suspension surprise

[eltuna]

Hello to all again
welll got back from long weekend with fiver set it back into the driveway and chock wheels as usual, use the ones that spread in the middle of both wheels they work great for me. next day walking around unit and see one of the chocks laying on the ground thought this to be odd. started too look at suspension and found the front spring rear bolt to shackle half way out and missing nut. i thought this was just my luck but after considering what could have been i was very lucky. talked to dealer and they would take care of problem once i get nut back on and pull 1 hr up north. never dawned on me that i would have to climb under trailer each time too make sure bolts are tight.i plan to get a spare or two (bolt&nut)just in case this happens again. cya EL

[rickety]

WOW!!!!,thanks for the information. I am going to check it out before our next trip.
That's a scary thought, and then the thought of climbing under it to check it, did you have support under the axle or rather the frame?
I'm glad your ok and it all worked out for you.
Rick

[Montana Sky]

Another thing to add to the spring and fall check list. Thanks for passing this experience along so the rest of us can double check things out.

[txkrumm]

Wow, better check mine also. If you get overly worried about them coming loose again, Just torque them to spec, then double nut them. We shouldn't have to worry anymore. sk

[hodag]

those skackle links are pretty thin metal. when plastic bushing wears out it is metal against metal. you can get greasable bolts to replace orig. and at least keep them greased. dexter has the replacement kit with new links {thicker} and the wet bolts.

[HamRad]

eltuna,
Your's is the first case of this I've heard. We've had numerous reports of shackles wearing out but NEVER with just the bolt coming out! Sounds as if they never got tightened correctly. When we changed out our shackles we almost didn't get the bolts loose!

And as Hodag has stated.... the shackles that Montana puts on the rig are pretty thin. If you do replace them then by all means put on the heavy duty ones. What a difference and a much more secure feeling knowing they're so much stronger. Also having the grease zerks on the bushings is nice too.

HamRad

[sreigle]

The newer shackles are a hardened steel whereas the originals on our 2003 were not hardened. They've been replaced with the newer ones. I like the idea of the greasable ones, though. But I wonder how many people would never think or bother to grease them.

[dsprik]

Would it be possible to get a pic of this spot? Not having my Montana yet, I'd like to see what you're talking about. Is this a PDI item to have replaced? Or something not to wory about for now?

[Glenn and Lorraine]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

Would it be possible to get a pic of this spot? Not having my Montana yet, I'd like to see what you're talking about. Is this a PDI item to have replaced? Or something not to wory about for now?

There are 2 shackles. They are the link connecting the leaf spring to the frame. There are 2 bolts. One is used to connect the shackles to the spring and the other connects the shackles to the frame.
No it is not a PDI thing. I have had my Monty from new, got it in Sept 03. In nearly 3 years of full timing I have many many miles on it and as of May 2nd this year my shackles were inspected by an RV mechanic are they fine showing no wear and the bolts are all tight. Keep in mind that these shackles were used on most all Lippert frames and not just those on Montanas. I know a lot more folks that never had a problem with the shackles and darn few that did.
It is one of those items you may want to keep an occasional eye on but don't get so concerned that you loose sleep over it.

[dsprik]

OK. Thanks,Glen. It's Plan B for me then... "leave em alone for now".

[wildcard]

Have a 2002 2955RL, I had a similar problem last year. We have only 15,000 on our 5er.After returning home I noticed one bolt half out, with nut missing.Also have shackles wearing elongated holes. Will have all shackles replaced in near future.