Axle Self Alignment

So I took some measurements this morning.

Wheel to wheel is off by .75 inches from left side to right side.

Pin to front wheels of off by .375 inches left to right.

I'm making an appointment for an alignment check and/or alignment tomorrow.

My guess is that the difference is in the tires. If the tires are different brands or even different lots of the same brand there could be differences. If any of the belts are broken, shifted or the plies have started to separate then the spacing will very. Measure the distance between the rim edges, anything less than a 1/4 inch isn't worth worrying about.

1) Would you agree with me that the two axles are out of alignment with each other?

Sure they may be out of alignment with each other which happens more than some may think. However just because tire gap is different doesn't mean the axles are out of proper alignment for best tire wear and straight line tracking the tow vehicle.
My present '97 5th wheel trailers tire gap has been 5/8" difference since the trailer was new. This trailer has close to 150k miles on it. I usually run the LT tires around 50k-55k miles before time to change .......the tires wear pattern has always been very good.
If the trailer straight tracks the tow vehicle and no odd tire wear issues I wouldn't mess with it.
A big rig trailer repair shop can check to your satisfaction.

bfast54 wrote:
Here is what I would do.......

Since you've already had a 3000 mile and a 2000 mile trip and of course the trailer did come from Jayco( which is in Middlebury) to where you are now.....and you have had zero issues with it ,the tires are not wearing, its not pulling strange --anything along that line.:h

I would immediately hitch it up and tow it to Elkhart Indiana( which is only a few miles from where it was made )....and I would go to the Mor- Ryde Service Center--and I would tell them to put on the fanciest suspension system that they have---- cost is no object (because you really want it to be right) fanciest suspension system they have...Laser level it,steel plate...Whole Nine Yards.:S


(And first time you use it...99% chance the condition will still be present with spacing):W


OR....................since you have had it 6 years you say ----taking the 2000 and 3000 mile trip and have absolutely no issues ----then there's nothing wrong with it.:R

Up to you !!!
(Please let us know the results...whatever you do)

Or he could buy a Cardinal and join our club!!!! :B Chris

Here is what I would do.......

Since you've already had a 3000 mile and a 2000 mile trip and of course the trailer did come from Jayco( which is in Middlebury) to where you are now.....and you have had zero issues with it ,the tires are not wearing, its not pulling strange --anything along that line.:h

I would immediately hitch it up and tow it to Elkhart Indiana( which is only a few miles from where it was made )....and I would go to the Mor- Ryde Service Center--and I would tell them to put on the fanciest suspension system that they have---- cost is no object (because you really want it to be right) fanciest suspension system they have...Laser level it,steel plate...Whole Nine Yards.:S


(And first time you use it...99% chance the condition will still be present with spacing):W


OR....................since you have had it 6 years you say ----taking the 2000 and 3000 mile trip and have absolutely no issues ----then there's nothing wrong with it.:R

Up to you !!!
(Please let us know the results...whatever you do)

restlesswind wrote:
More weight on one side or the other can cause the distance between the wheels to be different.
On the heavy side, the springs will be effectively longer, causing the wheels to be farther apart on that side.
The wheels are always farther apart on the kitchen side of my fiver, because of the weight. It hasn't caused any tire wear problems.

X2 Side with the slideout is usually further apart on mine... no noticable tire wear 3 years

I've had this exact same "issue" with my current travel trailer but only discovered it much the same way as the OP did with his own rig - in my case when I tried to fit the BAL Dual Axle Chocks I had been using for years on our previous travel trailer between the tires on the new one. Adjusted as short as they would go the BAL chock would just barely fit between the curb side tires with the trailer sitting on a hard flat surface, when sitting a soft surface such as sand no way I could get it to fit. :M On the street side where the sofa slide is located the chock would fit regardless of what surface the tires were sitting on. :h Measuring the gap between each set of adjacent tires showed the two sides were slightly different, about 1/4" ... but since then I've also realized that gap constantly varies depending on how the trailer is sitting, whether the slide is out, etc. I've since also measured axle alignment with a string and all the measurements match, side to side, corner to corner, axle hanger to axle hanger, etc, and can't find any discrepancies at all ... the frame isn't torqued and the axles are aligned exactly as they should be. I think now the only reason I noticed this is our previous trailer had an axle spread of 33" so the chocks always fit and I therefore wouldn't have noticed any discrepancy ... our current trailer has a narrow 29" axle spread, the chocks don't fit properly, and this is therefore the only reason I noticed it. I too have had no handling problems, no unusual tire wear issues, so I've concluded the only downside is I've had to give up using my adjustable dual axle chocks and use rubber chocks instead.

With that many miles if there was a problem it would show up as excessive tire wear. Leave well enough alone. :)

It is your trailer.

If it worries you, take it to an alignment shop that specializes on over the road freight trailers and have them check it. Laser measurement is best.

It is well worth the cost for peace of mind on the road and you probably cannot check it accurately enough on your own to be sure.

Listen to all the advice only if the advisers are willing to put up cash to fix anything that goes wrong later.

Like I said; It is YOUR trailer.

I would put the trailer on a flat (level as possible) hard surface and start measuring to find out where the difference actually is. Frame to ground, axles to each other, axles to pin, Hangers to fixed point on frame, spring length, etc. Something must be slightly different on the two sides if all of the above suggested tests still result in same condition. At least you are not experiencing tire issues.