Removing the upper spring pack in an 1120

[VerMonsterRV]

Hi all, I have seen online a build that has removed the upper spring pack on a truck like ours. I am under the assumption that with the weight we will end up with we will never utilize those springs. Is this a good assumption and if so should I just remove them to save a bit of weight? I plan on having the lower spring pack taken apart, sand blasted and painted with new u-bolts so this is a good time to remove them if it makes sense.

 

[Sitec]

Get your body built, stocked up and setup as you want it in a 'ready to travel' state, and then look to removing springs. I plan to do the same with ours once the body is on and it is setup with the generator in, full of fuel, full water tank, twin spares on the rear, roof rack above the cab etc... Just my opinion though. I also plan to remove rear leaves and replace the removed leaves with a spacer, retaining the correct ride height, and original U bolts, which then allows for refitting if required. As we plan on doing a lot of dirt road travel, I also plan to carry a spare main spring leaf for each axle (bolted to the chassis out of the way somewhere), as we broke several on trucks in Africa when on prolonged corrugated roads.

 

[Neil]

I have left mine in. Under normal use I am not sure if they have any use. Even at slow off road maneuvering I don't think they are really needed. The time you need all your springs is when you are driving at dusk on a tarmac road and isn't see a speed bump. I hear them come in with a clang then.

I have taken mine out for repair and I think each helper stack weighs more than 60 kilos so removal is a good weight saving.

Neil

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Thanks guys, I am thinking of trying to find a truck spring shop next week while the new subframe is being fabricated. Where the fabricator is located there are several big truck shops. Might see if they could snadblast/paint the leafs and replace the u-bolts. Also am going to look into new rear shocks as one of them is rusted.

 

[Neil]

Dont put grease on the springs. It collects all the dirt and turns into grinding paste.

Neil

 

[LostInTheWorld]

I agree with the no grease comment. That being said, I have used graphite paint in spring packs in the past with very good results. Painting a strip of graphite paint down the middle of the spring worked well.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/ez-slide-graphite-based-coating-12-oz-aerosol

Some people will tell you not to sandblast leaf springs because it "might" mess up the surface hardening and "possibly" make them more failure prone. I have sand blasted and painted many springs in the past, and they all were fine.





Michael