Help! Broken spring

[Ncgrandma]

We have a 2018, 31 ft, Bullet Premier with a broken spring on the rear axel. It broke yesterday as we were exiting I-10 at San Antonio. We managed to get to our campground and had a Mobil repair service come out. He removed the broken piece and said he would be back today with a new one. Talked to him this am and was told nobody has one; it has be ordered from Keystone and will probably take a week. So we are stuck. Has anyone had a problem with the springs. Is it possible to replace it with leaf springs? we would do the other side so they match. We also have to align the axels. I see dollar signs.

[JRTJH]

Axles and springs are not built by Keystone and I'm surprised that someone told you that the parts "had to come from Keystone". All the RV springs/axles are built by either Lippert, Dexter or AlKo. Most are warrantied for 2 or 3 years, so with a 2018 trailer, you probably still have an axle/spring warranty in effect.

You don't say how the spring broke, so the above may not apply if you had an accident, hit a pothole or otherwise damaged the trailer in such a way that it's not a "material failure"...

Is a place as large as San Antonio, there should be a variety of trailer repair, axle repair, spring/suspension repair and RV repair shops. It's strange that none of them have a replacement spring available. Although they may not have "the exact spring" they should be able to replace the spring with a "workable substitute" to get you back on the road.

Honestly, a Saturday afternoon is not a good time to find anything outside of "big box store items", so you're probably stuck until Monday, when the commercial facilities reopen for business, however, I'd almost bet that there's a replacement spring in an area the size of San Antonio.

[travelin texans]

I would bet if you have a length/size/weight of the original you could go online to "etrailer" & find several sets available, possibly even overnighted to you if there's not a local spring shop/shops.
I agree with John, someone's blowing smoke up your dress.

[shermris]

Is your unit still under the one year factory warranty?

[Frank G]

Rural King, Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply has replacement springs in stock and are open Sunday. Most RV centers like Camping World may have springs in stock.

Take a photo of the spring, crawl under and take a photo of the ID tag on the center of the Axle, Measure the length and width of the existing spring. Your shackles will compensate for a little variance in the length, replace both sides.

Whale you are at Harbor Freight, pick up a HD battery powered Impact wrench and a set of deep well sockets, make repairs like this and tire changing a breeze. (torqueing still required)

If both springs, left and right, are replaced there should be no reason for a alignment. At least in the short term.

[sourdough]

I have to agree with those above about the availability of the springs in SA. I can't imagine that no one has the spring(s) to get you on the road. Heck, if I can find a spindle for a pop up axle in Alamogordo NM on a Sunday, I have no doubt there is something in SA.:) I would think some of the places referenced above would have what you need in the near term. Come Monday call around to the spring shops and you should find what you need.

[bobbecky]

This is the website for Alamo Truck Gear and their website say they carry springs and suspension parts and show that they have trailer parts, and have two different locations in San Antonio. http://alamotruckgear.com/ (210) 522-1122 (210) 366-4422

[Javi]

Google Southwest Wheel, San Antonio and call them.
Best chance of finding the springs in SA.
210-657-5828

[busterbrown]

We have a 2018, 31 ft, Bullet Premier with a broken spring on the rear axel. It broke yesterday as we were exiting I-10 at San Antonio. We managed to get to our campground and had a Mobil repair service come out. He removed the broken piece and said he would be back today with a new one. Talked to him this am and was told nobody has one; it has be ordered from Keystone and will probably take a week. So we are stuck. Has anyone had a problem with the springs. Is it possible to replace it with leaf springs? we would do the other side so they match. We also have to align the axels. I see dollar signs.

Diane, I feel your pain. We had this happen to us last fall on a local trip. We had 3500# Dexter axles where one of the passenger-side mono leaf springs snapped at the axle attachment point.

I called Dexter to explain what happened as the springs and axles are warrantied much longer than factory warranty of the trailer. After emailing them over a completed warranty claim form, they sent 2 new leaf springs via 2nd day delivery (new ubolts too). Unfortunately, two weeks later, after I completed the repair, a driver side spring failed. May have been caused by the stress of the first failure I guess. Repeated the process again with Dexter. They sent 2 more.

This time though...instead of replacing the other side, I decided to bite the "bullet" and upfit my "Bullet" with larger axles (5200#) and traditional stacked leaf springs. I felt Keystone did a poor job in the "suspension fitment process" with my coach. The axles were at the GVWR limits (one was slightly bent when I inspected it) and the springs were, well...mono leaf in design. It cost me upfront. But in the long run, I'm much less worried over a suspension failure.

BTW, the mobile repair tech may be right with regards to sourcing your springs. If they are mono leaf by design, only Keystone and Dexter are your options. Pursue the Dexter route as you'll get them much faster. Keystone's response will take several weeks.

Also, make sure they send you two new springs as the front axle spring was most likely stressed when the failure occured. It would be very discouraging to have another broken leaf just miles from where the first failure occured.

The following threads discuss more in detail what happened to me and how I remedied it. Oh, the memories! Good luck.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34888
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25484&page=9

[whcarr]

Check with SWwheel in San Antonio

[Local150]

Around here there atrespring companies,, and that's about all they do they can fix anything,, tons of weights,, lengths etc. Got to be places like that there