Axle/springs/tires upgrade

[Hamops]

When I had an axle replaced last spring, I asked the shop owner about upgrading to 16 inch wheels and tires and to upgrade the springs and axles to a larger capacity. His advice to me was that it was ok to upgrade on the tires and wheels but not to attempt to upgrade the springs and axles. He stated that the trailer would be underweight for the heavier springs and axles and the most of the springing action would be taken up by the tires because the heavier springs and axles would betoo stiff for the weight andnot properly flexto absorb the shock. Itwould eventually shake everything in the trailer loose. He said that the springs and axles need to be light enough to flex easily to absorb the different road conditions, and also strong enough to hold up the static load as well. He put it this way; installing heavier springs is like having no springs at all.

[cliffw42]

I'm keeping the springs, axles, and Equaflex. They will replace the wheels, tires, hubs, spindles. Convert from 6 hole to 8 hole, and go from LRE to LRG. Cut off the hangers, install a 2" square steel tube, install new hangers and do an alignment. Hopefully my "blowout" problems will be solved.
Cliff

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by cliffw42

Well, I have an appointment to take it to San Antonio to Southwest Wheel a week from next Wednesday. They come highly recommended so I'm going to bite the bullet and have some major "beefing up" done. They will raise it 2" (steel tube, not just new hangers), take the 6 lug wheels off and put on 8 lug, and all the stuff that goes with it. Then they will put on new wheels and tires (Goodyear G614 G rated, 14 ply, 3750 lbs @110 psi). I DO NOT plan to be by the side of the Interstate with a blowout AGAIN! I'll also raise the hitch, so it's level, after all the mods are completed.
I'll post again after the work is done, and I tow it home (3 hrs...that should be enough to see how it runs).
Cliff

Cliff:
This is just "my opinion"
I think 14 ply tires and 110 # of air pressure is over kill. I'm afraid it will ride pretty hard. Might shake more loose then you care to see.

[wsc01q]

I would think maybe you are reaching the point where trading up might be a better deal. We have the 2011 and although it has Chinese tires, they are the 16" and I couldn't be happier with the ride height, balance and everything that goes with it. So far, alignment is good, tire wear is good and the trailer has been "beat to death" on terrible roads with no ill effects. In addition, the Patriot package has so many nice goodies for the price that, for us, just trading from a 2008 to a 2011 was well worth the cost. I can't say enough for the improvments each new year brings in the RV industry. If you trade up while your unit has good resale value it's tolerable. Pay a little more and avoid the hassle. So far I have never broken down on the road and we have had 3 Crossroads units over a 5 year span. Our dealer says the average life of an RV is 39 months.

[KHUNLINDA2003]

Cliff, that's exactly what we had done with our 04 Silverado. The original axles, hangers, equalizer, and shocks were undersize. Try to get either the never lube or the kind we got which are like the over-the-road trailers that have oil hubs. Much easier and no guesswork when it comes to lube. Make sure you have the axles aligned because they aren't always welded correctly.

[Ridgeman]

"Our dealer says the average life of an RV is 39 months"

wsc01q, If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona I will sell you, realcheap.



Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I guess if I wasan RV salesman, I wouldn't be telling my customers that our products (RV's) are so poorly made that their life expectancy was just over 3 years. No matter how bad I wanted my customer to update to a newer rig!



Think about it. If you look around at the rigs you see on the road and in your campground, Most of them are more than 3 or 4 years old. At least that is what I see in the western states. My last 3 rigs averaged about 15 years old when I sold them and they were still in very good service condition.



My current 07 Cruiser is now 42 months old and although it hasn't been trouble free, it is hardly broken in yet and I spend 5-6 months a year in it. I am sureit has many years of service left.

[drcook]

At one of the campgrounds we stay at there are 100+ units that are a minimum of 10 years old and still going strong.



The one we just traded in was 5 years old and still in great condition. A lot of it has to do with maintenance and preventive care.



When people work on a strictly commission basis, they will tell all kinds of, shall we say, fabrications. It has something to do with liking to eat, have a roof over your head etc. Even the person who we bought from, who happened to be a long time acquaintance, was spewing forth some of the BS, I just ignored it as the deal we were getting was based on a price from another Camping World.



I think you will find most commission only salespeople attend the Pinnochio Sales Techniques School sometime in their first year.

[rcflyer]

Originally Posted by Ridgeman

"Our dealer says the average life of an RV is 39 months"

wsc01q, If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona I will sell you, realcheap.

Carefull with the ocean front property. The elevation of the Colorado river in Yuma is about 120ft above sea level. If all of the cr*& we hear about global warming is true then there may well be ocean front property in Yuma,Az in the near future.

[cliffw42]

I took the camper to San Antonio Tuesday afternoon, and they did the work Wednesday, had it ready for me to take home Wednesday afternoon by closing time.
These guys at Southwest Wheel Co. did a really good job. Here's what they did:
New Goodyear G614 tires (LT235/85R16G/ )
8 hole steel rims 16X6 8H S/M to replace the 6 hole 15" aluminum rims
Raised frame 2" using steel tubing welded to frame
Installed new Dexter Rubber Cushion equalizers
Installed new, heavier duty bearings/seals/races
Aligned suspension and axles
Installed new springs 6 leaf 25 1/4" DE springs
They also welded steel angle iron across the width of the camper to connect each pair of
spring hangers (3 in all).

Before, it was slightly "nose high", and after the work was done, it's slightly "nose low". I can raise the hitch by one inch, and I can adjust the pin one inch, so hopefully those two inches will make it perfectly level. If not, that will be my next project.

It felt really good pulling it home (3 hours). I was concerned about the ride being too rough, based on an earlier post here, by Old Farmer, so I put some items around the inside (on table, cabinets, etc) to see how bad they got thrown around. Turns out the ride seems to be actually much smoother than before...none of the items wound up on the floor, and looking through the rig, I couldn't find anything out of place. Before, stuff would want to fall out of the cabinets when I opened them, etc.
So far, I couldn't be happier. I'll know more after my next trip, but I surely don't expect any more blowouts (and, I'll never buy another "China bomb")
I also discussed the engineering of these RV's with the folks at the suspension shop. They beef up the suspension/tires on lots of RV's (there were two others there when I arrived, having the same type of work done) They agreed with me that what little the manufactures save per unit by not using quality tires, springs, axles, etc., costs them lots more in lost customer confidence.
I have about completely re-built this rig by now (inside and out), and plan to keep it for several more years, but when, and if, I do get a different one, there will be lots more attention paid to things like this. Cost cutting on tires and suspension engineering, will definitely be "deal busters'.
Cliff

[Lloyd]

Cliff:
That's a good report on the work you had done. I must admit I was surprised to hear how good things rode. I hope all goes well for you now.
Best wishes.

[fixit5561]

I sort of did the same thing and went with stiffer springs on my TT also when I upgraded to Equaflex and redid the bearing/race, and new brakes and had new hangers welded onto mine. I didnt notice any more of a stiffer ride either.



My opinion on that is this, the manuf. uses the least they can get away, cheap springs, bearings suspension parts etc. So beefing it up is actually putting the suspension where it should be if they did it right at the factory,instead of having a lesser of a suspension components when they build the things. If that makes sense.

[Ridgeman]

Cliff, Great write up. Sounds like a solid installation. Please give us an update after a few trips to let us know how it is working for you. When you get a chance, could you take a couple of pics of the angle iron they welded between the spring hangers, especially where they attach on each end. Did they say why they needed to do that? Is flexing of the spring hangers or frame mounts an issue?



Thanks, Kurt

[cliffw42]

I don't know the exact details on the angle iron, but as I understand it, the reinforcement is supposed to stabilize the entire suspension, and eliminate lateral movement. Whatever it is, it sure seems to work.
Pics are here:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...20and%20tires/

Cliff

[ralderman]

Cliff, I have been reading through this post, and checked out your pictures. I recently had to replace my leaf springs, and I was told by Randy at crossroads that the leaf spring banding should be facing forward. I don't know for sure, but that's what I was told, and I noticed that in one of your pictures that one is backwards. I'm sure the place you took it to knows what they are doing, it looks like they do great work, but it might be worth checking into. I'm looking for more info, but FYI.

Rick

[cliffw42]

Rick,
Thanks for the thoughts. However, I have lots more confidence in Southwest Wheel than I do Crossroads. They are very professional, and did a super job on my suspension. I did raise the hitch one notch, and it now rides very level.
I plan to pull it to NC next month, and fully expect not to be stuck on the side of the Interstate...again.
Cliff

[ralderman]

I agree, it looks like they did great work.



I don't think you will be stuck on the Interstate again, I know how it feels. We broke a leef spring on the Wash. DC beltway Oct. 2009 That was not fun.





Take care,

Rick

[Jersey Guy]

I had to have my springs re-banded last year. They put bands on the front and rear of the springs. My springs had shifted and had become out of alignment.