Axle riser installation question |
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duck42
Newbie Joined: 23 Sep 2011 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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Posted: 14 Feb 2012 at 1:14pm |
There have been quite a few posts on axle risers from time to time and I am considering installing a set I just received from Forest River myself. My question is this: I understand that the frame must be unbolted from the axle and jacked up in order to insert each riser between the frame and the axle, but can this be done one side at a time e.g. unbolt, jack one side up, insert riser, re-bolt, then proceed to the opposite side, unbolt, jack it up and inset riser, re-bolt or do you have to unbolt both sides and jack up the frame placing jack stands under both sides to gain clearance prior to inserting the risers? I'm guessing both sides have to be done simultaneously to avoid uneven torque on the axle in order to insert the risers, but I though I would check first for any tips. Thanks!
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HyPod
Newbie Joined: 16 Jul 2009 Location: Lakewood, CO Status: Offline Points: 2 |
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I used jack stands when I did mine. Then I used a floor jack to move the axle into place. Not a difficult job, even for me!
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RP175, '09 Silverado
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tsunami
Senior Member Joined: 05 Oct 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Status: Offline Points: 426 |
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The axle is suspended on elastomeric torsion bars. The axle will move up and down and slightly back and forth when you are hauling. When I installed my risers...I removed my tires for easy access to the axle brackets. There are small vertical flanges welded to the back side of both right and left axle areas near the brakes. By placing the jack stays and hydraulic jack at that location, the axle tube would not be distorted. Putting jack on the axle tube would place all of the weight of the Pod on one small contact point on the tube. The vertical flanges are welded to the axle and will spread the Pod's weight along that part of the axle. I made sure that enough strong jacks were placed along with wheel chocks on the opposite side for safety. I placed a hydraulic jack on the outer longitudinal steel adjacent to where the bottom of the Pod connected with the axle. If you look carefully before installation you will notice that the Pod's weight on that side is supported at that location onto the axle. I carefully jacked the Pod up so that when I loosened and removed the factory attachment bolts that the Pod hadn't been raised anymore than necessary.It took a pneumatic impact socket wrench to break the factory installed nuts loose from the bolts.
You probably could loosen them with a heavy duty box wrench with an extension. But I didn't think I could develop enough torque to loosen them with just my arm strength and a very large/long hand wrench.
After loosening and removing the factory bolts, I adjusted the height of the lifted Pod to match the bolt holes in the Pod Bottom, the risers and the axle holes. It was quite easy to install the riser along with the provided hardened steel bolts and nuts. I torqued the nuts as required in the instructions.
I rechecked the bolts and reinstalled the tire wheel. I lowered the pod back to the floor and moved the jacks to the other side and repeated the installation.
While lifting the Pod, I did watch whether or not there was any unwanted twisting of the axle on the opposite side of the Pod. No more flexing than going slowly over a pothole. I did minimize the amount of lift I needed for the installation. I did not want to overflex the axle.
My final check was the torque on the wheel nuts.
After a year of hauling the Pod with the risers...I am glad that I installed them.
I am not a mechanic but watching the video on riser installation made the actual installation quite easy and took only about an hour of careful work.
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tsunami
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duck42
Newbie Joined: 23 Sep 2011 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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Great, that helps, thanks. I'll give it a try as soon as the snow melts!
Just to be sure I understand, you can leave one axle attached with tire on for stability while you work on the other side? I think I would be kind of nervous about working under the jacked up POD if both sides were suspended at the same time on jack stands. Sorry if I am a bit "obtuse" about this! |
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tsunami
Senior Member Joined: 05 Oct 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Status: Offline Points: 426 |
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I did leave the opposite side tire on while I worked on the other bracket. I made sure that the wheel chocks were well placed around the wheel before I worked on the other side. I also used a couple of adjustable jack stands to provide support to the pod and axle while using a hydraulic jack. I didn't want the Pod or axle to move downward while I was partially under the pod. A couple of extra jacks were placed to provide emergency support rather than help support the pod while I was working on it.
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tsunami
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psaman
Senior Member Joined: 22 Jun 2010 Location: South Texas Status: Offline Points: 238 |
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Tsunami, do you have a link to the installation video?
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2011 RP177 "Sponge Pod"
2011 F-150 XLT "Texas Edition" P2 Brake Controller |
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tsunami
Senior Member Joined: 05 Oct 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Status: Offline Points: 426 |
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The riser installation video was available via youtube.com about 18 months ago...
If I can find it, I will add an address on this thread. |
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tsunami
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