Bulldog shocks installed

[rideadeuce]

Bulldog shocks are a bit beefier and look like they are well made. Easy swap. Leaf springs look good, still on the fence about upgrading to the Alcan 5 leaf springs. Clips were loose on both springs on the right. Center bolt nut on the left EZ flex was loose and about to fall off. All of the Monroe shocks seemed to be in good working order just rusty. 

Future plans include the ALCAN highway so trying to get everything done now. New tires in the morning. 

 

https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007

Wildpeak H/T02 LT225/75R16 E/10PLY BSW 

*** Now back to torquing the shocks so that the cushion is the same diameter as the metal retainer but not larger. ***

Edited May 24, 2024 by rideadeuce

[jd1923]

Good plan on tightening the shocks. First I heard of this model Monroe still holding pressure, especially when looking like that. Mine looked much better (AZ trailer) and 3 of 4 were totally shot and the 4th barely holding on. Too bad I did not know of the Bulldogs last fall. Your leaf springs, at least what's showing in the pics look nicely arced in very good shape.

[topgun2]

Those rubber "cushions" look like they are a bit better than the Monroe's too.

I really like the attention to detail by facing the Bulldog label to the exterior - assume that four all were installed that way.  Nice job!

Bill

[Galway Girl]

@rideadeuce - A tip...Last year when we went to Alaska we bought some yoga mats and used some 3M no residue tape to attach them to the lower front of our trailer.
They worked like a champ at keeping gravel from the Yukon highways from chipping the body of the trailer.   We also used a roll of clear rug protection plastic from Home Depot on top of the Yoga Mats to keep them from absorbing moisture.

 

 

Below:  First week of the trip and the yoga mat's are doing well...tne extra coat of vinyl floor protection film is holding water at bay.

F

 

Below: After a full 9 weeks on the road the yoga mat's took the beating, but our trailer was protected.

 

Below - After yoga mat removal and quick wash...

 

[Geronimo John]

19 hours ago, Galway Girl said:

A tip...Last year when we went to Alaska we bought some yoga mats and used some 3M no residue tape to attach them to the lower front of our trailer.

I saw this idea before our trip to Alaska.  Didn't do it as I felt that the Husky mud guards, and a large one at the bumper would do the trick.  They did their job well.... maybe 99.5%,   But that last one half of a percent was noticeable.

When we go back to AK, I'll be sporting Yoga Mats.  

GJ

[Galway Girl]

This tape really worked...it left NO residue after 9 weeks of being on the road holding on the yoga mats.

 

 

 

This carpet protection film that I had from a remodel was put on top of the the yoga mat and made it more waterproof.  If we hadn't covered the yoga mat it would have absorbed a ton of water and likely fallen off. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Geronimo John]

Love the duct tape!

Why not use a closed cell foam yoga mat to avoid soaking up water or needing to add the clear layer?

Per Google:

Closed-cell mats are thinner and more water resistant, and don't absorb liquid (yes, that includes sweat) as quickly. These are generally more porous than thicker mats. Thicker, spongier yoga mats tend to have an open-cell construction, so they soak up more liquid (sweat) which also means they retain more bacteria.Mar 11, 2022

[Geronimo John]

Apologies for the thread  hijack.

GM

[johnwen]

Here's my 2 cents... I just replaced all shocks with the Monroe 555001s.  I did so as a first step in trying to figure out the cause of sudden scalloping of both fronts tires.  One of the tires was severe enough to warrant exchange with our new spare.  As per Scuba Rx, one of the Monroe cushions indeed needed to be compressed to get 1 of the shocks to fit.  I'm happy with ease of installation and time will tell if the shocks were the cause.  Tires were removed to facilitate installation. Hull 996, picked up new in Jan 2022 and now with over 41,000 miles, has had its share of highway hard knocks, most of which surprisingly occurred on very infrequent use of interstates.  The included photos show one of the shock "stems" bent and both front shock shafts were indeed sheared.  The other 2 rear shocks were intact, though badly worn.  Since both front shock shafts were sheared and only the front tires showed unusual wear I suppose they were the cause.  The 2nd picture shows the shaft was stuck in and I pulled it out with pliers.

John

[Geronimo John]

At 24,000 miles on our OE2 I chose to replace the Monroe shocks when doing springs..  All four were still functioning with no leaks or adverse signs of wear.  I would consider that 5 seasons or 24K miles would be a reasonable "end of life" goal. 

GJ:

Crazy Horse adds: "Yea on the goal, but maybe early just for highway use.  But for sure not for the boondocker five-leafer herd".   

CH

[DunnYet]

I had taken photos of our original equipment shocks when I last did the zerks, and showed them to Jason at the Texas Rally. He confirmed that I needed to replace those based on the photos. So today - in the one warm day in the foreseeable future - I started the project. Took forever to catch the Bulldog HD shocks available, but I finally got them.

Started on the curb side, immediately ran into frozen nuts on the bottom of each shock. Penetrating oil, loosening spray, tapping with a chisel — none of those worked. Finally brought out the trusty angle grinder with a metal cutting blade to make the problem go away.

Once the old shocks were out of the way placing the new ones were easy. Tribute to @rideadeuce I had to make sure I installed with the labels faced.

Unfortunately, with the delays on the frozen bolts I only finished the first half of the job. So tomorrow I get to see how well I do with the street side in close to freezing temps. I will be envying you folks with Ollie barns … 

[Jason Foster]

5 hours ago, DunnYet said:

I had taken photos of our original equipment shocks when I last did the zerks, and showed them to Jason at the Texas Rally. He confirmed that I needed to replace those based on the photos. So today - in the one warm day in the foreseeable future - I started the project. Took forever to catch the Bulldog HD shocks available, but I finally got them.

Started on the curb side, immediately ran into frozen nuts on the bottom of each shock. Penetrating oil, loosening spray, tapping with a chisel — none of those worked. Finally brought out the trusty angle grinder with a metal cutting blade to make the problem go away.

Once the old shocks were out of the way placing the new ones were easy. Tribute to @rideadeuce I had to make sure I installed with the labels faced.

Unfortunately, with the delays on the frozen bolts I only finished the first half of the job. So tomorrow I get to see how well I do with the street side in close to freezing temps. I will be envying you folks with Ollie barns … 

Looks good.  I will probably replace mine with these in a few years.  Yeah, I have an Ollie barn but it isn't heated yet.

[jd1923]

24 minutes ago, Jason Foster said:

Looks good.  I will probably replace mine with these in a few years.  Yeah, I have an Ollie barn but it isn't heated yet.

Heated garage in Texas? Money better spent on installing A/C! 😂

We moved to Georgetown in 2006 and bought an old home on a couple of acres which needed serious yardwork. It took me all winter long to clean it up, usually wearing a sweatshirt, hat and gloves. Everyday our next-door neighbor Linda walked 50 yards out to the street to get her mail. She wore a long heavy wool coat, scarf hat and gloves and looked at me like I was crazy. The feeling was mutual! 🤣

[Jason Foster]

12 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Heated garage in Texas? Money better spent on installing A/C! 😂

We moved to Georgetown in 2006 and bought an old home on a couple of acres which needed serious yardwork. It took me all winter long to clean it up, usually wearing a sweatshirt, hat and gloves. Everyday our next-door neighbor Linda walked 50 yards out to the street to get her mail. She wore a long heavy wool coat, scarf hat and gloves and looked at me like I was crazy. The feeling was mutual! 🤣

Yeah.  I get that all the time here in NE Texas.  I go outside in shorts and t-shirt when it is in the 40s and the next door neighbor is wearing a parka. I can't tell if he is looking at me or not.   I guess I should be able to since his eyes are so big.  See picture of neighbor below:

 

[DunnYet]

28 degrees this morning in Duncanville Tx. I will likely pull out the tent heater from our tent camping days and try to create a little heat bubble where I am working  🥶 But you are correct @jd1923 in the winter we long for heat and in the summer we wish for the cool. We are going to be camping out in Stonewall Tx this weekend (Texas Hill Country) and projections are for the low 20’s last time I looked. I have a feeling the warmest place will be in the Ollie, as the event we are attending is planned for an unheated barn filled with thousands of highly flammable barrels. Can’t exactly throw in a few propane patio heaters for warmth 💥

[MAX Burner]

35 minutes ago, DunnYet said:

28 degrees this morning in Duncanville Tx.

About the same here in north central NM - 26.7F, ATM.  We'll be stoking up the wood burning stove in the "Cave" this morning to work on Casablanca as our highs are expected in the high forties, FYI.

[Jason Foster]

36 degrees here in Longview, TX. Pellet stove keeps everything toasty warm for my wife and sweat inducing for me. 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, DunnYet said:

We are going to be camping out in Stonewall Tx this weekend (Texas Hill Country) and projections are for the low 20’s last time I looked. I have a feeling the warmest place will be in the Ollie...

Weather like that is rare in Texas and Houston, to Austin to San Antonio is always warmer than DFW and to the north. Bad timing for you! The jet stream must be flying low this week if it's also hitting Art in northern NM. We must be below it, 42F now with a high of 59F on a sunny day at 5400 ft. High of 72F in Quartzsite valley today. The weather looks to be up and down where you are heading.

Keep that Oliver furnace running and after the work is done you'll warm up! 😂

Edited Sunday at 04:18 PM by jd1923

[DunnYet]

Managed to complete the job, as well as running the ford remote camera cable through the channel on the edge of the frame and greasing the zerks on the street side. It warmed up nicely  yesterday, until the second part of the article air mass came through in the afternoon :-). Glad I did it though, the front street side shock fell apart in my hand. No piston movement at all. The remaining three all were various degrees of bad - wither compressed with one finger push or limited force. Compared to the new ones you could definitely feel the difference. Road testing Reset 2.0 after putting everything back together showed a distinct reduction in “wallow” on the uneven roads in our neighborhood.

Two more projects off the whiteboard…

[topgun2]

Sure do wish that you "Western" types would stop sending your cold this way.  70's last week and a predicted of very low 40's for today.

I don't mind so much but it confuses the fish!🥶

Bill

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, topgun2 said:

Sure do wish that you "Western" types would stop sending your cold this way.

Depends on what part of the west. I do not miss living in Northern Virginia. Our last year there (2005) our son's spring baseball schedule rained out 7 of 12 games, with fields soaked for days. The next year joining a team in Prescott, it drizzled during one game and all the boys jumped up and down with celebration, like the end of an Indian rain dance!

Got over 60F yesterday, was a sunny beautiful Sunday; played pickleball, got my DC-DC wiring started, and ended the day with a Cadillac Margarita and a wonderful Fajitas Carnitas! We had a couple of cold days the week before. This week every day will be in the 60s and next week all 70s (for when we head to the Santa Catalina Mountains). Nice! 😂

[topgun2]

Brag to me about how wonderful that AZ weather is during the middle of summer.  Certainly weather is just one of the reasons that our trailers have wheels.  Change is good for a number of reasons.

Bill

[jd1923]

3 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Brag to me about how wonderful that AZ weather is during the middle of summer.

Come on Bill, don't stereotype! Meaning don't put the high country of AZ in the same boat as the desert valleys. We would never live in Phoenix, or anywhere from Lake Havasu to Yuma (The hottest parts of the country along with the Palm Desert of CA). And Tucson summers are just about as bad!

An August day in Prescott will get to high 90s in the afternoons ONLY, for 4-5 hours, but dry and you're not sweating all day and night like summers in the SE! Don't you retreat to Wyoming every summer? 🤣 It cools off every summer evening and we eat dinners on our deck. You can sleep without A/C knowing it will be about 60F every morning! We do have the best weather as compared to the five states we've lived (IL, VA, TX, FL and AZ). Elevation is key and if we had to live east it would be nearby you somewhere in the Carolina mountains! 😂

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

Come on Bill, don't stereotype! Meaning don't put the high country of AZ in the same boat as the desert valleys. We would never live in Phoenix, or anywhere from Lake Havasu to Yuma (The hottest parts of the country along with the Palm Desert of CA). And Tucson summers are just about as bad!

When we were thinking about retiring in Arizona the only places we considered were high country.  Sierra Vista (5000+’), Payson (5000+’), Prescott (5000+’) and Flagstaff (nosebleed’).  Our daughter graduated from Northern AZ University in Flagstaff, it’s easy to get used to the cool summer temperatures there! Plus, there isn’t any humidity anywhere which makes the heat very tolerable.  90 degrees in AZ is 20 degrees cooler than 90 degrees in San Antonio!!

[jd1923]

16 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

Sierra Vista (5000+’), Payson (5000+’), Prescott (5000+’) and Flagstaff (nosebleed’).

Love the first 3 and we quickly removed Flag from our list, as you said nosebleed, and SNOW and too much transient I-40 traffic/business on the way to CA or the Canyon! Great place to go to college though.