Bent Hanger"s

[Routemaster]

I found a mobile welder here in NM who charges $65.00 per hr. One can buy right-angle steel to be welded in between the sides of the hanger and also box them in as well.
I looked at new hangers at the local RV shop and I see along the bend, they were very shiny right where there were folded in the press. Now I think I would heat them up to a cheery red and let them cool down in the air to stress relieve them before the welding. IMO could be why they snap at the bend.
Thoughts? LCI does have some sheets on these fixes.

 

[david-steph2018]

Ive just had the same thing happened to me on road. Waiting for a welder now. Does anyone make the reinforcement parts, or do I just need to have the fabricated?

Here is one device that is used:
https://www.morryde.com/products/x-factor-crossmember/
When we broke the weld on a spring hangar, the welder added some triangle shaped gussets on the hangars for extra support.

 

[Podge]

that can be perfectly normal... and not an issue except to the eye, unless its broke..

it was installed that way and not a product of road hazard. when onne buys the hangers, they are about a half of an inch wider than the springs, and so one side or the other, or both sides need to bend in when tightened. in that case there, the spring eye was closer to the one side of the hanger than the other, so rather than expecting that little piece of quarter inch material to pull the spring to it, the bolt pulled the hanger to the spring..

the spring suspension systems are very crude, and how it all looks when installed can depend on how exact the installer was in the placement of the hangers, and whether the springs were tight to the axle when the hanger bolts were tightened...

for that hanger shown to fail, it would either have to be broken, which is not likely because its made out of mild steel, or both springs would have to work loose on the axles AND the other side fail too, to allow it to shift sideways enough to collapse...

without a series of events taking place causing it to fail, it wont.... for it to fail on its own without several other issues being present, the spring itself would have to twist between the axle and the hanger to allow the hanger to move from where its at....

its amazing how much abuse and torque trailer suspension takes during rough road travel, and during tight maneuvering in parking lots, driveways and campgrounds... yet very rarely fail in any catastrophic manner.

Would have to disagree. We just travelled 6000 miles with our 2018 335 Heartland Fuel. GVRW on trailer is 17000 lbs, was loaded to approx 16500 lb, 2 full size motorcycles, personal gear and some water, weighed unit and trailer axles were 12500, so probably loaded to max but not overloaded. Broke 1 rear spring and replaced both rear springs. Next shackle was starting to let go so had that repaired. Next other rear shackle let go. Then for the grand finally had a front spring break, replaced both. Some roads /interstates rough so we slowed down, tire pressures approx 100 psi. In my mind no question hangers are too light and would suggest 7000 lb springs and axles are marginal. Would really like to speak with someone knowledgeable about doing upgrades

 

[david-steph2018]

Would have to disagree. We just travelled 6000 miles with our 2018 335 Heartland Fuel. GVRW on trailer is 17000 lbs, was loaded to approx 16500 lb, 2 full size motorcycles, personal gear and some water, weighed unit and trailer axles were 12500, so probably loaded to max but not overloaded. Broke 1 rear spring and replaced both rear springs. Next shackle was starting to let go so had that repaired. Next other rear shackle let go. Then for the grand finally had a front spring break, replaced both. Some roads /interstates rough so we slowed down, tire pressures approx 100 psi. In my mind no question hangers are too light and would suggest 7000 lb springs and axles are marginal. Would really like to speak with someone knowledgeable about doing upgrades

What kind of upgrade are you considering? We went with the MorRyde Independent Suspension and had disc brakes installed prior to that installation. What system is installed on the Fuel now? You can look at a couple of different systems from MorRyde, CRE 3000 & SRE 4000 to install.

TOWABLES | MORryde

www.morryde.com

 

[centerline]

Would have to disagree. We just travelled 6000 miles with our 2018 335 Heartland Fuel. GVRW on trailer is 17000 lbs, was loaded to approx 16500 lb, 2 full size motorcycles, personal gear and some water, weighed unit and trailer axles were 12500, so probably loaded to max but not overloaded. Broke 1 rear spring and replaced both rear springs. Next shackle was starting to let go so had that repaired. Next other rear shackle let go. Then for the grand finally had a front spring break, replaced both. Some roads /interstates rough so we slowed down, tire pressures approx 100 psi. In my mind no question hangers are too light and would suggest 7000 lb springs and axles are marginal. Would really like to speak with someone knowledgeable about doing upgrades

you can disagree, but im just stating the facts... ive been in this business for 50 years and have seen and repaired about every situation and problem that is possible with suspensions.... spring and airbag types, from travel trailers to heavy trucks....

I WILL agree that a perfectly matched system, installed perfectly, may be more trouble free over the lifetime of the unit, but it depends MORE on the maintenance (which is usually nil) and miles it receives.. and to the same extent, the abuse it receives between maintenance intervals.

the second biggest problem I have seen in these cheap travel trailer suspensions is where the spring end bolt was not tightened properly and allowed more slack than is necessary, which then caused more wear in the parts sooner, causing early failure...
when the bolts are left to run too loose, its like running an already worn out system, which only wears quicker....

the first biggest problem ive encountered is hangers being mounted out of square, causing the axles to be mis-aligned.... which causes excessive early wear of the suspension, and tire wear...

light trailer spring suspension is the most crude and simplest system that could work for the purpose, yet works reasonably well for the purpose.... there are a few tricks that have no cost, yet will make the system better and have a longer life between service intervals, but its NOT maintenance free as most people seem to think....