Leaking Lippert Axle Seals
I seem to remember reading a post or two about the seals on some Lippert axles being problematic. Searched but couldn't find anything. FWIW, the brakes on our 5th wheel toy hauler (with 7k Lippe...
Forum Discussion
dougrainer wrote:azdryheat wrote:
I thought Dexter makes the axles and sells them to Lippert as a complete unit.
I believe LCI owns Dexter now. Doug
AL-KO was acquired by Dexter in around 2014/2015 - news here.. When I was looking for info. on our bearings last year I got redirected to the new company and there was no longer an AL-KO contact. They had a new overall parent company name when I tried to talk to AL-KO last fall (can't remember it) Wasn't DEXKO when I called but they could have been in transition? Dexter and AL-KO still have their own websites which gives the impression they are independent. Lippert only acquired the assets of Dexter chassis and slide-outs in 2011. AFAIK, Lippert has no ownership in the Dexter/Al-KO axles. If anyone knows different, pls clarify.
We had the same problem as the OP with our first TT. Brakes never worked properly from new. Dealer kept blaming the brake controller and setting so we upgraded to a new P3 and no change. Took a whole year of sending emails to the dealer that they finally took things apart days before the warranty expired. They found blown seals and warped drums - replaced everything and it worked fine after that.
I removed and repacked the bearings on our current TT last year after 2 full seasons of use. Found leaking seals. There was 2 colors of grease and am positive it was the dealer that pumped grease in during the PDI and damaged the seals. When we had our TT into dealer for some warranty work after the 1st season, I asked them to do a bearing clean and repack. They said the seals were blown and wanted $1K to fix it. I spoke to AL-KO and they said they would talk to our dealer and get it fixed under warranty (I told the dealer what AL-KO said too). With 2 colors of grease in the axles, clearly nothing was done.
Two out of three TTs we have owned from new have had blown seals. Not very good odds. If we ever buy a new TT again, I'd be removing the drums for an inspection soon after ownership - can't trust the TT manufacturer, axle manufacturer or dealer.
