Suspension Bushings

[SilverRhino]

There have been many posts regarding the bushings on the suspensions of our coaches. Some time back I had made the decision to replace the bushings on our BC with the Neverfail bushings.......One knee replacement and a four level cervical fusion later, I finally got around to doing it.

Using four 6 ton jack stands, two 20 ton bottle jacks and a 3 ton floor jack, I was able to get the job done in 3 hours.....an extra set of hands would have been very helpful! ( A 6 point leveling system would have been nice.....Actually the only time I really felt I wanted one. )

After seeing the poor quality and condition of the bushings I am glad that I did it......Should have done it much sooner! Our coach has 10,513 miles which includes the 1200 miles for delivery.

 

[Garypowell]

Silver....I am thinking of doing the same thing. Did you replace the EZ-FLEX bushings too?

did you raise the whole coach up and put on jack stands or just do one side at a time?

 

[SilverRhino]

Silver....I am thinking of doing the same thing. Did you replace the EZ-FLEX bushings too?

did you raise the whole coach up and put on jack stands or just do one side at a time?

Yes I did replace the EZ-FLEX bushings and I did one side at a time. Probably over kill on the support, but I wanted to make sure it was safe and did not want to put all the weight of the coach on just one or two points. Besides, doing one side at a time I stayed out of the sun in the driveway

 

[jimtoo]

What was your address or do you do on site service??? I mean,,, since you have all the experience and knowledge..tools...

Jim M

 

[davebennington]

I have replaced the bronze bushing in our coach 3 times now, I have found that they only last about 20,000 to 25,000 miles, and yes I grease often at least once week when on the road. I always use the level up to lift the wheels of the coach off the ground it makes the job go easier.
Now as far as the Never Fail bushing go, I feel that there is no such thing as never fail, everything wears out sooner or later (JMO).

dave

 

[boatto5er]

So Dave, are you and Randy setting up a service center at the Beth Page national rally next summer?

 

[jbeletti]

So Dave, are you and Randy setting up a service center at the Beth Page national rally next summer?

Gus - sadly, we won't be doing rally service work for the "non-Goshen' rallies. It's too disruptive to the plant and it adds about $25k of costs to put the team on the road. On top of $40k of parts - it's just too much. Sorry

 

[jbeletti]

It would be great to get a long-term usage report from someone who is using the NeverFail bushings. I may have them put on my new coach as I am not very diligent about greasing normal style.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

It would be great to get a long-term usage report from someone who is using the NeverFail bushings. I may have them put on my new coach as I am not very diligent about greasing normal style.

Jim, since you "change coaches" every two years, it may not be needed for you but the next owner would really get the benefit from it.

 

[boatto5er]

Gus - sadly, we won't be doing rally service work for the "non-Goshen' rallies. It's too disruptive to the plant and it adds about $25k of costs to put the team on the road. On top of $40k of parts - it's just too much. Sorry

Actually, I was thinking of more of a neighbor helping neighbor deal. :angel:

 

[Kbvols]

Gus - sadly, we won't be doing rally service work for the "non-Goshen' rallies. It's too disruptive to the plant and it adds about $25k of costs to put the team on the road. On top of $40k of parts - it's just too much. Sorry

Wow Jim, I was wondering what the expense related to parts alone were from the Goshen rally. $40k is a considerable commitment from Heartland. That's close to $200 per rig attending the rally. I sure appreciated the work the team did for me at the rally.

 

[Garypowell]

Silver. Some other questions.

1. Did you hook your truck up and lift the front legs up or leave the front landing gear down?

2. Do you have hydraulic or electric front end?

3. When you jacked up the rig where you able to get the wheels off of the ground to remove them?

i am curios about #3 because whenever I have had a flat they always have trouble getting the tires off the ground. I have envisioned jacking the coach up only so high and then carefully lifting the wheel off the ground using the tube or something else substantial.

I know some will scream about using the tube if so please make a suggestion.

thanks.

 

[GOTTOYS]

I recently had a wet bolt kit installed on my BC 3250. The installer gave me the old plastic bushings that were replaced. Surprisingly, they were still in very good shape after around 18,000 miles. I wonder if the weight of the trailer has some affect on wear?..Still not sorry I replaced them..Don

 

[SilverRhino]

Silver. Some other questions.

1. Did you hook your truck up and lift the front legs up or leave the front landing gear down?

2. Do you have hydraulic or electric front end?

3. When you jacked up the rig where you able to get the wheels off of the ground to remove them?

i am curios about #3 because whenever I have had a flat they always have trouble getting the tires off the ground. I have envisioned jacking the coach up only so high and then carefully lifting the wheel off the ground using the tube or something else substantial.

I know some will scream about using the tube if so please make a suggestion.

thanks.

1) Did not have room to have the truck hooked up to the coach.....Started with the front jacks down.

2) My front jacks are electric.

3) No problem getting the tires off the ground....I only had them about a 1/2" off the concrete. All of my lifting was done on the frame......jack stands where placed evenly in front and behind the wheels. I used the floor jack under the axles to support them when I removed the bolts. My bottle jacks extend high enough that I have no problem lifting the coach to get the tires off the ground using the frame.

If I had the six point system, I would still have used the four jack stands to take the majority of the weight......I do not trust mechanical, hydraulic or electric on their own if I am going to be working under something as heavy as our coach.

As far as the bushings being "Never Fail".....I agree, everything can and will fail eventually. I do plan on checking them as time and miles go by. I record the mileage for every trip, so I will be able to tell just how many miles I get before I have to replace the bushings that will "Never Fail"

As to setting up a "service".....kind of funny but a fellow from down the street came up to me this morning while I was having coffee and asked what I was doing to my trailer. He drove by and saw that I had it on the stands and was curious. When I told him what I was doing, he wanted to know if I was interested in doing his coach. I said I was more than willing to help him......Gave him directions to a good RV service center in the area!

 

[MTPockets]

I recently had a wet bolt kit installed on my BC 3250. The installer gave me the old plastic bushings that were replaced. Surprisingly, they were still in very good shape after around 18,000 miles. I wonder if the weight of the trailer has some affect on wear?..Still not sorry I replaced them..Don

I installed the neverfail last year with only about 6000 trailer miles and the nylon bushings were in perfect condition. I agree with the weight question; heavier trailers would seem to have a greater effect on the wear, as would alignment and loading - eg: more weight on one side.

 

[SilverRhino]

I installed the neverfail last year with only about 6000 trailer miles and the nylon bushings were in perfect condition. I agree with the weight question; heavier trailers would seem to have a greater effect on the wear, as would alignment and loading - eg: more weight on one side.

In my case I do not think that weight was an issue.....Our BC weighs in at 11k loaded with 21% on the king pin. Side to side the weight is very evenly distributed as well as from one axle to the other. My bushings where equally worn....I was interested to see if they where different from one axle or side to the other,not the case. I did not look up the specs, but I believe your BH probably weighs more than my BC. There does not seem to be a "magic" mileage for replacing the original bushings. Some have replaced at 18k with them still being good....mine did not make it that far. Just another one of the many things that need to be checked and monitored in order to help insure safety on the road.

 

[MTPockets]

In my case I do not think that weight was an issue.....Our BC weighs in at 11k loaded with 21% on the king pin. Side to side the weight is very evenly distributed as well as from one axle to the other. My bushings where equally worn....I was interested to see if they where different from one axle or side to the other,not the case. I did not look up the specs, but I believe your BH probably weighs more than my BC. There does not seem to be a "magic" mileage for replacing the original bushings. Some have replaced at 18k with them still being good....mine did not make it that far. Just another one of the many things that need to be checked and monitored in order to help insure safety on the road.

Our trailer weight loaded at FL rally was 14,300 lbs.

 

[hoefler]

Where did you get your parts?? Do you have a part# or description??

 

[SilverRhino]

Where did you get your parts?? Do you have a part# or description??

Here is a link to where I purchased my parts.....I got mine from rvupgradestore.com/Never-Fail-Spring-Bushing-Kit They are available from others sources, at the time I purchased mine they had the best deal.

Travel Safe!