Another Lippert Axle issue

[gossamar]

You guys got me wondering as well, so I went and checked mine, only found 1 that I considered loose. I snugged that one up, then did the lockwasher/grade 8 double nut thing someone mentioned in the early parts of this thread. Probably overkill, but you can never be to safe....

[pulpwood007]

Throughout this thread did I miss the recommended torque settings for the nuts on the U bolts?? what might they be?

[fixit5561]

I have Alko axles and the owners manual says to torque the ubolts, if they are 1/2" to 45 minimum and 60 maximum.



I also did a search online and found various sites that addressed the torque and most were right around that.



Myself I have mine torqued to 65 ftlbs as after all the research I did I came to the conclusion that 65 was good for me and I felt comfortable at that because most other sites I seen said to put them around 65 ftlbs



The manual also says to check all suspension components atleast every 6 months or 6000 miles.Edited by: fixit5561

[Ridgeman]

The Lippert manual says: U-bolts 45 to 70 Ft-lbs, Shackle bolts 30- 50 ft-lbs. I use 65 on the U-bolts and 50 on the shackle bolts.

[Jersey Guy]

Mine was out at the dealer in May, had to have all the springs re-banded as the rear axle springs shifted. I was having issues also with my u-bolt nuts getting loose. $580.00 bill later from the dealer and we shall see!!!

[rv-bob]

See you guys got a similar problem that I have. We were coming back home late June traveling the miserable I-94 through Indiana. After hitting a bunch of bad road and construction I noticed my trailer leaning to one side. I have a Montana 37' 5th wheel. So we stopped at the local RV dealer in Wisconsin where I bought it. The mechanic found that the right rear spring shackle had broken and sent the springs crashing into the frame and separating where the Moryde rubber shock is in the middle of the springs. Upon further inspection they also found the left shackle had cracks. A whole new set of shackles were made by a fabricating company, new Moryde shocks and all hardware ordered and installed. It took over two weeks to fix. When I did get it home, I found that one tire had rubbed into the frame causing it to separate down to the metal ply and two other tires had scrubbed off the tread entirely. In the mean time I'm calling Keystone, as it's a known problem, they take no action, instead forwarding me to Lippert, who in turn basically said the burden of proof was up to me to prove that I didn't break them intentionally. Guess that's what we do with our rigs is to go out and break them so we can fight with the manufacturers. Anyway, Lippert says they need picture proof that the springs were broken and my RV dealer neglected to do that, so for now I'm hung out to dry by Keystone and Lippert. Going through the Rockies this fall and am sure glad it happened now and not then. I wonder if Lippert is the only manufacturer out there that is making inferior frames or if there's a better manufacturer out there that I might buy my next 5er from.

[Canucklehead]

I just had the trailer in at the local suspension shop to have it raised 3 inches to allow for more clearance at the bed rails. They were also going to add a wet bolt kit as the nylon bushings were shot.
When i picked it up I noticed that they had replaced the Equa-flex with standard Dexter spring hangers. I asked the tech about it and he indicated that the original hangers were bent to such a degree that they could not be reused. I told him that the trailer was still under warranty (less than a year old) and that I would make a claim through Crossroads. Turns out that the shop who did the work was the authorized repair shop so they contacted Lippert directly and were told that this is a common problem. Lippert is sending the new parts but will not cover the labor. The suspension shop is picking up the tab to make up for not telling me of the problem before they put on the Dexter parts.
This might be something for all of you to look out for.

[fixit5561]

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

I just had the trailer in at the local suspension shop to have it raised 3 inches to allow for more clearance at the bed rails. They were also going to add a wet bolt kit as the nylon bushings were shot.
When i picked it up I noticed that they had replaced the Equa-flex with standard Dexter spring hangers. I asked the tech about it and he indicated that the original hangers were bent to such a degree that they could not be reused. I told him that the trailer was still under warranty (less than a year old) and that I would make a claim through Crossroads. Turns out that the shop who did the work was the authorized repair shop so they contacted Lippert directly and were told that this is a common problem. Lippert is sending the new parts but will not cover the labor. The suspension shop is picking up the tab to make up for not telling me of the problem before they put on the Dexter parts.
This might be something for all of you to look out for.

So your Equaflex was bent? Is that what happened? If so I maybe bummed I just put the Equaflex on my trailer this spring. They were different then the ones I seen online though. The color was different on mine it was all silver in color, not gold toned.



Was your equaflex that got bent the gold toned colored ones? I ask because I think I read somewhere or was talking to someone and they told meLippert put out a new/ upgraded Equaflex system?



So was your old ones the gold colored?

[Canucklehead]

I'm not sure which specific parts were bent as I have not yet seen them. When the trailer goes back in I plan on asking to see the old parts.
But from what I did get from the tech, it seems that it was the actual spring hangers, the linkages that go between the equa-flex and the spring, not the central 'equa-flex piece" (gold or not). If i remember correctly, the hangers were not very thick, significantly thinner than the Dexter pieces that are on temporarily now.
I do not recall seeing any other posts here about this problem so it may be a one-off.

[fixit5561]

oh ok you mean the shakles were bent. Thats the pieces of metal that go between the springs and the equaflex. The spring hangers are the pieces that are attached to the frame of your trailer. Were they bent too or was it just the shakles?

[Canucklehead]

The tech mentioned the spring hangers, but his description seemed that it was more likely the shackles. They had to build new hangers anyway in order to make the lift work so if it were the hangers, they should not have had to replace anything else.

[cwit]

Having bent shackles was not uncommon a few years ago. Now on the longer shackles they weld in a v support, I have these on my 5er.