Axle Issues-Out of Alignment

Question

After crossing the On Top of the World Highway and making stops at Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, and Anchorage I took a look at my tires and saw that all four tires were wearing unevenly: outside two tires on the driver's side and on the inside of the two tires on the passenger side.  It looks like the axles have become out of alignment.  I don't recall hitting any big pots holes and I don't travel that fast on these highways up here because of the road conditions. Air pressure  has been what the manufacturer calls for, 110 psi. My question: has anyone else had an issue with this and what did you do about it?  I have an appointment Monday to see a frame/suspension provider in Anchorage to see what really happened.  Also have been told that 5th wheels can not have their wheels aligned like a car because of the way the wheels and suspension are set in place.  Also sent an email to Heartland about the issue but have not heard back from them.  Our rig is a Bighorn, 2011, model 3670.  Any thoughts would be of great help.  Thanks.

the_bear_ii · Answer

My 5th wheel has dexter axles with leaf springs and equalizers.  When we first got it I had the axles flipped and the factory forgot to add a cross support between the springs shackles.  This allowed the axles to move out of alignment about an inch on our first trip.  I took it back to the factory where they discovered the error, put the axles back in alignment and added the cross supports.  No problem since.

sue_t · Answer

Also check to see if your axles have become bent.

The axles normally have a slight upward camber, highest point in the middle.
When one of our axles bent, the axle looked straight while on the fifth wheel. When we took it off to replace it, the bend was obvious ... off to one side.

Replaced both axles with heavier duty axles when we did this repair. The original axles were rated 3,500 lbs each and now they're 4,000 lbs each.

ernest · Answer

ColoradoTravelers wrote:After crossing the On Top of the World Highway and making stops at Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, and Anchorage I took a look at my tires and saw that all four tires were wearing unevenly: outside two tires on the driver's side and on the inside of the two tires on the passenger side.  It looks like the axles have become out of alignment.  I don't recall hitting any big pots holes and I don't travel that fast on these highways up here because of the road conditions. Air pressure  has been what the manufacturer calls for, 110 psi. My question: has anyone else had an issue with this and what did you do about it?  I have an appointment Monday to see a frame/suspension provider in Anchorage to see what really happened.  Also have been told that 5th wheels can not have their wheels aligned like a car because of the way the wheels and suspension are set in place.  Also sent an email to Heartland about the issue but have not heard back from them.  Our rig is a Bighorn, 2011, model 3670.  Any thoughts would be of great help.  Thanks.I had a friend who a year ago had tis happen on a Keystone 5th wheel.The axles had lost their bow and had to be replaced.He paid the labor and Keystone provided the new axles.Good luck and safe travels.

garyhaupt · Answer

Seems to me that there has been more than a few threads on this...maybe do a search? You may find the answers...and if you do, I bet you don't like them. I am thinking the ugly word is Dexter.

And maybe post the question in General or Tech.

Gary Haupt

lucy6194 · Answer

bent axles on our 5th wheel last summer in Alaska. Replaced 1 in Fairbanks and both this spring with heavier ones before this summers trips.Axles guys in Mass. told us as did supplier (Dexel) that we needed heavier duty axles as originals were not heavy enough.They also said not to align waste of money.

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Axle Issues-Out of Alignment

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