Bent Axle? - Page 2

bono · 11-23-2018, 06:33 AM

I had them just installed. I didn't do this myself. I did not notice much difference when towing. However, there is no squicking noise coming from the suspension.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RudyBud

Kinda off topic, I noticed in pic you have the equa flex equalizer installed. What TT do you have and where they hard to install ? Currently have a Jayflight 22BH and I want to upgrade some parts.
Thanks.

hboy · 11-23-2018, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bono

Questions:

would you agree that the axle needs to be replaced?
should I go with Lippert (which I have now) or Dexter?
my warranty expired in August this year - does it make sense to try to fix this under goodwill?
tomorrow I am going to campground - ca. 200 miles round trip. Any concerns?

thanks!

Do you think the axle is bent? The axle should have a natural curve to it by design.

I think it would be weird to have a bearing failure after 500 miles of being serviced. Did you a shop service the bearings, or did you do it.? Only asking because I would question the quality of the work.? When the bearing failed did the tire come off. Just wondering if the bearing failed tore up your tire for a couple hundred miles. Maybe the axle is fine, just needed to fix the bearing issue. If the tire came off when the bearing failed and the axle got tore up then it could make sense that it could have been bent.

I did take one travel trailer to get aligned because of some shoulder tire wear like that.

bdreinv · 11-23-2018, 11:34 AM

I would just rotate the tires,see what happens. Axle shop can repair that axle, does not look to bad on the tire. Stay away from RV dealers they might take all your money!

29BHS ECO · 11-24-2018, 04:21 PM

I am not disagreeing with the shop guy, but it might be just out of alignment ie the distance between the axels may be different right side to left side. I would check before going after new axels. If it turns out one is bent I'm sure there are repair shops( like truck repair) that will fix them.

Stmaplebury · 11-24-2018, 08:46 PM

Observation from almost 10000 miles this past year. On my 24RBS we hit a big pot hole in St Louis. We did not know our rear axle was seriously bent. It looked like your picture Bono. We left for Alaska shortly after, and did not have our diagnosis of a bent axle until we reached Whitehorse. We had our axles upgraded at The Spring Shop & Tamarack Welding in Whitehorse, YT - good folks, very knowledgeable, and competent.

I had the original Lippert 3500 lb axle sliced apart showing it to be schedule 40 pipe. A 3500 lb Dexter axle sliced apart (from the pile out back) was schedule 60 “like”, as pipe in that diameter and thickness doesn’t seem to be available. Tamarack made custom axles from schedule 80 pipe. I have no idea if Dexter continues to use thicker walled pipe, but it would be worth knowing.

I upgraded the springs as well. I had a similar Exqualizer installed be we left for Alaska.

bono · 11-24-2018, 10:01 PM

Thank you Guys! I learn a lot based on your comments. Is there any way to measure / check whether the axle is bent? I would prefer to avoid spending $800 for the new axle. However, if the diagnosis would cost me half of that with a good chance that the axle is bent, probably I would go with a new axle. Labor in this part of the country is expensive.

To guys who mentioned that you had axles bent - how did you confirm this before installing a new axle?

This is also the time I would like to switch from Rainiers to Goodyear Endurance. But I need to have this axle issue fixed.

bono · 11-24-2018, 10:11 PM

I had a shop do the bearing service. The wheel did not come off - see below. It was just tilted, so in fact the wheel was riding on the edge which is worn, but this was probably 20-30 miles max. I would assume such wear is not possible that fast.

Where did you take your trailer for alignment?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hboy

Do you think the axle is bent? The axle should have a natural curve to it by design.

I think it would be weird to have a bearing failure after 500 miles of being serviced. Did you a shop service the bearings, or did you do it.? Only asking because I would question the quality of the work.? When the bearing failed did the tire come off. Just wondering if the bearing failed tore up your tire for a couple hundred miles. Maybe the axle is fine, just needed to fix the bearing issue. If the tire came off when the bearing failed and the axle got tore up then it could make sense that it could have been bent.

I did take one travel trailer to get aligned because of some shoulder tire wear like that.

rhersh · 11-28-2018, 02:22 PM

My 2011 jayco 5ver did the same thing. Took it to an axle alignment shop and had it checked for bent axle. All it needed was aligned.
If you do end up putting new axles on you need to have it aligned. Any time you disturb them they should have alignment checked.

bono · 11-28-2018, 02:42 PM

How they are doing alignment on those primitive axles? I came across Lippert CORRECT TRACK system, but my trailer does not have it.

https://www.lci1.com/support-correct-track%E2%84%A2

mohok1 · 11-28-2018, 03:15 PM

Find center of hub on each hub and measure the distance. Go to the other side do the same, if the difference is 1/4" or more you probably need an alignment. This is assuming you have dual axles.

bono · 11-28-2018, 03:29 PM

Thanks! After watching a couple of youtube videos I figured that this is the first step. I need to go to the storage place to do this.

Still I am not sure, how they do the alignment on those axles. Also, who is doing this? I called a couple of shops to ask whether they straighten axles and all of them said that they only replace the axles.

gofer01 · 11-28-2018, 04:34 PM

I have a 2018 26RK and found that my axle was bent 100 miles after purchase. The dealer was willing to replace the axle , but it would take about 5 weeks.I had too many trips planed so I replaced the axle myself, with a dexter. Sent bills to jayco they payed for all parts,just not my time. I am very happy with the dexter and will switch out my front axle this spring. Got to get rid of the lippert.

bono · 11-28-2018, 04:37 PM

I found YT video how they do the alignment. Now only to find reputable shop...

https://youtu.be/pRyTeqYuGBk

Called them. They are in NV and said that they know about other shops in Oregon and Utah with similar equipment (closer to West Coast). Service is $250 per axle. I would prefer to do this than replacing the axle as even after mounting the new axle there could be a problem with alignment.

LiftedAWDAstro · 11-28-2018, 05:53 PM

That is an interesting video! I always wondered how they did it but never looked it up.

Idaho Spud · 11-28-2018, 06:09 PM

I am no expert but may be able to lend a little bit of knowledge to this thread. I have experienced bent axles and bearing problems.
First bent axles can be straightened if they are not kinked. Normally as someone else mentioned it will need to be a truck alignment shop that has the capabilities to bend axles. If your trailer is a tandem axle many times you can eyeball down the side of the trailer and see if one set of tires is slanted more than the other. Also using a long bubble level will tell you if they are leaning in on top. Also axles come with some camber built in. When you look at the axle from the front or back of trailer you should see a bow in the axle, with the center of the axle the high point.
In regards to the tire wear if the bearing was the problem, it is amazing how quick it will wear the tire when the bearing goes bad. Have you taken the hub off and examined the bearing? Did the outer bearing come apart? Is there grease in the brake area? This could mean the seal leaked and the outer bearing got hot and failed. Hope this helps a bit.

bono · 11-28-2018, 06:35 PM

Thanks! Others suggested earlier to rotate the tire and check whether the uneven wear continuous. i will swap the tires between the spare and the worn tire.

The hub needed to be replaced. I think the outer bearing was completely destroyed - see post # 27 https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...tml#post708218.

I did not think that there was any excess of grease in the break area.

I drove with this destroyed bearing(s) 20-25 miles (just a guess) - do you think that the tire could wear that fast?

madmaxmutt · 11-28-2018, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bono

How they are doing alignment on those primitive axles? I came across Lippert CORRECT TRACK system, but my trailer does not have it.

There are 2 types of Correct Track. One is factory installed. The second is the aftermarket variety. I had it added to my last trailer. It does raise the trailer 2".

Quote:

Originally Posted by mohok1

Find center of hub on each hub and measure the distance. Go to the other side do the same, if the difference is 1/4" or more you probably need an alignment. This is assuming you have dual axles.

Basic alignment of a trailer starts from the hitch/ball to the front axle ends. The rear axle ends are then measured from the front axle ends. If either distance out of tolerance, it needs alignment. I added a lift to my first trailer. I had to do this with a string afterward, to get it to the alignment shop without destroying the tires.

The string test with a sharpee marker (takes 2 people) will give you a good idea if you are out of alignment. Use a heavy duty (one that won't easily stretch) string from ball to the leading edge of the front axle. Keep it perfectly straight and taut. Make a mark on the string, then compare that mark with the other side. Repeat that from the front axle to rear axle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bono

Thanks! After watching a couple of youtube videos I figured that this is the first step. I need to go to the storage place to do this.

Still I am not sure, how they do the alignment on those axles. Also, who is doing this? I called a couple of shops to ask whether they straighten axles and all of them said that they only replace the axles.

We have a local spring and suspension shop that mostly works on trucks. They only correct non-torsion axles. Torsion axles are replaced. The local RV shops don't correct any axle. In some cases, they won't even replace them in-house.

Pinnacle Pete · 11-29-2018, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bono

Hello,

A couple weeks back a had bearing failure when on the road. I just replaced all of the bearing to Timken. I was wondering what caused the failure as I had 500-600 miles since the bearings services.

The tire on the wheel where the bearings failed is worn inside. The guy from the shop is saying this is likely due to bent axle. Makes sense...

Questions:

would you agree that the axle needs to be replaced?
should I go with Lippert (which I have now) or Dexter?
my warranty expired in August this year - does it make sense to try to fix this under goodwill?
tomorrow I am going to campground - ca. 200 miles round trip. Any concerns?

thanks!

If tire pressures are as posted/required, you could have a bad hub as well. I had a bad race on one of our new hubs with about 2000 miles since new. That could wobble the tire some. Also, just because your overall warrantee is expired, I would look at the chassis warrantee to see if it is expired. I had a tire look like this and it was a tire cord issue, not the chassis.

You may also like: