I was hearing some creaking and groaning coming out of the suspension of my two year old fifth wheel. So I dropped one of the springs and examined the bushing. I was really disappointed that Lippert built this thing with cheap nylon bushings instead of bronze or their Never-Fail variety. Check out the picture of this bushing:I replaced all the bushings with the Never-Fail type, and hope I get more than two years of usage out of them. Every one of the bushings was as bad as the one pictured. I wonder how much they saved using the cheap nylon bushings, a buck or two? So if you have a Lippert built suspension, and you're hearing some metal-on-metal creaking, you might want to do some digging to see if your bushings are worn out.Rant over.Jim

Yep. The corporate bean-counters always sing a hypnotic tune. Bet'Cha nickel you don't mail the nylon bushings to Lippert along with a torn-in-half dollar bill.

Your trailer manufacturer is to blame, not Lippert. Lippert supplies the parts but its your manufacturer who decides what gets used. So I would say the bean counters at Grand Designs should be flamed

I'm guessing your 2014 rig is out of warranty so a low cost win for Lipper?

AFAIC the suspension "bushings" should be replaced with wet bolts either by the factory before delivery, or by the dealer, also before pickup. I think the buyers of these trailers don't realize how chintzy these suspension parts are, I know I didn't.If I ever bought another trailer, suspension "bushings" and tires would be two components brought up to decent specs.

Lippert - You can do better than this. | Good Sam Community

mlts22
Explorer
May 28, 2016
Wonder if some LocTite Blue on that one nut that is knurled would help with anti-torquing, or perhaps adding a second jam nut?
TucsonJim
Explorer II
May 28, 2016
I just realized that I tossed one of the old equalizers in the trash without removing the old shackles from it. So I did a little dumpster diving and found that the gap on the old one matches the gap on the new one. Could this actually be Lippert's design specifications?

Then I craweled back under the RV and took a look at the assembled unit. The gap was not visible, but when I used a feeler gauge, there was certainly some slop between the hard surfaces.

I'll see what e-Trailer and Lippert have to say in the morning, but at least the new configuration appears to match the original Lippert configuration.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
May 28, 2016
Those are what the new ones should look like.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
myredracer
Explorer II
May 28, 2016
Photo of standard shackles alongside the Dexter heavy duty ones. If going to all the work of replacing the bushings, I would go with the thicker 1/2" shackles for longer life, especially on a heavy FW.
dougrainer
Nomad
May 28, 2016
smkettner wrote:
dougrainer wrote:
smkettner wrote:
If Lippert is poor design why keep giving them money?
Go Dexter.

Guess who owns Dexter now. Doug

LCI
I see LCI bought the slide out chassis group from Dexter in 2011 but not the whole company.

I also see Dexter recently acquired some or all of AL-KO with a new parent company called DEXKO. (Jan 4, 2016)

I must be missing something.

LCI purchased the complete Dexter, but for now, Dexter Axle is running on their own. I am sure later this year LCI will blend in that division. Doug
randallb
Explorer
May 28, 2016
This is a case of DIYDDIYD. When the use of "wet bolts" and bronze bushings was common nobody bothered to grease them and then complained of squeaking and binding. Nylon bushings do away with the squeaking complaint but have a higher wear rate. Have you ever seen the inside of a trailer that has binding or seized spring bushings. It is not pretty.
Randy
fj12ryder
Explorer III
May 27, 2016
When you bolt those shackles together they should be solid, you should not be able to move the shackles separately. They should not be able to be rotated on the bolt. They shouldn't rattle. If they aren't solid something is way wrong.

Edit:

On edit, I've done some researching and your parts are probably the correct ones, but they are seriously deficient in design. I have explained my erroneous advice in my post near the end of this thread.

Sorry for the somewhat misinformation. Personally I would use the parts you have, not because they're wrong, but because the way it is "designed" to work is ridiculous.
westend
Explorer
May 27, 2016
I'd suggest to mail Etrailer the pictures and questions about your concerns. They seem to have some manpower in their tech support Dept. Let them research the issues, too.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
May 27, 2016
brulaz wrote:
fj12ryder wrote:
TucsonJim, those look like the wrong shackles as they appear too thin. I got the wetbolt kit from Dexter and the shackles were much thicker than what you're showing. Mine came with the same type of locknuts and they worked fine because they butted up against the shackles. I would not use those shackles as they are not correct. When the bolts are tightened down the shackles should become a solid unit, with no movement by the shackles.

In your other picture where you say that the locknut doesn't make contact with the shoulder of the bolt, it won't when the bolts are installed properly. The shackles will be what the shoulder of the bolt contacts. Or the bolt shoulder will contact the inside of the hangers and the nut will lock down on the hanger.

Do not use those parts on your trailer, it's not correct and you could end up with some serious damage.

Agree, those shackles look way too wimpy.

I have no idea what to do now. This is the way the unit came apart and went back together. I agree that it just doesn't look right. I've just sent another message to Lippert asking for technical help.

Jim
brulaz
Explorer
May 27, 2016
fj12ryder wrote:
TucsonJim, those look like the wrong shackles as they appear too thin. I got the wetbolt kit from Dexter and the shackles were much thicker than what you're showing. Mine came with the same type of locknuts and they worked fine because they butted up against the shackles. I would not use those shackles as they are not correct. When the bolts are tightened down the shackles should become a solid unit, with no movement by the shackles.

In your other picture where you say that the locknut doesn't make contact with the shoulder of the bolt, it won't when the bolts are installed properly. The shackles will be what the shoulder of the bolt contacts. Or the bolt shoulder will contact the inside of the hangers and the nut will lock down on the hanger.

Do not use those parts on your trailer, it's not correct and you could end up with some serious damage.

Agree, those shackles look way too wimpy.