Shackles - Montana Owners Club

wersqu · 08-10-2007, 09:35 PM

Keep an eye on your shackles!! I have pulled my 2003 3575 Montana for less than 25000 miles. On our last trip I snapped a shackle. I know this is a standard problem that occurs quite regularly. I did not expect it so soon. They were all worn with oblong holes. This wear occurred before I even needed my first change of brake pads. I estimate I had about 25% pad life left. I was lucky my wife actually noticed the trailer "down" on one side as we pulled into our driveway. We did notice some uneven tire wear. We have no idea when this snapped, but luckily, no other damage. We upgraded to the much heavier duty greasable kit which I am hoping with regular maintenance, will last the trailers lifetime. We also used this opportunity to change the brake pads and repack the bearings (the bearings we do every other year). I hope this helps someone from being surprised like we were.

stiles watson · 08-11-2007, 03:36 AM

Yup, that is why we are doing a shackle replacement demo at the Fall Rally. Those nylon, non-lubricated bushings wear and damage the shackles. Glad you found the kit with zerks. You are right. It should last the life time of your rig with a couple of squirts of grease each year.

VanMan · 08-11-2007, 03:39 AM

Is this shackle replacement a do-it-yourself job or best left to the professionals? approximate cost each way?

Fire5er · 08-11-2007, 05:33 AM

Can you please provide the vendor and a link if they have one. We had one of the shackles fall off the very first time we were out with our brand new 07 3400RL. I was not a happy camper. Called the dealer and within a hour they had a service tech come to my location and fix it.... but I check them each and every time now before we leave to hit the road. I can't believe Keystone, Lipert, or Dexter haven't came up with a better product. We spent a lot of money on this rig, you expect it to be built better than that. Any info on where you got you part would be great!

Karl

wersqu · 08-11-2007, 07:40 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by VanMan

Is this shackle replacement a do-it-yourself job or best left to the professionals? approximate cost each way?

Please give me about a week to get you the actual numbers. I am working 96 hrs this week and our trailer is in storage with the receipts.

richfaa · 08-11-2007, 07:49 AM

If you are going to the fall rally Mor Ryde will do the upgrade there at a fair price. We have @15K on our 3400 and at the rate we are pileing on miles we are goinf to get the shackels replaced before they break.

stiles watson · 08-11-2007, 02:30 PM

The cost of the kit for doing shackles yourself is about $120. It took me 5 hours on the first side, but on the second side I took about 2-1/2 hours. If you are at all handy, I would not pay some one else to do the job. I don't think MorRyde can do it for $120. The kit comes from Dexter. If you want additional info, email me.

richfaa · 08-12-2007, 05:54 AM

Did anyone get the shackles replaced at the rally last year and if so do you remember what Mor Ryde charged... Unfortunately I would have to pay someone esle to do it as I am not a "do it your selfer"

Searchers · 08-12-2007, 08:18 PM

I ordered the Dexter replacement wet bolt kit ($120) from a NAPA dealer and was going to install them myself. I ended up having a reputable alignment shop install them during a routine brake, wheel bearing and axle alignment checkup at an additional cost of $158.

Don

richfaa · 08-13-2007, 03:39 AM

Don..That would be well worth it to me. Think I will call Mor Ryde and see what they can do. I have seen those kits at a couple of RV dealers but never priced them out..

ARJ · 08-13-2007, 07:18 AM

With all the talk about shackles, I decided to look at mine. I noticed that the center mount for the axles swings enough that the shackle bolts are rubbing on the propane line which goes past it. On my TT the propane line runs along the right side (passenger side) of the TT just inside the frame and is directly above the bolts for the center shackles.

I will call my dealer to find out what is being done about this.

berridge · 08-17-2007, 04:07 AM

I also have had a shackle fail on a previous 5er (not a Montana) but with Dexter axles. It did not have the MorRide suspension and the trailer body dropped down onto the wheels stopping them from rotating! We were on an interstate but did manage to slide to a safe stop on the side of the highway. This is very hard on the heart and also rough on the tires and trailer body. Be advised that the wear can only be detected by disassembling the springs from the shackles. The Dexter book says to do this every 6000 mi. Several dealers have told me they rarely receive requests to do this vital inspection and I wonder if this type of failure is responsible for the overturned rigs one sometimes sees by the side of the road. With rigs becomming larger I think manufacturers like Keystone should make the greasable bushings standard or at least supply a detailed maintanance schedule for each model as auto manufacturers do. Instead we get a bundle of booklets and sheets most of which cover several models of each item. RV safety has not yet become "job 1".

johnp4191 · 08-17-2007, 02:37 PM

After reading this string, hubby dear greased the bearings. He is pretty handy, but neither of us know what a shackle is?? Can someone explain what/where it is??

stiles watson · 08-18-2007, 01:58 AM

Ok, I will be simple, but I hope, not condescending. You have tandem axles (two). On each axle there are springs. The springs attach to the frame of the coach. Between the axles, there is a somewhat triangler piece of metal called an equalizer. The approximately 3" long flat piece od metal with one bolt through the spring "eye" and the other bolt through the equalizer is the shackle. There is a shackle on each side of the connection of the spring to the equalizer making it a total of 4 on each side of the coach.

There is a bushing that fits into the spring "eye". That is the source of the problem. That bushing is a nylon, non-lubricated bushing. It wears out and then the shackle starts to wear, hence a shackle failure.

In my opinion, the best "fix" is to replace the bushings and shackles with a Dexter heavy duty suspension kit #K71-449-00 is the distance between your axle centers is 35". The kit contains all the parts that are needed to do the job except the grease to grease the new bushings. There is a set of instruction in the kit also.

johnp4191 · 08-18-2007, 03:25 AM

Stiles,

Thanks for the clarification. Hubby says he will take a look and see how ours are doing!

dsprik · 08-18-2007, 04:14 PM

Thanks, Stiles! Good info for me, too!

HamRad · 08-19-2007, 03:02 AM

It is very difficult to see the wear on the shackles. If you'd like you can visit my PictureTrail site and go to the album on Shackles to see some pictures of what we're talking about.

HamRad

COPINMI · 08-19-2007, 05:19 AM

HamRad - thanks for the pics. Nothing can describe anything better than pictures.

Dave Nowlin · 08-20-2007, 05:06 AM

I have gone to Dexter's site and have found you can go 1 step further if you chose. You can purchase the E-Z Flex Kit #K71-653-00 which will fit the same application as the K71-449-00 with the added benefit of a flexible equalizer with zerks on it. This should do the same thing with the added benefit of helping with chucking and costs $282.04 from Dexter. This kit includes the heavy duty shackles and replaces your equalizer as well. It really shouldn't be any more trouble to replace as the heavy duty shackle kit also includes replacement equalizers so you really aren't doing any more work. You are simply protecting your fifth wheel from shock just a little better.
Dave Nowlin

8.1al · 08-20-2007, 06:53 AM

We have purchased the E=Z Flex kit and will be installing it at the rally with the help of Stiles. Their literature makes it look real good. We'll see.

You may also like: