Some minor Spring, before touring maintenance

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After towing the van from it's winter storage in a garage, I always conduct a bit of routing lubrication on the caravan. Nothing more than the obvious points which need a little bit of care and attention.

I started with the normal lubrication essentials, my grease gun with a loaded cartridge, a tub of medium grease, some 3 in 1 oil, and a can of aerosol WD40.


Using the guidance from the hitch maker, Alko, I give a quick dribble of 3 in 1 to the moving parts and the springs.


Another point of lubrication is the hinge bolt on the jockey wheel clamp. I used a good squirt of 3 in 1 oil. 


Gave the jockey wheel clamp a good dose of 3 in 1. This is one area that definitely benefits from some extra lubrication, especially on the threads of the clamp bar.


On the hitch on my van, there are two grease nipples with small rubber caps, one near the hitch and the other by the jockey wheel clamp. I give both these a good couple of strokes from a grease gun loaded with general purpose grease. This also eliminates some of the 'play' in the hitch head, just hold the hitch and lift it up and down to check the play.


On the actual jockey wheel, I drop some 1 in 3 oil between the fork and the 'bearing'.


And finally, probably the most laborious lubrication tasks. Using a rag I remove any old grease from the corner steady screws as I can, then recoat with fresh medium grease using a brush and rotating the screws as I go.

Over the years, this has proven to a be a basic but very worthwhile maintenance routine. 




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