Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

woodman · 11-16-2016, 03:32 AM

I was advised by a trailer mechanic that leaf springs on the Montana need to be replaced every two to three years based on age and mileage. The person who advised me of this was a roadside mechanic who replaced my leaf springs and a new G614 tire on Monday of this week, as we were proceeding eastward on I-90 out of Gary Indiana. We were traveling around 60 mph when I noticed the trailer going diagonal behind me. Fortunately we were able to stop as the rear tail of the Monty had drifted near the rail guards of the highway, thus I was able to avoid any other physical damage to the trailer. If you can imagine what it's like to have your rear axel at a 30 degree to the front axle, there's lots of burning rubber and your trailer is not happy. Turns out it was a single bolt that broke where the leaf spring attaches to the axle probably after we hit a bump in the road. The U bolts were fine and tight. My prior maintenance had been to grease the suspension zerk fittings, but not to replace springs. This is another one of those, "who really does this?", moments. Maybe another reason to go with an independent suspension. Ironically, we were heading to a dealership to take our Monty in for a trade. Total damage costs were over $2K for a new tire and leaf springs. This could have been a lot worse considering it could have been in downtown Chicago traffic and worse weather elements. I am heavily considering changing to an IS and disc brakes with my new unit despite the cost.

11-16-2016, 03:32 AM	#1
woodman Montana Fan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Elkhart Lake Posts: 141 M.O.C. #12256	Leaf springs I was advised by a trailer mechanic that leaf springs on the Montana need to be replaced every two to three years based on age and mileage. The person who advised me of this was a roadside mechanic who replaced my leaf springs and a new G614 tire on Monday of this week, as we were proceeding eastward on I-90 out of Gary Indiana. We were traveling around 60 mph when I noticed the trailer going diagonal behind me. Fortunately we were able to stop as the rear tail of the Monty had drifted near the rail guards of the highway, thus I was able to avoid any other physical damage to the trailer. If you can imagine what it's like to have your rear axel at a 30 degree to the front axle, there's lots of burning rubber and your trailer is not happy. Turns out it was a single bolt that broke where the leaf spring attaches to the axle probably after we hit a bump in the road. The U bolts were fine and tight. My prior maintenance had been to grease the suspension zerk fittings, but not to replace springs. This is another one of those, "who really does this?", moments. Maybe another reason to go with an independent suspension. Ironically, we were heading to a dealership to take our Monty in for a trade. Total damage costs were over $2K for a new tire and leaf springs. This could have been a lot worse considering it could have been in downtown Chicago traffic and worse weather elements. I am heavily considering changing to an IS and disc brakes with my new unit despite the cost.