Bill_C
Gold Member
A long time back I read advice to check spring bushings...Well, since I was hoping to take the travel trailer out soon (a 25' Mallard bumper pull, GVWR 6800 lbs) I figured maybe I should take a look at them.
Sure enough, all the bushings were the thinnest pieces of nylon crap imagineable, and yes they were quite worn through (especially the equalizer bushings). And this was on a 2002 trailer that was low miles!! Apparently the thin nylon bushings gets the TT off the dealer's lot and that's about it.
The cure was a Dexter "heavy duty suspension kit" which has bronze bushings and grease fittings on the bolts. The kit has new equalizers with the bushings already pressed in, links, all bolts and nuts, and the spring bushings. The kit off the 'net was around $135 shipped, which is a pretty good deal considering the local bearing distributor wanted $65 just for the bronze bushings, and the new bolts from the local spring shop would've been another $50. I measured the equalizer distance between centers to make sure I had the right kit.
Installation wasn't much of a PITA. Gotta put the trailer on jackstands with both axles off the ground and remove wheels. I did each side separately (right first then left), rather than pulling the axles completely off. I put a bottle jack under the axle, took the weight off the axle, and removed all bolts from the springs and equalizer. the old plastic bushings drive out with a hammer and small chisel. Forget about pressing them--I tried, they're too thin. The new bushings tap in fairly easily. I used an old link (with the bolt in it) to drive the bushing home, a few raps with the hammer puts 'em in. I put the grease fittings facing inward so I can crawl under and grease them easier. Probably the hardest part is getting the new bolts aligned to go through both sides of the hangars.
Once I got the hang of it on the right side, the left side "start to finish" was less than 2 hours. Not including taking the trailer off the jack stands.
Sure enough, all the bushings were the thinnest pieces of nylon crap imagineable, and yes they were quite worn through (especially the equalizer bushings). And this was on a 2002 trailer that was low miles!! Apparently the thin nylon bushings gets the TT off the dealer's lot and that's about it.
The cure was a Dexter "heavy duty suspension kit" which has bronze bushings and grease fittings on the bolts. The kit has new equalizers with the bushings already pressed in, links, all bolts and nuts, and the spring bushings. The kit off the 'net was around $135 shipped, which is a pretty good deal considering the local bearing distributor wanted $65 just for the bronze bushings, and the new bolts from the local spring shop would've been another $50. I measured the equalizer distance between centers to make sure I had the right kit.
Installation wasn't much of a PITA. Gotta put the trailer on jackstands with both axles off the ground and remove wheels. I did each side separately (right first then left), rather than pulling the axles completely off. I put a bottle jack under the axle, took the weight off the axle, and removed all bolts from the springs and equalizer. the old plastic bushings drive out with a hammer and small chisel. Forget about pressing them--I tried, they're too thin. The new bushings tap in fairly easily. I used an old link (with the bolt in it) to drive the bushing home, a few raps with the hammer puts 'em in. I put the grease fittings facing inward so I can crawl under and grease them easier. Probably the hardest part is getting the new bolts aligned to go through both sides of the hangars.
Once I got the hang of it on the right side, the left side "start to finish" was less than 2 hours. Not including taking the trailer off the jack stands.
