Dodgy corner steadies

mir60899 · 10-11-2015, 21:11

Corner steadies need regular inspection it seems.

Had this incident happen to us twice now.

First time was when the o/s rear became difficult to wind up fully, was ok going down but it got the the stage where the Mrs could not budge it when winding up (cue several bad jokes about not winding it up properly!)

A bit of investigation revealed that the threaded section had developed some fore and aft free play which when winding down took up the slack in the thread. However when going up the head flange was fouling on the security plate (should have said that this is an Elddis van with ALKO running gear). Closer investigation found that a metal ring, which should have held the thread in place had worked loose allowing the threaded bolt to move and bind.

Fortunately the corner steady is made in such a way that the cure was fairly simple. At the opposite end to the winding nut there is a support bracket through which the end of the threaded bit goes. Fitted a plastic washer followed by a metal washer to help mark where to drill, then drilled a 1mm hole refitted the washers and put in split pin.

Job's a good un'.

Six months later winding up the steadies to come home one of the front ones would not come up. This time the ring had come away completely.

No way was I towing home with a dodgy steady ready to fall down whilst moving doing god knows what damage. Fortunately we were at a friends farm and they let us leave the van a few days before returning with my kit of bits. Did all of them this time, took less than an hour, but should have done them all when the first one failed.

So beware corner steadies coming loose, ours were well coated in grease but that did not prevent the failure which we were fortunate to discover whilst stood.

zippy656 · 10-11-2015, 21:13

Should be done on service

mir60899 · 10-11-2015, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by zippy656

Should be done on service

Do all my own servicing, never seen this one in over 30 years of caravanning, although I'll admit that the previous van had the steady ends secured with nyloc nuts and washers so was lulled in to a false sense of security that corner steadies, provided they were kept lubricated, wouldn't cause problems.

zippy656 · 10-11-2015, 21:41

Ok

I changed a back panel today at work. Finish off tomorrow

Lazy-Ferret · 10-11-2015, 22:06

We had that on the old van, only one corner though.

Only other time we have had corner steady woes, is when we turned into a side road that went up steeply, and the rear steady hit the ground, and mashed the aluminium bracket that runs up and down the threaded bar. We discovered it when we arrived on site, so the van spent the first couple of nighs with one corner up on blocks, before we found a new one in a caravan shop, ans could change it on site.

10-11-2015, 21:11	#1
mir60899 Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: midlands Vehicle: Two Terrano2 tdi's. Posts: 38	Dodgy corner steadies Corner steadies need regular inspection it seems. Had this incident happen to us twice now. First time was when the o/s rear became difficult to wind up fully, was ok going down but it got the the stage where the Mrs could not budge it when winding up (cue several bad jokes about not winding it up properly!) A bit of investigation revealed that the threaded section had developed some fore and aft free play which when winding down took up the slack in the thread. However when going up the head flange was fouling on the security plate (should have said that this is an Elddis van with ALKO running gear). Closer investigation found that a metal ring, which should have held the thread in place had worked loose allowing the threaded bolt to move and bind. Fortunately the corner steady is made in such a way that the cure was fairly simple. At the opposite end to the winding nut there is a support bracket through which the end of the threaded bit goes. Fitted a plastic washer followed by a metal washer to help mark where to drill, then drilled a 1mm hole refitted the washers and put in split pin. Job's a good un'. Six months later winding up the steadies to come home one of the front ones would not come up. This time the ring had come away completely. No way was I towing home with a dodgy steady ready to fall down whilst moving doing god knows what damage. Fortunately we were at a friends farm and they let us leave the van a few days before returning with my kit of bits. Did all of them this time, took less than an hour, but should have done them all when the first one failed. So beware corner steadies coming loose, ours were well coated in grease but that did not prevent the failure which we were fortunate to discover whilst stood.

10-11-2015, 21:13	#2
zippy656 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Devizes Wiltshire Vehicle: Nissan Note Ntec 1.5 Posts: 14,138	Should be done on service

10-11-2015, 21:41	#4
zippy656 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Devizes Wiltshire Vehicle: Nissan Note Ntec 1.5 Posts: 14,138	Ok I changed a back panel today at work. Finish off tomorrow

10-11-2015, 22:06	#5
Lazy-Ferret Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sevenoaks, Kent Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring Posts: 5,221	We had that on the old van, only one corner though. Only other time we have had corner steady woes, is when we turned into a side road that went up steeply, and the rear steady hit the ground, and mashed the aluminium bracket that runs up and down the threaded bar. We discovered it when we arrived on site, so the van spent the first couple of nighs with one corner up on blocks, before we found a new one in a caravan shop, ans could change it on site.