Forum Discussion

Frankandbeans's avatar
Frankandbeans
Explorer
Feb 18, 2016

How much "snap-crackle-pop" is acceptable on suspension?

I have a '05 tandem axle Forest River with 6k axles. I noticed a lot of snap-crackle-pop (Not talking about the cereal) when making turns. Tighter the turn, worse it was. I noticed the shackles were begging to egg out the holes. I couldn't help but wonder how much play was in the equalizers, so I decided to upgrade. Got the Dexter EZ-Flex suspension set up. Awesome product, shackles were no less than double the thickness of the factory ones. Heavy duty kit with no more of that crappy teflon bushings.

Put it all together, and enjoyed total towing harmony. Not a single peep from the trailer. Ahh...the sound of nothing is beautiful. It started again after about 50 miles of towing. Not NEARLY as bad as it was before, but still there. I have several friends with newer toy haulers (2 and 3 axles) and their rigs are quiet, or very very minimal. My leaf springs looked good, u bolts tight. I realize the tires can't turn and there is a ton of twisting flex on the tires and it has to go somewhere and load up the suspension, but how much noise is acceptable? At this point I don't know what I could replace to resolve the issue. Leaf springs still have a nice arch in them, the packs are nice and tight/aligned, etc.
Toy Haulers
  • Frankandbeans's avatar
    Frankandbeans
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2016
    Obviously it depends on your mechanical ability, but installing the EX-flex kit was easy. It's just time consuming and a bit tedious, because you have to basically support the entire side of the trailer to unload the suspension so you can remove/install the new hardware. You need several jack stands - two to support the trailer frame, then one under one axle, and another jack stand/floor jack under the other axle.

    It's a fairly basic job in regards to actual mechanical difficulty, but like I said, just time consuming. I would say if you are confident in changing brakes on a car, you can handle the job. I would give the kit 5 out of 5 stars, awesome design and really well built. I have no doubt it'll outlast the rest of the trailer. I did notice a little less feedback from the trailer while towing (5th wheel) and the contents inside the trailer are less inclined to move around, but nothing drastic enough to warrant replacing your suspension if it's not worn out. The bolt holes on my original equalizers were really starting to egg out and were in sad shape.
  • _tpc_'s avatar
    _tpc_
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2016
    Mine isn't a toy hauler or a 5th wheel but it makes noises too. Especially backing into the driveway, despite how straight I can get it to go in..still makes some noise.

    I've been thinking about doing a similar mod to mine but I'm not sure i'm well enough versed in such an undertaking.
  • stickdog's avatar
    stickdog
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2016
    Mom always turned up the volume on the radio when her car made strange noises.
  • Colo_Native's avatar
    Colo_Native
    Explorer
    Feb 18, 2016
    My FW makes a lot of creaking and noise when turning, dealer said normal but when you hear it just makes you wonder. I have the ez flex suspension. Mine is brand new.
  • BigDogF250's avatar
    BigDogF250
    Explorer
    Feb 18, 2016
    At 10 years mine groans frequently with some small pops when the shackles are under load. I make sure everything stays lubricated really well. IMHO - Normal. You have replaced all the parts that wear, as long as there are no broken mounts on the trailer or flex in the frame there is nothing else to do.
  • the_bear_II's avatar
    the_bear_II
    Explorer
    Feb 18, 2016
    On my TT the popping came from the equalizer bars and chains, not the suspension.

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