Broken Spring Hanger!

[Cate&Rob]

Well . . . I was tempted to start this with one of those titles like . . . “Guess what happened to us!!” . . . but I will refrain .

Not nearly as dramatic as TucsonJim’s story from a couple of years ago . . . but there does seem to be something about leaving this Indiana Rally . . .

Pulling out of the Elkhart Fairgrounds this morning . . . we’re easing around the first turn with truck windows open and I hear a single odd clunk from the trailer suspension. Hmmm . . . nobody right behind us . . . I’m going to stop and take a look. The tires on the curb side that were the right distance apart when I removed the chocks 15 minutes earlier are now half that distance apart and the equalizer is skewed hard forward. Yikes! Both sides of the rear spring hanger had parted company with the frame rail.

These are fatigue breaks adjacent to the welds. The welds still look perfect. 90% or more of the fracture line is rusted, so we have been running on maybe a 1/4” of metal on each side of the hanger, for I don’t know how long. In the picture, the hanger sides have flipped over. You can see the rusted fatigue break edge with a small amount of shiny steel that was all that was holding the spring in place.

Back to the story . . . we aren’t even out of the fairgrounds, so we swing around and say hi to all the (now curious) folks that we just said goodbye to. Our route back to our site takes us past Emily’s trailer where she is sitting at the picnic table in her PJ’s (this is 7:30 in the morning of the Saturday after the Rally) By the time we get parked, Emily is over to tell us that the LCI techs are on their way! Then Jerry swings by to see if we need anything. Talk about being in the right place to have something like this happen! If I had not stopped to check that noise, we would probably still be sitting on the side of I94 in the middle of Detroit on a long weekend with a lot more damage to contend with. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Back to the technical part . . . the LCI tech cut off the remains of the old hanger, welded on a new one . . . and this is the interesting part . . . inserted a V (piece of angle iron) welded inside the hanger to reinforce it. See pictures. This looks like a really good idea.

Others on this forum have written about similar broken hanger experiences. When you watch these hangers flexing in the first part of this LCI video, this result really should not surprise any of us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp5iRVPwYZg

I am confident that this new reinforced hanger is going to survive . . . but I have to admit that I am now wondering about the other 5 . . . hmmm

Rob

[TucsonJim]

Wow Rob. I could not imagine a better place for a major failure than what happened to you this morning. That piece of metal welded between the hanger is very intriguing.
I'll bet you're just a little concerned about the other five hangers now. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to inspect and modify the remaining hangers?

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Wow Rob. I could not imagine a better place for a major failure than what happened to you this morning. That piece of metal welded between the hanger is very intriguing.
I'll bet you're just a little concerned about the other five hangers now. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to inspect and modify the remaining hangers?

Jim

Hi Jim - Both the LCI tech and I inspected the other hangers and could find no visual indication of similar breaks. But, I don't know that I could have seen the break that did happen, with the two edges of the fatigue line pushed tightly together. I have been thinking about how to reinforce these hangers since we first saw that LCI video several months ago. This "V" insert looks like a viable idea. The major difficulty is that I think the entire suspension would have to be dropped to have these welded into place.

Rob

[howson]

...inspected the other hangers and could find no visual indication of similar breaks. But, I don't know that I could have seen the break that did happen...

Unless the failure is imminent (crack can be seen) the only way I know of to find a problem like this is through a non-destructive inspection (a.k.a. "NDI"). No doubt you're aware that this is how maintainers find issues like this on aircraft.

I wonder if there's any such inspection capability for the DIY'er or available at a local shop. I can't remember ever hearing about NDIs outside of work.

[SouthTX]

Unless the failure is imminent (crack can be seen) the only way I know of to find a problem like this is through a non-destructive inspection (a.k.a. "NDI"). No doubt you're aware that this is how maintainers find issues like this on aircraft.

I wonder if there's any such inspection capability for the DIY'er or available at a local shop. I can't remember ever hearing about NDIs outside of work.

To find surface cracking you want dye penenetrant testing. Fairly inexpensive, simple enough for non-certified personnel to use in a non-critical application, and suitable for a large structure that can't be magnafluxed. The downside is that the surface has to be clean.

You can probably find a set of aerosol cans at any aircraft supply house for <$50.

[MidwestCamper]

Hi Jim - Both the LCI tech and I inspected the other hangers and could find no visual indication of similar breaks. But, I don't know that I could have seen the break that did happen, with the two edges of the fatigue line pushed tightly together. I have been thinking about how to reinforce these hangers since we first saw that LCI video several months ago. This "V" insert looks like a viable idea. The major difficulty is that I think the entire suspension would have to be dropped to have these welded into place.

Rob

Rob,
Did they weld in your V support only on the underside? If so there is most likely room to do this assembled. Also someone stated awhile back about the additional stresses in making a right hand turns versus left hand turns where this could be plausible in fracturing only the right rear hangers. I like all the ideas here and would like to see Pat make up the Panhard setup but I think a MORryde type bracket if done right could also help as a cheaper option albeit not quite as effective. The reason is that it looked like this bracket was held on with a clamp where I had seen a pic of one the other day where it looks like it also ties in with a longer spring hanger bolt. This tie in could help reduce the rotation on the hangers. Of coarse the Panhard bar would be the premier option.

[TNFSolitude]

So, at 9:45 this morning when Nancy leaned out to wave goodbye she noticed Cate wasn't in the truck. We thought you were having it weighed. Were you taking a little test spin around the parking lot?
Good grief, our little flat tire 2 years ago going home from the Rally was certainly mild compared to you and Jim.

[Cate&Rob]

So, at 9:45 this morning when Nancy leaned out to wave goodbye she noticed Cate wasn't in the truck. We thought you were having it weighed. Were you taking a little test spin around the parking lot?
Good grief, our little flat tire 2 years ago going home from the Rally was certainly mild compared to you and Jim.

That was where the LCI tech asked us to move the trailer (to the paved area near the weighing activity) to do the repairs. Something about not wanting to lie in wet grass while welding . . . some guys are just so fussy. LOL (just kidding of course . . . he did a great job).

Rob

[livinthelife]

Well . . . I was tempted to start this with one of those titles like . . . “Guess what happened to us!!” . . . but I will refrain .

Not nearly as dramatic as TucsonJim’s story from a couple of years ago . . . but there does seem to be something about leaving this Indiana Rally . . .

Pulling out of the Elkhart Fairgrounds this morning . . . we’re easing around the first turn with truck windows open and I hear a single odd clunk from the trailer suspension. Hmmm . . . nobody right behind us . . . I’m going to stop and take a look. The tires on the curb side that were the right distance apart when I removed the chocks 15 minutes earlier are now half that distance apart and the equalizer is skewed hard forward. Yikes! Both sides of the rear spring hanger had parted company with the frame rail.

These are fatigue breaks adjacent to the welds. The welds still look perfect. 90% or more of the fracture line is rusted, so we have been running on maybe a 1/4” of metal on each side of the hanger, for I don’t know how long. In the picture, the hanger sides have flipped over. You can see the rusted fatigue break edge with a small amount of shiny steel that was all that was holding the spring in place.

Back to the story . . . we aren’t even out of the fairgrounds, so we swing around and say high to all the (now curious) folks that we just said goodbye to. Our route back in to our site takes us past Emily’s trailer where she is sitting at the picnic table in her PJ’s (this is 7:30 in the morning of the Saturday after the Rally) By the time we get parked, Emily is over to tell us that the LCI techs are on their way! Then Jerry swings by to see if we need anything. Talk about being in the right place to have something like this happen! If I had not stopped to check that noise, we would probably still be sitting on the side of I94 in the middle of Detroit on a long weekend with a lot more damage to contend with. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Back to the technical part . . . the LCI tech cut off the remains of the old hanger, welded on a new one . . . and this is the interesting part . . . inserted a V (piece of angle iron) welded inside the hanger to reinforce it. See pictures. This looks like a really good idea.

Others on this forum have written about similar broken hanger experiences. When you watch these hangers flexing in the first part of this LCI video, this result really should not surprise any of us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp5iRVPwYZg

I am confident that this new reinforced hanger is going to survive . . . but I have to admit that I am now wondering about the other 5 . . . hmmm

Rob

Here's our spring hanger on our Canada/Alaska trip:

[Cate&Rob]

Here's our spring hanger on our Canada/Alaska trip:

livinthelife - Interesting that you experienced the same break in the same location on a hanger also attached to a 2" square tube spacer below the frame rail. Coincidence? . . . I wonder?

Rob