Dexter 4000 lb leaf springs review

[Nuffsaid]

I am glad that I document some of these things that I find, because my memory is suspect at best. Here is a thread I started when I installed my disc brakes and Moreryde heavy duty shackles when my 310 was still pretty new, about a month old with the only miles on it being delivery from the factory to the dealer in Longmont, CO and me taking the trailer home to Wyoming. GD customer service was worthless on this repair, they offered to send me new bushings. Note the cracked spring bushings due to egg shaped spring eyes.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/12584-Leaf-spring-and-bushing-quality

 

[Nuffsaid]

IMO go by the instructions from Lippert/Dexter for reinforcing the hangers. I saw a completely welded reinforced hanger that had been torn off the frame, and took part of the frame with it. I think there needs to be someplace for the flex to go, otherwise it will make a place.

This is what happens when the components are undersized from the begining. These trailer frames should be .060 to .090 thicker from the start, flanges and web! If I was to design one, .250 would be minimum thickness. Same goes for spring hangers, they should be .250 and years ago that is what they were. Now I think spring hangers are only .180 or 3/16. This is why the web of the frame flexes until it fatigues and then cracks. The way these trailers are constructed, they need to be stiff and not flex, it is too easy to pull screws out of wood and aluminum, the steel frame is the foundation and needs to be solid. Adding the angle plate to the spring hangers will keep the hanger from flexing, but transfers the flex to the frame. It can only flex for so long before the steel fatigues and then breaks. Adding a crossmember from one side to the other side should significantly reduce the twisting of the frame rail by tying it together with the other side. I am thinking about using 2x2 x 3/16 angle iron to go from the outside of the spring hangers to the out side of the spring hanger on the oposite side and only welding to the spring hangers and not the frame. By tying both sides together at the hangers it will remove most of the flexing of the frame rail.
As far as following Lippert's recommendation, think about this: Lippert's engineers designed spring hangers that are too weak to do the job at task, then their engineers design a fix. If the frames were designed properly from the start most of these issues wouln't be there and we wouldn't be having this discussion. Northwood is one manufacturer that I know of that designs their RV frames correctly. They use much heavier I beams and install full length gussets over each spring hanger that goes from bottom flange to top flange to keep the flanges from flexing. Unlike Lippert that uses a small piece of flat bar that goes from the bottom flange to the web at a 45 degree angle and while this better than nothing, it is as my late dad would have said, HALF A** at best.

 

[Nuffsaid]

Here are some photos of the spring eyes on the new Dexter springs:

The photo of the caliper shows .740 at measured at the deepest part of the out of round section. Spring eye should be .660

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Probably should save that file/photo as a .jpeg or the like.

 

[Nuffsaid]

New springs are in! I used a 9/16 drill bit to to clean up the inside of the bushings. A few were a little tight, but overall I think this trick will work. I removed the springs that have been in the 310 for about 5 years and I was happy to see that all of the bushings looked pretty good! I have been greasing with Red and Tacky and I don't see any reason to change at this point.
I received an email from Etrailer offering to give me a 10% discount on my springs since the eyes weren't round. I thanked him and accepted. The rep at Etrailer told me the reason the spring eyes weren't perfectly round is because they are shipped with nylon bushings. I told him that GD ships what I believe to be the same spring with bronze bushings and round eyes. I also asked him if Dexter had the same spring available with bronze bushings direct from the manufacturer.
I would like to say everything went as planned, but I had one of those SENIOR moments. I ordered my 9 inch long ubolts in 1/2 inch going off of my memory instead of the 9/16 they needed to be. I was already committed when the brown truck showed up today with 8 of the wrong ubolts. I am probably out of luck to return them because they were probably custome made when I ordered them from General Spring. I did send them an email to see if I could exchange them. So I will have to reorder. For now I removed the washers on the top plate and was able to get 90% of a full nut on the ubolts with the new springs. I torqued the ubolts evenly and they will work until I get the replacement ubolts. I really wanted to add a one inch block to try and level the trailer with my truck. I will check it tomorrow and see how level it sits with just the springs. I inspected all of my spring hangers and they all looked good with no evidence of cracks starting. I think I will purchase some angle iron tomorrow to reinforce the spring hangers. It would be nice if the snow and ice on my slab would evaporate because I really don't feel like laying in water to weld up the braces. I think I am going to weld a piece of angle iron from the outer spring hanger to the outer spring hanger on the opposite side. I will leave the angle iron long enough to go past the outer vertical part of the spring hanger on each side so I can get a good filet weld there and also on the inside of the spring hanger. I am not planning on welding the angle iron to the trailer frame because the coroplast is in the way and I don't think it is necessary. Simply tying the two sides together should stiffen up the spring hangers. I will do this in three locations, rear, center and front.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Won't welding angle iron across the bottom of the trailer interfere when you need to lower the coroplast? I figured that was why Morryde went with bolt-on cross bracing.

 

[Nuffsaid]

Won't welding angle iron across the bottom of the trailer interfere when you need to lower the coroplast? I figured that was why Morryde went with bolt-on cross bracing.

You are correct, but after lowering the coroplast a couple of weeks ago hopefully I won't be in there again for a while. I would still be able to drop the coroplast and access the fresh water tank again if I had to replace the tank heater too. The other thing is that if I needed to remove the braces I could take sawzall and cut the brace out and then reweld it. There is a reason that a welder always has a torch, LOL. I am a bigger fan of welding rather than bolting. Bolts get coroded or they loosen up. The Moreryde brace is a universal type brace with slots, I am not a fan.

 

[Nuffsaid]

One other thing I forgot to mention when I started this thread was the springs I purchased from E trailer are 24 7/8 inches long. The factory Solitude springs are 25 1/4 long. I never could find a 4000 lb spring that was 25 1/4. They are all either 24 7/8 or 26. Basically the front axle moved forward 3/16 and the rear axle moved rearward 3/16 of an inch. I don't think it will be an issue. Shackle angles on the equalizers look good, they have enough angle to have a good range of motion. I am curious if the springs that GD sent out to people are 25 1/4 or 24 7/8?

 

[Hoopy Frood]

The 4,000 lb. springs I bought for my Momentum were 24 7/8", also the length for the OEM springs. Where did you get the length of 25 1/4"? The reason you see two different lengths for the springs, is that not everyone lists the measurements the same way: some list loaded length and some list unloaded length, so you end up with 24 7/8" and 26". Which can be confusing, because you definitely don't want 26" unloaded length. There seems to be no standard way of listing spring length, eye-to-eye.

 

[Nuffsaid]

The 4,000 lb. springs I bought for my Momentum were 24 7/8", also the length for the OEM springs. Where did you get the length of 25 1/4"? The reason you see two different lengths for the springs, is that not everyone lists the measurements the same way: some list loaded length and some list unloaded length, so you end up with 24 7/8" and 26". Which can be confusing, because you definitely don't want 26" unloaded length. There seems to be no standard way of listing spring length, eye-to-eye.

I went off of the spring specs on every website I could find. Never could find a 25 1/4 4000 lb spring. The factory springs on my 310gk are 25 1/4. Since equalizers come in many different lengths too, I wasn't too worried about it. It only amounts to 3/16 on either side of the spring and the shackles lean a little more but not a big deal. I do find it strange that the spring pad hole on the axle is over sized. The round part of the spring center bolt is very slopply. I ended up letting the nut end engage with the spring pad. I am still waiting on my new proper sized u bolts to show up and I am going to add a 1 inch lift block to help level the trailer to my truck. I am hoping that the new springs gave me another inch of lift too.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Do the specs for the springs for the 310GK state 25 1/4"? Or is that from actual measurement? When you write of the "spring pad hole on the axle", I take it you're referring to the locating pin/hole on the axles that centers the spring? Seems odd that it isn't a fairly snug fit. All of mine fit well, pretty much had to be dead on when putting the springs in place, not any room for error.

 

[Nuffsaid]

Do the specs for the springs for the 310GK state 25 1/4"? Or is that from actual measurement? When you write of the "spring pad hole on the axle", I take it you're referring to the locating pin/hole on the axles that centers the spring? Seems odd that it isn't a fairly snug fit. All of mine fit well, pretty much had to be dead on when putting the springs in place, not any room for error.

Typically spring hanger pad holes should be a snug fit because this locates the axle on the spring and if the hole is oversized the axle can end up being out of alignment. I have made my own replacement center bolts for springs for years. Usually the round part of the spring center bolt faces the axle pad hole. The position of the bolt in the spring depends on whether the axle is spring over or spring under. The new dexter springs were set up for spring under, so I clamped the leaves together and removed the center bolt on the first spring. Well the nut stripped because the end of the center bolt was damaged and the bolt and nut are soft. I ended up cutting the nut off and found the threads on the bolt were metric and in a size I don't have. So, I took a grade 5 3/8 bolt and rounded the head on a grinder and tested it in the spring perch. At least a 5/8" hole, way too loose. So then I took a 3/8 nut and checked it for fit in the spring perch and it was a good fit. So I installed nut down on the other springs and bolt head down on the 3/8 bolt but I didn't grind the flats. Now it's time to cut up some 1 inch plate on my band saw to use as lift blocks and wait for my new ubolts to show up, probably next week sometime.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Thanks for the explanation. Much appreciated.

 

[Nuffsaid]

Thanks for the explanation. Much appreciated.

Since my 310gk uses lippert axles and springs, there could be a difference from your model year because yours probably has dexter.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Nope, mine had the Lippert Equaflex. Flimsy excuse for a equalizer. Rubbers were shot, glad to be rid of it.

 

[Nuffsaid]

Nope, mine had the Lippert Equaflex. Flimsy excuse for a equalizer. Rubbers were shot, glad to be rid of it.

That is the equalizer, but what about your axles, are they Lippert or Dexter? my Equaflex still looked ok, the bushings were still acceptable and the rubbers were ok. I have seen some photos of Equalflex units that had pretty crappy looking welds that failed. Mine are acceptable. Funny thing is that when replacing cushioned equalizers none of them have all of the same dimensions. Some are taller between holes, some are shorter, some are longer and some are shorter.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

TBH, I don't remember if they are Lippert or Dexter axles. Possibly Lippert due to the Equaflex equalizers installed.

 

[440scout]

Following this thread.

 

[powerscol]

TBH, I don't remember if they are Lippert or Dexter axles. Possibly Lippert due to the Equaflex equalizers installed.

That's easy to find out. On the back of the axle tube is a tag with the manufacturer axle information. Get a picture of both and send it to the manufacturer and ask for the build sheet. That sheet will have all the parts listed that went into the build and the axle dimensions.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Yeah, I know about the axle tag, but the trailer is at the storage place and don't know off the top of my head what brand they were. I've probably seen the tag, but can't remember whose they are. Considering they had those lousy Lippert Equaflex equalizers, I'm leaning toward Lippert 7,000 lb. rated axles. I'll have to do some checking at some point I imagine.