Dan’s mods

[DanielBoondock]

On 9/25/2026 at 5:54 PM, jd1923 said:

Love this tool. Mine sits on a shelf in our garage. No case, not towing with it. Also got the LockNLube coupler. I wipe the nozzle and each Zerk fitting clean after every squeeze of the trigger.

Getting a tube of grease in any gun, manual guns too, is always a struggle, not easy to get the spring back in on a full tube. I don't know of any tricks, just push down on the workbench. Never tried bulk grease. I purchased a 10-pack of red #2 wheel bearing grease a few years ago.

Compared to my last one DeWalt puts in a much stiffer spring so it's a bear getting the pusher in. 

I've gone all-in on your approach, or will soon. Trying to find where I put those 45 zerks to finish it off. Also have the LockNLube. 

How well does this work with the Alcan, do you find you need to lift the camper to relieve pressure and get grease in? Unfortunately I'm not super confident that all the grease holes are horizontal, they might have shifted in installation. 

[DanielBoondock]

First re-torque of the D-bolts, surprised at how much they stretched, And looked what I noticed, check the marks on bottom of the frame

 

 

this isn’t Alcan which has only done 30 and barely moved by the trail cam, it’s Dexter. In only 4k miles that flabby old suspension banged (HARD) against the frame, bottoming out. Might as well hit your trailer with a huge sledge hammer. I suspected it was bottoming out, that seems like they’re practically inverting. No wonder those springs break 🙄

[jd1923]

On 9/27/2026 at 8:07 AM, DanielBoondock said:

Compared to my last one DeWalt puts in a much stiffer spring so it's a bear getting the pusher in. 

I've gone all-in on your approach, or will soon. Trying to find where I put those 45 zerks to finish it off. Also have the LockNLube. 

How well does this work with the Alcan, do you find you need to lift the camper to relieve pressure and get grease in? Unfortunately I'm not super confident that all the grease holes are horizontal, they might have shifted in installation. 

Yep, no fun, it's quite a push. Just installed the 3rd tube in my 1st-ever power grease gun! Though once ya get er loaded, it’s a dream! 🤣

And thank you, Dan. You reminded me to do the grease/torque job, after a bit of travel and conveniently when our Oliver was sitting in the driveway hitched. It's my "first annual maintenance" since our suspension upgrade.

Took me an hour each side. I lift the tires using the one leveler jack and remove the 2 wheels first, always. She's in my driveway, I have the air tools, so zip-zip off. If you don't have the HD compressor and pneumatic impact get the HD Dewalt 1/2" impact (compare torque ratings before purchase).

Don't worry about installing wet bolts outside-in like some do, or using 45-degree Zerks as I had. The standard installation is just fine when you take the wheels off first. Inspect the tires too while removing gravel from the treads. Test brake amperage. Don't I have a thread on this? (linked below)

I don't use dust caps on the Zerks anymore. They just collect dirt. I steel brush all the old grease & dirt off first. Then wipe with paper towels and after greasing use a screwdriver and my fingers to get ALL the grease that oozed out of every opening. It is a messy job.

Grease first, torque second and YES with wheels off a lot of weight is off the suspension and it's lightly hanging. This time all wet bolts took grease without fiddlin' with them! Last time I had to loosen 2 wet bolts to get them to accept grease. I only needed a second wrench on one wet bolt to keep it from spinning while torquing; the others held on their own meaning they held in place since last maintenance. Only two U-bolt nuts, 2 out of 16, needed tightening at 95 ft-lbs and the two only moved an 1/8th turn each. The others were set, slightly rusted into place. All the parts including the Alcan shackles are like new, with no observable wear. I’d say that after one full year with an estimated 5,600 miles towing, our new Alcan-D52 axle suspension has broken in well. 😎

 

 

[DanielBoondock]

Finished off the SiO2C6 coating! Took one 250 ml bottle exactly for two coats over the whole trailer, including two Seafoam storage boxes (tops), two awnings and various metal bits like the doorstep. Except for the solar panel, mainly I want to get that bug catcher front edge but will do the top too. But I bought the 30' new trailer kit which has two bottles. What to do with the unopened second bottle? Once a bottle is opened it needs to be used within a month or so

Option One: Inside

I'm considering doing the inside too, at least strategic parts of it. The bathroom is a prime candidate to make shower cleanup easy. The countertops too, they're a thick gelcoat I believe which picks up fine scratches. I'll do a small test and see how well that works out. The floor rounded edges along the aisle is a prime candidate, those take a lot of wear. I've been waxing them but that doesn't really do a lot honestly. 

Checking with an AI opinion, Gemini is saying 'yes you can but generally not recommended'. Main reason being the solvent fumes (I have 3M cartridge chemical respirators and we have the ceiling fan), and basically its overkill, which is reasonable. Presently I'm using DuraGloss two step - base marine wax with a quick clean touch up, which works OK but not like a silicon coat. 

Option Two: Refresh coat 

Other option is to save the bottle (storage temp is important) until the next year or year and a half, and apply a refresh top coat. I think I'll do this

Procedure (notes to my future self)

• Use that unused bottle of Glidecoat nano wash (deep chemical wash)
• Check the surface, rough spots (previous coating glitches) and scratches
  • Use leftover SONAX EX-04-06 with foam pad, 4500 RPM, three passes crosshatch
  • Two towel wipe off
• 3'x3' sections
  • Alcohol/GC Surface wipe two towel 
  • Apply coating in a cross hatch pattern, let flash 30-60 seconds
  • Two towel leveling (wipe off cross hatch, second towel in a circular method)
• Also do the missed parts
  • Underbody (why not I've got plenty to use up?)
  • Solar
  • Truma plastic covers 
  • Front door, door step aluminum and other exposed aluminum
  • Rear bumper metal