Whitehawk Wide Stance Axle Failure- first model years affected

[jcooling]

I contacted Dexter on October 30th and sent them all the required information. The next day they sent me the approval to exchange the axels. My dealership called them and had the parts shipped directly to them. My dealership finished the install last week with no problems. The staff at Dexter and my dealership were great!!!!!

[LongIslandCamper]

We got our axles fixed a few weeks ago and finally got her home last week. These things are a lot bigger then the old axles.

[RickAE]

Peggy and I went out for thanksgiving weekend, first time pulling the TT since axles were changed.WOW! Let me say I enjoyed pulling the TT prior to new axles, but we had a "small what I will call a bounce" going down the road. Well the ride is so much smoother with the new axles. Thanks to BLKCorvair for starting this thread and letting us know about the axle problems.

[mrp116]

Just stumbled across this post. We ordered a 28DSBH WhiteHawk last April. It was delivered in June as a 2014 model. Is this something I should be concerned about, or was this problem corrected on the more recent models? Our camper is spending the winter about 250 miles away from us on family land to save us storage costs during the winter months. Therefore, I do not have access to the axles.

[rdream]

Just look at your axle tubes and if they are 3" in diamiter your fine. If less get the numbers off the sticker on the axle and call Dexter direct. They will take care of you. We bought our White Hawk in 2012 and did not hear about this until three months ago. Dexter took care of us and I admit that the new axles ride better. Good Luck. Buy the way this site ROCKS for good information welcome.

[thomasmnile]

Originally Posted by mrp116

Just stumbled across this post. We ordered a 28DSBH WhiteHawk last April. It was delivered in June as a 2014 model. Is this something I should be concerned about, or was this problem corrected on the more recent models? Our camper is spending the winter about 250 miles away from us on family land to save us storage costs during the winter months. Therefore, I do not have access to the axles.

I am 99.9% confident your Dexter axles are fine. We purchased a 2013 27DSRL with a Sept 2012 build date. The Dexter axles on our trailer were manufactured July 2012 per the info. Dexter e-mailed me. You can e-mail Dexter with the info contained on the axle tags for peace of mind and confirmation, but I'm betting your axles are 3" diameter.

[rrbenn]

We have a 2013 Whitehawk with the wrong axles. Since we are the 2nd owner Jayco wouldnt warranty. I contacte Dexter Axle and now have 2 complete new axles. Problem is finding and rv dealer to install. Has anyone out her did there own install? I was thinking about jacking it up and setting on 4 jack stands. Any easier way? Thanks.

[Netman]

I am very happy I did some searching on the White Hawk before and after the purchase. We have a 2013 that I was purchased in Feb 2014. The axles are 2 3/8 on the trailer. I sent an e-mail but no response yet. Called and left a message with Jim in the warranty department on Thursday. I will give them until early next week then call again and try to get Denise. We only have one trip on the trailer with about 200 miles. Really don't want the tire wear let alone the axles bending. Thanks for all the help with this thread!!!! Very helpful!

[Eaglechief_13]

Just and update. I just recently discovered that I have the 2 3/8 axle. I spoke to Connie at Dexter Axle who was very nice and helpful. Dexter has agreed to send the assembled axles to the dealership; however, they do not pay for the labor.

My dealership service rep says that Jayco says the axles are fine and the bending has only happened on a few campers and that the uneven tread wear is the only concern. Jayco nor the dealership will cover the cost of the labor because it is not a technical bulletin or a recall, only a customer courtesy.

It will cost about $250.00 at my dealership to have them replaced. It is only $250.00 but yet again it is $250.00 - money doesn't grow on trees. I am wondering if I should have it done.

[Netman]

I talked with Connie also and have to say that Dexter Axles have great customer service. I was very impressed. The Jayco dealer service department said they had never heard of the problem. I was a bit surprised by that but they might not read this great forum. Hopefully I can get this taken care of as I will feel much better about it. This trailer needs to last us for awhile.

[Eaglechief_13]

I agree. We hope to have this TT for a while so I am leaning toward having them replace them. It is frustrating that Jayco has not recognized this and wouldn't at least make it right on the models that are prone to the problem. I see from the forum that it is costing between $160 - $250.00 in labor so you would think if Dexter is providing the better suited parts that Jayco would at least pay for the labor. That would be service after the sale.

Kudos to Dexter for doing the right thing!

[Eaglechief_13]

Here is an update. I purchased my White Hawk used but purchased the JayPlus service plan. We are first time TT owners so despite the fact that I don't often like purchasing service plans when we saw the cost of some of the camper "stuff" we decided to purchase the added service plan.

So, after my dealer said the labor wouldn't be covered and Dexter doesn't cover labor, it occurred to me that maybe my JayPlus plan does, so I contacted them. Even though Jayco says the axles are fine, when they are not exactly "fine", and will not at least pay the labor, JayPlus service stated they know about the problem and have covered replacement when the axles bend and cause unusual wear. I told the JayPlus representative that I did not want to wait till that happened, I wanted to be proactive and prevent it. JayPlus agreed to cover all of the labor cost with the exception of my $75.00 deductible.

My dealer is having the axles shipped to them. I am delivering the TT to the dealer tomorrow. Hopefully all will go smooth and they will get the axles on before our 4th of July outing.

Just wanted to pass along the latest. Again, Kudos to Dexter and thanks JayPlus for doing the right thing.

[Netman]

Here is my update - Axles are in and we dropped of the trailer this afternoon. The Dealership was great with everything so far. We don't have any camping plans for a few weeks so this was good timing. I will give another update when we pick it up.

[Netman]

I got my White Hawk out of the hospital yesterday!! The new axles are on and they look great under the trailer. The dealership is only about 25 miles from my house so it is a short trip. I could be mistaken but I really thought it towed easier. We were going to take some back roads just to test but it was so nice that I went down the highway. Either way, I am very happy and the credit goes to the information on this forum. Thanks!!!!

[Eaglechief_13]

I am happy to hear all went well. Mine is finished at the dealership. I will be picking it up on Wednesday.

[tim768]

First would like to thank the first post about Axle Failure ( user: blkcorvair) and Google for finding this post originally in my search for remedies to my issue - why my axle is bending and causing tire wear on the inside tread of both rear tires.
This problem was first brought to my attention, by a concerned motorized that flashed his lights to me while driving down the expressway. Traveling a lot, I knew that something must be wrong that I couldn't see. When I pulled over, he stated he drove semi's for a living and that my rear axle doesn't look right (bent and both rear tires are angle inward on the top of the tire). After coming home, I notified my local dealer in Webster, NY of the problem I was having with tire wear on the inside tread and the rear axle bending. I was given a couple excuses on why that might be happening - June 2014. After a couple of weeks the Dealer stated they did everything possible on there end (checked alignment, lubed axles) and everything looked ok and if I wanted to haul it to a axle and frame shop to have them look further into, I could. That being a separate story, but in short, after a week and they haven't looked at it, I did a TWO SECOND SEARCH ON GOOGLE and found this forum with other owners having the same issue. With the assistance with the post from "RickAE" and the information i needed when I contact Dexter, it helped to make sure I had all my ducks in a row!! Today, 06/30/2014, just spoke with Connie from Dexter axle and they are shipping two new axles (whole assembly) with all components attached, even my two rear tires that are worn on the inside to my Jayco Dealer in Webster, NY. Now that is customer service on Dexter axle part. The part that I am not impressed with, is why did I have to do all the leg work on this issue to get it resolved. First, why I wasn't notified by Jayco of this issue, Second why wasn't my dealer notified of this "known issue, regarding 2 3/8" axle vs replacement of 3" axle." I will be following up with my local service manager at the dealer and also am waiting for a phone call back by a Secondary adviser from Jayco.
2013 Jayco White Hawk 28DSBH
Tim Lewis

[tim768]

Dexter did pay 2.5 hours labor for changing the axles and 1 hour labor of changing out my rear tires.

[Netman]

I thought Dexter was great!! Their customer service was every thing you would want from a business. I am glad that I have it done and I feel more comfortable with the TT. My small problem is what has been stated, My dealer said they had no idea about this problem. Seems like Jayco/dealer would have mentioned something. They did thank me for the upfront work that I did contacting Dexter and had no problem with taking care of the problem. So +1 to Dexter and my dealer taking care of the rest. I am what you might call a "Happy Camper" for this to be complete.

[Woolonwheels]

Let mine be a horror story of what happens when there ISN'T a recall and people don't know...

Last fall we started getting a "BO" (brake overload) message while towing our TT. I called our dealer where I bought it new (Jayco Whitehawk 27DSRL I think) and mentioned something was wrong. He told me to "blow on the connector & it'll be fine". I called again before heading out on our first trip of the season this year to report it was still doing it and by this time, I had traded my truck in for a new truck with a totally new trailer brake control so I could confidently rule out the truck and brake unit as being the issue. I took it in and left it. 30 mins later he called to say it was fine, no problems, come get it.

Fast forward two weeks... We were pulling out of Bedford, VA and hadn't gone 2 miles when a trucker pulled us over because FLAMES WERE SHOOTING OUT OF THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL. We were forced to live in the parking lot of the Bedford Welcome Center for the next two days until Berglund Outdoor opened on Monday morning and then spent all day Monday waiting to have our 3 wheeled TT dragged the 30 miles to the dealer. The axle was badly bent and the tires were nearly bald on the inside. The brakes had heated up so badly that the wheel bearing had actually caught fire. We had also mentioned to our home dealer when I took it in two weeks prior that the wheels looked like they were leaning strangely and he assured us 'it was the way it was sitting'. Joe at Jayco Customer Service and the folks at Berglund helped us so much!! We had to leave the TT in VA for almost 2 weeks waiting for the new axle and then drive all the way back to get it.

When I called the dealer I bought it from new, they were no help and didn't really seem to care. He also then informed me that he'd only pulled one wheel to check the brakes and never actually looked under the TT at all because "the warranty wouldn't pay him to pull all the wheels" and "who was going to pay him for all that?"

Moral of the story is I'm now a member of this forum and I've got a new axle. I will also NEVER buy for the dealer again even though we'd been buying TT there for over 50 years. I'll travel 6 hours to Berglund's before I ever set foot in the local place again!!

[SecretCoveDave]

Thanks for posting. We are thinking of a Whitehawk.

BTW - how far is Berglund's from Canada?