Lippert Warranty Doesn't Care about safety!

[caissiel]

I have changed all 4 springs on my unit and the shape of the new springs are exactly the same as the old ones. So I have stored the old ones for spares and will move on. The old ones were looking overloaded but this is caused by the fact that the springs are installed over the axle and the center is flat when not loaded. Its only normal that unloaded flat springs will bend once loaded. When the spring is over the axle the longer plate is not adding to the support of the plies, and to the contrary it applies pressure downward on the plies when the U-Bolts are thighten.

If the representative at Lippert would have explained that to me I would have just tighten the u-bolts and ordered 2 spare springs like I had with the previous unit. On these heavy units I found it to be neccesary to have spare springs as I need a spare tire. I can change a spring in the time it takes my wife to cook supper so I just ride with comfort.

I found that changing a top of axle spring is as easy as changing the under the axle spring units. It just took me 2 hrs to change all 4 in the campground. I never allow the nuts on the U-Bolts and shackles to rust out, and never coat it with any paint so the nuts are easier to remove.

Also you need 1 or 2 of 1/2" drive rachets with deep sockets one 7/8" and 3/4" along with 11/16 combination wrench. I use an 8 ton jack and while the truck is on the hitch I jack the whole side just enough to take the weight of the axles and then remove the springs. The hard work is if 2 springs breaks on one axle like it happened on the previous unit, then it takes the jacking of the complete axle both sides in order to line up the spring eyes in the shackles. I call a spring break when there is one or two plies broken, Most of the time its a middle ply that breaks first, but if not taken care of, it will surely break a main ply.

I had to use the truck jack to jack the spring ends to line up with the equilizer shackle, on one of the spring the last time.

 

[Tankie]

So how do you know when to change the spring? Do you wait for it to break?
I am sorry but that does not give me any comfort. If that is the case with the spring being mounted on top of the axles, then they have a design flaw and need to fix it. Springs should not be breaking in with less than 10,000 miles on them.

 

[racefan]

Wait and this will happen.

 

[Bob&Patty]

I would be hot on the phone to Lippert. It happened to me coming down the south side of the 5 mile.

 

[lwmcguir]

I changed mine from 7K to 8K (3500 to 4000#) and they have an up wards bow in the springs when loaded. Prior to that they were a bit flat. Every single one of my trailers that don't have torsion axles have up wards bow when they are unloaded. A few get flatter when loaded heavy but they should always have some up wards bow or they wont take the pot holes very well. They need the room to flex. Interesting to hear what someone at Lippert had to say about that. Take a look at new springs and compare. Look at SOB and compare. If the springs are flat you better have a spare. If they have plenty of bow and they are rated properly you should rarely break one if ever. I never have except on a trailer that was over loaded based on the spring rating. The springs need a good 30% or so safety margin above the maximum amount of weight you are going to load them with.

 

[Tankie]

Did you change axles and springs or just springs? And did you use Lippert or change brands? Thanks

 

[Tankie]

Well got my new springs installed Friday, here what they look like.

 

[soon2B]

I'm new here folks, We thought for the money the Heartland brand is the best around. We've been looking for the last year and could'nt see the value added in some other higher priced units that we've seen at shows and dealers. I almost wished I had got on this forum before we ordered our unit. I'm plainly a little concerned with this spring issue. We're supposed to take delivery of a 2011 unit in the next month or so, has Lippert addressed this issue yet? You'ld think they would have learned from GM when they went cheap and lost marketshare! Once you lose customers it's very hard to win them back. I didn't even know who made the chassis assy. for Heartland, we were told that they were made elsewhere when we went for our factory tour. Just a little concerned.

 

[breid]

Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

Yesterday I was towing my cyclone back to the storage lot when I heard an unusual dragging/scraping sound. I pulled over to discover my right rear axle's leaf spring in pieces and the noise was coming from part of the spring dragging on the asphalt. By the time I stopped I was about 500 yds from the storage lot. I was able to pull the right rear wheel and support the axle with some straps. I also pulled the left wheel to keep the axle from shifting around while turning. I then limped into the lot and put it in the spot. Later I ran home to get some jack stands and help support the axle and to try to get some weight off the other two axles. It did some minor damage to the wheel well and fender skirt. I figure once I turned off the main road the tire managed to shift enough to rub on the front face of the rear stairs.

This is not the way I was planning on starting my summer, but thankfully it happened close to town and not down the road. I can't help to think what could have happened if I had been going 60 mph not aware of the situation. As it was, the only reason I heard anything was because my window was rolled down.

Needless to say, I feel I'm in over my head and need some advice on how to handle this situation. My trailer is a couple years old and is out of warranty. I do have an extended warranty policy, Extra Ride I believe. At this point the trailer is not going anywhere without a little work. I also am questioning the integrity of the remaining suspension.

Any advice/experience would be greatly appreciated

 

[cookie]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

Yep, it definitley looks like a broken spring to me.
If it were my rig, I would explore all avenues. I would talk to Lippert, explain the situation and see if they could be of some help.
Contact your extended warranty company and see what they have to say.
And, I would for sure chanage them all. Maybe that's where Lippert can help with some favorable pricing.
If you have 6000# spring packs I would move up to the 7000#.
Good luck, and let us know the final outcome.

Peace
Dave

 

[westxsrt10]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-...5fRVQ5fTrailerQ5fCamperQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

This guy has an a few differiant load rate springs.....might be easier to fix it yourself and have them pay for the spring. Looks like spring pack could have been loose @ the u-bolts causing the spring to snap in the center.

 

[Tankie]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

My warranty was up and the did send out new springs as a good will gesture. I would send them the pics they do respond quickly.
Do you know the weight of your unit loaded? Lippert said I overlaoded mine, I will be weighing when I leave for Alaska this week to find out. If its not overloaded I think they have a serious problem with their springs, I only have 10,000 miles on the rig. Good luck

 

[breid]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

I appreiciate all the feedback and PM's. This happened late last night and today being Sunday, I don't anticipate any information or answers until tomorrow. I'll contact Lipert and see what they can do for me.

 

[breid]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

My warranty was up and the did send out new springs as a good will gesture. I would send them the pics they do respond quickly.
Do you know the weight of your unit loaded? Lippert said I overlaoded mine, I will be weighing when I leave for Alaska this week to find out. If its not overloaded I think they have a serious problem with their springs, I only have 10,000 miles on the rig. Good luck

I wasn't loaded at all. In fact I have never had any kind of weight to speak of in the trailer since new. Not a good feeling knowing that this failed with just the weight of the chassis.

 

[Tankie]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

I agree, what are your axles rated?

 

[breid]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

They are 6k axles

 

[lwmcguir]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

I would install 7K springs all around. Wet bolts while you are at it. Consider CP suspension if you want to spend a bit more. The 6K (3000# springs) is just to light. About the weight/size that is on my ATV trailer.

 

[caissiel]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

I always check the springs for ply breaks, Usually One ply breaks at a time. The other springs might have some broken plies too. It looks like the spring plate has bend indicating that the spring had a bad W shape, caused by broken plies.

I found out on my trailer that its normal to have a bend back look to the springs because they are flat when not loaded.

In addition before I took off on my trip North all the U Bolts were torque to 70 ft lbs. 1/2 way home about 1000 miles I rechecked the torque and all the 4 spring U Bolts were slack. These have a tendency to loosen up during travel, and Its a first for me. My previous trailer had under the axle springs and they never loosen up at all. And for 13 years I did have to change the springs a few times also but never a loose U Bolt.

I would change the springs in pairs, that is both sides of one axle to keep the alignment.

 

[breid]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

I emailed Lippert and sent them some pictures. Hopefully I hear back soon. The more I think about this the more disgusted I feel. I might have 1500 miles on the trailer since purchasing it.

Thanks for all the support

 

[Bobby A]

Re: Broken leaf spring on Cyclone... need some advice

I emailed Lippert and sent them some pictures. Hopefully I hear back soon. The more I think about this the more disgusted I feel. I might have 1500 miles on the trailer since purchasing it.

Thanks for all the support

Breid,

I know how you feel, my springs broke with less than 1500 miles also, it could of been real serious cause I was only miles from going through the mountains. Call Lippert with VIN# in hand and pictures on your computer to send to them. I did not feel safe towing the unit after the mishap and I explained that to Lippert. They upgraded the springs to 8K per my request under warranty. I also had them install wet bolts and bought the c/p system. I feel much better behind the wheel now. Again, as I said in my earlier post, read Larryheadhunter thread on Lippert doesn't care about quality, last check it was up to 164 posts, you will get good info from reading all of it, and also post your issue.