Wet Bolts

[Kzneft]

My Toyhauler is a 2018 Keystone 349. Love the trailer, but thought I might look at upgrading the suspension. Factory is just the crappy nylon bushings. Well I ordered the Wet Bolt kit (tandem) from etrailer($127) then started the job. First thing I noticed when I took the Road Armor shackle off is that whoever build the chassis (Keystone or Lippert) forgot to put in a bronze bushing in the upper hole of the Road Armor before assembling. See pic. No wonder I was hearing squeaking. The installation went very well. See pic of the nylon bushings. It was definitely time to change them. Should have done it sooner. Everyone might want to look at their trailer. Definitely worth the money. Piece of mind now!

[workinonit]

Did those bushings press in? I just greased mine and ran into 3 wetbolts that wouldn't take grease. When I pulled the shackle off it was worn. I didn't realize the levelers had bushings.

[Lee]

Hi,

Do you know the history of the wet bolt install? Maybe installed incorrectly.

The wet bolts have a hole on the shaft that when installed need to be at 3 or 9 o'clock so the grease can be injected where the weight of the trailer is not on them.

[workinonit]

If you posted to me, I suspect mine were factory installed but I can't verify that. I also suspect that these particular 3 bolts haven't had grease in them since it was originally greased. I had to use a pick to clean the grease ports. I know how wet bolts work and when they are installed on shackle straps it's not always easy to get them oriented as you say. 3 and 9 are theoretically ideal but not always achievable. As far as the straps are concerned, the bolts come pre-pressed into the shackle strap and unless you beat them out you can't turn them.

[Kzneft]

The bushings in the springs went in without much effort, but the three bushings in the Road Armor were more difficult, but not to hard to do. I greased all the bushings while there was no weight on the axles, which went in easily.

[workinonit]

Originally Posted by Kzneft

The bushings in the springs went in without much effort, but the three bushings in the Road Armor were more difficult, but not to hard to do. I greased all the bushings while there was no weight on the axles, which went in easily.

Could you post what kit you purchased from Etrailer?

[Kzneft]

This is what I got (See attached) It was kind of confusing at Etrailer, as they had some for what I paid, then some for well over $200. I think the most important thing is to check the length of your links. There are some with 2 1/4" straps and 3 1/8" straps. Mine were the 3 1/8" straps. Everything worked perfectly. Well pleased!

[rhagfo]

The easy way to press the bushings in is to get about a pound of dry ice. Place all the bushings in a bag with the dry ice and place in your freezer. They may be pressed with a gloved hand.

[workinonit]

Originally Posted by Kzneft

This is what I got (See attached) It was kind of confusing at Etrailer, as they had some for what I paid, then some for well over $200. I think the most important thing is to check the length of your links. There are some with 2 1/4" straps and 3 1/8" straps. Mine were the 3 1/8" straps. Everything worked perfectly. Well pleased!

Those do look like they will work. They have the 1/2" thick straps. I was looking for something from Lippert but they don't have anything with the bushings.

[rlh1957]

The factory nylon Will crush, squish & split after 1000 miles maybe sooner.
You can replace flimsy nylon bushings with bronze bushings, but while you have leaf springs disconnected go ahead and replace bolts with wet bolts.
Wet Bolts & Bronze Bushings are a very inexpensive but robust upgrade to do to leaf springs & hangers.