A tool for taking the tension off the "pork chop" and adjusting bolt
can be made using a hard 1/2" diameter U bolt with lots of threads and two
nuts - Grade 5 or harder and flat washers. My U bolt is 9"x4 1/2". A piece
of 1/2"flat steel 2"x7" has to be drilled to fit on the U bolt. A third 5/8"
hole is drilled in the centre of the steel for a hard 9/16"x5" bolt that has
the head removed and rounded to fit into the indentation in the "pork chop".
Two hard nuts hold the modified bolt in the flat steel.
With the front wheels hanging the tension can be removed in stages to
remove the bars or the proper ride height set. This has to be done by trial
and error of lowering the coach and checking and trying again if it's not
right. Each time the coach is lowered the rear height has to be checked and
set before checking the front. Once it's set it will stay for years or
that's been my experience. I checked the height this spring and it is still
good after three years. So a couple of hours is not unreasonable to get it
right.
I know of no other safe way to turn the adjusting bolts than with the
tension off. I've used this tool for years but it took some time to get it
so it worked well. I pass this on as my experience and caution anyone who
trys it to be very careful and, of course, you do so at your own risk.
Al Hamilton
Kingston, Ont
hamilton
can be made using a hard 1/2" diameter U bolt with lots of threads and two
nuts - Grade 5 or harder and flat washers. My U bolt is 9"x4 1/2". A piece
of 1/2"flat steel 2"x7" has to be drilled to fit on the U bolt. A third 5/8"
hole is drilled in the centre of the steel for a hard 9/16"x5" bolt that has
the head removed and rounded to fit into the indentation in the "pork chop".
Two hard nuts hold the modified bolt in the flat steel.
With the front wheels hanging the tension can be removed in stages to
remove the bars or the proper ride height set. This has to be done by trial
and error of lowering the coach and checking and trying again if it's not
right. Each time the coach is lowered the rear height has to be checked and
set before checking the front. Once it's set it will stay for years or
that's been my experience. I checked the height this spring and it is still
good after three years. So a couple of hours is not unreasonable to get it
right.
I know of no other safe way to turn the adjusting bolts than with the
tension off. I've used this tool for years but it took some time to get it
so it worked well. I pass this on as my experience and caution anyone who
trys it to be very careful and, of course, you do so at your own risk.
Al Hamilton
Kingston, Ont
hamilton
