of lift.

I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to buy and install a new set of stock leaf springs and ditch (or sell) the set I've currently got. That should bring me down to an acceptable level so I actually can level the motorhome, which I've never been able to do. I fully expect that I'll also need to get some Hellwig sway bars and possibly helper springs if necessary.

Thanks so much for your insight!

[Pfflyer]

Have you looked in the MB owner's manual? MB might be a better source of information because Jayco uses stock chassis parts. I am not sure how to interpret the information but there are stickers on the driver's door frame from Jayco that gives ratings per axle. If that is the max weight, that is most likely what your springs are rated for. I'm sure there is a fudge factor maybe 10% higher give or take. Good luck.

[rickj514]

Yeah, I have looked in the manual, but couldn't find any details about the leaf springs. Even looking at sites that sell them don't display what they're rated at! The sticker on the inside of the door lists the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for both front and rear axles. The rear GAWR is 7720 lbs. and the front is 4410 lbs for a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 11,030 lbs.

The 7500 lb. rating the current rear leaf springs "appears" to be a match with the axle, and this is what Agile Offroad told me. However, as stated above I now think the extra height that my motorhome has in the rear is due to the actual size (huge) of the leaf kit and not the rating. See attached picture.

While I've decided that I'm going to remove this leaf spring kit and go back to stock, I am curious about the weight rating of the stock leaf springs. I don't know enough about this stuff to assume that they have to be very closely matched.

I'll see how it looks and handles once I get it restored back to stock, but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have to minimally install a Hellwig anti-sway bar.

I'm excited enough about this motorhome to bear the extra cost to get it right though.

BTW, you can see in the second picture how I've tried to level the motorhome. Even so, in the 10+ times I've set up camp with it I've never been able to get it level!

[rickj514]

Well, I took the motorhome down the Agile Offroad (the makers of the 7500 lb. leaf spring set) and had them look at it. The rear weighed in at 5400 lbs. so they recommended getting a 5500 lb. set. When I voiced concerns that it might to too light, they pointed out that the axle weighs 700 lbs and the spring are only lifting the weight above the axle. They also recommended swapping out the Fox 2.0 shock to Fox 2.5 shocks.

I ponied up and am very pleased with the results. The motorhome is nearly level now with a slight rise in the rear and it handles amazing. More car-like than before as there is a little give in the springs now.

I had bought a Hellwig anti-sway bar, but they recommended against it as it would be too stiff at that point. I've got them and the Fox 2.0 shocks on Facebook Marketplace locally. I listed the springs as well, but I'll probably end up taking them to the recycler.

Now on to the next adventure installing a couple solar panels on the roof...