At Home Installation of Shock Absorbers, Shackles, and Wet Bolt Complete

[Hoopy Frood]

Okay, that's the same system Happy Frood referenced where he said he was not impressed. But it does appear on eTrailer that they have all the variations that should fit. I'd check there instead of Amazon as it appears they have a better price, and they have chat or phone if you have questions. If my shocks work as I hope, I might suggest spending a little more on those rather than the equalizers. But I'll post an update after we take our next trip to share how it performs.

No, I do like the Dexter EZ Flex equipment, but not the Lippert Equaflex equipment. I've found it cheaper than Etrailer too, but they are good people to work with. We had a slight glitch with the last order I placed with them, but it all worked out in the end.

Yeah, no free shipping to Canada. Bummer.

[Easycamper]

By coincidence I’m partway through an installation of the Comfort Ride Shocks myself. Tie plates are done. I decided to do all the tie plates first then come back and locate and drill the frame brackets.

Like you say, no need to remove the wheels. Good to know about the long drill bit vs short. I was going to use a short one with my angle drill but I’ll go get a long drill bit tomorrow.

[Riverbug]

Do a search around for that part, and save yourself $100. I just bought the Dexter K71-653-00, for 35" axles spacing, and it was $339. The place I bought mine from showed $319 for the DEXTER-K71-652-00. Free shipping, and an added plus: no sales tax. It's usually pretty easy to beat Amazon's prices.

That kit should work for your trailer depending on the length of your springs. I've used them before and they are a high quality, strong piece of kit.

Didn't you say you were not impressed with the Dexter's? Or, were you referring to the Lippert OEM parts? I may have misunderstood...

[Riverbug]

By coincidence I’m partway through an installation of the Comfort Ride Shocks myself. Tie plates are done. I decided to do all the tie plates first then come back and locate and drill the frame brackets.

Like you say, no need to remove the wheels. Good to know about the long drill bit vs short. I was going to use a short one with my angle drill but I’ll go get a long drill bit tomorrow.

I didn't have a short enough 5/16" drill bit so I had to cut mine as some instructions suggest. The cut bit did not work well because the spirals do not sit perfectly straight when the jaws are tightened so it made a slightly larger hole. The long bit was at a slight angle for a couple of the holes but that didn't cause any trouble for the self tapping bolts. So, I say save the trouble and get the long bit if you can.

[Hoopy Frood]

Didn't you say you were not impressed with the Dexter's? Or, were you referring to the Lippert OEM parts? I may have misunderstood...

I could have been confusing, I'm accused of that quite frequently. But yes, I am impressed with the quality and strength of the Dexter parts. I haven't taken the Lippert Equaflex equalizers off yet, but they look very perished. I'll know more after they're off and I can look at them closely. But the overall impression of the Lippert equalizers is not favorable.

[Tigger1]

@Riverbug

Thanks for the update. Once you get a few trips and provide feedback it will help others coming along who may be considering the same set up, shocks as opposed to equalizers.

This is our 3rd camping season with the Dexter EZ Flex K71-653-00 Kit. Since this trailer is the first we’ve owned with leaf springs and our first suspension upgrade, I don’t have anything else to compare it with.

I originally wanted MORryde cre3000 but was told by their CS it wouldn’t work with our equalizer hanger (there are now other members here who have installed it). That said, I’m happy with the Dexter EZ Flex. I can feel the pot holes smooth out more and so far, don’t see any deterioration. Hope that continues. I did pay a local RV shop to install the kit.

PS - forgot to mention the other reason I wanted to upgrade was due to the OEM nylon bushings. I’ve read here and elsewhere that they may last a season.

[Hoopy Frood]

Shoot, the OEM nylong bushings probably won't last the length of the trip from the factory.

[Riverbug]

Shoot, the OEM nylong bushings probably won't last the length of the trip from the factory.

I imagine there are a lot of units out there with shackle bolts wearing metal on metal right now. I never gave any consideration to those bolts in our previous trailers; I guess they survived years on the road so the new one probably would be just fine without the upgrade too. But I feel better knowing it's done now. And I am really hoping the shocks will help reduce fatigue on the leaf springs over the coming years.

[Hoopy Frood]

When I changed our old trailer's equalizers out to the Dexter EZ Flex, the plastic, excuse me nylon, bushings were shot, and this was after less than 2,000 miles. Many OEM suspension components are pretty poor.

[Riverbug]

By coincidence I’m partway through an installation of the Comfort Ride Shocks myself. Tie plates are done. I decided to do all the tie plates first then come back and locate and drill the frame brackets.

Like you say, no need to remove the wheels. Good to know about the long drill bit vs short. I was going to use a short one with my angle drill but I’ll go get a long drill bit tomorrow.

This may be too late but thought I would clarify that the drill length I cut to was just under 3" and that just fit the tightest bolt hole placements needed. If you can find a 5/16" drill bit with 3" overall length, that would work - I just couldn't find one that short. A regular length bit will work on several of the holes too so good to have that available. It's just some holes will need either the short or long bit. Hope that helps.