Trail-Air Equalizers

[beardedone]

Going to do something like that for sure. There is a spring shop in Calgary called Standen's who are very good and enjoy an excellent reputation. I am going to take mine there in the spring to have everything done. Will also consider upgrading the axles to 8,000 lbs. But if the equalizers have to be replaced then I will also think about the Centre point suspension.

 

[lwmcguir]

Take a good look at how light the center hanger is. Then look at how the hanger is beefed up with the Center Point Air. Not only the ride will improve but a much greater safety factor. The only better thing out there is the Torsion axle/springs but then you have to run level all the time. My opinion is based on about 45 years of towing all sizes of Fith Wheel and Goose Neck trailers loaded much heavier than an Augusta.

 

[beardedone]

I know that centre hanger is light and I know that will sure be changed. I will be planning my upgrade for the next couple of months. I am going to be sure my trailer is safe and going to last a long time.

 

[lwmcguir]

Let us know what you upgrade with. Lot of good options that will let you relax a bit more when traveling all types of roads.

 

[Ricoh]

I just bought an 09 Bighorn 3055RL and was wondering if these suspension problems extend to the lighter models or have they been addressed by the manufacturer?

Rick

 

[lwmcguir]

No matter what the weight of your camper a thourough walk around, crawl around, is a good idea. Check out the amount of usable spring you have, the hanger position, bolt / nut position and so on before each trip. Watch for changes. You may never have a problem but if your unit is loaded near the maximum rating of the springs/axles you want to check it more often. Saw a camper on I70 near Hays, KS this weekend with a shifted axle. It had just happened and they were off to the side checking it out. It wasn't a Heartland product but was similar to the upper end of Heartlands in size.

 

[kakampers]

Maybe not a sure thing. There have been others that have had their trailers upgraded to 8K axles and it was a bit too stiff. Shook the coach more than normal. Things came out of the door and drawers. While I too am a person who thinks more is better but I have to allow myself to trust in the engineering with these frames and axles. I feel they wouldn't build these if there were any chance of failure or injury. My 2-cents

Mark

We're the ones Mark is referring to, and I agree. There should be no need to move up to 8K axles/springs UNLESS you are too close to the 14,000lb total capacity of the 7K axles/springs. For us, Lippert thinking we were overloaded, when they saw flat springs, changed ours out to 8K springs. Problem was, we only had 12,900lbs on the 7K springs...we were actually UNDER by 1,100lbs. This "oversprung" us to the tune of 3,100lbs on the springs and after only 100 miles, it looked like a bomb went off in our coach...even broke the mirrored door off the entry closet!

We opted to keep the 8K springs and added the Center Point, which "tamed" our stiff springs and it now rides like it did previously...so we can't say just how smooth it would be with lighter springs...but at least I'm not worried about them flattening out again.

I really feel that the engineered suspension on these units is proper, however, they may have a problem with springs and I'm really leaning toward it being partially due to inferior metal, based on our experiences. I also feel that most people aren't aware and/or don't realize they need to check the axles/springs/hangers/tires, etc. on a regular basis. Especially for torgue, wear and WEIGHT...the best thing anyone can do for themselves is know your weights, and adjust when necessary.

And one more thing, on the axles, just don't check for total weight...know your individual tire weights and adjust leveling accordingly...many people don't realize one axle can be much heavier/lighter than the other. We were 500lbs heavier on back axle which could have caused major issues by overloading those tires/axles/springs, etc....adjusted pin height and now only 25lbs difference between the axles. Really feel this contributed to why our spring broke on rear axle not long after taking possession of the rig...live and learn!

 

[lwmcguir]

We added the Center Point as well. Sure is a good investment given the roads. Roads aren't going to get any better so might as well protect the camper and contents a bit more than using rubber dampeners. If you increase the axles/spring size I think this is a given so agree with Ken. The larger axles do give more brake capacity as well.

 

[Ricoh]

Is this complaint just coming from the Landmark owners? I have not heard of it from the lighter trailer owners at all.Any Bighorn owners having these problems?

Rick

 

[wdk450]

Any Bighorn Owners?

Is this complaint just coming from the Landmark owners? I have not heard of it from the lighter trailer owners at all.Any Bighorn owners having these problems?

Rick

Rick:
I have a Bighorn 3670RL and STARTED this thread.

 

[Ricoh]

Well that is good to know. Has Heartland or Lippert done anything to fix this problem or do we just wait and see when they break or spend a lot of out of pocket money to upgrade and fix the problem ourselves? This is a major p***off.

Rick

 

[wdk450]

Got My Check

Gang:
I got my check from Lippert today for the cost of the equalizers. This is all I asked for.
My thanks to Gary Stilwell at Lippert.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Gang:
Its been a while since I started this thread. My previous laptop bit the dust, and we returned to California from Oregon/Washington.
I want to say that after I posted this thread Lippert was back in communication with me.

So tell me, has this "production" problem been corrected over the past two model years or should we be concerned about future problems.

 

[jbeletti]

Rick,

I think this is the only time I have ever heard of failures with the Trailair Equaflex equalizers. I think you can rest easy on this.

As for springs, this has been an issue with Lippert that I hope they have now fully addressed in new product manufactured for them and sold to us.

Jim

Jim

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Thanks jim for the reassurance. We are getting other bugs worked out