Axles on Sunset Trail

[egrum]

Maybe I am jumping the gun,,,but

We bought a brand new Sunset Trail 2012,,,,,26 BH, in June of 2011.

Camped a little less than 1000 miles on the unit that year, did a fair bit of camping last year (2012) about 6000 miles in total.

When I pulled the unit away for winter storage (we live in Western Canada) I was doing a walk around and thought that the left rear tire looked worn and scrubbed on the inside. Thought I would have a better look in the spring and check it out. A week ago when I pulled it out from storage I looked closely at that tire and confirmed my thoughts.

I went and talked to several tire shops and they recommended that I take the trailer to either the dealer or to a frame and alignment shop for a check. The dealer could not look at it til Mid June at the earliest so I opted for a frame shop (one that specializes in all types of vehicle frames large and small.

They called me today and said good news bad news. The bad news is that the axle is out of align, the good news is they can fix it, but only if I put new axles on it. They said those axles are under rated for the trailer ( read into that, the axles are economical for the manufacturer). The manager at the frame shop said that the tubing of the axle is to thin for them to try and make any adjustments, if they tried the axle tube would probably crush, crack, break and they would not attempt this.

He went on to say that he has heard several dealers in our area are simply going to replace axles on new unit coming in to avoid customer issues, (of course they can do this and pass the cost on to new owners unknowingly). Apparently many manufacturers use these economical axles not just Crossroads.

The replacement axles are of such design that if this problem occurred the frame shop could and would be able to repair/fix the problem.

Replacement axle is $350.00/axle (2) and about 6 hours to install ($150.00/hour) sounds like a cool $1500.00 when all is said and done.

The dealer is willing to take pictures and measurements and send those off to the manufacturer and see if they will cover repair, (time can't say depends on the manufacturer). The dealer is presently booking appointments for mid June but of course we would have to have approval of warranty work or pay ourselves, and of course they use only OEM parts (same axles).

Sounds like a lost RV season waiting or take the chance and drive the unit knowing that a potential tire blow is waiting to happen. We have a major trip planned this summer to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and the Red Woods, all with paid reservations.

The frame shop also told me that the axle bearing are very loose and should be re-tightened, well if that is the case we may as well have the bearing re-packed first, another $250.00

So what to do?

Drive and chance a blow out! Consequences could be drastic!

Wait for factory answers! Lost RV trip and all deposits!

Bite the bullet and spend $1500.00 on a repair!

I read on a forum here when we first got the trailer that when backing in to make sure that the stress from making turns can cause the axles to bend out of shape due to the "Wide Wheel Stance". Who ever wrote that posting had twisted their axles and the factory would not cover it under repair as it is considered "your fault"

Would the factory answer to me be similar, Oh you must have hit a pot hole, rock, curb or would they admit they were/are using an inferior product.

Any thoughts or experience with this.

I do trust the frame shop they have a great reputation here and do perform quality work and they certainly do not need the business to lie and tell me tall tales.

Thanks to one and all

I will certainly include this in the list of modifications completed.

[8iron]

Double postEdited by: 8iron

[8iron]

Originally Posted by 8iron

Those prices seem very (very) high...$250 to tighten wheel bearings??? I had the same issue as you with bent axles on our brand new 29ss. My local machine shop ordered new axles out of Calgary and I installed them myself in way less than 6 hours. Including shipping and taxes the 2 new axles were less than $400 all in. I reused the spindles, brake drums, wheels and put new tires on and haven't looked back. I wasn't willing to lose an entire season over $400 and I didn't want the same crappy Lippert axles put back on.

[cwit]

I agree with 8iron. Besides lippert with find some reason to not do the warrenty. I hope the axel price includes new springs. The labor rate is out of site.

[scott]

That's a tough situation you are in. I agree with you when you say the warranty work is going to install another junk axle. It seems to be the way ofthe RV industry. Since you are under warranty I think I would try to get Crossroads to send you a check for the price of the warranty work. Then I would take that and have your axle shop fix the trailer so it will be done correctly with better axles. But if possible get anotherprice just to keep the first shophonest.

[egrum]

8Iron

What/whos axles did you use?

I have never attempted a job like that and do not feel comfortable doing so.

I would love to save the money and what not but we are not all competent at all tasks.

However good for you to have saved the bucks.

Scott

I am certainly going to try and wangle the warranty money out of the manufacturer, but have little hope in that.

[8iron]

Egrum,

The axles were ordered from Traler Canada. I wasn't suggesting you do the swap yourself if you are not comfortable with the task,merely pointing out that the hours you were quoted, and the cost were way out of line. I'm sure the frame shop is reputable but 6 hours to jack up a trailer and remove and replace 4 U bolts with 8 nuts doesn't sound right. Good luck and happy camping.

[egrum]

I took our trailer out to the dealer, they took measurements and pictures and sent those off to CR.

Yes the axles are bent, said CR but you are out of warranty. However they will supply new ones at no charge, in the name of good will, however they will not pay for labour, tires or anything else.

Sounds great I said. How long for the axles to be ordered and delivered, 9 - 12 weeks usually. How long to install them, min 4 hours.

Great sounds like mid August, once the axles arrive we can book you in, no idea when that would be at this time.

Great in the mean time what shall I do with this unit and our summer trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon?

[Hunter11]

egrum, if you are having the Crossroads repair facility make the repairs be advised that someone in another post said they had raised their labor rate per hour from $80 to around $140.

[gball]

Did your trailer have a one year or two year warranty?

[egrum]

Thanks for the labour rate advice.

We assume that our trailer had a 2 year warranty.

We are having the axles replaced with "Dexter" axles apparently a far superior axle. It is one that can actually be repaired if the same issue poped up.

The frame shop I took the trailer to said that in theory the axles could be fixed, however they would not as the tubing is so thin that any repair could : crack, bend, buckle the tube and they would not take that chance.

Other have indicated that Dexter is a far superior axle.

Who knows!

As an RV owner you are at the mercy of the dealers.

Have you actually read some of the posts on here? Read some of them,, is there ANY quality?

I am suspicious.

[8iron]

You have a right to be suspicious of quality in the RV industry. The problem is that basically every part of your RV is from a third party manufacturer. Frames, axles, walls, a/c. jacks, awnings, fridge etc are ordered and assembled under the RV brand name. When things go wrong, the RV manufacturer (unfortunately Crossroads too) blame the component manufacturer and the consumer is left holding the bag. Crossroads used to be better than most at quality, customer service and support but now they are no better than the rest.

[CyrpressTxAg]

egrum,

I know it has been awhile since you started this post. I have a similar situation with a 2011 26BH and I wanted to see how your axle situation ended up. I have two bent Lippert 3500# axles and looking to upgrade.