As we left Sea Rim State Park in Southeastern, TX, we noticed that the fifth wheel just looked a little off. Our first real indicator were the tire minders showing 10 psi and about 15 degrees difference from right to left on the rear axle of the fifth wheel.
I stopped to check and nothing was hot to the touch and everything looked ok at a cursory glance.
Once we got back on the road I noticed the trailer seemed to be trailing to the right slightly rather than following directly behind the truck. When I looked in my side mirrors I could see more of the passenger side than I could the driver’s side of the trailer.
Before we got to the highway I pulled off into a parking lot by a fuel station to investigate further.
It was immediately obvious that the driver’s rear tire was inset rather than in line with the front driver’s axle tire. And the passenger side showed the same approximately 2” difference in right to left alignment.
The other obvious thing was the centralizers were not level on either axle.
Then I saw it. The driver’s rear leaf spring hanger had performed a split. Breaking just below the weld on both sides, the two tabs had separated and slipped up opposite sides of the frame rail. The driver’s side axle had then pushed forward a couple of inches.
Thankfully we were not in the middle of nowhere. I called trailer repair shops and mobile welding techs and even moonlighters that could weld hoping someone might be available to do emergency roadside work on a Saturday. I came across a Big Tex Trailer location in Beaumont, TX (We love these guys!). I gave the helpful lady who answered the phone at the parts department the Dexter axle serial number and she told me that she had what we needed in stock. Unfortunately, her welder had left for the day and wouldn’t be back in until Monday.
We limped slowly in the direction of the repair shop about 15 miles away and a nearby RV park that was close by.
We were able to book a full hookup site with a nice concrete pad and fast internet for the weekend while we weathered a rain storm and waited for Monday morning to arrive.
At 8 am Monday morning we pulled into the Big Tex repair shop and repairs began.
The helpful crew inspected the bolts and wear sleeves. While they had everything apart we had them upgrade us to a heavy duty wet bolt kit that I had with me and had been planning to install later this year.
Based on the wear of the parts we replaced- it was definitely due.
By late afternoon, and $550 later, we were back on the road. We immediately noticed that the fifth wheel is now riding smooth and back in line. We also noticed that the new wet bolt kit has really quieted the suspension. No more squeaky when we are cornering. Hooray!
We are super thankful that we noticed the signs of something awry with our rig. We have heard horror stories of other overturned rigs with broken leaf spring hangers. We also know that with any mechanical equipment it is never a matter of “if” something breaks down, it is simply a matter of “when”. With proper monitoring equipment and proper maintenance, we hope to minimize our repair bills as we continue our Great RV Adventure!
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