Equa-flex Install on Wide Stance Axles with Pictures
Hi,
I have a 2013 CrossRoads Sunset Trail with the Wide Stance (other brands call it Secure Stance) axles. I wanted to improve the suspension a bit to accommodate the occasional ;) pothole/expansion joint/crumbling infrastructure that I drive across.
Shocks were a bit more than I wanted to invest right now and I didn't think I had the time to do the necessary drilling & installation. The only flat spot I have to work is the street in front of my house and I didn't want to block half the street for more than a few hours.
Dexter EZ Flex wouldn't work due to the large spacing between the springs on my trailer so I went with the Lippert Equa-Flex. My trailer has Lippert springs so hopefully everything would get along together.
The guys at Eastern Marine convinced me to use the Never Fail bushings which were included with the $169 Equa-Flex kit so that's what I used.
I chocked the opposite side wheels and jacked up the trailer, putting my tallest jack stands under the frame. I then put a jack under each axle to support it while I disconnected the leaf springs from the current equalizer.
I removed the three nuts with an impact gun and removed the bolts, which are pressed into place. A huge help on this was a Harbor Freight ball joint press. If you don't want to spend the $60 on this, you can usually borrow one from an auto supply store for free.
I then attached the new Equa-Flex to the hanger using the HF ball joint tool to press the splined bolt into place. Did the same on the rear link to the spring. Then I got stuck. I couldn't get the other end of the Equa-Flex anywhere near the other spring.
I moved the axle jacks up/down to no avail. I then put a third jack on the Equa-Flex to push it up at a slight angle to meet with the spring's link. Took me about an hour to figure this out.
The first side took me about three hours due to the learning curve and a rainstorm. Second side took less than an hour. I'm not a professional mechanic and I have very little experience with trailer suspension (other than lubing the bearings). This is a very doable project with basic hand tools (and a few jacks).
My seat-of-the-pants test of the trailer on a local freeway felt like there was less shock being fed to the truck through the hitch when going over bumps.
Hope this helps anyone looking to make this upgrade.
I have a 2013 CrossRoads Sunset Trail with the Wide Stance (other brands call it Secure Stance) axles. I wanted to improve the suspension a bit to accommodate the occasional ;) pothole/expansion joint/crumbling infrastructure that I drive across.
Shocks were a bit more than I wanted to invest right now and I didn't think I had the time to do the necessary drilling & installation. The only flat spot I have to work is the street in front of my house and I didn't want to block half the street for more than a few hours.
Dexter EZ Flex wouldn't work due to the large spacing between the springs on my trailer so I went with the Lippert Equa-Flex. My trailer has Lippert springs so hopefully everything would get along together.
The guys at Eastern Marine convinced me to use the Never Fail bushings which were included with the $169 Equa-Flex kit so that's what I used.
I chocked the opposite side wheels and jacked up the trailer, putting my tallest jack stands under the frame. I then put a jack under each axle to support it while I disconnected the leaf springs from the current equalizer.
I removed the three nuts with an impact gun and removed the bolts, which are pressed into place. A huge help on this was a Harbor Freight ball joint press. If you don't want to spend the $60 on this, you can usually borrow one from an auto supply store for free.
I then attached the new Equa-Flex to the hanger using the HF ball joint tool to press the splined bolt into place. Did the same on the rear link to the spring. Then I got stuck. I couldn't get the other end of the Equa-Flex anywhere near the other spring.
I moved the axle jacks up/down to no avail. I then put a third jack on the Equa-Flex to push it up at a slight angle to meet with the spring's link. Took me about an hour to figure this out.
The first side took me about three hours due to the learning curve and a rainstorm. Second side took less than an hour. I'm not a professional mechanic and I have very little experience with trailer suspension (other than lubing the bearings). This is a very doable project with basic hand tools (and a few jacks).
My seat-of-the-pants test of the trailer on a local freeway felt like there was less shock being fed to the truck through the hitch when going over bumps.
Hope this helps anyone looking to make this upgrade.
