Made in USA leaf springs

[John Dorrer]

1 hour ago, DanielBoondock said:

Yes it’s D52 rated at 3500

Agree with the idea of a better constructed spring since the Dexters can fail, just wondering about changing the stiffness. A suspension is a frequency damper, shocks for lowband (to sub hertz) and springs plus ez flex puck maybe midband and higher. Pushing stiffness (higher weight rating) would increase the low cut off frequency, thus losing damping

Again this isn’t my field but I think this is what we have. The other factor is tire pressure, seems like people here tend to ride low for a less bump. Indeed here, that lowers the cutoff frequency. I prefer running at spec for efficiency and I have a hard time ignoring ratings. Possibly people having more issues are running softer pressures? Just a thought 

Unaware of any issues on the 5200 lb. Axels since Oliver switched to the 5200 lb. axels. After 5 years we are replacing shocks and having Alcan 4-leaf springs installed.

 The place that services our suspension said they noticed a slight flattening of the springs. The Alcans just arrived.

[jd1923]

You can follow the 80 PSI MAX spec on the Load Range E LT tire, the 65 PSI rating OTT prints on their DOT label (they used to print 80), or the PSI recommended by the tire manufacturer, based on actual GTW on their load/pressure tables.

I/we, most of us, follow the latter. I use any PSI over 45, less than 50, to set them all equal in that range. These numbers allow for 7,800 to 8,360 LBS GTW. On long trips, we carry max 6,600 LBS, so in this range we have spec plus a 20% safety margin. If you run at 65 or 80 PSI, you will cause internal damage to your Oliver.

Regardless of brand, LT 225/75R16 tires will all be very close to the numbers you see here. I understand new hulls to have 15" wheels, so get a table for your size. I must have posted this table 6 times now... 

 

Edited Sunday at 11:14 PM by jd1923

[Tom and Doreen]

1 hour ago, John Dorrer said:

Unaware of any issues on the 5200 lb. Axels since Oliver switched to the 5200 lb. axels. After 5 years we are replacing shocks and having Alcan 4-leaf springs installed.

 The place that services our suspension said they noticed a slight flattening of the springs. The Alcans just arrived.

That's a smart move, John, I'm glad that you're replacing them!   I was assured by the Oliver guys  at the last rally that I didn't have to worry about my springs, 2023 build with D52 axles,  because there were no problems with newer trailers with D52 axles. Well..... I have a broken spring set, passenger rear, with the remaining sets flattening.  Needless to say I'm not a 'happy camper' regarding this. I have replacements from Alcan but haven't had time or decent weather to do the repair as yet. 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Tom and Doreen said:

... was assured by the Oliver guys  at the last rally that I didn't have to worry about my springs, 2023 build with D52 axles,  because there were no problems with newer trailers with D52 axles.

Only because of time! The older hulls have more miles, more failed leaf springs. They are the same spring, but on a heavier axle. When I replaced ours last year, the originals were still nicely arced. Steel from China is likely not getting any better.

[John Dorrer]

13 hours ago, Tom and Doreen said:

That's a smart move, John, I'm glad that you're replacing them!   I was assured by the Oliver guys  at the last rally that I didn't have to worry about my springs, 2023 build with D52 axles,  because there were no problems with newer trailers with D52 axles. Well..... I have a broken spring set, passenger rear, with the remaining sets flattening.  Needless to say I'm not a 'happy camper' regarding this. I have replacements from Alcan but haven't had time or decent weather to do the repair as yet. 

Sorry you had that happen. Oliver was probably correct with their assessment. People driving on washboard roads, chemically treated roads, and a bad Chinese spring, can all come into play. Not much Oliver can do as they just install the Dexter suspension 

 

There is a former Oliver owner that sold their Oliver and bought a different brand. On their first trip their springs flattened. They were replaced and flattened again. They upgraded to a 5th Wheel and I believe doing an Alcan upgrade. Unfortunately, things happen.

 

We have a 3 week trip and then get them replaced June 1st.🤞

 

[DanielBoondock]

 

For other newbs I went through about half the posts on this topic so you don’t have to. I think I captured the essence

Summary

• Alcan are rated for 2k (8k total) vs 1750 (7k) for Dexter
• Spring rating depends on how well you do it (yes as an engineer this is the unvarnished truth). There’s no stock answer, they’re all approximations to the truth. Alcan is apparently known for using a well regarded approach (software I think)
• Alcan’s analysis of the 1750 Dexter is that they’re underrated for this trailer and the Alcan 2k is more appropriate 
  • One could surmise this is them ‘talking their book’, but so far the story has a ring of truth for a small shop that take their work seriously
  • Alcans specialty is springs, OTT is trailers, I think Alcan has more authority here.
  • In addition OTT has many considerations, supply chain being number one. Dexters are always available, easily replaced, come as a set with the axle, and if any owner wants an upgrade that’s available. So I think its entirely reasonable OTT is sticking with Dexter
  • But in the matter of the best spring for the application I’ll go with Alcan
• The Alcan’s therefore have a better margin in case of overload and road stress - actually they have margin, the stock at rated for max with no margin
• And it’s only a (IIRC) ~15% stiffer spring, which isn’t a great difference

For me, other than build quality the sell is that the springs provide margin without going into over engineered/overkill range. I was concerned that this is ‘bigger is better’ mentality but no, instead it’s just giving some extra room on top, which is generally a good idea. 

So I’m sold, I should be retired next year and will plan a trip to Colorado to have them installed. 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/2/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103428

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/2/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103477

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/2/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103486

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/6/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103733

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/7/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103752

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/10/?&_rid=8320#findComment-104836

Edited 1 hour ago by DanielBoondock