Bent axle diagnosis

This whole situation sounds like bull to me. Even if the water tank were riding on the axle, I doubt it would do much to it. If it did bend it, it would likely spring back once the weight was removed. Someone said it, take it to a reputable shop. I smell a rat.

Trailers are notorious for having poor axle alignment right from the factory. So says the guys who aligned mine at Stanley Springs. Axle hangers are poorly placed and the problem magnifies when you try and locate axles accurately onto the spring hangers. The specs for acceptable axle alignment are fairly tight and most frame builders fall short in execution. This is just one more way the public is being taken for a ride on trailers. If your problem is legit, and I doubt it is, and it somehow falls under warranty, it will likely fall under the frame mfg's warranty and not the trailer builder. Good luck and keep us posted.

How old are tires? (age of and what trailer)

You can buy a new axle for less than $500. If your water tank still hits the axle after fixing the bracket, lower the equalizer between the two axles. You can buy a U shaped bracket for this purpose.
Without severe inside tire wear I would not worry about a bent axle.

OP wrote:
As to the tire wear....checked online and found average TT tire life is anywhere from 5,000 to 12,000 miles. The tires on the camper are still the original tires and have 15,000 mile. This doesn't indicate to me that there is a problem with the axles.

Sounds kind of "nuts" to me to think that's the expected mileage. I have averaged over 40,000 miles on each set of tires on my Rockwood and would CERTAINLY think there was something wrong if tire wear showed up at 15,000. I agree with your factory rep that if the tank had fallen out it would be skidding down the road somewhere but depending on how it's attached the plastic CAN bend and become distorted. Might be a good idea to pull the belly pan and check it out but save that for sometime when you have nothing better to do LOL.
Good luck / Skip

This link (page 17) shows different wear patterns and the likely cause: tire wear patterns

On a dead level surface, the axles should be straight (cambered upwards without weight on them). *If* a bent axle was caused by the tank, I would think it'd be pretty obvious. If it was a bent axle, I would expect tire wear to be about the same on both sides. If it's just on one side, it could be a bent spindle.

It is possible for spring hangers to be welded on in the wrong locations which would cause toe in/out problems. I believe this would show up as feathering on one side on the edges of the treads. You can measure the location of the spring hangers from the rear of the frame as a reference point.

There's the possibility too that the original axle rating is too close the the actual loading. Someone here posted a few weeks ago about this, and while Lippert originally said it's not their problem, the owner sent more info. and pics and Lippert replaced them after all.

Then there's the possibility of excessive flex in the frame and suspension because of the inherent design of it - tall spring hangers, under-slung axles, no bracing in the area where the spring hangers attach to the frame and one of those "fabricated" I-beams made from 3 pieces of sheet steel welded together. One thing you can do to help this is to tie the bottom of the spring hangers together left to right using either the Mor/Ryde X-member kit or fabricating something yourself.

Spring hangers should be perfectly vertical. I have seen them bent way off to one side before. If they aren't vertical, it's possible there's more going on than just bent hangers too.

If things just don't seem right and a dealer isn't helping much, I would go to a frame and axle shop and get an independent professional to check it all out. Should only cost around $200 or so and you will get a lot of good info. They can spot things you never thought to look for.

If the axles seem like they ought to be stronger, you can upgrade a size or two, but may have to change the wheels from 5 to 6 lug. If just changing out the axles for the same, you could do it yourself for in the order of $500 or so. $2K for labor for a bolt-in swap is way too much, unless they were also going to pull down the underbelly material and re-enforce the tank support.

$2700? Ouch. If you have that good of tire wear then IMO the axles are fine. I know from experience that a bad axle will wear a tire out rather quickly. If you're somewhat handy then my suggestion would be to raise the tank back up and install a 2"x2" piece of angle iron across the center of the under side of the tank. Bolt it up to the flange on the frame. My 5'er has that and between the edges holding the tank and the angle iron under it, it's not going anywhere. You may have to have the side support/s rewelded but that would be relatively cheap compared to what that dealer wants.

Check and see if you have Dexter axles. If so, contact Dexter directly. I read a post earlier where Dexter was replacing certain axles under warranty due to defect.

Moved from Forum Technical Support

Oregon Nomad wrote:
Tires worn little more on inside but not significantly different than outside edge considering the number of miles on them.

If that is the case, then there is nothing significantly wrong with your axels.

But it does sound like you have a significant problem with your water tank.

Oh...and tires should last many more miles than what you state. If in good alignment I have never worn out a RV tire from mileage. Mostly they get too old before they ever get close to wearing out.

Tires worn little more on inside but not significantly different than outside edge considering the number of miles on them.