Springe Hanger Bolts

[JEBar]

at some point during our drive from our home in North Carolina to where we are currently camped in South Dakota one of our camper's spring hanger bolts failed .... am I correct that heavy duty Spring Hanger Bolts should be Grade 5 .... I've seen some mention of going with Grade 8 bolts but have also read some negative reports about doing so ... comments from folks who are knowledgeable in this area would be appreciated

[BigAl52]

Is that a Lippert Chassis under that 5er Jim. Maybe a call to them if it is would help.

[JEBar]

negative on Lippert .... thankfully

[BigAl52]

Ive been lucky with mine so far knock on wood. Some of these roads we travel on could destroy Fred Flintstones car

[JEBar]

understood on rough roads .... there aren't any 9/16 X 3 1/2" Grade 8 spring hanger bolts in stock in any of the places around our current location .... I can get some Grade 5 ones from Amazon but would rather have 8's .... I'm probably going to go with a standard Gr8 hex bolt .... the biggest difference I can see is the spring hanger bolts are black and the standard ones are brass colored

[JEBar]

I've been in close contact with MorRyde (the company who makes our camper's suspension) and they are good folks to work with .... the problem is we only need one bolt .... they will not sell a single bolt ... they will only sell a kit that has sufficient hardware to replace all bolts, nuts, etc .... they price that hardware/bolt kit at $246.99 and it takes them 2-3 weeks to make and ship .... they design their hardware to where they are the only source .... for example, the factory bolt we need is 3.4" long .... aftermarket bolts are 3.5" long .... it took a while to find a Grade 8 bolt at any of the local businesses .... we've checked closely and 3.5" is perfectly fine .... hopefully we are now good to go for our trip home

[JEBar]

one of the fellows whose camper is two sites from ours works in Sioux Falls at at business that sells horse and a wide range of other trailers .... I called him for advice and yesterday he showed up at our camper with 4 Grade 8 9/16 X 3.5" spring hanger bolts with lock nuts .. .. because we are parked on a paved site 1,600 miles from home, I'm seriously considering installing one .... the key is the splines cut into spring hanger bolts that are designed to keep the bolt from rotating .... sometimes it pays to be paranoid ..

[BigAl52]

Im paranoid of Murphy. Does that count

[markiver54]

Those are some special bolts!
Because they are designed to not rotate, Am I correct in assuming they require plenty of grease?

[JEBar]

correct on the splines being designed to prevent movement .... some hollow and have a zerk fitting so they can be greased .... others are solid and designed to withstand the movement ....