More Shocking News

In September of 2014 we put shocks on the trailer. They made a big difference in the ride - I was an immediate fan. Last summer, the left side shock mount failed when we were in Cheyenne on our way home. I called Orbital Machine Works and they sent out a new pair of lower brackets of an improved design.

It's a poor picture and a misleading angle, but you get the idea.

The new mount is shaped differently and has a one piece welded flange that extends the length of the bracket. Much stronger design!

It mounts to the wheel using the brake backing plate studs and furnished all-metal locking nuts. Very nice!

On the other side, I unbolted the lower shock bolt and swung the shock out of the way so I could change the bracket. Good thing I changed both sides - this one was just starting to develop a crack in the same place, right at the tip of the arrow.

Right side installation complete. I'm real glad to have the left side fixed and the right side updated before it also failed.

I can't say enough good stuff about the folks at Orbital Machine/Perfect Casita. They replaced the shock brackets without question. I was super surprised to see the original break, but the updated bracket is clearly a stronger design. I'm looking forward to testing it this summer.

The other outstanding issue we experienced on our summer trip was a crack along the weld at the base of the gusset. I cut and shaped a piece of 1/4" material that could go under the gusset and bridge to the sides of the hitch but I didn't have tooling to make the complete cut of the gusset so instead the old bead was ground out and rewelded. We'll keep an eye on it.