Solitude leaning to one side.

[klr650goldwing]

Our Solitude 369RL is leaning to the left. We are loaded up for a month long journey and our pantry, frig, Island, stove etc. is all located on that side of the 5er. We are 3 inches low on that side. Springs look okay. Is it possible to put air bags on a trailer?

[pianotuna]

klr650goldwing,

My springs looked good to me. I was having an extra leaf added. When they took it apart, they found there was a broken leaf.

[klr650goldwing]

Thanks everyone. When I said the springs looked good, I just meant nothing appeared to be broken. The springs on the low side are flat. As far as leaf springs go, they look incredibly small for the size of the load. What are the odds of a catastrophic failure and the trailer leaving the roadway? We are in AZ on a trip to CA, OR, MT SD and back to MN. What are the odds we can go that many miles without something breaking? We bought this trailer used. It may have been leaning all along and I just noticed it. I need a quick education on suspension parts. If you have personal experience, please help.

[fj12ryder]

shadows4 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
I just replaced mine on my 2019 Momentum.

Mind sharing what shop you took your trailer to? Thinking about changing mine out and not sure where to go besides Croft.

Sorry for the hijack, hope to be forgiven. 🙂

It sounded simple when I did it, but it was kind of convoluted in the end. 🙂

I decided my 3,500 lb. springs were flattened and needed replacing. I also decided I didn't like the Lippert EquaFlex equalizers. I also had a shackle break, I believe due to improper installation of parts at some point.

So...I decided to go with 4,000 lb. springs, EZ=Flex equalizers, and the Dexter wet bolt kit. Then I ordered everything from ETrailer. Well, they said the springs were holding things up and wouldn't be here until August 23, then a few days later, the shipping date would be September 12. We were leaving town on September 18, so that wasn't going to work. So I shopped around and ended up canceling the entire order. I bought the springs from Lippert, the EZ-Flex equalizers and wet bolt kit from a different e-tailer, and sourced the longer U-bolts locally. And I'm glad I did, doing all that saved me over $350.

I got everything quicker than I'd hoped for and started work. Since I'm 73 I took two days to do it. 🙂 I used the auto-level to support the 5th wheel while I did all the work. Worked great. The only real issue I had were the spring eyes. All eight of them had to have the bushings reamed out after pressing them in. Usually it's one, maybe two that have to be reamed, but all eight of these deformed the bushings enough they needed to be reamed.

I haven't towed it very far, but the short (8) miles seemed like it was all worthwhile.

If I couldn't have done it myself, I would most likely have gone to Croft.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled thread. 🙂

[shadows4]

fj12ryder wrote:
I just replaced mine on my 2019 Momentum.

Mind sharing what shop you took your trailer to? Thinking about changing mine out and not sure where to go besides Croft.

[TXiceman]

My suspicions are weak springs on one side. You can get new spring packs with a higher rating or as suggested, get the Mor/Ryde IS system installed.

Ken

[MFL]

Could be broken spring, under rated springs, but as Jim mentions above, a big rig trailer shop would be a great choice to solve this problem.

Band-aid??? No...they will do a proper fix, at a reasonable price!

Jerry

[fj12ryder]

"These other band-aids is like peeing into the wind."

Oh bosh. Spending over $5,000 is not necessary to have an excellent pulling trailer.

[GIB2]

You can spend $1000.00 dollars here and $1000.00 there or take it to Mor/yde and put on their independent suspension and Disc brakes and go and enjoy the trailer. These other band-aids is like peeing into the wind.

[JIMNLIN]

Sometimes when the trailers leaf spring suspension is lifted off the ground the equalizer bar side links can flip causing this issue.

Leaf springs can settle over times especially when carrying loads at max or close to max.

A big rig trailer repair shop near you can find your trailers suspension issues and offer a fix.

[southernsky]

Don't own our 369 anymore, got rid of it a couple mths ago, but changed the springs from 3500 to 4000 lbs. Also changed out the equalizer to Dexter and installed disk brakes.

[bucky]

Are the slides out when it is leaning or does that make any difference?

[time2roll]

x2 on springs. Plan to replace all with 10%-20% higher load rating.

[fj12ryder]

If you're 3 inches low on one side, I find it hard to believe your springs look okay. Three inches is a lot, and if your springs aren't flat, then you have some problems somewhere. A decent spring should have about 3 inches of travel. If you can post some pictures of the springs on the low side. I'll bet they look like "w's".

Grand Design tends to put springs that just barely can carry the load. Replacing springs is a pretty common practice. I just replaced mine on my 2019 Momentum.

[pianotuna]

Call a mobile rv mechanic.

Is the unit new to you?

If not did it lean before this?

[CA_Traveler]

If everything in the suspension is good then go on the trip as 3" is acceptable for most refers. Level at the site if desired and resolve when you return.