Do U-bolts move on the axle tubes?

[ajg617]

Follow-up to our issue with wet bolts, missing bushings, ruined springs and shackles. We put about 1,000 miles on since springs, shackles, wet bolts, and U-bolts were replaced. Today we pulled in to Salina and when I pressed hitch height, heard a metallic clanking sound coming from the suspension as the front lifted. Same was heard when I auto leveled. Tried both again and same noises but I can't tell from which side (sounded like both). So, the U-bolts that GD sent were not the correct size and wouldn't fit around the axles (pic of old and wrong U-bolt below) so the local trailer repair was able to source form a shop that custom makes them. The original U-bolts were flat on the bottom - the wrong replacements and the locally sourced replacements are completely round and not flattened.


I crawled under and there are no broken hanger welds, no broken or missing bolts, everything is greased and is in place. The only thing I can see is that the U-bolts appear to be moving on the axle tubes themselves where they surround the bottom of the tubes. Given that the axles tubes are not perfectly straight, I'm assuming that something has to move as road loads change. Is that a wrong assumption?

[Country Campers]

I would check the torque on the u-bolts, I think they should be around 50 or 60 ft lbs. I found mine were loose from the factory and it is possible that the tech did not torque them properly.

Brian

[ajg617]

I would check the torque on the u-bolts, I think they should be around 50 or 60 ft lbs. I found mine were loose from the factory and it is possible that the tech did not torque them properly.

Brian

Do I need to take the weight off the wheels to torque? Here's some pictures. The front are the ones that concern me - seem like they are spread apart at the tube end more than the top bolt/nut end. Don't know if the marks on the tubes were from the original u-bolts or the new ones.
LF


RF


LR


RR

[Country Campers]

You do not need to take weight off of the wheels to torque the u-bolts. What you want to do is make sure the u-bolts are perpendicular to the axle and the springs are in proper placement on the perch. The top plate should be centered on the spring. Tighten each nut so that there is equal amount of u-bolt sticking out, close is good enough but do not have one side a lot longer than the other, 1/4" variance should be fine.

Brian

[ajg617]

You do not need to take weight off of the wheels to torque the u-bolts. What you want to do is make sure the u-bolts are perpendicular to the axle and the springs are in proper placement on the perch. The top plate should be centered on the spring. Tighten each nut so that there is equal amount of u-bolt sticking out, close is good enough but do not have one side a lot longer than the other, 1/4" variance should be fine.

Brian

Brian,
I guess I don't know how the bolts can be perpendicular to the axle tube since the tube/axle is arc'd in the middle. So at the frame, the axles are not perpendicular to the frame by a small amount. But the supports don't appear to be centered with a couple of springs. FYI, all the bolts are tightened an equal amount so the stud length above is equal. I suspect because Dexter gives three different values for 1/2" U-bolts the tech may not have tightened them to spec but I'm trying to confirm the actual torque values from GD corporate since they sent the whole kit.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

U-bolts need to be re-torqued from time to time. I do mine annually. On a previous brand trailer I found my u-bolts surprisingly loose...after owning a few years. I believe the u-bolt torque to be closer to 80-90 ft-lbs as opposed to what Brian said...but I could be wrong. Axle rating must play into it.

[ajg617]

U-bolts need to be re-torqued from time to time. I do mine annually. On a previous brand trailer I found my u-bolts surprisingly loose...after owning a few years. I believe the u-bolt torque to be closer to 80-90 ft-lbs as opposed to what Brian said...but I could be wrong. Axle rating must play into it.

Believe it is 70-80 ft lbs. These were just installed so I'm guessing they may not have been torqued to that spec. Dexter gives three values for 1/2" U-bolts - as low as 45 and as high as 80.

[TedS]

ccd_0001812.pdf

Various u-bolt torque from Lippert.

[ajg617]

[ATTACH]n119996[/ATTACH]

Various u-bolt torque from Lippert.

Interesting. My Dexter 8K come with 1/2" u-bolts and LCI says 9/16.

EDIT:Need to learn to read a measuring tape better. They are 9/16 and we're torqued to
95 ft lbs.

[Skilletface]

Torque specifications from GD 2019 owners manual