Best full-size 4 season composite trailer?

Treefarmer

Active member
I know that the CM suspensions are proven but I wonder about the option of using either the Air Bag Man suspension that the Conquerors are using or that new Morryde system the Pause are using. If I am not mistaken, I think both have more travel than the CM ATX. No idea on load capacity but neither the Conqueror UEV-19 or Pause trailers are lightweights. No idea if the other two suspensions could be procured or if they are exclusive to their current customers at this point.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
Those other options could be interesting. I've contacted MorRyde and Palomino, and left a question on the ROA YT site asking what the weight ratings are for the new MorRyde suspension. Palomino and ROA didn't respond and MorRyde gave me a non-answer. MorRyde did say the suspensions are OEM installed only and not available to the general public. MorRyde is usually in attendance at the Quartzsite RV show in January. Maybe one of their reps will be able to give/get some capacity answers there.
 

NomadNorman

Member
I have MORryde IS on my current. Travel is 137.5mm whereas the ATX is 140mm. I don't know which MORryde (they have 4) Palomino is using but I've not been impressed with the MORryde at all on my 23k# fiver. My previous TrailAir suspension was much better.
 

Treefarmer

Active member
I have MORryde IS on my current. Travel is 137.5mm whereas the ATX is 140mm. I don't know which MORryde (they have 4) Palomino is using but I've not been impressed with the MORryde at all on my 23k# fiver. My previous TrailAir suspension was much better.
You probably have the MorRyde rubber spring independent suspension with a single shock absorber and no height adjustment? That's what's popular on the big, high-end 5th wheels. We have that suspension on our New Horizons 5th wheel. It was considered MorRyde's premier suspension product. I thought the MorRyde airbag trailing arm independent suspension (dual shocks) is a new product this year, and that the Pause is the first trailer to have it. I doubt it could handle any GVWR much over 10,000lbs (if that much).
 

rehammer81

Active member
The MorRyde that Palomino Pause is using has 12 inches of travel. No idea on load capacity but from the weights I heard in some video about the estimated weight of the Pause suggests they should hold their own with the CM. The Pause sounded pretty heavy and they are testing that trailer and suspension on a course used to test military suspension designs for whatever that is worth. 12 inches of travel matches the Bruder travel. Still unproven compared to CM for now though. Can't go wrong with choosing CM. I was just thinking with quite a few new rigs using that CM ATX, it might be hard to procure here for awhile.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

Alloy

Well-known member
Those other options could be interesting. I've contacted MorRyde and Palomino, and left a question on the ROA YT site asking what the weight ratings are for the new MorRyde suspension. Palomino and ROA didn't respond and MorRyde gave me a non-answer. MorRyde did say the suspensions are OEM installed only and not available to the general public. MorRyde is usually in attendance at the Quartzsite RV show in January. Maybe one of their reps will be able to give/get some capacity answers there.

Using a solid axles means the system can be adapted using the existing or an off the shelf axle. Each Airbag will easily handle 10,000lbs so all that's needed is an axle that suits the GVWR.

I wouldn't call the MorRyde Air1 independent but they've done a good job of getting 85% of the way to it.
 
Last edited:

rehammer81

Active member
We are not talking about the MorRyde Air1 suspension. We are talking about the new MorRyde independent trailing arm air suspension that the Palomino Pause trailers are going to use. Best I can tell, it doesn't show up anywhere on MorRyde's website yet. You can see it in some of the videos out about Pause trailers.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

billiebob

Well-known member
I'll never fault the many independent suspension choices but for me the cost out weighs any advantage over a leaf sprung straight axle. And the "marketing advantages" seem like more spin than substance. Still if you are a techno geeky kind of overlander.... I definitely agree it is cool to do the alternative choices. 30 years ago that was me too.... Today I love keep it simple.... and inexpensive.... and drive accordingly.... altho I am a guy who sees value in 4WD, selectable lockers, and a clutch.

Those options, 4WD, LoRange, Lockers, a clutch let me go slow enough to not need the advantages of an independent suspensions lower unsprung weight.
 
Last edited:

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I'll never fault the many independent suspension choices but for me the cost out weighs any advantage over a leaf sprung straight axle. And the "marketing advantages" seem like more spin than substance. Still if you are a techno geeky kind of overlander.... I definitely agree it is cool to do the alternative choices. 30 years ago that was me too.... Today I love keep it simple.... and inexpensive.... and drive accordingly.... altho I am a guy who sees value in 4WD, selectable lockers, and a clutch.

Those options, 4WD, LoRange, Lockers, a clutch let me go slow enough to not need the advantages of an independent suspensions lower unsprung weight.

The independent sp trailers especially the tall ones do have negatives especially those long pavement stretches between the short dirt parts. They don’t track as nice as the leaf spring trailers. Notice sway bars getting added to the Chinese stuff and lots of chatter about finding better shocks for them. Its not all rainbows and woops?. They are cool but I’m with you I’ll take a leaf spring for the right price. My 10spd with 3.73 has a pretty nice crawl ratio in 4lo. But I miss my manual when there’s no traffic
 

Raspy

Active member
The independent sp trailers especially the tall ones do have negatives especially those long pavement stretches between the short dirt parts. They don’t track as nice as the leaf spring trailers. Notice sway bars getting added to the Chinese stuff and lots of chatter about finding better shocks for them. Its not all rainbows and woops?. They are cool but I’m with you I’ll take a leaf spring for the right price. My 10spd with 3.73 has a pretty nice crawl ratio in 4lo. But I miss my manual when there’s no traffic


The video shows my X22 at about 75 MPH with torsion suspension. Straight as an arrow and no leaf springs. I have a similar video of my HQ19. Perfectly stable with swing arms.

You're right that stiff leaf springs do well on smooth highways, but they suck off road because they are generally stiff, have a lot of stiction, have no (or worthless) shocks and have limited ground clearance. So, they bounce around on rough roads and beat the trailer up with it jumping around or vibrating from washboard.

Since this thread is about off-road caravan style trailers, it makes sense to talk about what works on rough trails instead of on smooth highways.

Swing arms can have almost no stiction, much more travel and have quality shocks. Black Series puts shocks on that are worthless, but that does not mean swing arms are worthless, and it is easy to get good shocks as a direct replacement. I did it on my HQ19. Sway bars are an excellent addition to suspensions that actually have good travel and good damping, instead of just being stiff. That why all cars have them and why they are on the front of pickups. The front is soft and tuned, the rear is generally just stiff. Even the car manufactuterss know the difference here and get it right.

Off road, it is important to keep the poundingt that the trailer receives to a minimum, and keep the tires in contact with the ground as much as possible. And I'm not talking about speeding, or racing. I'm talking about the quality of the ride, to minimize damage, and bouncing around. One place go in Death Valley is over 50 miles in on dirt and rocky roads, each way. If I can only manage 10 MPH, it takes over ten hours to get there! Each way! If I can go 20 MPH average, I can cut that in half. Arguing to just slow down, when the speed is already at 10 MPH, is ridiculous.

When a trailer works well off-road, it might need some help on-road to keep it from leaning too much on turns. This is where the sway bars come in, although they doo help on dirt too. They help keep it stable both on and off road, but probably more on-road. Can you imagine buying a new car and installing leaf spring suspension, and then trying to argue it was more stable on the highway, or better on dirt roads? No way is that true and that is why cars and trucks have coils springs, at least in the front. Much better ride, much better cornering with sway bars that tune the suspension, much less bouncing around. It works with cars and modern pickups the same as it does with trailers. Try riding in an old Dodge Ram from the eighties and convince yourself it is better with leaf springs.

I've graduated from archaic leaf springs, am willing to pay the price for quality and I spend a lot of time on rough roads. To each, his own. But arguing leaves are better because they work better on the highway, when we are talking about off-road trailers, simply misses the point. And suggesting that leaves are better because companies install junk shocks, is more of a comment on the manufacturer than the basic design. Black Series is generally an example of how not to build. And we didn't even get into the variable ride height and leveling available with air bag or hydraulic systems.
 
Last edited:

Raspy

Active member
That is funny. Always good to have a guinea pig when your buying a new trailer. I don't belive the OBI is delayed as ROA has 30-40 on thier lot. Not to nit pick but I don't think there are any intention to include CM on any OBI Dwellers or Conqueror. Your right that is likely what is delaying the Roamer 1, Roamer X and possibly the Xplore 145 and 195. Pardon the bragging but I predicted that Treefarmers would get there Kindom Camping four wheeler before any Roamer1 was completed. Still baffled to why CO Rv received thier xplores before ROA.

The Roamer1 and the X195 have the same suspension and are nearly the same trailer. The R1 design has evolved over the last year or more and was originally speculated to be out last February. It was conceived before the X195. That timing was obviously extremely optimistic and I told them so. As usual with things like this, many compromises had to be made and the relationship between Imperial and ROA had to be negotiated as time went on, since Imperial builds them. The Roamer 1 is now much different than it was originally intended, but it is likely better. And I think better than the X195 with some upgrades and different features. ROA is expecting to get their first R1 and X195 in the next couple of weeks, or so. I'll be heading over there to see them.
 

Obsessed2findARuggedHybid

Well-known member
Talk about convoluted. ROA made it sound like they were in a partnership with IO on the Roamer. Then IO comes out the 195 using some of ROA s suggested specs and also suprised them and us with very high prices. Then CO RV gets the first units. Who knows what thier agreements are but I would be bummed. Regardless they are speced very nice and a great choice for the very thin in stature "yacht rock" listening set.
 

gendlert

Active member
Talk about convoluted. ROA made it sound like they were in a partnership with IO on the Roamer. Then IO comes out the 195 using some of ROA s suggested specs and also suprised them and us with very high prices. Then CO RV gets the first units. Who knows what thier agreements are but I would be bummed. Regardless they are speced very nice and a great choice for the very thin in stature "yacht rock" listening set.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Yacht Rock (SiriusXM 311) is my first preset in my truck. I only WISH that allowed me to afford one of those. :)
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,533
Messages
2,875,598
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top