This is one of those mods/repairs that started out small and kept growing the more I got into it. This work was actually done at the end of September and beginning of October.
Earlier this fall I noticed excessive tire wear on the back right tire on the 5'ver. As a result I decided it was time to start thinking about changing the spring bushings figuring they were shot and were contributing to the tire wear. Of course I had no idea where this would lead and the more I start checking and taking things apart the more things I found I either needed to do or should do at the same time.
Thanks to posts here by JohnB about his alignment problem, I was able to determine what was wrong and figured our what needed to be done, In the end I did not have a place where I could do this work myself so I ended up taking it to a local Truck/Trailer RV repair center who was recommended to to me and has done this work before.
Sorry for the quality of the photos but I was taking them with my blackberry
Here is what my bushing looked like. This was the one in the best condition.
Of course with the tires off the rig I may as well change the shocks as they were shot and needed replacing:
Of course when you have the rig down this far you may as well check the brakes. Yup worn out and also need replacing:
Then I got thinking that maybe I should check the axles as I should have had similar tire wear on the opposite tire on the same axle if worn bushings were causing the problem. In other words if the axle is out of alignment due to worn bushings I should see one tire with excessive wear on say the outside edge while the opposite tire should show similar wear on the inside edge. Since I did not see this I started looking for a reason why I didn't. After lots of research and checking, yup you guessed it. The axles are bent. Front axle was toe in 3/8 of an inch and rear axle was toe in 5/8 of an inch. This would explain the excess tire wear. Of course since everything is this far apart I figured I may as well as check the springs. You guessed it, Yup after 8 years they are also sagging.
Finally starting to get everything back together. I installed the Dexter EZ Flex and the wet bushings.
As a result of having to replace the axles and brakes and springs, I decided to go with components that were rated at 7,000lbs instead of the original 6,000lb rated components. The cost was the same for both so it only made sense to go with the higher rated units to give me the extra margin of safety. The original components were manufactured by Al Ko. The new components are all manufactured by Dexter. I decided to go with Dexter as they were easier to get plus I felt they were a better quality product.
Here is the pictures of the new brakes before they were installed.
Here is the picture of the new axles.
Now I have towed the rig several times with the new components and have found that I have had considerable less chucking. Previous to the new components we always found the sofa would shift several inches away from the wall plus the cushions and pillows would be shifted or fallen on the floor. With the new components the sofa stays in place as well as the cushions and pillows on it.
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