Flat leaf springs!

[tileman]

Traveled from Florida to California in my class A 1996 Fleetwood. Highway 10 through Texas almost beat us to death. (50% bad road & 50% bad shocks} Had new shocks installed in California. Mechanic said "You might want to do something about these springs, when you get back." I had a look. The leaf springs were flat. Got back to Florida and called a spring shop recommended by everyone. They only do springs. I told him about my motorhome. He said P30 chassis, workhorse. I made an appointment and drove to their shop. There were several large trucks outside and in the stalls. My new springs laying on the ground. There were 4 men, all about 45 50 years old. They started laughing. One man said "Charlie slid under there." The man looked at me and said "Charlies belly didn't touch so you don't need springs. I expected to see a motorhome almost dragging the ground in the back" "Charlie yelled "Springs are good." I said "The springs are flat." He assured me that the springs were just fine. I felt compelled to do something, so I put air bags on the springs front and back.

 

[BGMAC]

You reminded me of rebuilding a 1952 Ford Pickup I once had. Back in the day I guess it was used to haul heavy loads and had about 5 or 6 spring stack on each side on the rear axle. They looked flat too. When I took them apart, all but 2 were broken on each side.
It might be a good idea to have them looked at.

 

[tileman]

You reminded me of rebuilding a 1952 Ford Pickup I once had. Back in the day I guess it was used to haul heavy loads and had about 5 or 6 spring stack on each side on the rear axle. They looked flat too. When I took them apart, all but 2 were broken on each side.
It might be a good idea to have them looked at.

Charlie looked them over real good. He wiggled and squirmed for about 10 minutes under there. I would have paid for the new springs.

 

[Gronk]

The first thing I would do is go to a scale and weigh your coach. Make sure you get axle weights and check the actual weight against the axle rating. It is possible that the springs are somewhat 'sprung' or they are just plain getting weak. Does the coach seem mushy feeling (technical term!! lol) in the rear?
edit: Question, can Charlie determine how weak or strong springs are just by crawling under there and looking? About all he could see was if there are any broken leaves in my opinion.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

P30 says chevy right? I can't recall the spring configuration on mine, but I will tell you this. Trucks have a rough ride when empty or lightly loaded.

Some spring leafs are designed to run "flat", others have an "arch". When on the flat is your coach level? Saggy springs result in the vehicle looking heavy in the back.

To get charlie's view on things one would have to have gone around the block with him. To do this I would recommend going around to a few consignment lots and look at other MHs that sit on a P30 chassy for how they are sprung. If in fact it is chevy look at old school buses and how they are sprung, same chassy.

Look for recalls for the P30 chassy particularly spring issues (heat treat issues). All things engineered have cycle life figures someplace. I can hardly believe that the cycle life of your MH has been reached as you were able to drive it across country. The only way the leafs would be broken is if the PO used the MH as a truck and way overloaded it. Of course I could be wrong. Your MH may have 200,000 miles on it or so making my argument of no use.

One more point. Tire inflation is a big issue for ride and handling. Take your rig over the scale and use a tire inflation chart for proper inflation of your tires by the weight of your rig and how you have it loaded. Over inflated tires are a false economy. The extra shock on suspension shortens its life and will cost more in the long run.

 

[tileman]

Thank you, Kevin, Gronk and BGMAC for your input. Perhaps I'm too trusting. The spring company ordered in the leaf springs and scheduled a specific time for the install. It was an easy sale for them. I have to think if there was any chance that the springs were needed, they would have taken my $2000.00.

 

[lindamartin]

Traveled from Florida to California in my class A 1996 Fleetwood. Highway 10 through Texas almost beat us to death. (50% bad road & 50% bad shocks} Had new shocks installed in California. Mechanic said "You might want to do something about these springs, when you get back." I had a look. The leaf springs were flat. Got back to Florida and called a spring shop recommended by everyone. They only do springs. I told him about my motorhome. He said P30 chassis, workhorse. I made an appointment and drove to their shop. There were several large trucks outside and in the stalls. My new springs laying on the ground. There were 4 men, all about 45 50 years old. They started laughing. One man said "Charlie slid under there." The man looked at me and said "Charlies belly didn't touch so you don't need springs. I expected to see a motorhome almost dragging the ground in the back" "Charlie yelled "Springs are good." I said "The springs are flat." He assured me that the springs were just fine. I felt compelled to do something, so I put air bags on the springs front and back.

Do you mind sharing your route as we are thinking about heading to CA in April/May

 

[tileman]

Do you mind sharing your route as we are thinking about heading to CA in April/May

Nothing fancy, just highway 10 all the way. Small side trips to see attractions.