Crossroads Zinger Travel Trailer Warning

81SHOVELHEAD wrote:
Wow I thought you were not supposed to put the Jack on the Axle tube .
So what are you to do?
Although my Cougar is 10 months old & less than 300 miles I will be defiantly pulling the wheels b4 next outing to check .
Do I just jack it on the frame next to the wheel I am pulling?

My manual says "on the frame next to the spring hanger."

Wow I thought you were not supposed to put the Jack on the Axle tube .
So what are you to do?
Although my Cougar is 10 months old & less than 300 miles I will be defiantly pulling the wheels b4 next outing to check .
Do I just jack it on the frame next to the wheel I am pulling?

Most everyone on this forum are VERY meticulous about maintenance on their rigs, myself included, and most are DIY's.
OP came to the wrong place to vent.

westend wrote:
What a load of self-serving BS.

The guy uses the trailer for two years, 6-8 trips a year, the last trip being 280 miles. No where in his tale did he state, "I checked them regularly" or "I looked at them on my last trip". Basically, he couldn't be bothered. He waits to the 5th, after his fishing trip is completed and the technician finds the damage of his negligence. He had three days to jack the axle up and look at what was wrong but couldn't be bothered. He states it was a family crisis. How so, they stayed at the campground for another five days. He's parked 280 miles from home, a five hour drive but can't figure out how to get home? Too much bother to think about it, I guess.

It shouldn't surprise me, I have a dim view of real estate agents but this guy must be the ultimate in laziness. I'm glad to see that others on the Forum share some of my views about this character. This fool got about half of what he deserved and it's good that he put his business into the mix, That should turn out well....not.

"Family in crisis" in his blog post. That was pretty dramatic...........and silly. :R

What a load of self-serving BS.

The guy uses the trailer for two years, 6-8 trips a year, the last trip being 280 miles. No where in his tale did he state, "I checked them regularly" or "I looked at them on my last trip". Basically, he couldn't be bothered. He waits to the 5th, after his fishing trip is completed and the technician finds the damage of his negligence. He had three days to jack the axle up and look at what was wrong but couldn't be bothered. He states it was a family crisis. How so, they stayed at the campground for another five days. He's parked 280 miles from home, a five hour drive but can't figure out how to get home? Too much bother to think about it, I guess.

It shouldn't surprise me, I have a dim view of real estate agents but this guy must be the ultimate in laziness. I'm glad to see that others on the Forum share some of my views about this character. This fool got about half of what he deserved and it's good that he put his business into the mix, That should turn out well....not.

The O.P. is certainly not alone in ignoring his axles.
Last year I went to help some friends change a flat tire on their 10 year old Fleetwood trailer.
When I had the flat in the air I spun the hub and heard "squeak, whine, squeak, squeak" and said 'Rich when is the last time you had these hub greased"
His response "they are supposed to be greased?"

Year before last another friends tear-drop came into camp on a flat-bed...the hub had seized as he had -never- done any maintenance on it either.
We ended up swapping in a new axle at camp, lotsa fun, in a farmers field.

JJBIRISH wrote:
“I think this thread probably should also hit the Moderators cutting room floor..”

The one part of your post I don’t agree with…

actually as ridiculous as the thread is, it is one of the more useful ones in a while... in that over 300 have read it and maybe it will cause at least one reader to understand that they have responsibilities after the sale to…

I have to agree.
Locking threads that are still constructive or eye opening should not be locked just because it may not make everyone feel good.

While I will withhold my opinion on who's to blame, let me see it's been an entertaining read on my Sunday afternoon!

“I think this thread probably should also hit the Moderators cutting room floor..”

The one part of your post I don’t agree with…

actually as ridiculous as the thread is, it is one of the more useful ones in a while... in that over 300 have read it and maybe it will cause at least one reader to understand that they have responsibilities after the sale to…

marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:
Not sure I understand the issue. I have worked as an ASE master tech for a Mazda Volvo dealer (granted not an RV dealer) but still.

If a trailer sits for 5 years and has 50 miles on it, there is no reason to lube the axles. The lube doesn't go bad or leak out.
My trailer gets a squirt of grease every few trips. My boat trailer gets a shot every outing, but it sits in water for 8 hours at a time.

The issue is not always with preventative maintenance or dealer not willing to repair something. Many times a part will just flat out fail !!!! In that case who are you gonna blame?
It is called life. Things happen in life. If your kidney fails, who are you gonna blame?

You can buy a brand new car and have a part fail in 2 weeks, or have that same part last 25 years. It might not be anyones fault.

There is no info on this thread if the OP had to pay or if it was covered. Either way it is not a "disaster".

Blaming an entire rv manufacturer for an axle bearing going bad is crazy. They don't make the axle or bearing, they source it from someone.

The OP is beating their chest in anger since the trailer manufacturer was not willing to reimburse them for "ruining" their trip nor willing to make an exception to a warranty which ran out a month before the disaster happened. On top of that the OP ADMITTED to NOT DOING THE REQUIRED MAINTENANCE spelled out in said warranty.

IF the OP HAD done the maintenance they WOULD have found either a defective bearing or found not enough grease in the bearings BEFORE a disaster happened.

Wheel bearings can and do fail, sometimes it is defects, sometimes it is not enough grease but most often it is LACK OF MAINTENANCE. You do need to pull the drums and check the brake shoes and the drum surfaces. This should be done on a yearly basis regardless of how few miles been driven.

In PA we have to get a annual safety inspection, this inspection REQUIRES the mechanic to PULL TWO drums (one on each side) to inspect the brakes. I tend to pull all four before the inspection just to make sure it will pass. I find that is a good time to clean, inspect and repack the bearings.

While it stinks to be broke down, the manufacturer is not guilty of being negligent to ensure quality of said bearing since it MADE IT PAST the warranty period. The manufacturer is done with their end of the obligation, end of story.

The OP did not make their case any better by admitting to the manufacturer they did not do any maintenance. I don't blame the manufacturer for not giving any "goodwill", heck they would go out of business if they "offered" free repairs for the LIFE of said trailer.

Folks like the OP assume you simply buy a RV, roll it off the lot and you never have to do anything to it ever.. Most likely the OP will be back in a year or so complaining about water damage from leaks and how cheap the manufacturer was to not cover them.. Which is another maintenance item which NEEDS to be done but most likely will not..

Frustrating, sure, but life changing, devastating or ruining a trip.. no.

If you can't handle some ROUTINE MAINTENANCE every 6 months to a year OR a POTENTIAL BREAK DOWN then you better sell the RV and use Hotels.

OP, fix it, maintain it and move on. Life's to short for this nonsense.

I think this thread probably should also hit the Moderators cutting room floor..