Rear axle leaf spring hanger snapped today

[sedonami]

I must admit, this one I did not see coming. I'm absolutely amazed that we didn't notice it happening and that we made it to our destination safely.

 

[jjbbrewer]

Glad you made it safely to where you were going.

This is not an unusual failure. With my previous trailer, I had 3 hangers break almost exactly like yours.

I pretty much hate these leaf spring suspensions and I'm going to an IS and/or air bag setup as soon as I can.

If you're just getting this fixed, see if they can install a hanger reinforcement like this on my 349M

 

[sedonami]

That's a great suggestion! I've got a mobile welder coming tomorrow to see if they can fix the problem, i'll show them a picture of your setup to see if we can replicate. Thank you!

 

[goducks14]

I don't think the issue is leaf spring suspension as much as it's Lipperts crapy welders and cheap metal.

 

[Apollo420]

This is what I did


Shakel reinforcement and sumos. I also upgraded the springs a bit (toy hauler) ride real nice and no worries of broken shackles

 

[CaptPicardo]

Ditto to Apollo but we went with the black Sumos. Love 'em!

 

[arhayes]

I don't think the issue is leaf spring suspension as much as it's Lipperts crapy welders and cheap metal.

I agree. In 6 years I’ve replaced 3 hangers. I’ll have to check into these sumos.

 

[jjbbrewer]

I don't think the issue is leaf spring suspension as much as it's Lipperts crapy welders and cheap metal.

So, this topic has been discussed to death. Here are links to some of the other threads.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/34107-Suspension-system-enhancements
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/20745-Broken-Spring-Hanger-Data
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/16679-Broken-weld-and-great-customer-service
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/19314-Broken-Spring-Hanger!

IMNSHO, the entire suspension (hangers, axles, equalizer, springs, shackles) on my 17K GVWR 349M is pathetic compared to the suspension on my 14K GVWR F-450.
Seems to me there are more inadequacies than welds and hanger metal.

 

[JCR GD]

I think this is the first report on a triple axle (yes?) what is the year and model? Thanks

 

[AZMike]

This is what I had done to mine.

 

[Petrovsky]

I have sold previous TT and am picking up 2021 2600RB this Friday. Have been looking at a lot of posts concerning this model so I have an idea of what I need to attend to. I like what you did here. Did you just weld a plate on the rear (3 sides) or did you completely redo all the weld joints and then add the plate. I notice you seem to have wet bolts installed. Did you also upgrade the equalizer and shackles. More Ryde maybe?

 

[AZMike]

I have sold previous TT and am picking up 2021 2600RB this Friday. Have been looking at a lot of posts concerning this model so I have an idea of what I need to attend to. I like what you did here. Did you just weld a plate on the rear (3 sides) or did you completely redo all the weld joints and then add the plate. I notice you seem to have wet bolts installed. Did you also upgrade the equalizer and shackles. More Ryde maybe?

I just added the welded plate on the four spring hangers, Morryde CRE3000, wet bolts with heavy duty shackles, and an X-Factor between the center hangers. With all of that work and installing Goodyear Endurance tires, the trailer now tows like a dream. No more side to side porpoising and 18 wheelers don't blow me around on the interstate anymore. I also recently installed a TRD rear sway bar on my Tundra.

 

[Petrovsky]

I just added the welded plate on the four spring hangers, Morryde CRE3000, wet bolts with heavy duty shackles, and an X-Factor between the center hangers. With all of that work and installing Goodyear Endurance tires, the trailer now tows like a dream. No more side to side porpoising and 18 wheelers don't blow me around on the interstate anymore. I also recently installed a TRD rear sway bar on my Tundra.

Since I don't have TT yet maybe you can answer a few more questions as I am definitely leaning your way. For the MorRyde did you get the CRE33 or CRE35 equalizer kit? I assume you also got the wet bolt shackles from them as well.

On the tires I assume you put the 225 as these are E rated versus the 205 as these are D rated in order to take up more load?

What does the X-factor do? Between the center hangers is this a reinforcing brace or a different equalizer? Newbie question for sure!!! Previous TT except for pop up trailers had torsion suspension (no springs).

Some posts have mentioned that the tire to undercarriage clearance is low on older 2600's and could lead to tire rubbing when going over bumps (I live in Quebec-they test suspensions on our roads)? I assume these are with the 3500# axles. Since they switched to the 4400# axles am I correct to assume that the tire to undercarriage clearance is maintained or better?

FYI - The reason for above question follows from the post below.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/18392-Imagine-2600RB-Tire-to-Floor-Clearance His springs had sagged but he also did some suspension lift as well. Likely keeping the same older axles.

Out of the gate, the curb side weight is 140lbs more than street side (according to build spec sheet). Will load up with dishes, fridge supplies, etcetera.....the differential will increase markedly. I will check this on a scale to ensure weights are reasonably distributed. I will counter some of this weight differential by loading up the two underseat storage areas with no more than a total combined weight of 150 lbs. In the end, I think that we will still end up with 150+lbs more on the curb side. This is also the side with water tank.

 

[AZMike]

Since I don't have TT yet maybe you can answer a few more questions as I am definitely leaning your way. For the MorRyde did you get the CRE33 or CRE35 equalizer kit? I assume you also got the wet bolt shackles from them as well.

On the tires I assume you put the 225 as these are E rated versus the 205 as these are D rated in order to take up more load?

What does the X-factor do? Between the center hangers is this a reinforcing brace or a different equalizer? Newbie question for sure!!! Previous TT except for pop up trailers had torsion suspension (no springs).

Some posts have mentioned that the tire to undercarriage clearance is low on older 2600's and could lead to tire rubbing when going over bumps (I live in Quebec-they test suspensions on our roads)? I assume these are with the 3500# axles. Since they switched to the 4400# axles am I correct to assume that the tire to undercarriage clearance is maintained or better?

FYI - The reason for above question follows from the post below.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/18392-Imagine-2600RB-Tire-to-Floor-Clearance His springs had sagged but he also did some suspension lift as well. Likely keeping the same older axles.

Out of the gate, the curb side weight is 140lbs more than street side (according to build spec sheet). Will load up with dishes, fridge supplies, etcetera.....the differential will increase markedly. I will check this on a scale to ensure weights are reasonably distributed. I will counter some of this weight differential by loading up the two underseat storage areas with no more than a total combined weight of 150 lbs. In the end, I think that we will still end up with 150+lbs more on the curb side. This is also the side with water tank.

CRE35, and yes on the MorRyde wetbolt/heavy duty shackle kit. Since you are buying a new 2600RB, it already has 225's on it. The X-Factor is a reinforcing bracket, you can read about it here https://www.morryde.com/products/x-factor-crossmember/. I did not purchase the drop down version, I just did this mod to clear the front grey tank dump.


I have not had any problems with tire clearance or rubbing with the 4400lb axles. The curb side will always be heavier due to the appliances and kitchen stuff (plates, utensils, etc.) being on that side. I wouldn't worry too much about the weight difference, as it's minimal and with the upgrades I've done, it's not noticeable.

 

[goducks14]

Man that sucks having to rebuild the suspension before you even travel anywhere.

 

[Petrovsky]

I agree with your comment but most TT's have marginal suspensions to say the least. As you know, tires are also a big issue as well. Here is my take on it: It's not that the manufacturers build these units for those doing 6K trips. In my opinion, they build them for weekend warriors and their families. They also need to balance quality, durability, and their profit margins (our cost).

Yes it sucks but for some of us it is more of an insurance policy AND security to modify and upgrade. We travel far and wide. Sometimes in a different country. Knowing that some of these builds are marginal we don't want to risk a very expensive breakdown if we can pre-emptively beef up the systems, at our cost and time.

I purchased this one new knowing that I would have a 5K-8K minimum upgrade budget. That is a bit less than what I sold my 2008 Jayco for.

We intend camping in state, BLM, and up to 5 star facilities in our travels. Roads to 5 star are usually pretty good but like the roads in Alaska, spare parts and a beefed up suspension are a necessity.

Just a few thoughts...and again....it sucks big time but if I wanted a cadillac, tough RV, then I would have purchased an Outdoors RV. Very robust, heavy, and requires at least a 2500 to tow.

 

[sedonami]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. I had a mobile welder come out and put new shackles on the rear axle. I also had him add a "blocking" plate as a reinforcement. Hopefully this will hold up for awhile until we're in a position to get a more robust solution in place.

 

[sedonami]

I think this is the first report on a triple axle (yes?) what is the year and model? Thanks

This is a 2018 Momentum 395M (sorry just saw your post).

 

[bobter3]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. I had a mobile welder come out and put new shackles on the rear axle. I also had him add a "blocking" plate as a reinforcement. Hopefully this will hold up for awhile until we're in a position to get a more robust solution in place.

View attachment 34374

That looks pretty robust to me. Did you do the others as a precautionary measure or just the one?

 

[sedonami]

That looks pretty robust to me. Did you do the others as a precautionary measure or just the one?

I only had the rear axle done.