My Sumo Springs

I recently had SuperSprings Sumo Springs installed on my 2017 Winnebago Fuse 23a.  It has been so far one of the best upgrades to the Fuse I have had done.  I recommend it to everyone.

Lets start at the beginning.  I have scraped the rear of my Fuse once.  This was going from a driveway on to a crowned road.  I have scraped the stairs once.  This was going over a speed bump when I bounced because I was going a little faster going out than when I was going in.  In both cases  I was not being careful but in each case if I had had 1/4" more clearance or  less bounce I would not have had a problem.

So what to do.  I had read on several other sites about Sumo Springs and I have talked about them here as an option to raise the Fuse.   They were recommended unofficially by the Winnebago engineering team.  It appeared with a small amount of modification to the unit you would get a large payoff.  So I decided to give it a shot.

I had the local RV dealer do it. It appeared I could have done it if I had the right jacks and stands but  I just did not have the time and had been putting it of for a while.   I should have brought it to a local suspension shop to do the work. I could have saved a good amount of money (30%). But I had the Fuse in the shop for a recall and time is what I am short supply of so I just said make it happen.

     

So before I had the Sumo installed the fuse stood at 12" at the rear bumper.    After they were installed it was at 13.5".  An increase of an inch and a half.   Good.

 

Before I had the Sumo installed the stairs on the fuse were just under 7.5".  After they were just over 8".  An increase of a little over 1/2 inch.  Again - A good change that would have saved me in the past

So the real proof is in the pudding.  Did doing this modification change how well the Fuse rides and  drives?   It did and it did for the better.   I have always thought that the Fuse rode like a nice SUV.  Now it rides like a luxury car.   All of the little bumps and cracks in the road have disappeared.  And so did the noise and rattles in the Fuse when you went over them.  I have never noticed any real sway in the Fuse but I could tell on our first little drive (650 miles) that that there was even less now.  It now rides like a Cadillac.

I even rode on the back bed for a little bit.  Before the Sumo Springs it was pretty bumpy riding back there.  Way more noticeable than in the front.  Now with the Sumo Springs installed the ride has calmed way down in back.

How do the Sumos do this.  I posted an earlier article and the Sumo Springs act like airbags would in a traditional motor home.  You can't adjust them but they absorb the bumps and provide a better foundation for the coach to ride on.

The next question is did I do anything to the front suspension?  The Sumo folks sell something for the front springs as well.  I did not do anything to the front.  The Travato group members who have done this don't seem to think that the Sumo product for the front do much or anything to help in an RV configuration.  They are probably right since all of our weight is in the rear.

Another question is did it change the level and do I need blocks now?  The answer is no.  The Fuse seems to be as level as it always has been.  I don't have exact enough equipment but in my driveway and a the campsite we stayed at everything was still in the center of the bubble level.  The extra inch over the length of the vehicle did not seem to throw anything off much.

What about the warrantee?  Per Ford it will not void the warrantee if it did not cause the problem.

From a overall perspective, just the improvement in the ride would justify adding the Sumos to me.  If you have a 17.5 or 18 you already have some additional clearance but you will get a little more.  Not as much as if you added an additional leaf spring but every little bit helps.

From a technical perspective the shop replaced the original bump stops with Sumo Spring bump stops model SSR-121-54.   They used a 1" spacer .

Last question -  How much?  This seems to always come up.   You can buy the SumoSprings on sale for as little as $223 but they retail for around $300.   Installation takes 1-2 hours.

Don Moody did a great video for anyone who want to do it themselves or just see what this involves: