Dexter EZ Flex on a Legacy Elite II

[rideandfly]

Purchased a Dexter EZ Flex kit from Nick's Truck Parts, part number K71-653-00.

 

http://www.dexteraxle.com/inc/sdetail/18100

 

The following is how I installed this kit as an experiment only, not intended as installation instructions. I'm confident there are safer methods used by RV/Trailer professionals.

 

Installed one side of the kit this morning and plan to install the other side of the kit tomorrow.

 

Connected the Ollie to the Tacoma and placed weight on the front jack:

 

Chocked both wheels with four chocks on the opposite side and put weight on that jack also:

 

Lifted the wheels off the ground on side for kit installation with on board Ollie jack. Also placed jack stand under Ollie frame in case of  trailer jack failure:

 

Used a Craftsman ATV jack and with two 10' long 2X4s cut in half and screwed together to support both axles at the same time. Cut notches in the 2X4 beam to hold the axles in place, decided not use to the notches (axles did not fit perfectly), flipped the beam over and used the smooth side & worked OK.

 

Using the 5' long  jack/beam with ATV jack to support both axles during project:

 

 

 

Removed shoulder shackle bolt and plastic bushing :

 

Replacing plastic bushing with bronze bushing in spring with bolt & nut pulling bushing into spring:

 

Bronze Bushing Installed:

 

Shackle bolt, bushing, and spring assembled with bolt grease outlet hole axis parallel to Ollie frame:

 

Removed shackle bolts and center pivot bolt for EZ Flex Equalizer installation:

 

All of the original Dexter bolts and plastic bushings were in good condition except for the center pivot plastic bushing, it was starting to wear through and fail. Our Ollie has about 9000 miles since new.

[Commanche]

Nice job on the pictures. We need to order that kit as soon as we get back from our trip to Florida. We have about 15,000 miles and are getting some creaking, so it's time for the replacement. May have to get it done, since my floor jack is about wore out and not sure it would lift it.

 

 

 

Stan

[rideandfly]

Thanks!!!! :)

 

Pumped grease through each fitting before and after installation. Everything is taking grease easily. Will finish the other side tomorrow morning!

 

The beam/ATV lift I used could be replaced by two small bottle or floor jacks. The advantage of the beam, could slide the axles easily aligning shackle/spring holes.

 

 

[John E Davies]

Cool write-up, but how come you installed the grease fittings on the outside? It makes it hard to grease all the fittings with the wheels and tires in place. With them facing inward, all are 100% accessible plus they stay a little bit cleaner..

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

 

 

[rideandfly]

John,

 

It's my preference. Fittings are easy for me to access with tires installed and grease using grease gun flex hose. 45 degree and 90 degree zerk fittings could be installed if someone wants them, but I don't need them.  Will not have to crawl under the camper to grease it either.

[Raspy]

It's a nice looking kit and I love the bronze bushings and greasable joints.  Much better than the plastic bushings.

 

I watched the Dexter video on this and could not see that it made the ride any better.  The urethane bumpers seems to be doing nothing in that case, but it might have been loaded too lightly to make a difference.

 

Please let us know if you notice any difference in the quality of the ride.  But either way, the quality of the fittings is much better.

[rideandfly]

It’s a nice looking kit and I love the bronze bushings and greasable joints. Much better than the plastic bushings. I watched the Dexter video on this and could not see that it made the ride any better. The urethane bumpers seems to be doing nothing in that case, but it might have been loaded too lightly to make a difference. Please let us know if you notice any difference in the quality of the ride. But either way, the quality of the fittings is much better.

 

Will post about the ride.

 

Thanks!

[donthompson]

Buzzy mentioned 16 grease zirks.  I have only found 12.  The EZ Flex has 4 on each side and I found two on each side for the leaf springs.  Where are the four that I missed?

 

Also, you may all know this but if you jack the trailer so the tires are off the ground, it relieves the pressure on the leaf springs and EZ Flex. Makes it a lot easier to grease them!

 

I'm not the most mechanically gifted person, but owning this Oliver is prompting me to develop patience and problem-solving skills.

 

 

 

Don

[rideandfly]

Don,

 

There's two EZ flex 45 degree fittings per side:

 

EZ flex fittings not visible from this view, but four shackle fittings are visible:

 

Two spring shackle pins per side, too:

 

Hope this helps! :)

[routlaw]

Regarding the ride, after installing our kit and a two week trip to Glacier earlier in July we both definitely noticed a different ride, smoother and more compliant is how I would describe it. We also noticed far less, as in almost no, shuffling of gear in the upper cupboards over the kitchen upon arrival too. And the Oliver is quiet as a church mouse now too.

 

Hope this helps.

[rideandfly]

Found this thread today started during 2008 on rv.net about Dexter EZ Flex installations. After jacking up the Trailer, many folks use two jacks to lift and lower axles during the modification. Many photos and good ideas.

 

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/21609645.cfm

[rideandfly]

Had time to finish the other side of the project this morning.

 

On this pivot bracket, the bottom left plastic bushing had failed and was completely gone with the top right bushing very loose after 9000 miles:

 

 

[rideandfly]

Some folks use this ball joint press for the EZ Flex project on rv.net.  This ball joint kit would make the job go easier pushing out old dry bolts, pushing in new wet bolts, and pushing bronze bushings in. I have several similar jobs to do, so purchased one of these kits.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/ball-joint-service-kit-for-2wd-and-4wd-vehicles-60827.html

 

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/21609645.cfm

 

 

[bwright]

We have the Elite single axle Oliver.  We installed the K71-358-00 heavy duty suspension kit from Dexter and it sure has made the trailer more sturdy.  We have owned the trailer for 1-1/2 years with maybe 6000 miles on it.  The plastic bushings were worn through on one spring eye.  We are glad the new kit is installed.  We like the ability to grease the spring bushings.  This should make the trailer handle rough roads, etc. a lot better.

[Rwsprague43]

Hey Bill, Nice job! You might consider checking all 16 grease fittings. I found most needed grease. Buzzy

Was the grease not done at the factory? I have the EZ Flex ordered on mine.  Is that  something that is easy to  check?

[rideandfly]

We have the Elite single axle Oliver. We installed the K71-358-00 heavy duty suspension kit from Dexter and it sure has made the trailer more sturdy. We have owned the trailer for 1-1/2 years with maybe 6000 miles on it. The plastic bushings were worn through on one spring eye. We are glad the new kit is installed. We like the ability to grease the spring bushings. This should make the trailer handle rough roads, etc. a lot better.

 

Good results on the kit! Was wondering if wet pins & bushing have been installed on a single axle Ollie before.

 

This is a friend's kit we plan to install on their single Axle Ollie this fall. Will post a thread &  photos about the installation.

[rideandfly]

buzzy wrote:

Hey Bill, Nice job! You might consider checking all 16 grease fittings. I found most needed grease. Buzzy

Was the grease not done at the factory? I have the EZ Flex ordered on mine. Is that something that is easy to check?

 

RWsprage,

 

Thanks, Our Ollie is a 2015 model. Believe Oliver started offering the EZ flex kit as an Elite II option during 2016. It's easy to clean & grease with a manual grease gun. My straight fittings are pointing out, some folks prefer them pointing in on their trailers. 45 degree fittings pointing out would be very easy to grease without crawling under the Ollie.  Dexter recommends the pins to be greased every 3000 miles.

[Commanche]

We put the EZ Flex on our trailer yesterday. Had a friend, I work with, come over to help. He has a fully equipped welder truck and a boatload of tools, so with the air tools it made the job really easy. His air hammer popped those bolts and old bushings right out. We were all done in about 2 hours.

 

The old bushings were shot, you wonder why they even make a product with plastic bushings that you can't grease, and has a very short life span.

 

Stan

[rideandfly]

The old bushings were shot, you wonder why they even make a product with plastic bushings that you can’t grease, and has a very short life span. Stan

 

Agree, have another lighter single axle motorcycle/utility trailer we purchased during 1993. Can only imagine the condition of pins & bushings on this trailer.  Will install new pins and bushings on this trailer, soon.

[Raspy]

There's no doubt the plastic bushings are junk.  Very short life and then metal to metal wear with lots of play.  I've had this same setup on a number of other trailers too.  At a glance everything looks fine, but they become increasingly loose and eventually dangerous as the miles rack up and the pins wear thinner in spring eyes with no bushings left.

 

I bought my Ollie used and was disappointed that it did not have the EZ Flex already installed as these trailers are made to last and should be able to go many thousands of miles without suspension problems.  It is definitely on my list of projects.

 

 

[rideandfly]

John,

 

We purchased our Ollie used, too. Surprised me seeing this on the road side pivot bracket. Bottom left plastic bushing had failed and was completely gone with the top right bushing very loose after 9000 miles. Taking the Ollie out for a short trip later this week, checking out a new TV and EZ Flex ride.

[RBK]

Bill, looking forward to the installation on the single axle Ollie. Thanks for documenting it! This something I'd like to do soon to my 2008 Elite.

 

randy

[rideandfly]

Bill, looking forward to the installation on the single axle Ollie. Thanks for documenting it! This something I’d like to do soon to my 2008 Elite. randy

 

Randy,

 

Will do. I take many photos and happy to post them!

[rideandfly]

Hardrock gave me these photos taken at the Oliver factory. This is a Dexter EZ Flex installation on a Elite II on the production line.

 

 

[DavidS]

I need some help. I am very well versed in computer technology and I have done carpentry, plumbing, and electrical stuff around the house. (A little defensive, maybe?) However, I have not done any work on a car, save changing the oil on a car when I was in grad school. That was more than 30 years ago.

 

Based on the recommendations from this forum, I ordered the Dexter E-Z Flex on my Ollie. I will need to lubricate the Dexter next spring, but I don’t know how to do this. I can see some of the zerks in the photos on this thread, but I have trouble seeing these when I climb under my Ollie. In the pictures, the tires are removed. Do I need to remove the tires to do the lubrication?

 

My research on the web has been unproductive. The Dexter site provided no information, and they did not answer my email. The best I can find is a video on installing the Dexter E-Z Flex (

). At 4 minutes 55 seconds you can see him lubing a zerk. Aha! You need a grease gun!

 

Any advice on how to do this would be appreciated. Also exactly where are all of the zerks? The Dexter owner’s manual provided no information.

 

Buzzy, if you want to make a video next spring, this would be a great topic.

 

BTW, zerk is great word, new to me. Good for scrabble.

 

Maybe I shoulda taken auto shop in high school...

 

Thanks,