suspension problems

[smsage999]

Okay, so I will try to make this as short and to the point as I possibly can.
I recently purchased a used 2013 Forest River XLR Thunderbolt fifth wheel toy hauler. I must say it is a massive upgrade from my previous keystone Cougar 320 SRX.

Went on my first trip a month or so ago, and noticed the coach leaning significantly to the curbside. Not so much that I felt unsafe so i pushed on to the house (3 hours), and immediately got my creeper out and went under the unit. All I can say is WOW, the leaf springs on the curbside were a straight line and the roadside were not much better. Counting the leafs, I determined through lots of research on this forum and others, that these springs were only rated to a max f 2250 lbs, which is not enough to carry the empty weight of the coach, much less the GVWR of 18,000 lbs. So I immediately ordered springs rated for 3400 lbs each and replaced the springs and all bolts. This raised the coach almost 7 inches!!! I was happy for that, now I tow more level which eases my mind on tire wear.

Fast forward to this past weekend. the DW and I went on a trip to north-central Texas (6 hrs away) and I noticed about the halfway point (also when daylight was good), when the coach hit a bump in the road, I would see a puff of smoke come out from under the wheels. So I pulled over and noticed the spacing between the middle and rear axle was only about 1/4 inch, while the spacing between the front and middle axle was 2 inches minimum. Again, I pushed through stopping regularly to check wear and temperature. Fortunately no tire damage as the tires only made contact with each other a handful of times, but I began the "kicking myself" wondering how I missed this issue before I changed the springs, then tonight it hit me. with the flattened springs, the axles were pushed further apart, and now with proper springs, they are pulled together.
So moments ago, I went and took some measurements, and cannot believe what I am seeing.

The axle spacing from front to middle axle is 34 inches on center, with the equalizer measuring 7 inches eye-to-eye.

The axle spacing from the middle axle to the rear is only 31 inches on center, with the equalizer only measuring 5-3/4 inches eye-to-eye.


can someone help me figure out why this is? Was looking to get the ez-flex equalizers, with wet bolts, but hell, the measurements are so funky, I don't know which size I need to buy.

Please help, I have a very long trip to Tennessee coming up soon.

[fj12ryder]

I would think the center equalizer would be the long one, which is what he measures. That is going by how mine are installed. My EZ-Flex has the long equalizer in the middle, and the short one at the rear. But my wheels are equally spaced too.

[joebedford]

I'm fairly certain that standard fixed 3 axle equalizers are not the same size as well. So my question about mixing up front and back still applies.

[smsage999]

My unit does not have the E-Z Flex equalizers on it. It does have the "standard" factory ones. I was looking to upgrade, but the axle spacing I am measuring wont work with the Dexter system....
The current equalizers are installed correctly, according to the drawings available from dexter and other axle mfg. I am just stumped and still nothing back from FR on this yet.

[joebedford]

Did someone install the equalizers in the wrong position? This is a Dexter set I put on my rig. They're not the same.

[smsage999]

taken wrote:
Steve, have you checked your Equalizers to see if your shackles are flipped?

Yes,I have checked and the shackles are not flipped.

[taken]

Steve, have you checked your Equalizers to see if your shackles are flipped?

[smsage999]

Okay, so here are the measurements from hanger to hanger.

Forward-most hanger to middle forward hanger- 29-1/2 inch center to center

Middle forward hanger to middle rear hanger - 33 inch center to center

Middle rear hanger to rearward most hanger - 29-1/2 inch center to center.

Measurements are the same on both
sides

[taken]

tmilicia wrote:


Yes, you are wrong. When the equa-flex shackles flip, the whole rear axle will move forward, significantly reducing the spacing between the middle and rear axle & tires. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...

This is exactly right. I've also fipped my Equalizers inadvertently when doing a tire swap. It won't happed when you have one side or the other still on the ground. Hang all three axles by the Level Up system and the rear equalizer will flip upside down and bring those two axles much closer. You can either lift the rig again and flip them the right way or do it the easy way. Use the front landing legs and lift the front of the trailer as high as it will go. When they flip back it's going to sound like a shot going off so get ready for some noise. This is the method I learned from a friend of mine who happens to be the plant manager at XLR. He says this happens to customers from time to time and they will get calls on it wondering what's wrong.

[fj12ryder]

smsage999 wrote:

joebedford wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

joebedford wrote:
Shouldn't the equalizers be the same dimension eye-to-eye?

They should be if the distance between axles is the same, but this trailer has different distances between the 3 axles. Dexter shows two different length equalizers, and which one you need is determined by the axle spacing.

What I don't know is if OP measured the distance between axles or axle hangers. If the wrong equalizer was put in, that would affect the distance between axles even if the hangers are the right spacing.

Also, I've had a spring shop put the wrong spring in my rig. Maybe when he got his springs replaced, they put in two different sizes.

I did the spring change out and I did not change equalizers, or shackles. Only the springs, bolts and U-Bolts. I did not measure hanger to hanger, but I will tonight. My measurements are axle center to axle center. The equalizers were measured center eye to center eye.
According to the spec sheet from Dexter, for a triple axle, the spacing from axle center to axle center should be 35 inches.

But you did say you bought the trailer used, and I was wondering if the individual you purchased it from had done some suspension work too. Perhaps badly.

[fj12ryder]

Truth be told I couldn't see much difference in distance between tires. They looked pretty much the same regardless of which way the shackles are flipped. Sorry. Pretty poorly done video if showing the difference between tires was the aim of the video.

And having that jack in the middle of the axle couldn't have been too wise either.

[tmilicia]

Check out this video for an example of what's going on.(Ignore the first 20 seconds of the video) Make sure your shackles are all flipped the correct way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQrDd4tDkv8

[tmilicia]

fj12ryder wrote:
"The axle spacing from front to middle axle is 34 inches on center, with the equalizer measuring 7 inches eye-to-eye.

The axle spacing from the middle axle to the rear is only 31 inches on center, with the equalizer only measuring 5-3/4 inches eye-to-eye."

Am I wrong or does this specify that the axle spacing is different when measuring from front to middle, and from middle to rear. This can't be explained by axle hangers flipping or improperly installed equalizers.

It will be interesting to see what Forrest River says about this situation.

Yes, you are wrong. When the equa-flex shackles flip, the whole rear axle will move forward, significantly reducing the spacing between the middle and rear axle & tires. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...

[smsage999]

joebedford wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

joebedford wrote:
Shouldn't the equalizers be the same dimension eye-to-eye?

They should be if the distance between axles is the same, but this trailer has different distances between the 3 axles. Dexter shows two different length equalizers, and which one you need is determined by the axle spacing.

What I don't know is if OP measured the distance between axles or axle hangers. If the wrong equalizer was put in, that would affect the distance between axles even if the hangers are the right spacing.

Also, I've had a spring shop put the wrong spring in my rig. Maybe when he got his springs replaced, they put in two different sizes.

I did the spring change out and I did not change equalizers, or shackles. Only the springs, bolts and U-Bolts. I did not measure hanger to hanger, but I will tonight. My measurements are axle center to axle center. The equalizers were measured center eye to center eye.
According to the spec sheet from Dexter, for a triple axle, the spacing from axle center to axle center should be 35 inches.

[fj12ryder]

Hmm, that's possible. Maybe since this is a used unit, the original buyer was the one who screwed something up. Perhaps he had the wrong springs/equalizers put on, or put them on himself. It wouldn't be the first time somebody made a big mistake and tried to make the wrong parts work.

I'm still really curious what Forrest River has to say about this.

[joebedford]

fj12ryder wrote:

joebedford wrote:
Shouldn't the equalizers be the same dimension eye-to-eye?

They should be if the distance between axles is the same, but this trailer has different distances between the 3 axles. Dexter shows two different length equalizers, and which one you need is determined by the axle spacing.

What I don't know is if OP measured the distance between axles or axle hangers. If the wrong equalizer was put in, that would affect the distance between axles even if the hangers are the right spacing.

Also, I've had a spring shop put the wrong spring in my rig. Maybe when he got his springs replaced, they put in two different sizes.