Had a spring shackle breaK last Winter while pulling into Catalina S.P. near Tucson. I was lucky to find a nearby axle place and bought a pair of shackles and bolts and was back in business in no time. The hardest thing was getting the nuts off. I recently decided to check out the other shackles for metal fatigue and boy it is a good thing I did. They were all stretched out and ready to break. Today I replaced them all. I suspect that this is a problem that is not unique to me, so I am surprised that it has received sUch little attention on this thread. My fifth wheel is pretty light but naturally it only has leaf springs but no shocks. I would think that without shocks the spring shackles take a good beating and metal fatigue would be a common problem. I would encourage everybody to check their shackles every 3 or 4 years.

I had our 2007 travel trailer springs checked out this year by a truck axle shop. The bolt holes were slightly elongated but the plastic or nylon bushings were not in too bad of shape. Our TT does have shocks which I also replaced so maybe that does help minimize wear.Dick

The shackles and equalizers are normal wear items for trailers. Some of us installed wet bolts which allow us to grease these parts and the bushings as well.

ScottG wrote:The shackles and equalizers are normal wear items for trailers. Some of us installed wet bolts which allow us to grease these parts and the bushings as well.Good upgrade.

64thunderbolt wrote:ScottG wrote:The shackles and equalizers are normal wear items for trailers. Some of us installed wet bolts which allow us to grease these parts and the bushings as well.Good upgrade.X2, and that's what I did on my old trailer. They even make heavy duty shackles that are thicker. Wet bolts are a good upgrade too.

Spring Shackles | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

Wolfman_Jacques
Explorer
Oct 25, 2014
Dexter does make heavy duty shackles but only in two lengths and not 2 9/16ths on center hole separation which is the length of my shackles. Since I did not know if using a different length shackle would change the dynamics of the suspension, I went with the standard shackle.
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2014
Dexter makes a Heavy Duty Shackle and Equalizer kit. Installed one a few years ago on the old trailer. Thicker than stock.
Learjet
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
everything you want to know about this here link............
Lynnmor
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
My shackle plates were made from 5mm thick cheap steel. They should be 1/4" thick. Also, note that the holes are punched in rather than drilled or bored. This results in a hole that is the correct size for just a short distance and is oversize the rest of the way. The bolts have very little engagement under these conditions. I scrapped the factory junk and made my own.
time2roll
Nomad
Oct 23, 2014
Not much here because it is generally covered in Travel Trailers and Fifth Wheel forums.

The shackle wears when the bolt starts to rotate in the shackle. There are splines on the bolt to prevent rotation. Bushings wear out exasperating the issue.

I recommend the Dexter wet bolt kit or the Lippert No-wear bushings.
Dexter is very heavy duty.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Oct 23, 2014
Here's my shackle thread with pictures posted back in 2012 when I upgraded to LT tires and re-did the suspension.
robatthelake
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
We too have had the experience! In My opinion the suspension parts of every Trailer should be inspected before each Trip. Same for the Braking system and Tires!
alfredmay
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
Been there, done that, replaced them myself before they broke. They do wear, whether they are supposed to or not.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2014
To be honest there is no way the shackle should wear. The spring mounting bolts should not move inside the shackle. If they don't move there should be no wear.

Sounds like yours were either loose from the nuts/bolts not being tight, or the springs seized on the bolts and spun the bolts in the shackles. Or if you had some work done and the bolts were spun in the shackles, or they came from the factory pre-spun. New bolts are splined near the head so they bite into the shackle to prevent movement.

I installed the wet bolt kit when I put on the EZ Flex suspension kit. Grease can be a wonderful thing. :) With less than 2,000 miles on the toyhauler, the nylon "bushings" were almost completely gone on several of the springs.
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2014
64thunderbolt wrote:
ScottG wrote:
The shackles and equalizers are normal wear items for trailers. Some of us installed wet bolts which allow us to grease these parts and the bushings as well.

Good upgrade.

X2, and that's what I did on my old trailer. They even make heavy duty shackles that are thicker. Wet bolts are a good upgrade too.