This morning while our daughter was working at the Great Lakes Naval Base, our son-in-law was flying to/from Los Angeles for American Airlines, our grandson Joe was at work remodeling a house and grandson Jon was attending his last day of his junior year of high school, I did some RV maintenance.
The suspension system on our dual axle fifth wheel involves four leaf springs with a MORryde CRE3000 suspension system in the middle. We discussed earlier about "wet bolts" and bronze bushings at the end of the leaf springs, and how the bushings will wear. Lubrication extends the life of the suspension system. The wet bolts and CRE3000 are equipped with grease zerks. These need to be lubricated every couple thousand miles. Realizing our trip this year is right at 9000 miles, that means we will lubricate them several times during our journey.
This is a "wet" bolt with a grease zerk on the end. The leaf spring rides on this bolt. The bolt is hollow allowing grease to be pumped into the zerk on the end and flow through the bolt and out the hole in the middle to lubricate the bronze bushing that the spring rides on.
The other end of the leaf spring is a shackle, These shackles also support the suspension system and allow the axles to move and flex with the roughness of our roads. They also use wet bolts and bronze bushings.
In the middle of the suspension system on our coach is a CRE3000 device that offering a smoother towing experience and improved protection from road shock. It's known for its 3-inch suspension travel, which helps to reduce frame stress and provides a more comfortable ride. It looks like this:
So, again, all of these devices have grease zerks and all require periodic lubrication. That is my mission for today. To accomplish this lubrication you have to take the load off the suspension system. You can do this by either jacking the frame of the coach, or by using the levelers, which is my choice. You have to get the load off the suspension system or you likely cannot get any grease in the wet bolts. I used the levelers to raise one side at a time and then lubricate those zerks. It worked perfectly and I completed the task quickly. Had I not been able to get grease into a specific zerk, then it is likely that the specific bronze bushing has worn and plugged the hole in the wet bolt.
While under the coach I inspected the suspension system, the axles, the brakes and hydraulic lines, the propane lines and everything else for that matter. I also spun the tires and inspected them for any unusual wear, flat spots, bulging, etc.
Grandson Jon and his girl friend stopped out today and we had a good talk with him. Jon is a great kid and we are so thankful he has a solid plan in place for his future. Next year he has been accepted into his high school's dual enrollment welding program at the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) for his senior year rather than attend high school. He is only short one credit from graduating right now, so he will take a literacy class online through MATC also, and will carry 18 credit hours for the fall semester. That is a full load for a college freshman as a senior in high school! This kid is "driven"!! Atta boy Jon! We are so proud of him!
This afternoon son-in-law Keith arrived after finishing his Chicago to Los Angeles to Chicago flight. Was great to see him and we are looking forward to camping with them this weekend. Tomorrow we will go to Keith's house where his coach is and help him repair his MCD shade that we got parts for at the Alliance Rally in May.
Tonight we drove to Michelle's and Jon showed us some of his shop projects. It is refreshing to see a young person excited about a future in the trades. Many of these projects are similar to what I did at the Northern University High School, and I loved every minute of it!
Later tomorrow we will drive to the Great Lakes Naval Base to visit Michelle and see where she works. It is about an hour from here.
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