Matching Springs to Load Carried

[KevinP]

Pat,

I have read through those posts.

If things start looking iffy I will add the X-Factor bracing. At the moment I've not had issues on those and the spare tire is in the path of where the brace would go.

In the paperwork it states that the center brace is required to be installed for the warranty to be in effect.

[Gyro Gearloose]

Pat,

In the paperwork it states that the center brace is required to be installed for the warranty to be in effect.

Bummer on the spare tire.

Didn't know about the warranty thing. Thanks!

Pat

[webpilot]

I

George or Paul.... have your axles been adjusted (with correct track or not) so the wheel are the same distance apart?

I had the axles aligned before the SRE4000 install, but not after. We have put 10-15 K miles on since then with no noticable wear.

George

[Cate&Rob]

And as expected with the Correct Track adjusters all in the neutral location, the left side wheels are still closer together than the right.... by 1/2 inch. I'm thinking that with the 1/2in difference in spacing that the axles are not parallel to each other and the tires are slightly out of alignment.

Hi Kevin,

I have exactly that 1/2" tire-to-tire difference from one side to the other with Correct Track adjusters in the neutral position . . . since new. I was (am) very tempted to try and dial this difference out with the Correct Track . . . but two sets of tires across more than 24,000 miles are all wearing evenly. I am faced with that old dilemma . . . "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!".

Rob

[camper1013]

Kevin,

Thanks for your post. I also have a 323 and noticed that the kitchen side sits lower. Kind of obvious it would be when you think of how much weight is on that side of the trailer.

My just got my unit in January so haven't even had it out for a trip yet. The wet bolts that are in mine are rusted up and wont take grease so my thought is changing them out and doing this work all at once. The last owner didn't do much for maintenance, so who know what I will find. I just have to figure out how to tell the wife we need to spend more money on the trailer. I just want to avoid any issues, and we should have this rig for a while.

Did you jack the entire trailer up to do this, or can you do it one side at a time?

[KevinP]

Camper1013,

I didn't want to wrestle the axles around with any weight on them. I put the entire trailer on jack stands (12 ton). I didn't lift the entire trailer off the wheels to get it on the stands. I lowered the front until I could get the rear stands in about 18" behind the wheels and on the beam. Raised the front so the trailer was about tow height and setting on the rear stands. Set the front stands on the beam near the landing gear, then retracted the landing gear until the weight was on the stands.

Rob,

So even with the stiffer spring on the left you have the difference... interesting.

Not being the original owner I don't know how many miles were on the factory tires. I know we put about 2500 miles on them. Replaced last year and only put 2500 on the new ones, yeah we stay close. So unless there was something really wrong I don't think I'd see any wear issues.

I too use the Fastway OneStep chocks.... that is how I really notice the difference... have to set the units up differently for that side.

Feeling the same... if its been working so far do I really need to mess with it.

Kevin

[Paul & Deb]

George or Paul.... have your axles been adjusted (with correct track or not) so the wheel are the same distance apart?

No, I haven't touched my correct track since new and my wheels remain exactly 35" apart (measured center of wheel to center of wheel).

[MidwestCamper]

Well I'm late to the party (been head down trying to get property insurance again in Calif., Stinking Calif. Fires!)

Did some dry camping after Vegas Rally, full water tank etc., and had no issues with tire rub or being out of level, so the 3K springs on the drivers side of my 303 did their job. Also still seems to sit level after being pounded to death on the nasty California roads.

Because X Factor was brought up I thought I would provide my thoughts on the forces. When you turn sharply, the axles move in opposite direction latterly, so the the side loading on the center hanger is basically nullified, so less side loading on the center hangers (probably why you don't see them break often). So the end hangers are the ones seeing most of the side loading and probably why they are the ones that break more often. Just my opinion, but if I were to install X Factor, I would do them on the outside hangers.

So I don't hijack this thread, here some links associated to the subject of spring hangers that will keep you busy for awhile (if you care ):
https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...Spring-Hanger!
https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...n-Modification (This project will hopefully get installed in the next month or so.)

Pat

Pat,

I have a video of my Imagine on a deliberate and severe turn on pavement and the axles do cancel out the forces. However on induced sway, there are forces applied to the center hanger in the same direction from both axles where the entire frame is flexing. Its best to look closely on a full screen where this can be seen starting at 2.06s. Hover the mouse over the CRE3000 and the lateral motion becomes very clear.
I installed the x factor bracket to help prevent the lateral rotation of the center hangers and will capture another video when I get out on our first trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RhEKItnjCY

[Gyro Gearloose]

Pat,

I have a video of my Imagine on a deliberate and severe turn on pavement and the axles do cancel out the forces. However on induced sway, there are forces applied to the center hanger in the same direction from both axles where the entire frame is flexing. Its best to look closely on a full screen where this can be seen starting at 2.06s. Hover the mouse over the CRE3000 and the lateral motion becomes very clear.
I installed the x factor bracket to help prevent the lateral rotation of the center hangers and will capture another video when I get out on our first trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RhEKItnjCY

Oh cool, you posted it again. Got to watch it on my laptop. Still a bit hard to see. I was looking at where your steps are and if the camera could be mounted there sometime then a closeup of the actions could be viewed. But now with the X Factor probably not worth much.

I agree with you on the induced sway. My impression is that the bending is far worse in the sharp turns.

BTW, where you drinking before the video? You seemed to be swerving a lot! Ha ha ha.......

[MidwestCamper]

Oh cool, you posted it again. Got to watch it on my laptop. Still a bit hard to see. I was looking at where your steps are and if the camera could be mounted there sometime then a closeup of the actions could be viewed. But now with the X Factor probably not worth much.

I agree with you on the induced sway. My impression is that the bending is far worse in the sharp turns.

BTW, where you drinking before the video? You seemed to be swerving a lot! Ha ha ha.......

Pat,
I brought this up on a desktop monitor and there is no motion in the hangers on the sharp turn. There is significant motion on both center hangers in the induced sway where all the forces are in the same lateral direction. I position the mouse at the CRE3000 and relative to this you will see the hanger bending over. Of course the frame is also in motion to accommodate this bending. This drive was after some nice bourbon so I was driving pretty straight....kidding. I wasn't sure how aggressive I would need to get where it ended up requiring a lot. I still believe the x factor on the center hanger along with your pan hard bar for the heavier rigs would work nicely together. For the light weight Imagine, the bracket will most likely be enough to stabilize the frame and hangers.