Made in USA leaf springs

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, ChristianD said:

I probably didn't need to replace those, but I wanted everything to be new and not have any wear and tear on them.

2 hours ago, Allen Lee Rohner said:

Thanks for the response,  I am also planning in doing the Alcan upgrade.

I believe you did right in replacing them You also have a good used full axle-spring assembly that could be sold locally to somebody building a lightweight homemade trailer for ATVs or whatever (I have my originals listed on Craigs).

Look at your picture above and you can see the center bushings on both Dexter EZ-Flex equalizers are off-center meaning the center bushing are worn enough to be cock-eyed! You can get the full EZ-Flex set, or I just purchased the equalizers since we went with the Alcan HD shackles and wet-bolts.

See more info here:

 

[TimD]

We replaced the OEM springs on our 2019 LE2 (hull 701) with Alcan HD springs a couple of weeks back.  Certified RV in Holliston, MA did the work and, other than having a drop link flip as we lowered the trailer off the jacks, the work was done without drama and to our satisfaction.

We then did a 650-mile round trip to the Lehigh Valley to meet up with some friends from Pittsburgh. I re-tightened the bolts after 300 miles and will check them again now that we're home. 

Not long after leaving home we felt the HD springs have caused a significant increase in "jounce" (pitch) of the TV, which is a 2019 F-150 SuperCrew, 145" WB, 5'7" bed, FX4 off-road suspension.  The TV bed was lightly loaded, perhaps 125 lbs total, with another 50 lbs in the cabin rear seat area.  The effect is that the rear of the TV is accelerated upwards when the Ollie hits a large bump, more than we remembered. 

Anyone else experience this?   Mechanically it makes sense:  the Ollie suspension is less compliant, so the hull moves more and transmits this motion to the TV.   Something to consider when changing springs...  Improved corrosion protection is one thing, increasing stiffness is an entirely different thing.

As a postscript, we recently spoke with a guy at a campground in Morrisville, VT who was pulling a 30' Airstream with a Ford Expedition (not a Max).  He insisted that bigger / heavier / more stiffly sprung tow vehicles were not obviously better and mentioned a Canadian YouTuber (name?  Too lazy to look) who espoused this view...

We did not change the axles nor replace the equalizers.

Tim

 

 

[Mountainman198]

9 hours ago, TimD said:

We replaced the OEM springs on our 2019 LE2 (hull 701) with Alcan HD springs a couple of weeks back.  Certified RV in Holliston, MA did the work and, other than having a drop link flip as we lowered the trailer off the jacks, the work was done without drama and to our satisfaction.

We then did a 650-mile round trip to the Lehigh Valley to meet up with some friends from Pittsburgh. I re-tightened the bolts after 300 miles and will check them again now that we're home. 

Not long after leaving home we felt the HD springs have caused a significant increase in "jounce" (pitch) of the TV, which is a 2019 F-150 SuperCrew, 145" WB, 5'7" bed, FX4 off-road suspension.  The TV bed was lightly loaded, perhaps 125 lbs total, with another 50 lbs in the cabin rear seat area.  The effect is that the rear of the TV is accelerated upwards when the Ollie hits a large bump, more than we remembered. 

Anyone else experience this?   Mechanically it makes sense:  the Ollie suspension is less compliant, so the hull moves more and transmits this motion to the TV.   Something to consider when changing springs...  Improved corrosion protection is one thing, increasing stiffness is an entirely different thing.

As a postscript, we recently spoke with a guy at a campground in Morrisville, VT who was pulling a 30' Airstream with a Ford Expedition (not a Max).  He insisted that bigger / heavier / more stiffly sprung tow vehicles were not obviously better and mentioned a Canadian YouTuber (name?  Too lazy to look) who espoused this view...

We did not change the axles nor replace the equalizers.

Tim

 

 

My new springs took about 1-2,000 miles to fully break-in, becoming more compliant and soften-up as newly formed steel and freshly painted mating surfaces get to know one another).  Hoping you will notice this too after getting a few more miles under your springs 

I noticed no additional jounce after the Alcan install but then again I had previously installed firestone airbags on the Tundra to address this issue experienced with stock dexter springs. 
 

What tire pressure are you running in your trailer tires?  50 psi seems good for me. Others like something within the 45-55 psi range. 
 

Happy travels!