Suspension Issue?

[lawnspecialties]

Not sure if I have a problem or not. I hope to start examining a little closer soon. Its pouring rain here today and for a couple of days.

I have the Equa-Flex suspension system on my Vengeance. Triple-axle and one year old. I have noticed the past few trips when we leave the house, the suspension creaks and moans like crazy. Makes me think I've gone back to the Equalizer WDH hitch but this is a fifth wheel. At the end of my driveway, I have to make a sharp turn about 70 degrees and it has a dip. So the suspension gets tested right off the start. But this weekend, we went to a local state park. The site we had required another test. A hard turn not quite 90 degrees but backing downhill as well. So as I get the Vengeance into the site but the truck is still in the road, a large part of the weight of the camper is on the passenger side wheels; especially the rear. I start to straighten up the truck but as I'm backing, the rear wheel is making a popping noise. I get out and everything seems fine and there is no extra heat coming from the wheel. The suspension is really compressed though. But that's because so much weight is toward the rear corner of the camper. I slowly continue to back up and it finally levels out and everything seems fine. Nothing looks out of place.

Today we come home and it does great. The trip is only a little over 30 miles one way but just in case, I get out before hitting the interstate to check the wheels. Again, all looks well and no unusual heat coming from any wheel.

The camper has just over 3300 miles plus whatever miles were from Indiana to the dealership in Maryland.

Has anyone had any issues like this? My concern is something unseen that could bite me traveling down the highway. My only two thoughts are 1. its normal or 2. maybe the Equa-Flex bushings are already worn out and that's what happens when they get that way.

I've been wanting to replace the bushings and use the greaseable bolts but I did think these bushings would go a little longer than the mileage I have right now.

[2naEagle]

If you decide to do the heavy duty wet bolts go ahead and put the MORryde Xfactor on while you are at it.

[Lynnmor]

My Equa-Flex had completely dry brass bushings and no way to grease them. I made a custom wet bolt with two holes for those bushings. Adding wet bolts and replacing the cheap plastic bushings in the springs is necessary for safe operation.

[tinner12002]

I went with the Dexter system with wet bolts on mine after having a broken leaf spring out on a remote hiway in SD after leaving Sturgis and heading home. I had just rebuilt the stock setup before the trip to Sturgis so everything was easy to get apart to replace spring on the side of the hiway. Now have the Dexter kit and new heavier leaf springs. Pretty smooth and quiet setup.

[Veebyes]

All kinds of nasty things can happen. I broke a center bolt just S of Calgary & did not discover what was going on till Dawson City, Yukon a thousand miles further on. Lucky me the bolt remains stayed in & I had a spare in the toolbox. An afternoon in the CG & the DW had it changed out ourselves.

Broke two spring leaves last year in Newfoundland. Terrible roads. Pot holes that could swallow a Smart car. Another CG repair.

Get underneath it & look. Look very very carefully. The noises are telling you something. You might even think of upgrading your springs by a leaf. Builders are notorious for building barely strong enough. I went from a 6 to a 7 pack & broke the bottom leaves of the 7 pack.

The last thing you need is a catastrophic failure on some remote highway. Saw a guy break a spring on a toy hauler in Alaska. Lucky him it happened right outside a truck stop & CG. New trailer. Loaded with stuff.

[WNYBob]

2X on Tucson Jim "ordered a MORryde heavy duty bronze bushing and shackle kit."

OEM bushings are usually plastic! I used Dexter heavy duty bushing and wet bolts and am happy with them so far.

[lawnspecialties]

PM sent

[TucsonJim]

I've done a lot of suspension work on the last couple of RV's I've owned. I picked up the latest (2017 Grand Design 297 RSTS) in October. It was driven 1800 miles from the factory to the dealership in Tucson. On the drive home, I noticed that the suspension was making noise.

So before taking it on the first trip, I ordered a MORryde heavy duty bronze bushing and shackle kit. I disassembled the Lippert built suspension and was aghast that they are still using the cheap plastic bushings and that some of them were completely worn out before I took my first trip. Here's one of them as an example.



I got rid of the cheap plastic parts and installed the bronze bushings, HD shackles and wet bolts. After greasing the wet bolts, I took the rig on a shake down trip and the suspension was completely quiet. Not more squeaking at all. Here's a picture of the puny Lippert components against the replacement MORryde parts:



The Lippert Equa-Flex equalizers are actually built pretty nicely. I replaced the ones on my 2014 Grand Design 337RLS FW at about 20,000 miles. When I did so, I disassembled the old ones and they were actually in pretty good shape other than some rust on the equalizer. The newer Equa-Flex equalizers are painted with yellow zinc based paint that now resists rust.

Since my 2017 TT didn't have an Equa-Flex installed, I elected to replace the metal equalizer with a MORryde CRE3000. I like the CRE3000 over the Equa-Flext because it is easy to tell if it's worn out without having to disassemble the suspension. MORryde has instuctions with the CRE3000 that shows you how to inspect it. Here's a picture on the completed installation:



Let me know if you have any questions on part selection or replacement tips.

Jim