perfectcasita.com Shock Kit?

[TLane]

I am the owner of a 2021 Casita Freedom Deluxe. I am looking for anyone who has installed the perfect Casita shock kit and any feedback about the product. Where have they gone?

[mary and bob]

go to the website "little home on the road". info there but looks like the shock kit may be out of stock now. Apparently some new Casita owners go directly there after picking up their camper at the factory for shocks or other modifications.

[Jon MB]

I don't have them on our 17 SD so I can only provide feedback on why I have chosen to NOT invest in a set. I don't sense a need.
We don't sense the trailer continuing to bounce after an initial impact.
We don't have items in the trailer that move out of position nor have drawers that are found open.
The torsion axle design used on the Casita (and our prior Jayco pop-up) appears to have an inherent attenuating effect that results in much shorter bump recovery duration compared to other trailers I've towed having leaf spring axle.
The shock absorber (tow car or trailer) is used to resist the natural spring oscillation rate that would otherwise allow the initial bump movement of the wheel relative to the load to continue. This resistance to the subsequent movement (oscillation continuing after the bump) also resists the initial movement (the bump). The resistance of the tire and wheel moving up on the bump while the mass-inertia of the trailer is relatively stationary can increase the effective load on the tire's sidewall.
Viewing the video (link below) on a frame-by-frame basis shows the added tire sidewall deflection on the speed bump used for the demonstration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIiXFw--j4M

For those reasons listed I have chosen to not install a shock kit on our trailer.
Your perception of the usefulness may be different than mine.

[alia176]

I'm looking for the same shock kit as well but they're as rare as hen's teeth. [emoji35]

[Dean Kidder]

Looks like you can order one now.

https://littlehomeontheroad.com/prod...tashockkit-hi/

[daveandalice]

The install I recently did went very smooth, my post has a photo of the tools I used.
The cushions and other light items aren't on the floor anymore after traveling.

My post has links to a couple of install videos to prepare you.

https://www.casitaforum.com/invboard...comment=318497

[Meadowlark]

We had the shocks installed on our 2011 Casita SD after two summers of finding stuff on the floor after what we thought was a relatively stable and level drive.



After installing the shocks, the difference was noticeable, both in the ride of the camper as well as not so much stuff on the floor. I'm not saying that the shock completely ended the ride dislodging stuff or allowing cabinet doors to flop open..we still find that stuff sometimes ends up on the floor. But it's usually lightweight stuff like a small box of kleenex-not one of my cookpots (which happened once before shock installation).


I know a lot of folks who don't have the shocks or see the need for them, but We're happy with 'em.

[Cotton]

Originally Posted by Jon MB

I don't have them on our 17 SD so I can only provide feedback on why I have chosen to NOT invest in a set. I don't sense a need.
We don't sense the trailer continuing to bounce after an initial impact.
We don't have items in the trailer that move out of position nor have drawers that are found open.
The torsion axle design used on the Casita (and our prior Jayco pop-up) appears to have an inherent attenuating effect that results in much shorter bump recovery duration compared to other trailers I've towed having leaf spring axle.
The shock absorber (tow car or trailer) is used to resist the natural spring oscillation rate that would otherwise allow the initial bump movement of the wheel relative to the load to continue. This resistance to the subsequent movement (oscillation continuing after the bump) also resists the initial movement (the bump). The resistance of the tire and wheel moving up on the bump while the mass-inertia of the trailer is relatively stationary can increase the effective load on the tire's sidewall.
Viewing the video (link below) on a frame-by-frame basis shows the added tire sidewall deflection on the speed bump used for the demonstration.

For those reasons listed I have chosen to not install a shock kit on our trailer.
Your perception of the usefulness may be different than mine.

I agree.

[Casita Greg]

I've had the shock kit installed, (by me,) on my trailer for over a dozen years now. Before the shock kit upgrade, every time I would open the trailer door, the inside looked like some kids had a pillow fight in the trailer. Since installing the shock kit, everything stays put. No cushions on the floor, no open drawers, etc. I love them.

[alia176]

These are great feedback, let me see we can grab one.

Edit: never mind, out of stock.

[alia176]

This kit is now back in stock and I made a phone call to the company. They were very helpful on the phone, particularly with my application. Our camper came with a 4 inch lift and the shock system will not work. They need to have zero lift before the shock system can be installed.

Given how much this camper wobbles and pogo sticks down the road, I'm going to remove the entire lift and assess the behavior. If the behavior doesn't improve, I will ask my GF to purchase this product.

[Jon MB]

Originally Posted by alia176

Given how much this camper wobbles and pogo sticks down the road, I'm going to remove the entire lift and assess the behavior.

Which model Casita is yours? I ask because our 17, built with Casita Ent.'s factory lift option, does not exhibit either of those tendencies.
If your lift kit is the same as the Casita factory installed optional lift in ours, there will not be an easy way to change it back to a standard ride height.
The Orbital video (links in prior posts) specifically states, starting at the 5 second mark, that the shock absorber / spring bounce damper kit was designed for Casitas WITH the Casita installed high lift option.
I suspect the shorter height, thus having less distance from the wheel mount to the frame mount, and a lack of availability of equally shorter shock absorbers that still have enough damping capacity, is the reason the high lift option is required.

[alia176]

Originally Posted by Jon MB

Which model Casita is yours? I ask because our 17, built with Casita Ent.'s factory lift option, does not exhibit either of those tendencies.

If your lift kit is the same as the Casita factory installed optional lift in ours, there will not be an easy way to change it back to a standard ride height.
The Orbital video (links in prior posts) specifically states, starting at the 5 second mark, that the shock absorber / spring bounce damper kit was designed for Casitas WITH the Casita installed high lift option.
I suspect the shorter height, thus having less distance from the wheel mount to the frame mount, and a lack of availability of equally shorter shock absorbers that still have enough damping capacity, is the reason the high lift option is required.

Hello Jon,

Thanks for the reply. My GF has a 2010 Casita 17' with a wet bath, no furnace.

It does in fact have the factory hi lift kit, which I think they call it 10deg down on the arms. I sent the same pic to Little Home on the road and they confirmed the lift.Additionally, the PO (previous owner) welded up two 2x2 sq tubing on top of each other for a 4" lift. I'm going to be removing this lift then see how she behaves before deciding on the shock kit purchase for $400. See the pic below of the lift.

Any trailer with a "rubber" suspension will bob up and down the road. Shocks are the only way to get their bodies to quiet down. My utility trailer with the Dexter rubber suspension does the same thing but no sway since it's not top heavy like the Casita.

Have you ever seen your trailer on the hwy from behind or are you assuming that it behaves well based on what you see on the rearview mirror? When they go over hwy expansion joints at speeds, they bounce around quiet a bit.

My buddy made these videos while he was behind me and his musical choice was spot on! We only had to traverse half mile of the rough stuff, otherwise, the trailer tires would've been aired down. My GF was walking behind the trailer to observe the bouncing and to spot me up some ledges.

As a point of reference, compare the tow vehicle's body vs the camper's body. The 4" lift makes the pogo stick bouncing more intense. Having the a/c unit up that high also makes for a lot of sway, and all this is natural for a rubber suspended trailer w/o any shocks for body control.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/w7gnz2yTZoyiY8yL7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/eiodR6KMqSe222236

Hope this helped!!

Cheers,
Ali

[Jon MB]

Definitely remove the added spacers before making a decision. You might find the behavior much more like mine and might defer a kit purchase.
The Dexter axle equipped trailers I've towed have each had so much less bounce than any leaf or coil sprung trailer I've towed that I can't imagine NOT having add-on dampers should I ever get a leaf sprung trailer. I also can't imagine any trailer bounce reduction amount that would justify my purchase of an add-on shock kit for any of the Dexter equipped trailers I've had.
I don't have any sense of bounce or sway with our Casita. We don't find cushions strewn about, nor drawers slid open. The rear view camera mounted up high in the rear window does not produce an image that tilts and lists as if it were on the bridge of a ship in a typhoon.

Just before posting I took a look at the video clips to which you linked. If you are basing an intent to purchase on those videos I suspect you'll be sadly disappointed with ANY shock, with or without the spacer block removal.
The shock absorber's function is, and is only, to dampen the oscillation of the spring. At the walking speed of those videos there is nearly zero displacement of the tire/wheel assembly relative to the trailer frame (when using the clearly visible lower edge of the trailer body as a reference. There is so little relative movement between the wheel and the frame, that is, the low rate (speed) of spring deflection, as well as the low amplitude (amount) of spring deflection, in combination mean that a shock absorber will have no effect.

[alia176]

Very interesting point of view Jon, thanks! Let me ponder it.

[Meadowlark]

alia176: Holy cats, did you pick that stretch of road solely to demonstrate the bounce?


Call me a chicken, but I'd never take a camper down that bad a path. I can't dignify it with the term 'road'.

[alia176]

Originally Posted by Meadowlark

alia176: Holy cats, did you pick that stretch of road solely to demonstrate the bounce?


Call me a chicken, but I'd never take a camper down that bad a path. I can't dignify it with the term 'road'.

Lol, that wasn't the original intention. We were looking for dispersed camping and found a really nice spot at the end of this particular road. This was Northwest of Moab, and we wanted to ride the trails so this spot was relatively close to the trailheads.

With that said, this is our standard operating procedure for finding dispersed camping, as we loathe developed campgrounds and other glampers [emoji16]

[Jon MB]

Originally Posted by alia176

this is our standard operating procedure for finding dispersed camping, as we loathe developed campgrounds and other glampers

Well, at least we can talk on-line, even if we'll never meet while at adjacent campsites.