Maintenance hint

[lgbrotz]

I know we all check tire pressures, wheel lug torque, grease bearings, and the normal maintenance items on our RV's, but recently I had an incident that I have never seen in almost 60 years of trailers and towing. I grew up in a shop that built farm trailers and other equipment so I am not new to trailers, but on a recent trip, the main spring bolt of the lead axle on one side of my fifth wheel apparently broke out, letting the leaf spring come apart, and the lead axle slid back, tire contacted the rear axle tire, and the trailer jerked sideways into a bridge abutment. Total cost of repairs over $6,000. Two new axles, two tires and wheels, springs, spring hangers, brakes and wiring, side panel for the trailer, paint,etc. Add the spring bolt to your yearly check list.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Another pair of handy hints:

*If* you break a leaf (for whatever reason) - at minimum replace *both* springs on that side.

If you're doing the work, be sure to check the location of the centering pin on a new spring pack you may have purchased from a "generic" supplier (or before you have a new set made up).
Some OEM spring packs have the pin "off center" of the spring length.
Ex: a 30" long pack with the pin at 16" rather than 15"..

Learned that one the hard way on a TT many years ago.
The (incorrect) replacement "pin on center" spring -from a trailer supply- went about 5K miles before it also broke.....and I did a lot of head scratching until the light went on..:h

~

[Luke_Porter]

When I had a trailer with springs---I broke a couple. So, I checked them every stop, not yearly.

[C_Schomer]

I put discs on last fall and one of the times when I got up from the creeper, I caught a flicker of daylight where it didn't look right. I had to move up and down a few times til I found where I saw the light and it was between the bottom leaf and the U bolt plate... OH SPIT! I got a wrench and I got 2 turns on those U bolts. The other three were somewhat tight but still nowhere near the tq spec. I'm just glad I caught it before getting the really effective disc job done and sheering that center bolt! Craig

[rtazz17]

lgbrotz wrote:
I know we all check tire pressures, wheel lug torque, grease bearings, and the normal maintenance items on our RV's, but recently I had an incident that I have never seen in almost 60 years of trailers and towing. I grew up in a shop that built farm trailers and other equipment so I am not new to trailers, but on a recent trip, the main spring bolt of the lead axle on one side of my fifth wheel apparently broke out, letting the leaf spring come apart, and the lead axle slid back, tire contacted the rear axle tire, and the trailer jerked sideways into a bridge abutment. Total cost of repairs over $6,000. Two new axles, two tires and wheels, springs, spring hangers, brakes and wiring, side panel for the trailer, paint,etc. Add the spring bolt to your yearly check list.

i
I have a feeling even if you had inspected this prior you woukdve missed it.It was more then likely a catastrophic failure that happened at the time it happened.Meaning you prolly wouldnt have noticed anything out of the ordinary prior to the failure.Maybe you woukdve seen something but I highly dought it.Glad youre fixed up.

[Bull_Rider]

We just had the suspension rebuilt on our 2006 Cougar bumper pull. New axles, new springs, new hangers, new equalizers, new bushings. Also the axles came with new brakes, new hubs and races. All movable parts have grease zerks.

The back axle on the passenger side was bent, don't know how it happened but the tire was worn down bald on the inside.

I should have taken pictures of the old parts. Way past due for replacement.

I think it's better to take the weight off of the suspension to get a better idea of what kind of condition the running gear is in.

[larry_barnhart]

thanks from the chevman.

[jimandlaurie]

Yep check the spring u-bolts too.

[2yung2rtire]

That's why one should always check their u-bolts for tightness. If they get loose that puts undue stress on the center bolt. I've seen it quite often on heavy trucks. One quick way to check them is take a hammer and rap the u-bolt. If it's loose you can tell by the dull tone or any movement.

[empty_nest]

bad99ram wrote:
Good Tip !! That's one thing you never think to look at

X10!!

[bad99ram]

Good Tip !! That's one thing you never think to look at

[greende]

Thanks for the tip.

[waltbennett]

A member posted on the Montana Owner's Club forum of having a shackle wet bolt break in half a bit ago. Everything stayed together though. I've read of others having spring end bolts go, but not having as catastrophic a result. Suspension is one of the things I routinely check!

[Smax]

Happened to us in the mid 90's on the way to Wally World.

About 3 am on I95 near Savannah I hear a noise like a tire iron hitting the pavement. "oh oh, that can't be good". Exited immediately. Turned out pin sheared and I lost one leaf. Tires didn't jam up until I hit the brakes in the gas station parking lot. Had to jack it up and move the axle forward. Mechanic Tightened the shackles and on the way. Said I would make it to Orlando. Called Camping world. They wanted $$$$ to repair. Removed spring. Found a spring shop, and $20.00 later I was out the door with a repaired leaf assembly.

FYI. This was on a very under sprung Holiday rambler Aluma-lite. When we got home I had all the springs replaced/upgraded.