Wet bolt kit for Bighorn 3185

Ricoh

Past Ontario Chapter Leader
Is there a special wet bolt kit for the suspension on my BH 3185? I was on Tweety's site and they have a kit for around $100 but I am wondering if it is a standard kit for all trailers???

Rick
 

jpajax

Well-known member
I found it best to deal with the people that manufacturer your axles and springs. They are usually as cheep as others and be sure to tell them you have the Trail flex suspension or not and ask for the brass bushings to replace the nylon ones also. I think that are some springs have deferent size bolts.
 

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SmokeyBare

Well-known member
The kit allows grease to be applied to the bolt that attach's to each spring end. The kit comes with new bolts, much thicker shackles that attach's the springs to the frame of the RV, and new bronze sleeves that the bolts pass through at the ends of each spring. (The Eye of the Spring)

The sleeves that comes on nearly every RV are a plastic material. Once they wear through by the constance flexing of the springs as you travel down the road, the bolt then begins to move in the shackle. The next sign of wear will be the hole where the bolt goes through the shackle, it will slowly begin to oblong from the movement of the bolt. The bolt will end up wearing the shackle to the point it will tear the through the shackle, leaving that end of the spring to become detached from the frame or the center equalizer. The wear is difficult to notice since the bolt head or the nut on the other end will hide much of the early signs of wear, till it breaks through.

Being able to apply grease to the bolt and the sleeve it passes through will greatly reduce the chance of a failure.

Hope this is some help.

Marv
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
Thanks Marv, great description of it. This something I will definitely keep an eye on.
 

boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
The kit allows grease to be applied to the bolt that attach's to each spring end. The kit comes with new bolts, much thicker shackles that attach's the springs to the frame of the RV, and new bronze sleeves that the bolts pass through at the ends of each spring. (The Eye of the Spring)

The sleeves that comes on nearly every RV are a plastic material. Once they wear through by the constance flexing of the springs as you travel down the road, the bolt then begins to move in the shackle. The next sign of wear will be the hole where the bolt goes through the shackle, it will slowly begin to oblong from the movement of the bolt. The bolt will end up wearing the shackle to the point it will tear the through the shackle, leaving that end of the spring to become detached from the frame or the center equalizer. The wear is difficult to notice since the bolt head or the nut on the other end will hide much of the early signs of wear, till it breaks through.

Being able to apply grease to the bolt and the sleeve it passes through will greatly reduce the chance of a failure.

Hope this is some help.

Marv

Nice Marv! That's one of the best explanations I have heard. How hard is it to self-install these?
 

Buford445

Well-known member
It will Most Likely Help Prevent This

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SmokeyBare

Well-known member
Installation is a good back yard project. Wouldn't recommend it at a Campgrounds, most frown on that level of repairs on site.

With the truck hitched to the Fifth Wheel & the landing gear legs in the up or stowed position, this is to prevent the legs from being over stressed with the weigh only on one leg. The challenge comes with enough blocks and jacks to raise one side at a time. It goes with out question you will need to place safety jack stands as well should a jack fail or slip off.

Repair one spring at a time and only do one end of that spring at a time. You won't need to remove the wheel but it would be a good time to check the brakes and make adjustments to them. Hey... might even decide to repack the bearings... gosh this project is growing into a whole weekend task !

Once the Fifth Wheel is safely lifted and supported with a Jack Stand. Wrench off the nuts from top and bottom of one of the shackles. If its as worn as Buford's photos show... mine sure was... the shackle on the nut side will fall off the bolt. The bolt might need pounded out of the plastic sleeve going through the eye of the spring end but I'd bet not much effort will be needed since the sleeve will be worn through where the weight of the Fifth Wheel has pressed down allowing the bolt to wear the plastic material thin. The axle might want to drop once the bolt is removed from the equalizer or the rear frame hanger. That's why its safest doing only one end of each spring at a time. You might need to use one more jack to lift and position the axle to align the bolts with the equalizer or the frame hanger for reassembly.

When you get the new wet bolt kit you will see the bolts have a knurl shaft just below the bolt head. That knurl is going to need to be pressed into the shackle. This can be done in a Machine shop Press or you might be able to use the Nut to tighten it and pull the knurl into the shackle. The knurl keeps the bolt in place, with out moving, allowing the movement between the sleeve and the bolt only, as it should be. Not the bolt moving which will cause the shackle to wear oblong as the photos Buford posted.

The placement of the grease holes on the bolt should be to the front or rear side of the sleeve and not on the top or bottom. Your going to need to force grease into these bolts and there is a chance that if the hole in the down position the weight of the RV pressing the bolt down against the bronze sleeve could really restrict the grease going into the zerk fitting. Safer to try to make sure the bolt has the grease hole to one side. Keep the grease hole placement in mind if you decide to have the bolt pressed into the shackle.

It's not as that bad a job, but with out the proper equipment to safely lift the Fifth wheel and the added Jack stands to protect the Fifth Wheel from a sudden fall off a jack... I'd suggest leaving it to a dealer who will have the proper equipment.

Hope this helps and I hope I didn't miss any steps !

Marv
 

boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
Thanks Marv,

Looks like I could probably raise the trailer all the way up with the Auto-Leveling system and then place four heavy jack stands in strategic locations in case the hydraulics fail. Definitely an all day job. I'll have to think about it.
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
I don't know if I would try to force the knurls in using a nut on the other side to pull the bolt through. Could easily strip the bolt. The method a lot of people use is a ball joint press. It looks like a super heavy duty C-clamp. You can buy one for around $40.00 when they are on sale at Harbor Freight or you could rent one. It takes a lot of pressure to seat the knurled bolts. JMHO..Don
 

Gary521

Well-known member
To answer one question, the bushing size is standard for all trailer springs. However, the wet bolt kit is not. Check if you have a Trailair Equaflex or the Dexter equalizer. Heartland started using Dexter axles last year some time. I think the Dexter kit is different than the Trailair kit ( not absolutely sure ). Shackles can be purchased from a variety of sources. There are different length shackles - measure first. The thicker shackles must be specified with the order of the wet bolt kit. My kit did not come with the thicker shackles. Some thicker shackles come with the wet bolts already pressed in. If not, I pressed mine in with a vice - just make sure that the bolts are straight. If not, you will have difficulty in assembly on the trailer. Buy a couple of extra metal bushings. I have the Trailair Equaflex and the pivot bushings were worn out. The wet bolt kits comes with a wet bolt for this location. The original does not and they are not greased from the factory. SmokeyBare stated that you do not have to remove the wheels to do this but I found that its much easier to have all the wheels removed from one side. As I stated, I replaced the pivot bushing on the equalizer and this is impossible without the wheels off and both axles supported, and again, there is a wet bolt for this location.
 

Gary521

Well-known member
Just to clarify something, you do not have to use the thicker shackles but the thicker ones will probably last longer. I did the wet bolt kit when I replaced my flat springs. While disassembling the springs, I discovered the worn out shackles. As I stated, my kit did not come with thicker shackles or any shackles at all. Fortunately, I was able to get them from a local trailer repair shop. Make sure that you do get new shackles of some sort when you order or the repair may take much longer.
 

Ricoh

Past Ontario Chapter Leader
Thank you. that is what I wanted to know. Will check and see what I have on my 2011 tomorrow and order accordingly.

Rick
 

jpajax

Well-known member
Took these photos when I did mine. You can also put the grease fitting on the inside so it will be easer to service. Also put the holes in the bolts at 12 a clock so when the pressure is on springs it will allow grease to enter the bushing without lifting the wheel off ground. Don't try to pull the bolt on splines with the nut drive it on with a deep well socket like it the photo.
 

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