ScottMT
Montana
New Member
Joined: 05/08/2023
View Profile
 Offline
|
I'm in the middle of replacing all of my springs and upgrading to a moryde wet bolt kit... so, while I'm here...
I've figured out what size shock I need, but as I test the one I have off, it seems okay (maybe). There is resistance when extending/compressing it. It compresses easier than in extends, which might make some sense to absorb bumps and slow down the rebound, but I dunno. There is no automatic rebound when not attached like I've seen in most automotive shocks - there appears to be no internal pressure that wants to extend the shock automatically. That said, again, I don't don't really know what is expected.
Thoughts? I could replace them all with the monroe version, for $32 piece, but I'd rather not waste $130 needlessly. I just got this trailer, and I don't know if these have ever been replace. I do know that the bushings are totally squashed out.
|
pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 12/18/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
I chose to replace the shocks when I redid the springs.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
|
corvettekent
Marysville, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 09/21/2014
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I also replaced my shocks when I installed the wet bolt kit.
2022 Silverado 3500 High Country CC/LB, SRW, L5P. B&W Companion Hitch with pucks. Hadley air horns.
2004 32' Carriage 5th wheel. 860 watts of solar MPPT, two SOK 206 ah LiFePO4 batteries. Samlex 2,000 watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter.
|
opnspaces
San Diego Ca
Senior Member
Joined: 12/22/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
They are probably not gas charged shocks to no auto extending. Unless the shocks are showing signs of leaking I would just put them back in and run them. Do you know how many miles are on the current shocks?
I'll bet most trailers are pulled by weekenders and probably under 2,000 miles a year meaning no real significant wear.
2001 Suburban 4x4. 6.0L, 4.10 3/4 ton
2005 Jayco Jay Flight 27BH
1986 Coleman Columbia Popup.
|
Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2013
View Profile
Offline
|
Considering most trailers don’t have shocks it certainly isn’t going to hurt a thing to not replace them.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
|
|
|
Cummins12V98
on the road
Senior Member
Joined: 06/03/2012
View Profile
Offline
|
CARiD, Monroe® 555001 $38.84 ea, These are the Magnum US Made Monroe's.
YES get rid of the JUNK shocks!!!
Every RV I have owned had shocks.
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"
"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600
2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable
2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD
|
valhalla360
No paticular place.
Senior Member
Joined: 08/19/2009
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Grit dog wrote:Considering most trailers don’t have shocks it certainly isn’t going to hurt a thing to not replace them.
That was my thought. If there's no sign of them having failed, they are probably still good and you are better than 95% of trailers out there.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV
|
Cummins12V98
on the road
Senior Member
Joined: 06/03/2012
View Profile
Offline
|
valhalla360 wrote:Grit dog wrote:Considering most trailers don’t have shocks it certainly isn’t going to hurt a thing to not replace them.
That was my thought. If there's no sign of them having failed, they are probably still good and you are better than 95% of trailers out there.
If they are OE shocks I guarantee they are JUNK. I highly advise replacing with the ones I mentioned.
|
fj12ryder
Platte City, MO
Senior Member
Joined: 08/19/2003
View Profile
|
Since very few trailer come with shocks, it's anybody's guess what brand of shock is on the trailer. Heck, they could be an aftermarket shock kit that the PO installed. If there's still resistance and they don't leak, I'd use them.
Howard and Peggy
"Don't Panic"
|
JBarca
Radnor, Ohio, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 12/16/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
ScottMT,
I'll add a few things to try and help you sort this out. Not sure of the background of your camper, but if you are replacing the springs, there is some reason telling you to do this.
Here are a few tips dealing with the springs, wet bolts, and shocks that may help if you are trying to set up the camper for a longer life.
Look at the eyes on the ends of your new springs to see if they are curled and closed tight fit to the main leaf. There should be no gap in the end curl. I have seen some as bad as a 1/8" gap when brand new, which is a junk spring in my view. While they sell many with a gap, and use the standard nylon bushings in them, the setup is poor and will not be long-lasting. The nylon will swedge/extrude into that gap and the life of the bushing wears even faster. The standard nylon start wearing through in many cases between 8,000 to 10,000 miles. Not that long. Once the bushing is worn through even with no gap, you are grinding spring pin on spring and the spring eye then becomes oval and wallored out unevenly across the width of the spring.
By going with the bronze bushings with wet bolts, this is a very worthwhile upgrade. They are much longer lasting but do need to be greased often. Every 3,000 miles is a good marker, 5,000 would be about my limit.
The bronze bushing however needs help to last longer. The thin wall bushing needs 100% support on the OD surface of the bushing to not crack. The spring eyes with a gap are the first to start a crack in the thin wall bushing. It's not the bushing's fault, it is the bore in the spring that supports the OD of the bushing.
You can also get bronze cracks at the ends of the bushing from a large leaf edge radius at the start of the eye bore. Again, the spring eye having that large lead-in radius creates a gap at the end of the bronze bushing that is 1 3/4" wide. The bronze will start to crack in the unsupported bronze.
You are sort of at the mercy of the spring quality you buy. Even with the cracks from not being 100% supported, which can come in time from the unsupported bronze, the bronze is still better than the nylon. I'm past 40,000 miles on the bronze bushings I put in. While my spring eyes are tight, a few of spring eyes have a large radius issue at the start of the spring eye bore, and the bushing cracks right there. I have replaced those areas once already but the rest remain in good service.
When you install the wet bolts, make sure the grease hole is pointing to 3:00 or 9:00 location (horizontal). If the hole is more vertical, pending on how heavy your camper is, your normal grease gun will not have enough pressure to lift the camper's weight off the grease hole and allow more grease to get it.
Think about changing to 90-degree or 45-degree grease fittings and have the fitting on the outside so you do not have to crawl under the camper to grease them.
Make sure the heads of the spring pins will not spin in the hanger, if the holes in the hangers are ovalized and won't hold the spring pin head serrations, deal with the hanger to get the head to not spin. There are a few ways to stop the pin from spinning depending on how bad the holes are. A spinning pin will create an issue in the hangers as the miles add up. Make sure you hold the wet bolt head in a box wrench etc. when tightening or taking off the nut or you can strip out the serrations.
The shocks, I added the Monroe Magnum gas shocks in late 2010/early 2011. I have only had one with a seal leak since the original install, and I'm still using them. These do spring push out when in the open not bolted in place.
The angle of the shock and the way it is mounted is an issue in the RV industry. Some brands, straight from the factory, mount them close to horizontal and they are not very effective that way. Monroe states the slight angle range from vertical is how they should mounted. Even if you go to the Monroe shocks and they are mounted too close to horizontal, they will not be very effective.
Back when I mounted mine, Monroe did not offer mounts for the shocks so I had to make my own and then deal with how to get them mounted to contend with a heated tank compartment. I did not have enough clearance to mount them on the outside of the frame, so I mounted them more inboard.
This post with pics of my setup may help. https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea........hread/tid/24776971/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1
If you plan to keep the camper for a long time and you are towing it, a good set of shocks helps save the camper. In my view, they are worth it. It dramatically cuts down on the entire frame flexing and camper walls, the tires, etc. If time is a problem, use the current shocks, but consider coming back and upgrading later.
Good luck, and hope this helps
John
* This post was
last
edited 05/17/23 06:56am by JBarca *
View edit history
John & Cindy
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver
2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we were camping!)
|
|
|
|
