After reading dozens of stories about shoddy springs, it happened to me in Ankeny Iowa. The spring just fell apart. I found two leafs on the highway, they were not broken but the center bolt had fallen out and the U shaped bracket was bent open. The U bolts did not break. I have a 08 Bighorn with 10,000 miles on it. The spring just fell apart. I have a beautiful coach from the floor up but a foundation built on sand. The number of premature spring failures indicates a defective product on the part of Lippert components. There is just no other way to explain it. This month last year I had both axles replaced under warranty. I told them the springs looked flat to me. But, no they had a normal arc, right. Less than three thousand miles later and one falls apart.
The right rear spring allowed the axle to move back shredding the tire on the slide rails. The inside of the left tire went into the shock and ripped a deep groove in the sidewall. So two new tires at $379 each. I decided it would be dumb not to replace all the springs at $74 dollars each, plus a $150 overnight shipping.
I had read so many stories on this site and was very careful to check for 65lbs torque on the U bolts and check the tires before each trip and it still happened.
Luckily I was only going about 35 mph when it happened. It was as if someone slammed on the brakes. I immediate steered over off the side of the road which was sandy soil allowing the tires to slide and came to a stop in about a hundred feet.
I have posted over two hundred times on this site and have been supportive of Heartland, but I have to be honest and say they have a responsibility to make sure their coaches ride on a safe frame and suspension. I hope they are listening and are doing something about this. I hope someone doesn’t have to die. Had I been traveling at highway speed I may not be here to tell this story and some other driver may have eating my axle for lunch.
Thankfully Progressive Insurance Roadside Service paid for the tow which must have cost a few hundred. It took three hours to jack the rig up and chain the axle to the frame and tow it limping to an RV dealer.
I went to a spring shop and bought my own springs, a 7 leaf 3450lbs to replace what they said was a 2900lb spring (the 6 leaf that it came with). The 3670 has 7000 lb axle upgrade., but was riding on 6000 lb springs. The new springs have an arch like the old ones never had and give me an xtra 1000lbs per axle. The bighorn ride about an 1 1/2 higher.
We are all fixed up for $2100. On to Colorado and enjoying camping again.
Finally got around to uploading a picture of the spring that broke. It has the now becoming familiar W shape. It just bent.
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