Finally! That really turned out to be an epic project. After arriving in the RGV I had no desire to jump back in and there was really no rush. My first priority was tires. I still needed to replace 1 wheel and tire entirely, and needed to get a recalled tire replaced. Plus a few minor things like wheel bearing dust covers and center caps for the wheels that came off.
It’s a good thing that etrailer https://www.etrailer.com/ had an exact replacement wheel for my RV because the local dealer wanted about 3 times as much for it. So I ordered that and a new tire to go on the side of the RV that already had the wet bolt kit. Everything came in within about 10 days and I got the spare stowed in its rightful place under the trailer. While I was swapping tires I did notice that I’d used an incorrect bolt in one place and got that corrected without too much trouble.
While I was doing all this I was also trying to get my recalled tire replaced. According to the national distributor there was a nearby Midas shop that could take care of me. I visited in person and the manager made it sound like the tire would arrive in 2 days. I gave it 5 days before calling him back and got a wishy-washy explanation and a distinct hint that I should just wait for him to call me. Naturally I ignored that hint. After I had received the tire (same brand/size/model as the recall tire) that I purchased online I called him back, patiently let him give me the same line of BS, then told him I’d already ordered a tire for a different reason and there was no excuse for him not getting my recall replacement. He thanked me profusely for that additional information and swore he would call me back in 15 or 20 minutes. That was about 3 weeks ago.
During that time I contacted the national distributor again and explained my problem. They offered me the option to buy the tire on my own and get reimbursed (with certain documentation). I’m so glad I bought the recalled tire from Walmart online since I was able to get the receipt from their website. Anyway, getting that replacement tire was the catalyst to continue the wet bolt kit upgrade on the other side.
With both tires off, I was able to get the bolts in the equalizer replaced pretty quickly. I did NOT make the same mistake as the other side (removing existing brass bushings) and that made the job much easier. The remaining 2 bolts for the ends of the leaf spring were a bit more challenging but still doable since I had quick access to a vise. The new dust caps and center caps got added before putting the tires back on.
Color this project done, and on to the next one!