F-53 suspension sagging on passenger side

[jerseyjim]

2001 Ford 5-53 (33 footer). The passenger side seems to sag about 1.5 to 2 inches. Investigating, sup-pliers tell me this is a "known problem" and there seems to be 3 fixes for this.

1- air bags

2- spacer blocks

3- spring spacers (spring steel that can be adjusted to proper height)

The air bags are, quite frankly, expensive.

The spacer blocks would work, but suppliers like SD truck springs say that springs on my unit are 4 inches wide...and they only have 3 inch wide blocks, so that wouldn't work.

The spring steel spacers would work..they are thinner and can therefore be adjusted for correct height. (truckspring.com)

Anybody do any of this? Any comments? Suppliers? Cost?

[Pirate1]

senior-cit wrote:
We own a Winnebago Adventurer 37F with the driver side slide full length. It also has the 4 door "refer", washer/dryer, generator, and a pantry that BH seems to over-fill. On level ground, it has a noticeable sag towards the driver side. Weight distribution goes out the window with Winnebago Ind.. Guess the spacer blocks will be installed. As a former tool maker, a piece of cake, except "U bolts" may present a problem.

My shop found new u bolts needed for the new size without any problems. I suspect any truck repair place should be able to find them easily.

[senior-cit]

We own a Winnebago Adventurer 37F with the driver side slide full length. It also has the 4 door "refer", washer/dryer, generator, and a pantry that BH seems to over-fill. On level ground, it has a noticeable sag towards the driver side. Weight distribution goes out the window with Winnebago Ind.. Guess the spacer blocks will be installed. As a former tool maker, a piece of cake, except "U bolts" may present a problem.

[427435]

Pirate wrote:

427435 wrote:

Pirate wrote:
My truck repair place used spacer blocks to even mine out sideways and lift the front. I was nervous going this route but am glad now we did instead of air bags. It didn't take them long to do it with new center bolts and shackle bolts.

The reason MH's sag is that the springs are either not up to the load and are taking a set. Adding spacers does nothing to solve that permanently. The problem will eventually come back.

Increasing the spring capacity with added air bags is a permanent fix.

My front end was not overweight. I would like to know how the front springs on a 2006 chassis can be worn.

There's a difference between wearing out and sagging. If the springs on your MH were the same LH and RH and one side was lower than the other---------------there was more weight on that side. More weight means you need a stronger spring on that side, which is what adding an air bag would do.

[Pirate1]

427435 wrote:

Pirate wrote:
My truck repair place used spacer blocks to even mine out sideways and lift the front. I was nervous going this route but am glad now we did instead of air bags. It didn't take them long to do it with new center bolts and shackle bolts.

The reason MH's sag is that the springs are either not up to the load and are taking a set. Adding spacers does nothing to solve that permanently. The problem will eventually come back.

Increasing the spring capacity with added air bags is a permanent fix.

My front end was not overweight. I would like to know how the front springs on a 2006 chassis can be worn.

[C-Leigh_Racing]

Yep, a leaf spring will do that, has done it on every car & truck ever made that used leaf springs.
So, how long will an air bag last, that will solve the listing problem during its life span & how hard is air bags to replace compared to replacement of leaf springs.

Knowing what a tool feels like in my hands & how much work it would be for either, I would choose the air bags any day to replace over a leaf spring replacement.
Neil

[427435]

Pirate wrote:
My truck repair place used spacer blocks to even mine out sideways and lift the front. I was nervous going this route but am glad now we did instead of air bags. It didn't take them long to do it with new center bolts and shackle bolts.

The reason MH's sag is that the springs are either not up to the load and are taking a set. Adding spacers does nothing to solve that permanently. The problem will eventually come back.

Increasing the spring capacity with added air bags is a permanent fix.

[Pirate1]

My truck repair place used spacer blocks to even mine out sideways and lift the front. I was nervous going this route but am glad now we did instead of air bags. It didn't take them long to do it with new center bolts and shackle bolts.

[427435]

Mine was lower on the passenger side and low in total on the rear. I solved mine with air bags with 100 psi on passenger side and 50 psi on driver side. Put them on myself. Not hard to do but get some Kobalt bits.

[jerry8mm]

All of the solutions described sound cheaper than the way I did it. My 2002 Ford chassis (34 ft. Class A) was a good 2 inches low on the passenger side.

I spent almost $2,000 and replace both the front and rear leaf springs on that side. That fixed the problem, but it looks like there were lower cost opptions that I didn't know about.

[dougrainer]

sch911 wrote:
It really sounds like your coach is heavy on one side. There is no "known" problem with the F53 chassis where they lean to one side. IMHO if you can balance the weight out better by moving things around that's your first option. Next would be the Ride Right Air Bags. Good luck....

Well, how do YOU know it is NOT a known problem? I KNOW it is true because I have been in the RV selling and service business for 35 years. The Ford chassis are built on by the OEM's. Sometimes a weak spring will allow that corner to sag down. As I stated, when that happens the OEM or Ford pays to re-arc or add a new leaf spring under warranty. The CORRECT fix is to do that, not add aftermarket air bags. So if out of warranty, the Rv'er must pay. If I had my own Ford chassis RV and it sagged, this is what I would do. Doug

[Mike___Fran]

My 02 had same problem. Rear slide, propane tank and basement air all on the right rear!!! I went with Firestone air bags and problem solved. I keep 90 psi on right and 40 on left, and the bags sure help on sway of M/Home..Have had them on for 10 yrs and no problems. Good luck...

[Golden_HVAC]

Some manufactures are "Known" to overload one side of the RV or the other.

Ford did not overload the chassis, or build it crooked. With time, the owner might have put more weight on one side or the other, and the springs weakened over time. .

Like someone stated, you can make a spring block of your own with some 4" wide steel, 1/4" thick, and say 10" long. Put one of these under each spring where it is sagging, and it will lift the factory springs. Race car drivers do this to their RV's all the time, then overload the heck out of the chassis by towing a extremely heavy trailer!

But the first step is to get side to side weights, with the fresh water tank with the 'normal' amount of water that you carry, and put about 5 each 1 gallon water containers in the refrigerator to simulate weight of food in there. Full or at least 3/4 full fuel tank too.

If your side to side weight are off by only 300 pounds, you will be fine, and not indicate the source of the problem. If more than say 600 pounds side to side, or one tire is overloaded, it indicates the problem.

Good luck!

Fred.

[Viewfinder]

Totally agree with sch911. My 2003 had ride rites on the rear axle and helped in many ways. The F-53 needs to have enough weight forward to hold proper caster.
If not, it becomes hard to drive. Set up in range (caster) and you can drive with one finger(not that you should). Seems to me I used to run about 65#.

jim

[sch911]

It really sounds like your coach is heavy on one side. There is no "known" problem with the F53 chassis where they lean to one side. IMHO if you can balance the weight out better by moving things around that's your first option. Next would be the Ride Right Air Bags. Good luck....