For those of you unfamiliar with heavy 5th wheel trailers, it’s not uncommon for spring hangers and leaf springs to break while you’re traveling. This usually results in an axle getting skewed and tires rubbing together. Since 2006, I’ve had it happen several times and it typically involves a mobile welder on the side of the road, followed by new tires.

I was getting real tired of this so before we left Houston, I found a trailer repair shop to beef up my suspension. They welded in cross members and V clips to avoid future spring hanger failure. While they were doing that, they also noticed some flattened springs and advised me of wear percentage on the brakes. Since I was flush with cash from my Amazon gig, I got new leaf springs and 4 new brake assemblies. I’m certain I got a much better deal than an RV dealer, plus they had all the parts on hand so it was a one day job.

I’ve never been real impressed with the braking on either of my 5th wheels. This guy warned me that it might take about 100 miles for the brakes to reach max effectiveness. Well, we traveled from Houston to the RGV and I didn’t notice much difference. Just before we started our northward spring trip I considered jacking up all the trailer tires and manually adjusting them but somehow that didn’t get done. On the way north, we spent a few nights at a park on a large cement pad. Bingo!

The morning we left I pulled far forward, then backed up quickly and hit the brakes hard. I did this a couple of times, then left the park. Ever since then, the brakes have been golden. So has the rest of the suspension. Over 2000 miles on the new parts/welds and everything is staying right where it’s supposed to be.