GDRV owner for 3 years but new to forum.

[GaryE]

Good evening. My wife and I retired about 5 years ago but we have three teenage girls at home. So we wanted a bunkhouse RV to replace our small bunkhouse bumper pull trailer. We purchased our 2021 Reflection 28BH 5th wheel in 2021 from the original owner. We had a slide out issue that was corrected by Grand Design since we happened to be traveling through Indiana at the time. I have sine replaced the Schwintech system with Vroom System in Tucson. After returning to AZ earlier this month from our holiday travels to Georgia and Texas with the RV I noticed I have a broken leaf spring. Any help I can get in figuring out the length and weight rating of the leaf spring would be much appreciated. I reached out to Dexter but have not received a response. I plan to go from 4 leafs to 5 on all four springs and add the MORryde All Treck 4000 equalizer.
Thanks in advance.
Gary and Joyce Eisenga

[ncitro]

Welcome to the forum! I also have a 28BH, older than yours though with Lippert axles, so my information will unfortunately be different. Dexter should be able to give you a full printout of your axle components off of the information on the tag in the center of the axle, this should include the spring information. That said I would think it is a 5200 pound axle, and a 2600 pound spring. I had previously upgraded to the SRE4000 equalizer and Xfactor member and found it did a great job. I got a really great deal a few years ago on the Lippert Centerpoint Air Equalizer system and it has been phenomenal as well. A year and a half ago I replaced my axles with 6,000 pound axles and disc brakes and the combo has been outstanding.

[GaryE]

Thanks Neil for the quick reply! They are indeed 5200 lb axles on 35 inch centers. I just need the spring length so I can order the replacements. I sent photos of the axle tags to Dexter but still no response. I'll try to contact Dexter by phone tomorrow. Not sure I want to put a bunch of suspension money into the 28BH if the girls "outgrow" camping with Mom and Dad. Lol

[TucsonJim]

Welcome to the forum Gary, Joyce, and girls. Gary - If you are near Tucson, Arizona Spring on Grant Road might be a great resource for your spring work. I've used them in the past. They are knowledgeable and fairly priced. They can install new springs if you don't want to do the labor yourself.

Jim

[Popga]

Welcome to the forum! I also have a 28BH, older than yours though with Lippert axles, so my information will unfortunately be different. Dexter should be able to give you a full printout of your axle components off of the information on the tag in the center of the axle, this should include the spring information. That said I would think it is a 5200 pound axle, and a 2600 pound spring. I had previously upgraded to the SRE4000 equalizer and Xfactor member and found it did a great job. I got a really great deal a few years ago on the Lippert Centerpoint Air Equalizer system and it has been phenomenal as well. A year and a half ago I replaced my axles with 6,000 pound axles and disc brakes and the combo has been outstanding.

Neil,
When you upgraded to 6000# axles, does the upgrade also raise your GVWR for the trailer? I ask because I am already dancing around my max and adding the extra weight from disc brakes would surely move me over my max.
Erik

[GaryE]

Thanks for the information Jim. I just confirmed with Dexter that the leaf spring is 26". So a question I have is, can I use a 25 1/4 inch leaf spring and a slightly longer shackle?

Gary

[ncitro]

Neil,
When you upgraded to 6000# axles, does the upgrade also raise your GVWR for the trailer? I ask because I am already dancing around my max and adding the extra weight from disc brakes would surely move me over my max.
Erik

It does not. The GVWR is what it is and cannot be changed. That said I bent and axle and broke a shackle and leaf spring, so decided the upgraded axle and springs would at least beef up my suspension parts to handle my weight.

[ncitro]

Thanks for the information Jim. I just confirmed with Dexter that the leaf spring is 26". So a question I have is, can I use a 25 1/4 inch leaf spring and a slightly longer shackle?

Gary

I would defer to someone with more experience in customizing the suspension, but I would not want to mess with the geometry of it. I would be looking for a 26" spring.

[TucsonJim]

Gary - Dexter typically only has three spring lengths for their suspensions. 21", 24", and 26". Check out this drawing for their manufacturing specifications. Look on the right side of the drawing to find the 4000-6000# capacity group:

http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/fil...nformation.pdf

I have never seen "slightly longer shackles" before. I'm wondering if that 25-1/4" spring is when it's uncompressed, and it's closer to 26" when mounted and bearing weight?

Jim

[GaryE]

Thanks Jim. MORryde makes a 2-1/4 inch shackle as well as a 3-1/8 inch shackle. So that was my thought process. But I'll just stick with the 26" leaf spring. I appreciate everyone's help on this.

Gary

[GaryE]

Just an update on how I resolved my broken leaf spring issue. After measuring multiple times to make sure I was correct, I purchased four, 25.25 inch, five-leaf springs rated at 3000 lbs., even though Dexter provided me with a build sheet that said they were 26". I replaced the equalizer with a MORryde AllTrek 4000 and also installed the MORryde shackles. Everything fit together nicely and, with the help of a friend, we completed the repairs here at home. It makes a big difference in towing. Thanks again to everyone for your responses.

[TucsonJim]

Thanks for the concluding post Gary. It's nice when owners come back with the the final answer?

Jim