yet another uneven tire wear problem

[Britespot]

We have a 24FBS purchased in March of 2015 and last year I noticed that the inner edges of both left and right tires on the rear axle were very worn when compared to the rest of the tire. The tires on the front looked very good. We took it to a dealer in Ohio (we were traveling at the time) and they determined the rear axle had no camber, forcing the wheels to lean in. We replaced both tires and the axle.

A few months ago I noticed exactly the same type of wear on the tires on the rear axle again. The axle has camber (you can see the slight bow) and the tires have fewer miles than the ones they replaced and the front tires are still fine.

Local dealer has measured and checked everything he can possibly think of and can find no reason for this type of wear. Every measurement is exactly as it should be, the trailer is not overloaded (we took it to him with all but food in it to be sure,) or loaded unevenly. We are at a complete loss here. The first repair was under warranty but that expired several months ago.

I am baffled, the dealer is baffled. Does anyone here have any idea what could be causing this?

[DanNJanice]

How many miles are we talking about? 5K, 20K?
Maybe check trailer for level. If it is tilted too much one way or the other that might cause uneven wear.
Perhaps too much weight either in the front or back.
There are not too many things that would cause this. However, RV dealers are rarely equipped to check them. I would take it to a place that specializes in trailer repairs.

[Britespot]

I meant to put this info in on my original post but it slipped my mind.

8,203 miles on original tires before replacement and new axle
12,008 miles on new tires, showing exactly the same uneven wear on both.

I am not sure what you mean about taking the trailer where they do trailer repairs. This local dealer does more repair work than sales. He even called in the retired owner to look it over as he has been repairing Jaycos for 30 many years.

As for the trailer being level, it's level when we drive and we level it as best we can when we camp. We are careful about loading the trailer with things - we take minimal food, clothes, our laptops, limited household supplies (cleaners, paper goods, etc.) We use very lightweight dishes (plastic - kids' dishes from Ikea which are colorful, unbreakable, and kind of fun), minimal pots & pans, etc. I prefer to lug around as little as possible. This trailer is 8 feet longer than our last one and we never filled that one, either. And, as I mentioned, we brought the trailer with practically everything we normally carry to the repair/dealer to be sure we haven't overloaded one side or the other.

Thanks for your suggestions, though. I really appreciate your quick response and good questions

[Sundancer330]

Sounds like you need to take your TT to a frame shop to check the alignment properly. As stated most RV dealers don't have the equipment or experience to do this properly. We have a local frame shop that just does suspension work on big rigs, trailers and travel trailers. I am always surprised at how many travel trailers are sitting on the lot.

[oldmanAZ]

The first axle was replaced under warranty because of too little camber, right? Could the replacement axle have the same problem? Maybe a check with the axle manufacturer would help.

[bdreinv]

Not rocket science bad axles,dealers don't like to deal with them because Lippert gives them 1 hour labor to remove an axle and send it back.And 1 hour to install new axle.Its more cost effective for some dealers to play dumb! Lippert should give you a $65.00 credit per tire! Attached is Lipperts acknowledgement of replacing axle process. Thanks

[Britespot]

Each axle is made to order for the trailer - none are ever kept in stock. I had thought of that, but the idea of 2 axles, made 2+ years apart, having the same exact defect is just mind boggling. If there were others with the same problem, then I might suspect some kind of problem with the manufacturing, but the only uneven tire wear posts I see here are for a single tire.
Thanks for your response, though - every little thought could help!

[Britespot]

Thanks Sundancer, I think I may just try to find one of those. We live on the edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest, so there aren't a lot of facilities beyond the basics here, but I shall certainly do some searching.

[norty1]

I agree on a second opinion with a reputable frame shop.

[SkyBound]

My rear axle also lost its arch. I had two 3500lb axles, and according to the CAT scales, they together were supporting about 6000lb. Even though it was under the rated weight, the rear axle did in fact bend.

The local trailer shop gave me my options for repair:

1.) Replace the bent axle with same rated axle (cheapest option)
2.) Replace both axles with upgraded beams and re-use bearings & brake parts from old axle
3.) Replace both axles with upgraded beams and new bearings, brakes, etc. Complete assembly. (most expensive)

I chose #3 so that I wouldn't have another problem. Option 2 didn't make sense because once the labor charges were factored in changing the old bearings and brakes over to the new axles, it nearly equaled the cost of the new preassembled axles.

Even though you are running under the weight rating, the dynamic loads of bouncing down the road are a guess. Running anything close to max all the time is a bad idea. And who knows how the total supported axle weight is distributed between the two either. If you are running close to max like I was, I would suggest an upgrade to a heavier beam. (My old ones were 2 3/8" beam, new ones 3" beam, had 5 bolt hubs put on instead of 6 bolts so I could use my original wheels again)

[mohok1]

Finally took mine to a Truck Rebuild Shop in Florence, SC about 3 yrs back. $125.00 to align both axles and I haven't had any problems since. I could tell from the look of the place that they had been in business fro a long long time. Anyway a happy ending so far. I have a 2009 32BHDS 35.5' long.

[bdreinv]

Hi mohok1 did they have to remove axles to align? How do they actually make the repair?Seems like a great price. Lippert won't pay for a repair under warranty, they want both of my axles sent in!

Thanks

[mohok1]

They didn't remove the axles but loosen each shackle in order to do the realignment. Yeah, $125.00 was a great price as the 1st time I had them worked on at a Frame Shop in Charleston, SC, they had to replace the camber using a jack and chains and that cost $100 per axle. Your dealer might be able to recommend a Fame Shop. Left me know what you work out.

[Britespot]

Update. Turns out the rear axle (the one we replaced last year) has also lost its camber. We are in discussions with Jayco and they, in turn, with Dexter, about replacement. Jayco rep on the phone said she would speak with engineering when we told her we felt this was a symptom and not the cause of the problem.
So, we wait and see what they say. In the meantime, thanks to all of you for your suggestions!

[mohok1]

Thanks for the update. Let us know the out come.

[SkyBound]

I would highly suggest an upgraded axle replacement. Throwing the same ones on will likely lead to the same problem down the road.

[JaycoChix89]

sounds like you need an alignment on your unit. this is common.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by JaycoChix89

sounds like you need an alignment on your unit. this is common.

Welcome to the forum, JaycoChix89.

Thanks for the info.

Trailer axle alignments don't show up here all that often. Have you needed to have the axles aligned on your trailer(s)?