RV Axel Upside Down or Bent

[Doodle30]

Hey Gents

Got a question. I have a Jayco trailer that I noticed some uneven tire wear. Toed out at the bottom giving me uneven inside wear.

My Uncle runs an RV repair business and NS so helped me work through some potential issues. I took a picture and sent it to him and he immediately said that axel appears to be installed upside down. He said, while it's rare he has seen it over the years. Based on the picture he has little doubt. The crown down is perfect. Couldn't look more natural and I am getting the same inside wear on both sides.

As I have spoken with buddies (And other RV Service departments)that have some axel experience they have suggested some points that seem to support the argument the axel may be upside down.

Points that all seem to agree on.

- Axels don't bend so perfectly. You typically see bending happen more on one side than the other and it's not uniform.

- Axel's tend to bend toward the the natural crown (up) not down.

Of course my warranty has expired or this wouldn't be an issue. I am dealing with Travelland in Airdrie and they could care less if it's installed upside down. All they know is if this is getting fixed someone else is paying for it because they are not. Some might say you don't have warranty I am SOL and that might be true. The reason I am still fighting it is that I feel that it's an improperly installed item that wouldn't be obvious to the untrained eye. Trailer works fine it's just the uneven wear on the tires.

Travel land suggests this damage is as simple of going over a road bump and the weight of the fridge and stove bent the axel. Front axel shows no damage.

I would love the input of those that have some axel experience.

Do axel's typically bend towards the natural Crown?
Do you often see axel bend with a perfect crown down?

If axel's can in fact bend perfectly like this then I might be SOL. Likely impossible to distinguish bent from improperly installed. In my opinion the axel come from Lipper with the spring seats welded on the wrong side and that mistake transferred through the whole system. Seems crazy but my uncle says he has seen it as has one other RV dealer I spoke with.

I will try to upload a picture for everyone to view.

If I am wrong feel free to say. I don't want to spend the time fight something I am wrong about.

I have reached out to Jayco head office as well. I want the answer directly from them not clensed by this dealer. They are an arrogant bunch with these red hot RV sales.



Doodle

[Doodle30]

Can't seem to upload the PIC

[270person]

If you bought used maybe a previous owner flipped the axle to get more clearance?

[bat119]

Trailer axles appear bent because of camber



The axles on your trailer come with a pre-existing camber (a vertical upward kink/bend in the axle center).

This camber allows the axle to flex with the weight of the trailer, and run with the tires square and true to the road.

Without camber, the weight of the trailer would force the tires to run unevenly on the road, causing premature tire wear, poor trailer tracking and damage to the running gear.

Flipping your axles

https://www.doityourselfrv.com/axle-...r-boondocking/

[Doodle30]

Originally Posted by 270person

If you bought used maybe a previous owner flipped the axle to get more clearance?

I bought brand new.

I did just get off the phone with Standens and they tell me they have seen axels that have bent perfectly crown down. Constant bouncing of highway driving he said. This trailer has less than 10,000 KM's on it.

He also said a trailer that's packed heavy in the rear storage would do it. It's not packed heavy and never pull with fresh or grey/ black water.

[lannie]

Warranty period is over so the dealer should not have to pay for the repair unless the manufacturer will reimburse dealer. Get it fixed and move on.

[wack99]

I have seen a trailer on a flatbed with the strap straight over the axle, causing it to bend down. Happened to yours in transit?

Jason

[Dean2]

Most trailers have pretty crappy axles on them. Most also never had the wheels balanced so the hubs run hot and you get a lot more wheel hop, all of which can add to axles bending. If the axle was out of alignment from the start it would not have taken long to see the tire wear. Upside down or not, it is now bent wrong and needs fixing. Take it the Standens, get them to fix it or put on better axles if these aren't strong or stiff enough. It sucks but that is what you get when manufacturers focus on cost cutting.

[Jims83cj5]

If you springs are on top of the axle and there is no spring mount still on the bottom then someone flipped it and now the camber is off

[Johnny G1]

X2 on reversing axle.

[Cement Bench]

over a decade ago I replaced both axles and was not happy

was told by axle manufacture that most import axles were made without much bow in them and would not last

also even they had to cheapen their axles as to cost to keep competitive

he was not happy as to the current manufacture of axles

my suggestion is go a little heavier in spec to increase the chances of longer lasting

sorry that is all I got

[Drewski Canuck]

How bad is the tire wear? Can you make it through the season? I have done a full axle replace on a tandem axle 29 foot holiday trailer because of the drop axle design being so bad for hitting the rear of the trailer on sharp angles. It took a couple weeks before the trailer was back, but that was the proper solution, with a new set of leaf springs,. and new drum brakes.

Some people try it hillbilly style. They park the trailer on a level spot.

They crawl under the trailer with a tape measure and a felt and mark the middle of the trailer axle.

Then they crawl out and get a trolley jack and slide it under the middle of the axle where it was marked, and start jacking until the full load is supported by the axle being jacked on.

Sometimes that is enough to cause the lifted axle to get a bend, and a proper camber so the tires will wear evenly, ...... until the axles can get replaced in the off season.

I wouldn't recommend that approach.

Drewski

[tool]

Have Standen’d build you a new axle and swap your existing hubs, wheels and brakes if what you have is low mileage and in good condition. I did this with a stock trailer years ago and it was really cheap and completely solved my problems. Get new U bolts as well and just cut the old ones off with a Zip disk, it’s a really easy job in the driveway, couple hours tops.

[tool]

Have Standen’d build you a new axle and swap your existing hubs, wheels and brakes if what you have is low mileage and in good condition. I did this with a stock trailer years ago and it was really cheap and completely solved my problems. Get new U bolts as well and just cut the old ones off with a Zip disk, it’s a really easy job in the driveway, couple hours tops.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Our Alberta terrible roads are major problem on trailers. Saw a very new, very large trailer stopped on Yellowhead last week with a wheel broken. Too much weight, too much speed on very bad roads.

[Doodle30]

Trailer is booked into Standen's for an alignment on Monday. They say this could be as simple as a alignment and new tires. That allows to continue with planned vacation on Tuesday.

If it's a new axel they suggest it's a month or more before they can get me in.

If Standen's doesn't think the axel is a good option for a realignment, I considered putting the new rubber on and going on this trip and then parking the trailer until the perm. fix is available. The one problem with Standen's I keep hearing is they are so busy that turn around can be a problem.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Doodle30

Trailer is booked into Standen's for an alignment on Monday. They say this could be as simple as a alignment and new tires. That allows to continue with planned vacation on Tuesday.

If it's a new axel they suggest it's a month or more before they can get me in.

If Standen's doesn't think the axel is a good option for a realignment, I considered putting the new rubber on and going on this trip and then parking the trailer until the perm. fix is available. The one problem with Standen's I keep hearing is they are so busy that turn around can be a problem.

If they can't align and need a new axle, put one of the better old tires on the wheel that is scuffing, put the scuffed on your spare rack and sub in the spare as they usually have no wear on them. Save the new tires till you have it set up right. When you do put new rubber on, get the tires balanced, you will be amazed how much cooler the tires and hubs run, and it will reduce vibration to the trailer.

[Cement Bench]

Originally Posted by Dean2

If they can't align and need a new axle, put one of the better old tires on the wheel that is scuffing, put the scuffed on your spare rack and sub in the spare as they usually have no wear on them. Save the new tires till you have it set up right. When you do put new rubber on, get the tires balanced, you will be amazed how much cooler the tires and hubs run, and it will reduce vibration to the trailer.

correct was just trying to word this myself
and take a spare for the bad side just in case
and NOT a new spare if you have an extra old tire
no sense in wrecking a good tire just to replace it in 2 weeks

[tool]

Hopefully the alignment works for you, definitely worth a try.

From my experience they tend to bend back as they were, steel has a memory.

Might get you by until the off season atleast.

Good luck!

[Doodle30]

I hope the alignment last reasonable time.

$421 it a bit high for a short solution.