Made in USA leaf springs

[taylor.coyote]

I think it was Mountain man that discovered Alcan Springs and made the first post in the forum. some 36 pages later in the forum, seems the has provided a great service to Oliver owners and a real bump in sales for Alcan.  

Thank you Mountain man, for your contribution to all of us that have broken springs and now running on Alcan. 

Additionally, I think the folks at Alcan might consider some recognition and maybe a modest commission for purchases made by Oliver owners.

Best to you and happy torquing Mountain Man

Edited August 10 by taylor.coyote

[thompsonkd]

We also recently had Alcan upgrade our leaf springs and axles. Having a 2018 trailer we had the old 3000 lb axles and of course the 4 pack leaf springs installed by Oliver. It took us a while to decide to have the work done, but it was becoming obvious that we were due for a broken leaf spring or two without an upgrade. Upgrading the axles was an easy decision since the new axles provide better brakes and (hopefully) less maintenance. It’s a relatively quick process to have Alcan do the work; it takes about 2 hours. Lew told us his wife had worried about people driving to town to purchase a torque wrench and socket pulling a trailer so he now sells a decent torque wrench and the necessary socket to perform the required torquing for $50 dollars. He also provides a sheet with all the torque specs and is available for any questions. Tucker the  technician who performed the work for us was available as well to answer any questions that we had. We did notice that the new running gear is much stiffer. We aired down our tires, and have done the preliminary torques. We would definitely recommend Alcan. Seems easier to have them do the work but as has been detailed by others, Alcan will ship so folks can do the work themselves or have a shop close to them do the work.Lew told us he is doing about 1 Oliver a week now, plus providing gear for the new Oliver Apex. I guess 38 pages of forum information pays off, for anyone who has the patience to read it all! Alcan suggested we go to Randy’s South Side Diner in Grand Junction while the work was being done. Decent local restaurant for breakfast! 

[2008RN]

Congrats

 

[DanielBoondock]

OK, so I ordered the springs in springtime and made an appointment in July when we’d be in Utah near Grand Junction. But then they got a series of wildfires all throughout that area, my wife has PTSD from us going through them at home, so we cancelled the trip. Alcan wanted steep fees for holding on to them until we could come again next spring, no good (I had already paid for the springs per their requirement when you order). So I paid to have them shipped out figuring a local trailer suspension shop would have no problem with it. Wrong - they won’t install ‘customer supplied parts’. They want to sell you the parts themselves, sigh …

OK so then I’m trying my local garage, near where I store the trailer with easy access. Great folks, used them for lots of stuff, but they don’t normally do trailers. Gave them all the information, they thought it looked doable for $1500, but I should check if they’re ballpark. AI search of this forum gave more like 300-500 or so. He said $900/minimum at a upcharge for (again), customer supplied parts and wouldn’t do it for less than four hours @ 250/hr. Grrrrrrr

There’s another shop I can try locally, or I could take them BACK to Alcan next year, but I’m getting frustrated and thinking about just installing the damn things myself. I’ll troll the (38 page!) thread for DIY install. Anyhow feeling down at the moment, looking for advice thanks

[jd1923]

47 minutes ago, DanielBoondock said:

... thinking about just installing the damn things myself. I’ll troll the (38 page!) thread for DIY install. Anyhow feeling down at the moment, looking for advice thanks

Welcome back, Dan! Too bad the fires kept you away from getting to Grand Junction!

Wow, labor cost more than the springs themselves! I did the axles too which makes it a different process. Doing one spring at a time should be easy enough.

PLEASE don't let anybody here tell you not to use your rear jacks to lift the Oliver! Then use one jack stand on the axle end where you are working. Have the Oliver hitched to your tow vehicle on as level a spot as you have.

I know Art @MAX Burner did his, springs only, first but I could not find his post. Best wishes, JD 

 

[Hokieman]

1 hour ago, DanielBoondock said:

Anyhow feeling down at the moment, looking for advice thanks

Alcan quoted me $145/hr, 2-3 hrs max for installing entire D52 axle assembly, springs, shocks, equalizer, erc.   Lots of folks have stated they were in and out of Alcan around 2 hours, with rave reviews about quality of service.   I too am a retired engineer and I plan to do this myself first chance I get, because I don't plan to go to Grand Junction CO for maybe a year or more.  Saves money, aggravation, is not difficult, and does not require any special tools.  I look on the bright side and consider these tasks kind of fun.  I’m just going to do the Alcan 4-leaf springs, U-bolts, & Bulldog shocks for now, I’ll replace the axles later when I need brakes.   I am re-using my Dexter Shackles and wet bolts, and may keep the EZ Flex too if it’s in good shape.  I already replaced bearings with Timken. 

Edited yesterday at 01:27 AM by Hokieman
Added more content

[DanielBoondock]

6 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Welcome back, Dan! Too bad the fires kept you away from getting to Grand Junction!

Wow, labor cost more than the springs themselves! I did the axles too which makes it a different process. Doing one spring at a time should be easy enough.

Thanks JD, yeah been busy, sandwich generation stuff …

Thanks for the reminder about your post, taking notes, I’ll probably PM you once I’ve compiled them if you don’t mind correcting my homework

1 minute ago, Hokieman said:

I too am a retired engineer and I plan to do this myself first chance I get, because I don't plan to go to Grand Junction CO for maybe a year or more.  Saves money, aggravation, is not difficult, and does not require any special tools.  I look on the bright side and consider these tasks kind of fun. 

That sounds more like it! I don’t mind doing it, shouldn’t be hard for old engie’s like us but I’m getting pulled in ten directions at the moment so just wanted to pay somebody. Anyhow I’m mooch camping supporting some family again in a couple weeks so I’m thinking I’ll just do it then. Yeah at this point it’s been enough effort spent talking to people I’m ready to call it sunk costs and just git ‘er done. 

I’ve got a couple good jacks, stands, a DeWalt torque/breaker bar, and as JD says there’s the rear trailer jacks. And hey saving myself $400/$900 I can pop for another tool or two for ‘free’, hmmmm …😅

[Tom and Doreen]

11 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

 

There’s another shop I can try locally, or I could take them BACK to Alcan next year, but I’m getting frustrated and thinking about just installing the damn things myself. I’ll troll the (38 page!) thread for DIY install. Anyhow feeling down at the moment, looking for advice thanks

It's not a complicated job to do on your own but will take a bit of time and it helps if you have someone to help.  I replaced all of my springs and associated hardware as well as the shocks last spring by myself out of necessity, (one of my springs broke on my previous trip). It helps to have a good impact wrench with associated impact rated sockets.  In addition to using the Olivers jacks it helps to have a couple of bottle jacks for supporting and manipulating the axles (when lining things up). I also had a couple of jack stands on hand for additional security but luckily didn't need them.  Just take your time and you'll be fine. 

[DanielBoondock]

Thanks for the encouragement! Good tip on the impact wrench, that’s the tool I was looking for. I already have a DeWalt mini vac and a leaf blower for the trailer so will add the mid impact wrench and 3/4” thin walled protective socket, plus a general impact socket set for using on the trailer

AI is helpful here to pull out the tips from the forum, here’s the ones that stand out

• Make sure the shackles point up when assembling or it’ll have to be redone
• Do one side (driver) completely both axels first, then the other side, so the opposing side is aligned and secure
• Tighten U-bolts in a criss-cross
• Align the wet bolts with the grease holes horizontal, and seat the splines (e.g. rubber mallet) before final tightening 
• Shocks
  • Leave the compression strap on the Bulldogs until assembled and on the ground, then clip off to uncompress
  • Be careful about compressing but not squashing the shock end bumpers
  • Torque Bulldogs to 40 ft-lbs and the rest to Alcan specs (provided)
• Do all final torque settings while the trailer is on the ground and ‘loaded’, not hanging in the air
• Use the impact wrench only for loosing and spinning on the nuts, always use a torque wrench for final setting. Don’t use the impact wrench on the wet bolts

Edited 4 hours ago by DanielBoondock

[Wayfinder]

@DanielBoondock or anyone.

I don't have time to trudge thru all this, and I may have mentioned it somewhere in here, but before attempting to remove your old U-bolt nuts, or any, CLEAN the heck out of the visible threads on the bolts.  So clean with a small wire brush, then penetrating fluid for a while.  I did have one of my first nuts seize up on us, and it was a 30 to 45 minute stressful event to get that sucker off.  We did remove it with a LOT of impacting, but man!  What a fight and a half.

Good to have an Impact and a couple charged batteries.

I did have a Ryobi impack drill, a must have (any good brand).  I just added to my tow vehicle tool build-out, the Ryobi 3/8" ratchet drill (again, pick your fav. brand).  There were a few spots the ratchet drill would have fit better than the bulky impact drill.  The ratchet drill is NOT necessary, but a good first-world tool to make some things easier.

When that nut got stuck trying to remove it, I wish I had a grinder.  That's my next tool to add to the truck.

I now carry everything in my truck to do just about any job.  No, I'm no expect, but I know a good bit more now than I did before doing two Olivers' leaf springs.

Oh, VERY Important.  If you are not in good shape with a strong back. Please God, think twice before doing this. I was laid up for a few weeks, but that's my own damn fault for being a computer IT guy for 35 years. 

Now I'm working out and stretching to make my soon-to-retirement (Dec 31st) a better experience.  😉

Lastly, there may have been questions about the 65 ft-lbs of torque on the hanger wet bolts.  I will be inspecting my buddy's Oliver this weekend to see how his hanger look after two years of traveling a good bit.  More to come on that with pics hopefully.  I don't have much mileage on my Oliver since I did my springs, but I will check that too.



 

[Hokieman]

@DanielBoondock Do you plan on re-using your Dexter OEM shackles and wet bolts?   If not, why not?  They should in good shape since your mileage is low.   If you are, then use the Dexter torque values (30 min, 50 max), as the design is different.   Also wanted to remind you to re-use the dished washers from your Monroe shocks and install on the opposite side of the rubber bushing from the Bulldog washers.  This will support the rubber bushings better and they will last longer, provided they are not overtightened.   Details and pics about this are in several threads on the bushing subject,   Attached is one of them.  
 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/11302-cracked-bushings-on-monroe-struts/#comment-124349

Edited 52 minutes ago by Hokieman
Added link

[Hokieman]

I am reluctant to add  yet another lengthy post on this endless thread  but there are concerns that I don’t think have been settled.    They are not a big problem, but worth considering since it’s a simple, free solution.   For those that have already had their Alcan springs installed,  I think this is worth reading, as you might want to check on your setup and avoid premature wear on your system.   I have not had time to replace my springs yet,  but I’ve read every post on it to ensure I do it right, since I will be doing it myself.   Some folks that have installed Alcan shackles and wet bolts seem to have changed their recommendations somewhat after having some experience with the hardware. 
See the attached related thread started by @Wayfinder.   https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/11183-alcan-springs-quote-for-jan-2026/page/2/

On Page 2, @Geronimo John raised several concerns,  all of which I think are valid.   Subsequent posts by others on pages 2 & 3 further support  the concerns, but no consensus, and I’ve not  read anything about it since.  Alcan shackles and wet bolts are a different design than Dexter.   Alcan seems to have an acceptable design, but if used, then it has been suggested by some the maintenance procedure be changed from the one that Alcan recommends.   Specifically, the wet bolts should be set by clearance, not by torque.   Read the posts to explain why, but there have already been a few problems posted.  Periodic re-torquing  could be making matters worse.   I called Alcan to order my springs, and I discussed these concerns with Tim.   He seems relatively knowledgeable about the design, but really couldn’t respond one way or the other, except to say that’s just the way they do it for manufacturing simplicity.   He said he’d pass on my concerns to management, but I have no idea if that will result in any changes.   I also called Oliver and spoke with Scotty in Tech Support.   He confirmed the new Apex model has Alcan 5-leaf springs, but uses the Dexter shackles and wet bolts that are standard on all of our trailers.   That makes  sense from a production standpoint, and the Dexter wet bolts are set to a torque of 30-50 ft-lbs.   The clearance  is handled by the design, because Dexter wet bolts have a shoulder.    I’ll repeat, these comments are coming from someone that has not yet had my hands on an Alcan spring, so I could be way off.   Those of you that already have them, please check your install  and provide feedback, supportive or  otherwise, because you may save yourself and others some repair hassles.   Call Alcan if you’d like, and discuss it with the expert that sold you on their version, and let us all know the outcome.  If the Alcan springs, shackles and bolts need corrective action,  it seems a simple fix to me.   Just check clearance, and re-adjust the wet bolts to get adequate clearance between the bushings and the shackles or hanger tabs.   Should make greasing easier and more effective too. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Hokieman
Typo

[Wayfinder]

I'm sure it's been mentioned here too, but the Alcan wet bolts and shackles are heavier duty than that of Dexters.  If keeping the Dexters, you may have a spare pair of shackles and bolt(s) if doing really long trips across the country.  

I even carry some old ones in case I run into some who again breaks a Dexter shackle or wet bolt.  We've seen both.

In regards to 4 or 5 leafs, I don't think anyone here really could tell a difference between the counts, in the long wrong.  I have 5-leaf, but considered 4.  Oh well - Horse is dead, but both will work fantastic for our light weight rigs.  Just get the upgrade and go enjoy life.