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JFellerer

Leaf Spring Suspension

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While traveling from Jacksonville NC to Blue Ridge Parkway we hit a dip with my 2000 Georgie Boy DP on a Freightliner chassis and snapped the stablizer leaf on front axle. It happens that Freightliner used this suspension only that year and when I called told me that the company that made the springs went out of business in 2006. No part available. I called every Freightliner parts, salvage yards and spring companies as well as a few machine shops, from New Hampshire to Californian and back. Whenever I gave the part #, it was "not available", until I talked with a parts man from Moe Springs in Atlanta, GA. He took the measurements and spent a good deal of time looking up similar spring dimensions on other trucks. He found one from a GMC Workhorse chassis that will work. I will have to replace both sets, but it is better than "not available". My question to you all is, do I need do a realignment after replacing the springs and is there anything else I should be aware of? I'm a newbie RV'er, I bought the unit in May so I still have a lot to learn, especially since I can't find a manual on the RV. Any advise on anything will be appreciated.

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Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

Best advice is to consult Freightliner (Gaffney) since they designed and built the chassis: 800 385-4357 have your chassis VIN handy.

But, if you have been in road conditions severe enough to snap a spring, an alignment might be a very good idea even if new springs do not change front suspension geometry.

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Thanks for your response. I contacted Les Michaels several times at Gaffney for suggestions on alternatives to fixing my spring problem. The furtherest I got with that was an admission that he couldn't recommend anything because of liability issues. He was not able to go beyond the part number and telling me it was unavailable.

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Actually, it wasn't that great a dip. I was doing about 45mph leaving town on a paved road and the dip was such that it bounced the RV up enough to cause much force when it bottomed out. The spring company said a minor flaw in the spring itself could have contributed to it snapping.

Thank goodness it snapped behind the axle because I drove another 1500 miles with it like that and didn't know it broke for about 300 miles.

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