# Sticky  Dexter Leaf Spring Inspection



## CamperAndy

This is written by CamperLouise while CamperAndy is towing.

We spent the night at the Moline Illinois Wal-Mart then while towing through Illinois smooth interstate (NOT) and going through Joliet some car that passed us made signals to the back of our trailer.

Andy looked in the mirrors and saw our trailer towing at a 15 degree angle.... We quickly pulled over and tried to keep the back of the trailer from going into the ditch while getting the front of the truck out of traffic.

Upon inspection we found that the passenger side rear wheel no longer in the wheel well but pushed back against the rear shackle. Inspection found 2 missing leaf springs and location dowel. The U bolts were obviously loose.

Andy jacked up the trailer, and disassembled the leaf spring while I used computer and Verizon air card to locate parts nearby. Luckily we found a suspension shop within 5 miles that had the leaf springs in stock.

During re-assembly there were some issues such as the U-bolts were deformed some and did not fit into the strong backs properly. So while Andy struggled with that, I went and found some 6" C-clamps to re-shape the U bolts some. While I was gone, he inspected the other leaf spring u-bolts and found some that were only FINGER tight. Scary, very scary. Re torqued all of them to 70 ft/lbs.

While I was gone out of thousands of cars who did not change lanes and flew by like idiots...one good Samaritan stopped and went home and got his own c-clamps and stayed and helped Andy till the job was done. What a guy! Thanks Brian from Joliet, Il!!!!!

RECOMMEND that everyone re-check their U-bolts retaining nuts IMMEDIATELY. The trailer you save could be your own.

PS: We had no indication with our steering that the trailer was not tracking. The fix took 2 and 1/2 hours and we may have 2 replace 2 tires due to scuffing.

PS #2: If that was not bad enough, 15 minutes after we got back on the road, we hit another Illinois bump and dropped a $150 tire off of the sons bike off the front bike rack that went under our truck, under our trailer, hit our sons car who was following behind us to monitor our wheels and went under him to hit the front of a semi who then sent it bouncing to be crushed by another car. Thank God no one was hurt! But we now have to make another detour to make this bike useful while on our trip!!!!!!

PS #3: pictures will be posted!


----------



## jozway

Wow that really sucks. Glad you got it fixed right away. Hope the rest of your trip is uneventful.


----------



## tdvffjohn

Luckily Andy was able to make his own repairs or down time would have been much worse. My unit has 11,000 miles on it but its time to get under and recheck.

Safe travels from here on.

John


----------



## jozway

tdvffjohn said:


> Luckily Andy was able to make his own repairs or down time would have been much worse. My unit has 11,000 miles on it but its time to get under and recheck.
> 
> Safe travels from here on.
> 
> John


Yeah probably would took the rest of us 4-5 hours.


----------



## mmblantz

Glad you guys made it through safely. ---Mike


----------



## CJ999

Just went out and checked mine and found them all snug after about 9000 miles of wear.

Interestingly, I checked in on the site today because I was intending to look for info related to leaf springs and axles. We spent the weeked at a friend's "property".... 10 beautiful acres north of Truckee near Jackson Meadows Reservoir in California. The route was rough. Interstate 80 getting there was worse than a dirt road. The the dirt roads were, well, rough. So I spent some time thinking about clearances, and tires, and leaf springs and axles.

Not to hikack the thread here, but maybe to make it more robust, I have a few questions indirectly related:

1. Can someone please school me, or point me to a full thread that will school me, on the benefits/hazards of flipping the axles? 
2. It seems like we hear of a broken leaf spring every so often on this forum. Is there benefit to upgrading the leaf springs at the time of a flip? 
3. Are bigger tires worth the effort and cost? E.g. going from 14" rims to 15" rims???


----------



## tdvffjohn

Just start a new thread under towing and ask the same questions


----------



## CJ999

Done.


----------



## CamperAndy

Just a side note and point of reference, we have over 6000 miles on the trailer.

Andy wants you to know that even as anal as he is...(sorry for the poor choice of words) that he did not appreciate that those nuts needed to be checked at all. He even inspected the shackles for wear prior to departure but did not look at those darn u-bolt nuts.

Hopefully, no one else trailer will have this problem but better be safe than sorry.


----------



## folsom_five

Wow Andy/Louise, glad no serious damage was done, and glad you were able to get back on the road quickly. I just spent the last few days driving through New Jersey and New York and couldn't believe the ROUGH roads we traveled over... Hitting a patch of bad roadway at 60mph is very nerve rattling as well as bad for truck/trailer. 
It's rainging right now in Ithaca, NY otherwise I would be under my TT checking things out. I guess I'll be out there in the morning if the mud's not too bad. 
Thanks for the warning!

--Greg


----------



## Fanatical1

folsom_five said:


> Wow Andy/Louise, glad no serious damage was done, and glad you were able to get back on the road quickly. I just spent the last few days driving through New Jersey and New York and couldn't believe the ROUGH roads we traveled over... Hitting a patch of bad roadway at 60mph is very nerve rattling as well as bad for truck/trailer.
> It's rainging right now in Ithaca, NY otherwise I would be under my TT checking things out. I guess I'll be out there in the morning if the mud's not too bad.
> Thanks for the warning!
> 
> --Greg


Glad no one was hurt and your back on the road. If you need anything, I'm only 10 minutes off the turnpike in Cleveland as you come east.

Mark


----------



## Sayonara

Wow, sorry to hear you had to go through that! Thanks for the heads-up.....we live in MI, definitely have to check our hardware, the roads here are horrible and may have loosened things up.

Travel Safe!


----------



## battalionchief3

I check mine every spring, think I will go check them again.....


----------



## California Jim

You guys are a great team. Nice work and thanks for the heads up.


----------



## Carey

Yea that I80 thru Illinois is a rough one! Sorry bout all your trouble.. RV's arent made like they used to be anymore...

Reasons.... Giligan is from a far away land south of the US.. It has changed the quality level.. You should see some of the pics at our rv yard... We have had entire axles fall off and get spit out the back.. The damage done is just incredible when that happens..

Just a few weeks ago, a driver got stuck in South Dakota and had to wait 3 days while a dealer rewelded the spring shackles, made a new axle, and reinstalled the axle just to get the rv back to the factory.. No dealer was gonna take that one after the axle fell off and then shot out the back... lol

Be ready for the potholes and try to run the truck out of the normal tire tracks.. I crowd the shoulder or the zipper.. Sometimes I put the trailer tires right on the zipper.. I say too bad who are passing me in the left lane.. I miss most of the potholes that way.. I also run with a tire on the shoulder to miss those potholes too.. I dont care about breaking the law a bit to save my trailer.. Yea some wont agree, but it beats dealing with the kinds of trouble those nasty potholes do to ya..

Its too bad that this a normal thing anymore with bad suspension parts and quality of work..

Hope the trip improves!

Carey


----------



## CamperAndy

Fanatical1 said:


> Wow Andy/Louise, glad no serious damage was done, and glad you were able to get back on the road quickly. I just spent the last few days driving through New Jersey and New York and couldn't believe the ROUGH roads we traveled over... Hitting a patch of bad roadway at 60mph is very nerve rattling as well as bad for truck/trailer.
> It's rainging right now in Ithaca, NY otherwise I would be under my TT checking things out. I guess I'll be out there in the morning if the mud's not too bad.
> Thanks for the warning!
> 
> --Greg


Glad no one was hurt and your back on the road. If you need anything, I'm only 10 minutes off the turnpike in Cleveland as you come east.

Mark
[/quote]

Thank you Mark, we ended up stopping in Rock Island to get a new wheel for the Mountain bike. It cost $125, but most places I called quoted $150 and most did not have all the parts to make a match wheel for this bike. Kudos to Century Cycles for being open till 8PM and staying till 8:15 PM to get us back on our way. Knowing the bad day we had had so far, he gave us a better deal on the tire. Even came out to the truck to put it on so we did not have to take all 3 bikes off the rack to install it. 
Ended up driving till 1 AM to make up lost time, spent the night in another Wal-Mart parking lot (Rochester) and back on the road at 7:30AM. Get to Quebec this afternoon.


----------



## Dan H.

Thanks for the note of caution.

Does anyone know the torque specs for the nuts, or do I not need them?

Is it possible to put some type of safety device on the nuts to keep them from backing off after being secured (safety wire, cotter pin, secondary nut, etc.)

This is a great forum for trailer safety !


----------



## CamperAndy

Dan H. said:


> Thanks for the note of caution.
> 
> Does anyone know the torque specs for the nuts, or do I not need them?
> 
> Is it possible to put some type of safety device on the nuts to keep them from backing off after being secured (safety wire, cotter pin, secondary nut, etc.)
> 
> This is a great forum for trailer safety !


Andy says torque to 70lbs and easiest precaution would be to put a seond nut (double nutting).


----------



## rdvholtwood

I am sorry that you had to go through all of that and thank God no one was hurt. Thank you for sharing this information and since we are staying home this weekend, I'm going to go around and check things out.


----------



## ember

We spent a few minutes with Camper Andy and Camper Louise this afternoon!! Wait until they have time to post pics of how out of wack their tires etc were!! WOW!!!!! Not a scratch on the OB though. They were in good spirits, and anxious to get to Louises' parents cabin!! Everyone including the dogs looked great after the long stretch on the road!!
nice meeting you and your family Campers Andy and Louise. Hope you have a great time with your extended family!!
TTFN
Ember


----------



## Carey

Red Loctite would keep em on there forever..

Why the factory doesnt do this bogles me.. The automakers loctite all nuts and bolts that have to do with safety... They loctite even diff cover bolts and stuff like that.

Why the rv makers never use loctite tells us that they havent had there butts sued off yet..

Having a u bolt loosen up on an rv is totally unacceptable... At least it is to me.. I could accept a lose bolt at 90,000 miles.. But who would ever think ubolts would be lose at 9000 miles.. Once these are tight and torqued properly they stay tight.. This tells me they were lose from the factory.

Andy I bet you were smokin mad! Glad you didnt get hit on that highway. Dangerous stuff!

If they would just take the quality level just a smidgen further we wouldnt see these kinds of things happening..

I know all about this, as our yard has had rashes of ubolt and shackle problems from time to time.. Enough that we all get warnings from our bosses on paper of all the mayham that is happening at the time..

Again, if they could just pick up a torque wrench and properly use it, we wouldnt see this as much..

Keystone should pay you for your time, parts and new tires Andy and Louise.. Warranty or not!

Carey


----------



## CamperAndy

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> Keystone should pay you for your time, parts and new tires Andy and Louise.. Warranty or not!
> 
> Carey


Not sure if I will go to Dexter or Keystone first. Keystone gets these already assembled so they may just try to pawn it off on Dexter anyway. I will follow up and let everyone know if there is any compensation.


----------



## CamperAndy

ember said:


> We spent a few minutes with Camper Andy and Camper Louise this afternoon!! Wait until they have time to post pics of how out of wack their tires etc were!! WOW!!!!! Not a scratch on the OB though. They were in good spirits, and anxious to get to Louises' parents cabin!! Everyone including the dogs looked great after the long stretch on the road!!
> nice meeting you and your family Campers Andy and Louise. Hope you have a great time with your extended family!!
> TTFN
> Ember


It was great meeting you guys also and if I had know your son was a Dodge guy I would have shown him the mods I did to the truck while we we visiting. Thanks again for the Vermont Maple syrup. Will will be doing taste testing with Louise's family and the Quebec maple syrup.


----------



## Tyvekcat

I will never complain about I-77 in North







Carolina again !


----------



## kevman

I had a similar problem in June on my trip from Texas to Florida. We experienced a complete leaf spring failure on the front axel prior to knowing there was a problem. On our way back from Disney headed toward Destin we had our front axel completely break away from the leaf spring. I believe that the leaf spring separted just as you described. I did have a warning that there was a problem prior to the failure but I didn't understand what was happening. I have the type of tire chucks the lock in place between the two tire and on one side of the trailer there was more slack than in the past and on the other there was more space.

We were 12 miles outside of Gainsville going 70 when the front axel broke free of the leaf spring and rolled into the back axel. The two tires basically met and it acted like a brake to the front tire. It was a tire smoking mess. the front tire was almost completely shreded in less than 15 seconds. We ended up leaving the trailer on the highway. Found a good samaritan at a Japanese car repair shop that found a tow company to help us. they backed the trailer up and blocked up the remainder of the leaf sping and towed it to a trailer repair place. 5 1/2 hours and $400 dollars later we were back on the road. $225 was the tow bill and one new tire and a leaf spring and we were back in business.

I believe that my problems were caused by exactly what you have described. check your clamps and make sure they are still tight and in the proper place. I am afraid that my trailer would have flipped had my back axel spring failed in the same manner as the front. God was watching out for me and my family.


----------



## Partsman Ed

Yikes!!







Another thing to check out when I replace my tire and wheel combo!!


----------



## CamperAndy

As promised here are some pictures.

What it looked like as I walked back to see why the trailer was walking sideways down the road.









Not what I wanted to see.









Just happy the shackle held what was left of the leaf springs









Ready to put back together, taken while I was off getting the new spring pack









Tire wear from about 1/4 mile of pulling the trailer. It lasted the rest of the trip of 4500 miles but it and one other tire will need to be replaced


----------



## jozway

Andy, 
That is down right scary looking. So glad you caught it before the tire blew that could have been horrific.
Joe



CamperAndy said:


> As promised here are some pictures.
> 
> What it looked like as I walked back to see why the trailer was walking sideways down the road.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not what I wanted to see.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just happy the shackle held what was left of the leaf springs
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ready to put back together, taken while I was off getting the new spring pack
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tire wear from about 1/4 mile of pulling the trailer. It lasted the rest of the trip of 4500 miles but it and one other tire will need to be replaced


----------



## BlueWedge

I am so glad this didn't turn out worse for you guys.

Are springs on trailers not pinned at all ? From the photo it doesn't look like there is any kind pin/interface on the pad or spring ? The nuts don't look all that loose from what I remember from ours. I have the urge to look at ours again even though I looked at them a few days ago.


----------



## CamperAndy

BlueWedge said:


> I am so glad this didn't turn out worse for you guys.
> 
> Are springs on trailers not pinned at all ? From the photo it doesn't look like there is any kind pin/interface on the pad or spring ? The nuts don't look all that loose from what I remember from ours. I have the urge to look at ours again even though I looked at them a few days ago.


There is a guide/location pin but when the U-bolts got loose it allowed the axle to slide and sheared the pin. We lost 2 of the 4 leafs.


----------



## psychodad

Holly Gilligan Batman.







Andy, those pictures are scary. I will be under our OB today as we get ready for our next trip this coming weekend. Thanks for the heads up.


----------



## beachbum

I checked the leaf spring shackles on my trailer this past week. they were tight. But I did notice that my axles are on top of the springs, not under, as in Camper Andy's pictures. Were those axles "flipped", or is that they way they come from the factory now?? Just wondering.
david :


----------



## CamperAndy

beachbum said:


> I checked the leaf spring shackles on my trailer this past week. they were tight. But I did notice that my axles are on top of the springs, not under, as in Camper Andy's pictures. Were those axles "flipped", or is that they way they come from the factory now?? Just wondering.
> david :


Depending on the model they can come under or over. On the 31rqs the axle is under the springs.


----------



## Plowstock

kevman said:


> I had a similar problem in June on my trip from Texas to Florida. We experienced a complete leaf spring failure on the front axel prior to knowing there was a problem. On our way back from Disney headed toward Destin we had our front axel completely break away from the leaf spring. I believe that the leaf spring separted just as you described. I did have a warning that there was a problem prior to the failure but I didn't understand what was happening. I have the type of tire chucks the lock in place between the two tire and on one side of the trailer there was more slack than in the past and on the other there was more space.
> 
> We were 12 miles outside of Gainsville going 70 when the front axel broke free of the leaf spring and rolled into the back axel. The two tires basically met and it acted like a brake to the front tire. It was a tire smoking mess. the front tire was almost completely shreded in less than 15 seconds. We ended up leaving the trailer on the highway. Found a good samaritan at a Japanese car repair shop that found a tow company to help us. they backed the trailer up and blocked up the remainder of the leaf sping and towed it to a trailer repair place. 5 1/2 hours and $400 dollars later we were back on the road. $225 was the tow bill and one new tire and a leaf spring and we were back in business.
> 
> I believe that my problems were caused by exactly what you have described. check your clamps and make sure they are still tight and in the proper place. I am afraid that my trailer would have flipped had my back axel spring failed in the same manner as the front. God was watching out for me and my family.


----------



## Plowstock

I believe God was watching over you. Travel trailers may be making him tired. I just wanted to say if you are running original tires they are probably Type ST for trailer and your maxium speed is 65. I was told that and it didn't settle well with me. When you go slower than traffic around you, you become a road hazard.

Just wanted to mention that.


----------



## raynardo

Plowstock said:


> I believe God was watching over you. Travel trailers may be making him tired. I just wanted to say if you are running original tires they are probably Type ST for trailer and your maxium speed is 65. I was told that and it didn't settle well with me. When you go slower than traffic around you, you become a road hazard.
> 
> Just wanted to mention that.


On principle I agree with you on driving speeds and becoming a road hazard, unfortunately here in California it doesn't matter what the posted speed for passenger vehicles is (up to 75mph), the maximum speed for any vehicle towing a trailer is a mere 55mph, a 20mph difference. Cross the state line into Arizona and there's one speed for all, yet as you pointed out the maximum speed rating for ST (trailer tires) is 65mph.

So it really boils down to a matter of safety. Having a trailer tire explode at 75mph can have disastrous results, not only from direct damage to the trailer (been there, done that) but it can cause one to lose control which can have really ugly results.

So, after many years and miles of hauling trailers, I've decided that 58mph is the perfect hauling speed for me. I'm within the limits of my tires, and I buy the absolute best tires I can for my trailer - the Kumho 857, and at that speed I end up getting the best fuel economy with my 2012 F-250 diesel with a 50 gallon tank 13.36mpg on my last trip towing from San Francisco to San Diego on Highway 101.

With my truck and trailer combination I turn on the cruise control, sit back and enjoy the drive, maintaining the same speed whether I'm going uphill or downhill - which prevents me from becoming that proverbial road hazard.


----------



## Gilligan

raynardo said:


> ...my last trip towing from San Francisco to San Diego on Highway 101.


OK, I've got to ask. How did you take the 101 all the way to San Diego? It ends in LA, and hasn't gone to San Diego since something like 1966.
Just wonderin'.

Gilligan


----------



## CamperAndy

Gilligan said:


> ...my last trip towing from San Francisco to San Diego on Highway 101.


OK, I've got to ask. How did you take the 101 all the way to San Diego? It ends in LA, and hasn't gone to San Diego since something like 1966.
Just wonderin'.

Gilligan








[/quote]

Maybe he used Apple Map?


----------



## jake's outback

Oh Boy... Apple Maps... Sorry you just got laugh! DS works for Apple...


----------



## raynardo

Gilligan said:


> OK, I've got to ask. How did you take the 101 all the way to San Diego? It ends in LA, and hasn't gone to San Diego since something like 1966.
> Just wonderin'.


Okay....I lied.

I actually started in Petaluma and ended up in Oceanside.

And no it doesn't end in LA, you can take it all the way to San Clemente then take 17 miles of I-5 because 101 is blocked off through Camp Pendleton (part of it is now a campground!), pick it up in Oceanside again and continue on to San Diego.


----------



## Gilligan

raynardo said:


> And no it doesn't end in LA, you can take it all the way to San Clemente then take 17 miles of I-5 because 101 is blocked off through Camp Pendleton (part of it is now a campground!), pick it up in Oceanside again and continue on to San Diego.


Au contraire. US 101 officially ends in LA. Granted the physical highway still exists south of LA that was once called US 101, but it is not an official US highway by that number. Much of the old route is now CA 1, and there are sections that are designated *Historic* US 101, much the same as US 66 still exists in places as *Historic* US 66, but those sections are not recognized as official US highways of those respective numbers. I guess we are splitting hairs on this, aren't we.









Gilligan


----------



## TwoElkhounds

Wow, those pictures are pretty scarey!! Thank God nothing worse happened.

Our leaf spring broke while we were on the road this summer. The foreman at the suspension shop where we had the leaf springs repaired advised me to check the torque on the U bolts after around 500 miles, and periodically thereafter. Looks like this is very good advice.

DAN


----------



## Bart Youngblood

TwoElkhounds said:


> Wow, those pictures are pretty scarey!! Thank God nothing worse happened.
> 
> Our leaf spring broke while we were on the road this summer. The foreman at the suspension shop where we had the leaf springs repaired advised me to check the torque on the U bolts after around 500 miles, and periodically thereafter. Looks like this is very good advice.
> 
> DAN


I would suggest swapping out with self locking nuts as well. The top 2-3 threads are deformed to keep the nut from backing off, auto manufacturers have been using them for at least 30 years. They are harder to install and remove than standard nuts, but they DO NOT back off. I've removed them from suspension parts on cars with 100k + miles and they're still as tight as the day they were installed.

I'll be the oddball of the group and will most likely swap everything out with metric fasteners when I do it too. There's no excuse for them using SAE stuff in 2013!


----------

