RVs are robust vehicles, but their suspensions can eventually need repair.
Traveling in an recreational vehicle (RV) is a fun and enjoyable way to see the country. RVs are stocked with everything you need to live on the road; as such, they have toilets and showers, beds and furniture, refrigerators, stoves and, yes, even the proverbial kitchen sink. All these household items make an RV weigh a lot, which in turn places greater wear on an RV's suspension components. The suspension part that gets the most abuse is the coil spring, as it is constantly being torqued while the RV is in motion and under constant stress from the weight of the RV itself.
Instructions
1. Raise your RV with an RV jack. Do not use a normal car jack, as the greater weight of a RV can break a car jack. Lift the RV up until the wheel whose suspension you want to work on is no longer in contact with the ground and rotates freely. Once the wheel is in the air, if the RV suspension spring has broken in half or more, you can remove the pieces by hand, as the springs are normally held in place via the pressure of the RV on the spring itself. Use work gloves to remove the spring, as the spring may have ragged metal edges if it has broken.
2. Remove the RV wheel with a nut removal tool; your RV should have come with one. If you need additional torque, use a power tool with a nut-removal bit. Be careful when removing the wheel, as RV wheels can weigh substantially more than car wheels depending upon your RV's make and model.
3. Remove the brake pad assembly with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Some RVs may use a drum assembly; you still use a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove it. Carefully support the brake assembly when removing it, as its weight can rip off the brake lines. Just set the brake assembly on a stool, elevated, so that you do not have to go through the hassle of flushing the brake system and reattaching lines.
4. Remove the spring by pulling down on the control arm to its full extension and wedging a flat-head screwdriver between the suspension arm and the spring. Wiggle the coil off with back-and-forth rocking motions. Wear safety goggles in case the spring jumps off the control arm.
5. Replace the spring with a new spring by again pulling the control arm down to its fullest extension, with a flat-head screwdriver as a wedge. The spring will naturally push into place around the attachment point. Reattach the brake assembly, then wrench the wheel back on.
Tags: brake assembly, flat-head screwdriver, Phillips-head screwdriver, suspension spring, when removing
