Worn/broken spring shackles-word of warning

[donajohn]

If your rig is more than a few years old, crawl underneath and inspect the shackles that attach to the ends of your leaf springs. Check all the brackets for wear. I just replaced a sheared off spring shackle, and all three others which were either cracked or worn oblong. Pretty scary to think if the cracked one had sheared off also.
My rig is a 2007 Mountaineer 5th wheel. I'll be inspecting the underside at least yearly. (Yes, I know I should have been doing this all along.)

[joebedford]

I did it on my driveway.

[Allworth]

You can use a 6" C-clamp to press the bushings into the spring eyes. Just be sure it is perpendicular to the face of the spring eye as it starts in.

[Veebyes]

Most of the money spent on the trailer since 2009 has been on the running gear. Equaflex spring hangers & wet bolts all round. Replaced springs from 6 to 7 stack. Renengineered all spring hanger areas on frame making it much stronger. Have Correct Track system in hand ready to install.

We run around 15,000 miles a year. Riding on confidence is important.

[huron52]

When I had the wet bolts installed two years ago they were loose in the spring eye. That was in the fall. The next spring last year I replaced all four springs with heavier rated springs. When they replaced the springs they noticed one of the axles were cracked. They wielded it. May very soon replace the axles. With the new heavier rated springs it sits higher and level. Why oh why to they produce so much junk right out of the factory?

[C_Schomer]

I don't know what it is about plastic bushings. I had a 98 Sunnybrook that was 9 years old and had a bunch of miles on it before I replaced the springs and the old bushings were good for at least another 9 years but a lot of the newer stuff doesn't last 2 years. There's nylon and delrin but I think some of these springs have some cheap material that shouldn't be in there. A friend with a Cedar Creek was chewing up tires in one trip from the Mi UP to Yuma Az and the problem was worn bushings and shackles. A shop in Yuma did the repairs and that was the only problem... no bent axle. Craig

[ACZL]

I installed a Equa-Flex & wet bolt kit in driveway 5 years ago. Like fj12 said, bit of a pain but doable. I borrowed 4 HD jackstands from work and rested the frame in them after I removed the tires. Stands were on top of 2 6x6's x 2' for all for "corners". Used a neighbors vice to "press" in the wet bolts into parts of the Equa-Flex due to bolts having serrated edges near the head of them. Make sure the grease holes in bolt are either in the 3 or 9 o'clock position when installing ALL of them (mark w/ a Sharpie marker on head). Overall, took a few hours to do. Factory bushings ere toast and we didn't travel far w/ coach up to that point. Not sure how long the bronze bushings will last, but like others have said, the new hardware is much beefier than factory. I've ordered online 6 new wet bolts just in case as I have to lower the susp in order to raise the rear of the RV due to new truck.

Biggest thing I can think of is to make sure you have jackstands capable of supporting the weight of the coach. Fortunately I work for a trucking company and was able to borrow theirs from shop for the weekend. Did it myself, but a helper would be useful.

[fj12ryder]

If you've traveled more than a few thousand miles the nylon bushings they put in at the factory are probably already gone. 🙂

They are easy to drive out, and FWIW I installed my EZ-Flex kit w/wetbolts in my driveway. It's kind of a pain, and you'll need the proper tools and several jacks. But not too horrible, and if you have a modicum of mechanical ability you should be able to manage it.

[Cougarnewbie]

Just curious. How hard is it to drive out old bushings? Can I install a new kit in the driveway?
Thanks

[C-Bears]

I torque my lug nuts every few months plus crawl under my axles and inspect everything at the same time. With the roads like they are in this country our rigs take a pretty good beating.

[Hvyhauler]

elkhorn98 wrote:
It is such a joke that the manufacturers put such junk on their trailers. I also replaced mine with the Dexter ez flex, shackles, and wet bolts.

X2 I replaced mine June of 2009 with the Dexter K71-653-00 EZ Flex wet bolt/shackle kit. Caught it before too much damage was done,the cheap plastic oem bushings were already worn through... on a 2007 Mountaineer.

Cheap suspension components and cheap junk ST tires made a great towing experience for our rig.

[bkick]

When I changed to the Dexter system I also found that the eyes in the leaf springs were worn so badly that I replaced them. Since I had to replace them I also went with a little higher rated spring with a little more arch. What an improvement in the ride and a lot less bounce.

bkick

[laknox]

FWIW, every wet bolt kit I've looked at comes with new, heavier, shackles.

Lyle

[elkhorn98]

It is such a joke that the manufacturers put such junk on their trailers. I also replaced mine with the Dexter ez flex, shackles, and wet bolts.

[donajohn]

The wear pattern was similar where the holes for the bolts were stretched. But in one case both shackles were sheared right through. Another was cracked.
Next time I replace I'll look for something like Houstonstroker's. I especially like that rubber cushiony thing.

[Learjet]

my old trailer after @ 20,000 miles