Made in USA leaf springs

[John Dorrer]

7 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

John, I have 3500lbs axles on my 2023 Oliver LEII, or are you referring to the single axle Olivers? 

According to ScubaRX, starting with the 2022 trailers the Axel's are 5,200.

Edited March 14 by John Dorrer

[rich.dev]

37 minutes ago, John Dorrer said:

According to ScubaRX, starting with the 2022 trailers the Axel's are 5,200.

Wish they were, but mine is definitely 3500lbs 😔! 

[Mountainman198]

11 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

Wish they were, but mine is definitely 3500lbs 😔! 

Please correct me of I am wrong, but the suspension arrives to Oliver as an assembly and is rated as the assembly (springs plus axles) and given the lower of the two of axle rating or spring rating. It appears you have D52 (5200lb) axles with 3500 lb springs which as an assembly are correctly rated at 3500 lbs. 

Edited March 14 by Mountainman198

[rideandfly]

Called Dexter with axle ID information from the following "How do I identify my axle?" link and they sent a build sheet.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Contact/FAQ/Axles

Here's the axle build sheet they emailed for our 2015 LE2.

Edited March 14 by rideandfly

[Geronimo John]

40 minutes ago, Mountainman198 said:

the suspension arrives to Oliver as an assembly and is rated as the assembly (springs plus axles).

Very nicely stated.  We will likely all at some time feel the pain of these spring failures, but OTT will certainly have far more difficulties than we will. 

It is for this reason that I hold OTT totally NOT at fault in any way for these springs failing.  IMHO, this is a Dexter OEM issue.  

GJ  

Edited March 14 by Geronimo John

[rich.dev]

26 minutes ago, Mountainman198 said:

Please correct me of I am wrong, but the suspension arrives to Oliver as an assembly and is rated as the assembly (springs plus axles) and given the lower of the two of axle rating or spring rating. It appears you have D52 (5200lb) axles with 3500 lb springs which as an assembly are correctly rated at 3500 lbs.

@Mountainman198 you are correct, when I saw the 3500lbs rating I just assumed its the axle rating. But I googled it and yes D52 means 5200lbs, thanks for the clarification! 😉

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

I may have missed this, but I'm guessing that those that have recently purchased the new Alcan 5-leaf springs will be putting them on older trailers with 3,500 Axel's, versus the 2022 -2024 and 5,200 Axel's...

All those with 5200 LB axles (5-bolt axles), adding the 2000 LB rated Alcan springs will practically have a new GTWR (Gross Trailer Weight Rating) of 8000 LBS. I used the term "practically" since legally the GTWR is still 7000 LB. The brakes on these are also larger diameter for better braking. One could argue, can the OTT frame carry more than 7K LBS and I would think so. Most of us will still be under 7K LBS regardless.

Those with 3500 LB axles (4-bolt axles) the GTWR will still be 7000 since the axle will be the limiting factor.

Regardless of axle type, all other factors being equal, 8K is 14% stiffer than 7K. Anybody into a suspension performance improvement, would look to go 10-20% stiffer. Of course, Mike at Alcan would state the 4-leaf design is minimal. Keep your tires down to the proper PSI for your tire size and load and these springs should be what any of us want for a reliable upgrade.

[Mountainman198]

22 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

@Mountainman198 you are correct, when I saw the 3500lbs rating I just assumed its the axle rating. But I googled it and yes D52 means 5200lbs, thanks for the clarification! 😉

I could have been wrong in which case you had the unicorn nev-r-lube  fitment on 3500# axles. 💪

[John Dorrer]

1 hour ago, rich.dev said:

Wish they were, but mine is definitely 3500lbs 😔! 

Then mine must be 3,500 on our 2022 LE2

[John Dorrer]

3 hours ago, rich.dev said:

John, I have 3500lbs axles on my 2023 Oliver LEII, or are you referring to the single axle Olivers? 

Mine have to be 3,500 on our 2022 as well. I will check under the trailer to confirm.  Thank you for getting to the bottom of this👍

Updated: Confirmed 3,500 on our 2022

Edited March 14 by John Dorrer
Updated Comment

[jd1923]

It's easier to just look at the back of the trailer wheel. If it has 4 bolts to the brake backing plate, it's a 3500 LB axle, 5 bolts then it's a 5200 LB axle!

[John Dorrer]

On 3/7/2024 at 9:52 AM, Rivernerd said:

It seems that the only suspension component on 2022+ Elite IIs that limits the GVWR to 7K lbs. is the 4-leaf springs.  The bearings on each 5200 lb. axle should be rated to 5200 lbs., like the axle is.

It stands to reason that replacing all four of those 4-leaf springs with heavier duty "Made in America" 5-leaf springs could enable an 8000 lb. GVWR (2Kx4=8K) , at least in practical application.  Do any of you engineer types out there disagree with this analysis?

That said, I don't plan to increase the load on our Hull #1291 even if we upgrade to the 5-leaf springs, because we tow with a 2019 Tundra.  The low Tundra payload capacity is our real limitation, not the trailer GVWR.

But, I like to overbuild, so a beefier suspension than is absolutely necessary appeals to me.

There seems to be some confusion on the axel weights. ScubaRX posted 2022 LE2 and newer have 5200 Axel's. The Axel's on our #1045, 2022 LE2 have 3500 on the label. RichDev has a 2023 and the label on his axel says 3,500. There seems to be a disconnect on what the newer Axel's are.

[John Dorrer]

After reading recent comments, I'm totally confused. The label on our 2022 LE2 says D52 Capacity, 3,500. What does this mean? Do I have 3,500 Axel's or is this rating actually 5,200?

 

[John Dorrer]

40 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

It's easier to just look at the back of the trailer wheel. If it has 4 bolts to the brake backing plate, it's a 3500 LB axle, 5 bolts then it's a 5200 LB axle!

When I get back to the trailer I will check that. I'm not mechanically inclined🙃 D52 Capacity, 3,500. on the label

[rich.dev]

18 minutes ago, John Dorrer said:

There seems to be some confusion on the axel weights. ScubaRX posted 2022 LE2 and newer have 5200 Axel's. The Axel's on our #1045, 2022 LE2 have 3500 on the label. RichDev has a 2023 and the label on his axel says 3,500. There seems to be a disconnect on what the newer Axel's are.

John, yes it’s confusing I agree. it’s because how Dexter label the axle/spring combo. Like @Mountainman198 explained in this post, the suspension arrives to Oliver as an assembly (axle and springs), which is then rated on the lower of the two axle rating or spring rating. I googled it and D52 axles are indeed rated at 5200lbs, but since the springs are only rated at 3500lbs that’s the rating for the axle/spring assy, per the Dexter label. If your label shows D52 then yours is the same as mine, ie 3500lbs springs and 5200lbs axles. I think Dexter should clarify in this label what the capacity is based on. 

[John Dorrer]

51 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

John, yes it’s confusing I agree. it’s because how Dexter label the axle/spring combo. Like @Mountainman198 explained in this post, the suspension arrives to Oliver as an assembly (axle and springs), which is then rated on the lower of the two axle rating or spring rating. I googled it and D52 axles are indeed rated at 5200lbs, but since the springs are only rated at 3500lbs that’s the rating for the axle/spring assy, per the Dexter label. If your label shows D52 then yours is the same as mine, ie 3500lbs springs and 5200lbs axles. I think Dexter should clarify in this label what the capacity is based on. 

I was totally confused

 Thanks.

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, John Dorrer said:

When I get back to the trailer I will check that. I'm not mechanically inclined🙃 D52 Capacity, 3,500. on the label

I'm reading here the D52 code means 5200 LB axle and the 3500 LB means total leaf spring capacity. Wish mine were the 5200 axles for 12" brakes vs the 10" mounted on the lighter axles. This is good news for you!

If you still want to check the backside of one of your wheels, just look right where the axle connects, closest to the wheel, to the brake backing plate. In a circle close to and around the axle, you should see 5 bolts in a pentagon shape (given yours are 5200 LB) or 4 bolts in a small square pattern for the 3500s. Or post a pic here if you want a dozen more opinions! 🤣

[Ronbrink]

To @jd1923’s point, my 2020 OLEll has the 3500 LB axles with the described square pattern 4 bolt axle connection. 

 

D35 axle label confirmation.

 

[2008RN]

1 hour ago, Ronbrink said:

To @jd1923’s point, my 2020 OLEll has the 3500 LB axles with the described square pattern 4 bolt axle connection.

D35 axle label confirmation.

 

I also have the D35 Label.   Does that mean that I should not update to the Alcan 2,000# springs.  I run between 6,300 and 6,500 on the scales. I would not mind that little extra stiffness.  I replaced the original Monroe shocks this winter (3 were shot with 8,000 miles on the Oli) with Bulldog HD shocks. I haven't had a chance to take her out on the rougher windy 2 lane roads yet.  Darn, I was really hoping that I was going to have the D52 axles!

[AlbertNTerri]

Just got off the phone with ALCAN, they do install

Everyone I spoke with was very helpful including Randy, she’s the receptionist.  Everything else I got from Tucker

Here’s my report.

ALCAN Springs 

2242 US-6,

Grand Junction, CO 81505

 

1 (970) 241-2655

https://www.alcanspring.com

 

Randy (front desk)

2-3 weeks advance notice, should have no problem getting in

Tucker (service)

here’s the price breakdown:

 

2-3 hr labor @ $125/ hr                                    $250.00

Springs    x     4  $149.95 ea                               599.80

+/- Wet Bolts x14 $13.99 ea                               195.86

Lock Nuts x 14              99¢ ea                              13.86

U Bolts, nuts & washers x8 $17.86 ea              142.88

+/-Shackles x 8       $5.99ea                                  47.92

(he said, they often see the holes rounding out in the old shackles)

Mor ryde Eaqualizer $255 ea x2                        510.00

________________________________________________                    

                                                         Total          $1,760.32

 

He will call Oliver to confirm it’s ok to have the 3” more of upward travel with the Mor ryde Equalize, that replaces the “flex suspension“.  He noted that if Oliver says it’s OK that the upgrade in suspension will give a smoother ride and take out a lot more of the bumps if you hit a pothole for instance 

He also said that the Mor ryde Equalizer has Brass bushings that you can grease vs plastic bushings which is what we have. He said it’s not necessary, but that it will last a lot longer and will probably never wear out given the way we use them

 

So you could reduce the price by $510 if you want to skip replacing the flex suspension. 

He said you can expect to

Drop off @ 0730 &

P/U  early-mid afternoon the same day 

 

He said they’re stocking these things now so it should be no problem but by giving them the two weeks heads up, they can make sure they have everything in stock and if they have to, they can have a new set manufactured by the time you show up

 

I told him I’d be there sometime in May or June after we leave Key West, I think I’m gonna go for the whole sh’bang

(it’s only an hour and a half from the house)

a

[AlbertNTerri]

PLUS TAX

 

(of course)

 

a

[jd1923]

Convenient @AlbertNTerri for you living nearby! When you get yours done, please post the part # for the MORryde Equalizer they install. Thanks

[rich.dev]

Probably the MORryde 3000 system, but yes please post the part# for the Morryde Equalizer they install.

Here's a nice video explaining/comparing the most popular RV and trailer suspensions, ie Morryde, Lippert and Dexter.

 

Edited March 15 by rich.dev

[rich.dev]

2 hours ago, AlbertNTerri said:

He also said that the Mor ryde Equalizer has Brass bushings that you can grease vs plastic bushings which is what we have. He said it’s not necessary, but that it will last a lot longer and will probably never wear out given the way we use them

@AlbertNTerri You had me thinking about the plastic bushings vs brass bushings, on my 2023 Oliver LEII I'm pretty sure I have the Dexter E-Z flex Equalizers with the brass bushings, per this video.

 

[Mike and Carol]

Great information, @AlbertNTerri!  It’s good to know they also do installation.  I’m having Oliver replace my shocks, bearings and brakes in May.  I’ve asked how much to replace the springs if I bring my own.  No answer yet.  My son’s business is in Grand Junction and we’re going to be camping at Ridgway State Park in June, so I could wait and have ALCAN do the install.  Mike