Axle shackles snapped off

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barneyboy2015.

Member
Hers one for ya.... 2015 cyclone 4200 toy hauler. headed south in Florida this morning for a Florida Trail Riders hair scrambler event and noticed my 3rd axle was shifted to the left about 2 inch's.. Pulled over to inspect and discovered that the shackles that are welded to the frame snapped off, both sides. We had 2 quads in the garage and 3/4 tnk of fresh water . I would say it want overloaded by any means . How in the word can this happen? Anyone out there had this issue ?
 
J

jbeletti

Well-known member
Wow - sorry to hear this. It's pretty rare but I've heard of it a few times over the years. There could be many contributing factors. Some things that come to mind...

- Thin gauge steel used
- Poor weld penetration
- High torque applied through tight / jack-knife turns
 
R

rhodies1

Well-known member
I previously owned 2008 5ther from a competitor and had the same thing happen to the rear axle, I was lucky that each side broke off at different times,you will need to have a new shackle bracket installed,make sure they weld back in the proper location to ensure proper alignment. My father was a heavy duty mechanic and felt the brackets were manufactured with lower grade steel, he very rarely seen this happen in his 40plus year career As a mechanic.
 
Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn

Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn

Well-known member
Same thing here on my 06 toyhauler. Mine was after a trip to Oregon we decided to travel up the hwy 1 California coast. Long story but we lost a wheel bearing about 100 miles into it. I fixed that on the side of the road after 2 trips to Santa Rosa for parts.
Anyway we made to Oregon dune's had a blast. Then after a 14 hour drive home, I backed it into the driveway. We made home.
Next morning I pulled it out to go to the truck wash and driving down my street I see smoke coming off the tires. My left rear shackle had broken off. Got it back home, and after ferther review there were a few more getting ready to give up.
It was from all of the twisting and turning of hwy 1, and the fact that they were made way to light duty for a 40' 2 axle 18000 pound trailer.
I had the mobile welder rebuild all 6 hangers and put support gussets in them so they wouldn't be able to flex side to side anymore

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M

mytruc

Member
This happened to me on a 2006 Bighorn. The upper eye part of the shackle pulled through the eye. I found out about mine in the driveway. I had it tempo fixed and then took it to a RV repair shop and had Dexter Aftermarket Shackle Brackets put on. I believe they were about 100.00 an axle. They come with zert fittings for greasing the pins. We purchased a 2012 Bighorn and within 6 months, had the shackle bracket replace on it. The Dexter Brackets are about 3 times the thickness of Factory Bracket.
 
wdk450

wdk450

Well-known member
More arguments for independent suspension. No springs, shackles, or bushings. Mounted on a steel box welded across to both I-Beams of the frame.
 
danemayer

danemayer

Well-known member
Not sure we're all talking about the same thing. Hangars are welded to the I-beam frame and suspension parts are hanging from the hangars. Hangars can break, but it's a relatively rare occurrence.

Shackle links connect the suspension parts. The standard shackle links are thin and frequently wear out or break.

Shackles and Hangars notated.jpg
 
kakampers

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
Same thing happened to our 2008 Bighorn, but it was considerably older....and that's exactly why we put Mor Ryde IS on the Landmark as soon as we bought it!
 
Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn

Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn

Well-known member
danemayer said:
Not sure we're all talking about the same thing. Hangars are welded to the I-beam frame and suspension parts are hanging from the hangars. Hangars can break, but it's a relatively rare occurrence.

Shackle links connect the suspension parts. The standard shackle links are thin and frequently wear out or break.

View attachment 44928
Click to expand...
Your right Dan
mine was the hangers !!! And I think he was talking about the hangers to.

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