There is a distinct sound that every seasoned caravanner knows. It isn’t the gentle hum of the fridge or the whistle of the old camping kettle boiling.
It is the jarring groan and screech of a dry, stiff corner steady being wound down on arrival at a pitch on your first outing of the season. Not really the dream start to a stay at one of the best caravan sites!
It’s enough to set your teeth on edge and a clear marker of a caravan in need of attention.
Towards the end of last season, Penny, my 1998 project caravan, developed exactly this symptom. I jumped underneath with a squirt of spray grease to ease the issue in the short-term, but pegged it as a task to return to during the winter as part of the regular maintenance.
On closer inspection, the corner steadies were not only noisy but increasingly stiff to operate. In the good old days, a typical approach to this sort of task was to slap a handful of grease on the corner steady’s worm thread, wind it back and forth and call it a day.
These days, however, we can do better using a product designed for something altogether more high-octane. We are going to clean up our suffering steadies and use lubricating solution.
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Why do steadies seize up?
Corner steadies have a rough time, constantly blasted with road spray, grit, and mud. The old way of servicing was to slap on thick multipurpose grease.
Trouble is, sticky grease attracts road debris. This mix turns into a grinding paste that wears down the threads, making the mechanism stiff, graunchy to operate, and eventually causing that horrible screeching noise.
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The secret weapon: motorcycle chain lube
This is where we diverge from conventional wisdom. We’ve seen plenty of advice online to swap out mucky grease in favour of motorcycle chain lubricant. We specifically opted for the ‘chain wax’ or ‘dry’ variety as it is perfect for our needs. It’s engineered for a very similar environment to a caravan’s undercarriage.
It is designed to lubricate a metal chain moving at high speeds while exposed to rain and road grit. So a slow moving caravan corner steady should present no problems.
Crucially, it is formulated to resist ‘fling’ and, once dry, it doesn’t attract dirt the way wet grease does. It sprays on thinly, penetrating deep into the threads and the trunnion
(the nut that travels along the thread), and then sets into a waxy, protective film. It offers superior lubrication without turning your steadies into grit magnets.
Tools for the task
It’s time to reach for your caravan tool kit! This is pretty unpleasant work, but it doesn’t take too long and won’t need doing for a while. The toolset needed is limited, but do ensure you have your eyes covered and ideally, have a pair of gloves on to simplify the post task clean-up.
Also, as we are raising and lowering the steadies to complete this task, ensure the handbrake is securely applied, the wheels chocked, and you don’t have people in and out of the van while you work.
We’d also advise doing one steady at a time to keep the other three doing their job.
Before you start, you need a few tools handy. For cleaning up, get a stiff wire brush, plenty of rags and I used some brake cleaner for the final thread clean-up.
For getting the new lube in place, grab an electric drill with a corner steady attachment if you are lazy, or your steady winder if not.
We aren’t tremendously knowledgeable about motorcycle chain lube, but a 500ml can of Tru-Tension BananaSlip Chain Lube did the job.
How to fix the stiff corner steadies
Step 1: The Clean-Up
Wind the legs down halfway to expose the maximum amount of the threaded bar. Wear safety glasses and get to work with the wire brush. You need to be aggressive as the goal is to remove the old, caked-on grease and surface rust.
I scrubbed along the length of the thread to get the worst off, and used a rag to wipe the thread clean. You want to see bare metal. Brake cleaner or WD-40 can help – make sure to wipe it off.
Step 2: Lubricating the Threaded Rod
Take your motorcycle chain lubricant and shake the can well. Spray it generously along the entire length of the cleaned threaded rod. Because it comes out of the can as a thin liquid with a solvent carrier, you will see it wick into the gaps between the thread and the nut.
This is exactly what we want. After a few minutes, the lubricant starts to tack-up and you can move onto the next one.
Step 3: Don’t Forget the Pivots
The worm drive gets all the glory, but the steady relies on several pivot points to scissor open and shut. If these are dry, the leg will still screech.
We actually opted for some white lithium grease here which is easy to apply and wicks into the tight areas where the rivets, bolts and metal arms join. A drop of light oil or a standard spray grease will do an equally good job. Wipe away any excess to stop it dripping.
Step 4: Work It In
Now for the satisfying part. Attach your steady socket to your cordless drill. Set the torque setting on the drill to a low/medium setting – this prevents the drill from wrenching your wrist if the leg hits the stops.
Run the steady all the way up and all the way down three or four times. This action distributes the chain wax evenly across the mating surfaces of the thread and works the oil into the pivot points.
The final result
Treating all four corners of the Bailey took about an hour, and the difference in the steadies was night and day.
You should notice an immediate improvement. The high-pitched squeal should be replaced by a reassuring, dull mechanical whir, and the motor on your drill should sound less strained. The legs now drop smoothly and quietly. By using a dry-film chain wax, we know that the next time we tow down a dusty lane or a wet motorway, our steadies won’t be collecting half the road surface in their threads.
It’s a simple afternoon job, but one that means you may still be embarrassed by the tinkling of your recycling bottles as you carry them to the bins, but not by the groan of a sickly steady.
Interested in some more DIY? Then see how I repaired the Seitz blinds in my caravan.
Future Publishing Limited, the publisher of Practical Caravan, provides the information in this article in good faith and makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Individuals carrying out the instructions do so at their own risk and must exercise their independent judgement in determining the appropriateness of the advice to their circumstances and skill level. Individuals should take appropriate safety precautions and be aware of the risk of electrocution when dealing with electrical products. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither Future nor its employees or agents shall have any liability in connection with the use of this information. You should check that any van warranty will not be affected before proceeding with DIY projects.
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