Broken Shock Mount

[oldSalt]

Sometime last summer the lower shock mount (they're welded to the bottom of the spring plate) snapped off. Not sure when it happened as the shock was just hanging from the upper mount. We've been parked at our winter home in the RGV since last October and I found the broken mount when I crawled under to lube the suspension. I need a new Monroe shock and a new spring plate. Question...will it hurt to tow the rig without the shock? My thought is it won't cause any damage as our first rig had absolutely no shocks on it. The spring plate is not damaged other than the shock mount is missing.

Almost forgot, our MS has the Trail Saver suspension.

Reason for question is we're leaving the Valley headed to Florida in a few days and doubt if I can get replacements before we leave. We can stay here longer, but we're both suffering from hitch itch and want to get on the road.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Jim

[bstark]

Towing it without the shock won't hurt it. Don't miss this opportunity to do some diagnosis though. You have the old shock and you have your trailer typically loaded out for travel, now is the time to ascertain if those mounts have been placed in the middle of your shock "stroke" length.

What happens sometimes is the suspension is adjusted either up or down to level trailer to truck's hitch height and no attempt is made to adjust the shock mounts to conform. Sometimes the upper mounts are welded on in the wrong spot as well and it's the weaker bottom one that breaks.

You might also be able to tell by looking at the broken end of the tab which direction the shock is impeded in travel. It may have broken off because the shock is already hyper-extended.

Dependent on your skills as a DIY and whether (like mine were) the plates have two mounts welded to them and how comfortable you feel performing a bit of "under -there" wrenching: using a set-up of jacks and cribbing you can swap that plate with its opposite to again remount your shock.

Being careful to study your suspension layout and supporting safely before performing any un-doing of the "U" bolts is the order of the day here.

OooopS! On edit I noticed re-reading your sgnature line that you mention "up-graded" 17.5's soooo; if your trailer was subsequently highe due to those new wheels and tires and was then lowered by raising the suspension into a higher hole of the trailer mounts, your shocks have likely been operating in the compressed end of their range, you will then need to raise your upper mounts and re-weld them. that's not a bad job and will result in a much stronger/better upper mount in any case. My trailer was an 05 and those upper mounts were only attached by one small bead of weld on one corner of the mount. I subsequently redesigned and replaced all of the upper mounts on mine.

[JOHN EVANS]

We experienced the same problem.The only way we found out about it was through Paul Cross at Interstate rv repair, i had Paul check out the brakes and that is when he found the problem. There was never any lean of sag to the rig. Thanks again Paul for doing a great job.As the kids say now days YOU ROCK DUDE !lol

[oldSalt]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Bruce, the 17.5's that I installed have the same diameter as the 16's,but are 1/4 inch narrower, so that shouldn't have been the problem. I did notice that I could swap the spring plates from left to right and vice versa; if Lippert won't send me a new spring plate, that's what I'll do.

Now to find a new shock. The lower mounting bolt is bent so the shock is not reusable. Monroe's website is of no help. I took both sets of numbers off the shock and tried searching, but nothing so far. Hopefully Lippert can point me in the right direction.

Thanks again for the help

Jim

[Huck]

A shock typically will not brake from over extending, but will brake a mount
from compressing too far.
If a shock over extends it will just lift the tire off the ground.

I moved my suspension down to the lower holes a few years ago.
My shocks have long studs on each end and all I had to do was use spacers to make the shocks longer.
My suite is #2163 and seems to be different from the suites that were built after it in regards to the mounting of the suspension and shocks.
Because there have been a lot of owners on here with spring hanger and shock problems on newer models. After looking at their pictures I noticed that mine never was built like theirs.
This is a pic of the way mine is built.
http://www.5thwheelforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_13618_0_7c6233f6c879bfa1adcfa97b952b2e60.jpg[/img]

[bstark]

Oldsalt: You have a handle on the problem and I wish I could help with acquiring the shocks. I replaced all four of mine some years ago and recall getting them through a Napa store in Yuma.

Huck; I must respectfully disagree with your statement that the tire will lift off the ground if the shock is hyper-extended. My unit was raised by selling dealer by using the bottom holes in the hangers and all four of my shocks were reaching the ends of their strokes which resulted in two of those clamping plate "ears" breaking off and two of the upper mounts being pulled off as well from the others. Only one of the shocks was damaged and that was one where the upper mount was pulled off and it got caught by the tire and was bent like a pretzel.

Those 17.5" tires wheels brakes and axle ends represent considerable weight and those shocks need only reach their full extension a few times before something will give.

Lifting a trailer slowly such as by a hydraulic jack to allow the assembly to hang in the air doesn't/shouldn't cause any problems but going over a particularly rough section of interstate for many miles will indeed cause some damage if those shocks are not positioned correctly.

Being laid over on an angle reduces the travel they must endure but if they bottom or hyper-extend, over time, you'll see some negative results.

[Haggis]

Oldsalt;
Had two shocks break off two years ago. Weld beads were minimal. I marked the shocks before I removed them and found the shocks were at the very bottom of their compression. All four shocks were bottoming out. Had the four shocks replaced. More support was welded to the frame where the shocks were attached. I also had the suspension lowered so the shocks had more play. There was a big improvement in the ride after this was done.

Try riding inside the unit while the wife is driving down the road, this will give you an idea of how the suspension is working.

A quiet country road may make it easier on your nerves while you are in the unit.

[matsonelite69]

Old Salt, I had the same prob but broke all 4, we believe it was because of I-40 which is a very rough Interstate. I have the Monroe Shock number and I will post it for you this evening when I get home from work. Unfortunatley I wished i would have repaired it myself, We were misinformed that our Extended warranty would cover and did not. That is another Long Long story, I will get that number for you today. Good luck. Ronnie

[BobW]

I have had three shock mounts brake in the last few years. I took them off and welded them together again. Yesterday the last of the four broke. I'm 1000 away from home, so, it will get fixed then. I plan to add a new suspension instead of this crap from the factory.

[matsonelite69]

Old salt, that NAPA part number is 555025. Good luck

[wingnut60]

I believe the Monroe number for the original shock is 555001--these are too short if you move the suspension to lower mounting hole. MasonEilte has the number for the longer shock--555025--that I had to use also after moving the springs.
I tried to use the shorter ones with spacers but could not get the nuts on the studs, and got the longer ones. They have worked fine for all last season and one long trip this year.
By the way, anytime you move a u-bolt plate, you are supposed to get new u-bolts due to stretch of the old ones. Axle shops will not reuse a u-bolt.
Joe

[Pat L.]

matsonelite69, --- You mentioned your extended warranty did not cover this. Which extended warranty company do you use?

[matsonelite69]

PatL I think it is Star R.V. i will double check and let you know for sure.