Cracked leaf spring

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donuts

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Posts
417
Location
Fair Oaks, California
Has anyone had a leaf spring break on their 5th wheel? I had the top leaf snap about 3" from the shackle on the right side rear axle. Left us stranded on Highway 12 in Sonoma California. Fortunately, a road hazard company in Fairfield helped us having the part installed the next day. They were able to put a temp fix to get me off the road and the next day the new springs were installed by 6pm. Unfortunately, our trip was cancelled, but we made it back home without any other damage to the trailer.
Unfortunately for us we had no road hazard coverage on the trailer so the 70.00 leaf spring cost us 740.00. Does anyone know of a good road hazard policy out there? I looked in to Good Sam, but the customer reviews were so poor, I gave up looking at them. Haven't seen anything positive with AAA also. Any ideas?

Thank you, Stan
 
Get a set of uprated springs installed. Manufacturers tend to undersize everything, and I have read of more than one tale of a leaf spring breaking on a trailer. Get springs designed to carry heavier weight and verify the axle capacity too. Thats insurance you cannot get any other way.

Charles
 
I have CoachNet coverage.  My FIRST trip in our new to us FW - yard was too wet, and I got stuck in my own back yard.  Called CoachNet and 45 minutes later, a tow truck with a winch was here.  Two hours after I called, we were on the road.  He winched the camper and truck back to solid ground.  Ripped up the back yard!  ???  NEVER saw a bill.
 
Not on a 5th wheel, but in 1980, I had one break on a 25' Prowler TT. Back when that 8 mile stretch of I-40 through Knoxville was known as Malfunction Junction by the truckers, it claimed me as one of its victims by breaking the left leaf spring. I noticed smoke coming out of the wheel well because the tire was rubbing on the body.

I got lucky. I called my dealer's mechanic and he told me how to jimmy rig it with a chain and a come along. I drove to a local hardware store, bought what was needed, and jacked the body back up, chaining the axle into place. I made it from Knoxville to home in Lafayette, IN and took the trailer back to the dealer for a replacement spring.

It wouldn't have mattered if I had roadside assistance on something like that. I saved the labor costs of making the repair by doing it myself, something I would have had to pay for if having it done for me. And the cost of the final repair was also something that had to be paid out of pocket; no insurance is going to cover that unless you buy the extended warranty type insurance that is quite costly.
 
I once had all 4 sets of leaf springs break on a trailer in the middle of the Mojave Desert.  Fortunately, all of the breaks were at the rear ends of the springs so the intact front halves kept the axles in alignment.  The trailer settled a couple of inches as the broken end of the springs went from being connected to the spring hangers to resting against the trailer frame.

That was the only way I knew there was a problem, I noticed the trailer was riding lower in my mirrors.  After inspecting the damage I was able to (carefully!) continue another 50 miles back to civilization where I had the springs replaced.

When I was a teenager back in the 1960s my first car was a 1955 Chevy.  One day one of the leaf springs on the rear axle broke.  The break was midway in the back half of the spring so the intact front half kept the axle in alignment.  I cut a 2x4 to bridge the break and used 4 U-clamps to hold it in place against the broken spring.  Worked until a replacement spring came in the following week.
 
Lou Schneider said:
When I was a teenager back in the 1960s my first car was a 1955 Chevy.
Click to expand...

Don't you wish you had that car today. I had a 59 Chevy convertible. I saw one for sale the other day, fully restored for $150,000. I paid $800 for mine in 1967.
 
Yeah, tell me about it.  I paid $300 for mine in 1966.  It was a two door hardtop and had an inline 6, three on the tree and an outboard overdrive.  Got 20 MPG and would cruise all day at 75+ mph.

The guy I sold it to (for the same $300) three years later dropped a big block and 4 speed into it.
 
Bought a'68 Charger in '75 for $250. Won more than that the first weekend I owned it. Drove it for a year and a half, sold it for$400. Sure do wish I kept it. Been through 11 Mustangs from'65 to '70 in various conditions. I wish I still had a couple of them too.
 
donuts said:
Thanks for all the information. I'm having all the suspension checked tomorrow and will be looking at my options.

Stan
Click to expand...


I have had a mainspring snap on both of our two previous trailers, one was a single axle, and one was a double axle. Fortunately, the double axle broke behind the wheel, so the axle stayed in alignment and we got it into the next town to have the spring replaced. On the single axle, we had to have the unit flat decked back into the city. Fortunately, we had AMA coverage.


As noted above, have the springs replaced with a better quality product. However, beware of spring shops that will put so-called heavy duty springs into your trailer. Some of these can be so stiff that the only thing that you have left for suspension is the tires themselves. That happened on our single axle trailer. We had to take the unit back and have them put lighter springs in.


Frank.
 
We had several leaf springs break when we had an Alfa 5th wheel.  We started carrying a spare spring.

Dan used it when we broke yet another spring near New Orleans.  He replaced it himself on the shoulder of the interstate.  Fortunately,  a couple of big guys stopped by to offer their help at the final stages.  After that, we had the springs beefed up.  Sorry, but I don't remember exactly what the fix was.

Jeannine 
In Chanute, KS moving into our new 5th wheel.
 
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