Are these springs still good?

[FlyStar]

We live on the east side of Tucson in Vail. We used Professional Trailer Repair, 3214 E. President St. Tucson to upgrade our suspension. Their phone number is 520-295-0316.
We had them swap out the 2800 lbs 4-leaf springs on our 2019 315 RLTS to 3500 lbs 6-leaf springs. We purchased the MORRyde SRE-4000 equalizers w/crossmember and MORRyde heavy duty shackle kit from Amazon and they installed those as well. I also had them weld end caps to the outer side of the outside spring hangers. A year later, they upgraded us to 7K axles, 8-lug hubs which led to upgraded wheels and tires. I understand his family also owns Wheel Equipment parts next door to his trailer repair shop.

Thanks for that reco. Professional Trailer was on my short list of shops to consider. Visited Arizona Spring first and they seemed very good and have all components in stock. So will give them a try. I’ll report back on the experience.

[Redapple63]

Thanks for that reco. Professional Trailer was on my short list of shops to consider. Visited Arizona Spring first and they seemed very good and have all components in stock. So will give them a try. I’ll report back on the experience.

Looking forward to seeing some pics.

Bill

[toolman.dustin]

Pics below of my 5200 lb Dexter axle/springs. Rear axle on kitchen (heavy) side of my 2021 312 BHTS which has 20K miles on it, 99% highway. I would like the thoughts and opinions off those more experienced than me.

The other 3 springs look a little bit better than this one.

Is It OK and don’t worry, or, wait until I get home (3000 miles) and do something then, or Do something right away? Thanks.

Thanks for this post. I decided to take a look at mine and sure'nuff, the rear axle springs look just like yours.

Bottom line, if you need to swap out your springs and you have upgraded your suspension with bronze bushings, you'll probably want to order new bushings before starting the job.

Two years ago I replaced my 4400 lb axles with 5200 lb axles. But I kept the 2400# leaf springs on the advice of an axle guy. He suggested going to the 3000# springs would make the ride much too stiff. Made sense to me since this was one of my concerns with going to heavier axles, I didn't want to significantly make the ride stiffer.

I ordered the new 5200 lb axles with 2400# springs. So, it turns out I have 4 spare 2400# springs (from the old axles). I just tried replacing one of the bent springs with one of my old springs and discovered a "gotcha" with the bushings!

When I replaced the axles (in 2020) I also added the Dexter EZ Flex Suspension Kit, which comes with bronze bushings to replace the nylon bushings that came installed in the spring "eyes" (see photo). Turns out, that eye is not actually round. It looks round, but it's not. The bronze bushings I installed with the EZ Flex are distorted, cracked and broken as they conformed themselves to the not-round hole. They worked ok since they conformed to the hole, but they are now coming out in pieces. I need to find new bushings.


Dustin

[Hoopy Frood]

When you press in the brass, unlikely to be bronze, bushings, they will compress and deform slightly, since as you say the holes are not completely round. That's why having a pilot is very important to keep distortion to a minimum, and a reamer to make the hole perfectly round and the proper size for clearance for the bolt and grease.

[toolman.dustin]

When you press in the brass, unlikely to be bronze, bushings, they will compress and deform slightly, since as you say the holes are not completely round. That's why having a pilot is very important to keep distortion to a minimum, and a reamer to make the hole perfectly round and the proper size for clearance for the bolt and grease.

I don't recall having difficulty installing the bushings, but, everywhere I look (dexter, amazon and etrailer) they are bronze. I wish they were brass. But, bronze, being compressed powder, does accept grease and oil and provides a much better lubricated and wear surface. So, bronze does make sense. (Dexter K7129100 Bronze Bushing Kit)

So, I have some on order and I can finish this next Friday. If I have to do this again, I'll just order 3000# springs.

Dustin

[Hoopy Frood]

Yes, you're correct, my mistake. They are bronze bushings. Oops. However I do stand by my reamer.

I think my confusion comes from the fact that some places will use the names "brass" and "bronze" almost interchangeably.

[mbarry1834]

Suggestion: https://www.roadmasterinc.com/produc...mfort_ride.php

[Hoopy Frood]

I looked at that very hard, but it was just more work, and money, than I wanted to spend. Mostly the work though.

[toolman.dustin]

When you press in the brass, unlikely to be bronze, bushings, they will compress and deform slightly, since as you say the holes are not completely round. That's why having a pilot is very important to keep distortion to a minimum, and a reamer to make the hole perfectly round and the proper size for clearance for the bolt and grease.

Reamer - that's a good idea. I'll try and locate a 11/16" reamer or maybe an 11/16" drill bit. Perhaps I can drill out the high spots on a drill press. I'll report on how that goes.

[dledb68]

We have a 2019 303RLS Reflection and the driver side leaf springs were flat, as this is the side that all the appliances are on. I upgraded the 4-leaf to 5-Leaf Double-Eye Spring for 6,000-lb Trailer Axles - 25-1/4"Long, did the work myself, one side at a time. You should also get new u-bolts sized for your axles. IF you do not already have 'wet' bolts, this would be the time to upgrade. Also, the leaf springs come with plastic bushing, and I would Highly recommend upgrading the plastic bushings to Bronze bushings. The easiest way to do the job yourself, is one side at a time. Remove the u-bolts from the axle (axles supported with jack stands) then remove and swap out the leaf springs and then re-attach the u-bolts to the leaf springs/axles. This would also be a good time to add 'sumosprings' basically a hard rubber type air bag that will greatly improve your ride. After we did all these items, our fifth did not bounce as much, things inside the RV did not move as much and it was SO much nicer going down the road. Good luck.