We have experienced the exact same issues with our Springs. I agree, the Lippert springs are certainly under-engineered for the size of the trailer. I have changed out the springs on my Bighorn to a 6-leaf set of springs and replaced the tires as they had worn unevenly. I would never have expected to replace the Springs on a near new trailer (2009 - 3410 RE Bighorn). I love our trailer and fully accept that there will always be some maintenance issues, but HL needs to review the suspension system they currently install on their trailers. Poor quality engineering reflects badly on a product that I have been very happy to support to others.
Lippert springs strike again
- Thread starter RubiconAg
- Start date
tbauer
Member
SWpoole I've worked my way up the chain to a Mr Fenner . He's made it clear Heartland will not do anything about this problem. I feel although you may have enough spring the axles are not heavy enough . Did you know that some of the axles are marked wrong and are really 5080 lbs not 5200lbs as specified . Heartland has a recall and will gladly send the proper sticker to "fix" the miss marked axles. Another concern of mine is the fifteen inch tires they seem to have strange wear patterns .
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Peace
Dave
leftyf
SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
If you take your shocks to just about any parts house and they should be able to find a good replacement. The correct replacement shock for my 71 Airstream were from an 85 Cadillac! Put them on and did a TON of miles on them...sure made a big difference in handling.
I've been watching these Lippert spring threads for years...and I see a replacement in my horizon.
for us non mechanical guys. What kind of shop do you look for in the yellow pages to check out all this stuff? I have looked at mine I do not see any tire wear and to me my springs etc look okay.
Having said that I have a 37 foot Razor and it is heavy. I would hat eot ahve a major accident and hurt anyone.+
Having said that I have a 37 foot Razor and it is heavy. I would hat eot ahve a major accident and hurt anyone.+
westxsrt10
Perfict Senior Member
It's not easy finding a shop that you can trust but most RV dealers can do an inspection for you. You are probally ok but you could take a few detailed photos of your springs under load and post them here. This site as a some very knowledgeable mechanical people to lend you advise if something looks wrong.
I had my second set of springs break after hitting a pair of potholes in Antigonish, NS. Our 2007 Bighorn 3055 RL doesn't have shocks so I don't know if there was a problem with more fatigue over time. The guy at the shop who made the new ones said the design was very oldschool and hadn't been changed in many years. We want to take a trip to Alaska but don't want to breakdown on the trip. My thinking is to attend a Hartland rally in Elkhart and see if I can talk to the pro's about what kind of upgrade we would need.
Thank you for your input. The thing I didn't mention was the guy who made our new springs was the owner of the spring shop who worked mostly on heavy duty trucks. He changed things up a little bit. He added a leaf and used a longer second spring that reached to the hangers so if we had a problem it probably wouldn't be as bad. What I don't want to do is go to a heavier axle and springs and find out the frame isn't up to it.
caissiel
Senior Member
I learned on my 1 st spring failure.
It was on a Sunday and no garages were open and I had to be home by Monday.
Tied the axle and drove home at low speed.
It was 17 years ago and since then broke quit a few springs on the previous trailer. I always carried 2 spares and was able to change them in less time then the wife could cook me supper.
I did buy 4 spares for this unit last year and plan on having spares with me everywhere I go. To me spare springs are like a spare tire, need it and whatever I would do they will fail someday. Because spring are heavy, not to many shops stock them anyway.
It was on a Sunday and no garages were open and I had to be home by Monday.
Tied the axle and drove home at low speed.
It was 17 years ago and since then broke quit a few springs on the previous trailer. I always carried 2 spares and was able to change them in less time then the wife could cook me supper.
I did buy 4 spares for this unit last year and plan on having spares with me everywhere I go. To me spare springs are like a spare tire, need it and whatever I would do they will fail someday. Because spring are heavy, not to many shops stock them anyway.
Paul & Nan
Well-known member
We had to replace the springs put on in Utah in May as they were not right. We did not really think they were, but got us thru the Alaskan caravan and home to Illinois. Had them checked at a local spring shop, nope, wrong. Fixed now, and as soon as a local dealer has the fridge working on electric again, big slide aligned, and area in closet where w/d hookups are reattached to wall, among other things--we will be ready to load up and head to RGV for the winter. Nan
I have about 22K miles on my Bighorn 3410RE and while on the East Coast, we had to replace the springs on our 2009 trailer. I upgraded the Lippert 4 leaf spring to a 6 leaf spring. The OEM springs were flat and the trailer became dangerous to pull. I am no expert in trailer suspension, but I would say that Heartland needs to review the engineering standards for their larger heavier trailers. Obviously, the consumers who have replaced their springs have all been blindsided by the failure of the OEM system.
Steve
Steve
jimtoo
Moderator
Hi Liebelt,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
As you know there are all kinds of suspension systems and all kinds of answers for which is the best. So I'm sure you will get some replies, both positive and negative.
Enjoy the forum.
Jim M
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
As you know there are all kinds of suspension systems and all kinds of answers for which is the best. So I'm sure you will get some replies, both positive and negative.
Enjoy the forum.
Jim M
Torsion axles seem to be the best for us with the least maintenance on our heavily used trailers. Having said that we did not choose to go that way with our Landmark since we aren't going to put that many miles on it to justify the change. Nothing wrong with air ride either.
I know this is like beating a dead horse, but just couldn't help myself.
After 13.5 months and about 4,000 miles, all on pavement I discovered a broken spring on our Elkridge 34QSRL. Lippert "graciously" agreed to replace the spring, but the repair bill was on me. Unfortunately the nearest tech I could find was 120 miles away. You can imagine what that costs. I guess I should call myself lucky as I have no other damage. That spring must have broken just as I pulled into the campground.
After the repair I got to looking at the other springs. They hardly have a bow in them!
That 400 miles home was way to stressful. Looks like I will be finding me a suspension shop after the holiday weekend to figure out what I am going to do. Looks like replacement spring for sure. We will see about axles. I should have listened to myself before I bought this thing warning me that 6,000 lb axles on a 14,000 lb trailer, just didn't seem right.
I did contact Heartland Customer Service that sent me over to Lippert. From reading this thread I don't expect I will get much help from either.
After 13.5 months and about 4,000 miles, all on pavement I discovered a broken spring on our Elkridge 34QSRL. Lippert "graciously" agreed to replace the spring, but the repair bill was on me. Unfortunately the nearest tech I could find was 120 miles away. You can imagine what that costs. I guess I should call myself lucky as I have no other damage. That spring must have broken just as I pulled into the campground.
After the repair I got to looking at the other springs. They hardly have a bow in them!
That 400 miles home was way to stressful. Looks like I will be finding me a suspension shop after the holiday weekend to figure out what I am going to do. Looks like replacement spring for sure. We will see about axles. I should have listened to myself before I bought this thing warning me that 6,000 lb axles on a 14,000 lb trailer, just didn't seem right.
I did contact Heartland Customer Service that sent me over to Lippert. From reading this thread I don't expect I will get much help from either.
Get all new springs with at least one more leaf than you have now. Trust me 2008 Bighorn, broke spring, ruined two tires, repair bill $2100. Went to spring shop and bought my own springs with one extra leaf. They were Dayton springs and the arch was much more that original equipment. Raised the trailer 1 1/2 inches. Lippert springs are crap, pure and simple.
Lexman1968
Member
Picked up our 3500rl Last May and im now wondering how long the springs will last. We left on a trip around the USA May of this year with our kids for a year and i dont want to have to worry about this. Ohwell to late for that I guess. Did they make any production changes? I slid under the camper 10 minutes ago and all shocks still looks good and springs have some arch in them. Keeping my fingers crossed and adding this to a routine check list.
Razduck
Active Member
Bill,
Thanks for the input about this suspension shop. Since we live in Eugene, OR this will be a great resource for us when/if our Lippert springs start giving us issues. We have a 2011 BC 3355RL, and I have gone under the RV and the springs area already visibly flattened out in the center over the axle. I will be closely monitoring this when we make our inaugural trip in a month or so. We are doing a major driveway revamp before we take the RV out.
