Have you ever gone and had service done and walked away with such a positive experience you would be willing to do it again? Ya.. I hadn’t either. I thought this was a unique feeling for me however I have since met a few others that have spoken as highly about the experience at MORryde and their product, service, support and excellence as a company toward their customers.

We visited MORryde to solve the problem with our highways – we cant fix them but we can give our rig some cushion and a more robust, in fact the most robust suspension, to tackle almost any highway. Stick around, I will tell you about the install of our MORryde Independent Suspension (IS), disk brakes, sliding tray and give you some helpful hints for your install.

THE WHY

Okay, I understand not everybody wants to change out the suspension on their rig, however, when we first bought our Momentum, we wanted to do our best to help protect it from some of the roads – especially after we traversed the I-10. When we decided to go full time, this decision become more substantial, as now our rig was not only our home but it also carries almost everything that we hold dear. We went shopping for a new rig and we made the appointment at MORryde even prior to ordering our Beacon.

Appointment

In 2021, everything went crazy in the RV world and even today, getting an appointment at MORryde is not something that can be done quickly. You will need to plan ahead if you want to get Independent Suspension (IS) installed and make that appointment early. Luckily there are a few options for installation. We had ours installed at the MORryde plant in Elkhart, Indiana, however there are two other authorized service installers that have relatively open schedules. Hendersons Line Up in Grants Pass, Oregon, and New Horizons RV in Junction City, Kansas, can both do the install. I called both facilities and was able to get an appointment within a few weeks. The only downside is, due to labor costs and shipping of material, I found that Hendersons Line Up had a up cost of almost 4k, which could make it worth it if you are located on the west coast. New Horizons RV was just about 1k over the price of the MORryde factory.

The Campground

Well, its “kind of” a campground. MORryde has you arrive the day prior to your install, so they can get the measurements of your rig and then all of your components will be manufactured. In their parking lot, they have back-in electric hookups that you can utilize the evening prior. If you need fresh water, you can pull up to a bay and hook your hose to their spigot to fill your tank. There are no water or sewer connections located in the campground. You don’t have to stay with your rig, many choose to drop off their RV and head to the hotel to get a more comfortable night sleep (we will cover that more later). MORyde also welcomes you to stay an additional night in their lot after your install is completed. After our install, we decided to head over to the Elkhart campground so we could take advantage of some full hookups.

The Measurements

When you arrive, most people go ahead and back into a spot, however, they are pretty quick to grab you and have you pull your rig out front of the bays on the “level” surface for a quick measurement. They take several measurements checking bed clearance, tire clearance, overall height and front to back. The goal is after your IS install, your rig will be level and a good 6″ off the bed of your truck. During our measurements we found that we were going to need to use 6″ risers to lift our back end up high enough to level us out.

Install Morning

In most cases, install is a two day process. They told us to be up and have our slides ready to hook up by 5:45AM. I wasn’t excited about backing into those little garages so I was more than happy when I pulled up and they decided that with the size of my truck and the angle of my bay, that they would use the trailer Caddy to put our rig into the bay. MORyde also provides lunch when you are onsite and has a full lounge where many sit and enjoy their snacks and find great conversations with other customers getting their installs done. I have to admit, I spent my time at MORryde in the bay with our rig… I didn’t want to miss a moment.

If you want to keep your old axles you can do that but be mindful that you are responsible for removing them. I met a few people that sold them to local buyers and had them pick them up. I inquired about my old axles and where they were destined and was told they sell them to a scrap dealer for approximately $100 per axle.

During the install, you can wait in the lobby or take in some activities around town. It is the RV capital of the world and you should totally take advantage of it with some plant tours. Most will have to be scheduled ahead of time so make sure you plan them with the manufacturer prior to landing in Elkhart for your appointment.

Noises in the night

Okay…when we arrived at the MORryde plant, we quickly noticed how many trains were passing by. I am a train guy so I was okay with it but even for me, there was a lot! I asked one of the employees and they said that around 100 trains pass by there daily. Since there is an intersection close by, those trains all blast their horns as they pass. I have to be honest, I did find it hard to sleep and woke up with every passing train. When the work was being completed on the rig, we moved to a bay inside and the trains were a little bit harder to hear. however, MORryde is an around the clock plant and while in the bay, we could hear the machines being operated along with the often passing train. If you are a light sleeper, you might want to take this into consideration. Also, we found that our rig was a little warm in the bay and it was difficult to run our ACs without buckets for condensation runoff. Just something to think about if you are planning an install.

Plant tour and product showroom

Definitely take a plant tour while your IS is being installed so you can see how all of the components are manufactured. They will also take you to the showroom where you will have the opportunity to check out items that are currently in production as well as some “secret” test items. They showed us a “test” sewer hose that I was really excited about but later found out that particular project was scrapped. SO, not all things you see there will make it to the market (Although I REALLY liked that sewer hose!). I found it really fascinating to see all of the new innovations currently in the works.

The Test Drive

This is the best part. We were SO excited to hook up and pull out of the bay. Most people drive the same square of road when they depart from the MORryde plant on their test drive and we didn’t deviate from a good plan. The road has some bumps in it but the best part is crossing the railroad tracks. This crossing felt so different. The truck now seemed it needed some suspension work!

I could immediately tell the difference with the disc brakes which confirmed I should have done disc from the start! WOW, the stopping power is drastically different from that of the electric magnetic brakes! I have been cut off many times in traffic, had someone do the “last minute” squeeze in and with all of those things you need that stopping power. If you get nothing else from our video or this writing, hopefully I can trigger something to make you think about pursuing disc brakes.

Making the payment

You do have to go back to the plant to pay that final balance but hey , you DO get a T-shirt out of the deal. They take you up and go through all of the details of your bill and walk you through how to obtain future maintenance and go over all of the work that was completed on your RV.

Final Thoughts

There is one thing that we didn’t cover in our video that is important to discuss when it comes to the folks at MORryde – excellence in customer service. These guys care about their customers and the work they do. The customer experience as MORryde is easily the BEST customer experience I have had. They have a great product and treat each customer like they are the only customer they are working with. We are so excited to continue our full time travel with an UPGRADED suspension!