Steve here...I decided to go to CR Springs to see if they had leaf spring clamps that I could mount over the bands to prevent the leafs from twisting. If you recall a year ago last fall on our trip south we did a complete suspension replacement. Well last fall one of our leaf springs failed. The leaf spring band was missing and the leafs had twisted bending the longest one almost puncturing a tire. The guy at CR Springs said the band isn't there to stop the leafs from twisting...
The steel band is called the rebound clip. Their main purpose is to help keep the main leaf from breaking on a rebound. When the weight of a vehicle or trailer is on the spring, all of the leaves work together to support the spring above them. If the wheel drops for any reason the total weight of the axle falls on the main leaf if there are no rebound clips. The clip also keeps the leaves neatly stacked.
He said loose nuts on the suspension u-clamps will cause this. So I returned and grabbed my tools and crawled underneath to check them out. I found that the newest leaf spring was starting to twist so I hammered it back into place and flattened the band back down. I found 3 of the 4 nuts were loose and one was so loose I could spin it with my fingers!! On another leaf spring, 3 of the 4 nuts were also loose but the springs were straight. Why didn't anybody tell me to re-torque those nuts!
With the work done, we went out for a bike ride, the water was very calm with no wind and a slack tide...
We woke to sun Thursday (June 27) morning,but we knew it wasn't going to last...rain is in the forecast for today. And sure enough, we started hearing the pitter-patter of raindrops shortly after 10:30.
The rest of the day was dark, windy and rainy. So needless to say, we had an inside day...watching TV and work on a blog update.
Friday (June 28) was basically a repeat of Thursday. As we sat with our morning coffee, we listened to the heavy downpour of rain on the roof. Wow, we haven't had a downpour like that for a long time but it's badly needed.
The only difference between yesterday and today was laundry...yes, it was laundry day, so Steve helped me take 3 bags down to the laundry room. And that's where I spent the next couple of hours. At least the timing was right...we managed to get back and forth between the trailer and laundry room during a reprieve from the rain showers.
Saturday (June 29) and our last day here...wow, that was a fast month! Steve wanted to wash the truck, so we took it to the car wash at the Shell Station...and Buster got all the dust rinsed off...
At 4:00 we hopped on our bikes again and rode to the Riptide Pub for drinks and dinner...one last visit to one of our favourite spots here in Campbell River! Ray and Anne joined us and we enjoyed good company and good food!
