Cruiser RV axles.. Could my axle be one of the problem ones?

When I bought our cruiser used, all the tires were new. How nice. After a bit of traveling, I noticed uneven wear on the inside of both tires on one of the two axles. Obviously, the axle was off and instead of fixing the problem, somebody hid the problem and sold the RV. So I bought a new axle, and things have been fine ever since.

If you have thin axles, there could be an issue, it would look about an inch in diameter. The axle tends to bend and/or be out of alignment and you get premature tire wear. If the axles look 2.5-3 inches think then you have larger ones which seem to have fewer problems but that does not mean there could not be issues. If you think you are having an issue, keep an eye on it and get it looked at. Good luck.

Ill set an appt in the morning to be sure.

Ive out 1000 miles on it. I want it fixed before there is time for them to blame me.

I don’t know about thin axles, but almost all of the axle tubes that are used for our RV’s are 2 3/8 OD with a 3/16 wall tube (small), and rated at 3500 lbs.…
Above 3500 lbs. up to 5200 lbs. will almost without exception be a 3inch tube with a 3/16” wall (larger)…
When you get into 6000 and 7000 lb. axles you may run into be 3inch tube with ¼” wall or larger OD tubes…
Of course there are smaller tubes for lighter axles that we don’t see too often especially on tandem axle trailers… however bent axles on RV trailers are not all that uncommon… the bend easily and are usually loaded to near the axle limits because of how the trailers are weight rated by reducing the tongue weight from the axle weights…
Hopefully you don’t have a problem getting it fixed but they may not automatically assume responsibility because of low mileage… the do bend easily and it can be caused by the road conditions, curbing, hitting CG tree roots, rocks or stumps, and other things… the axle could be positioned wrong instead of bent and create the same situation…

Good luck

All, here is what Lippert came back with. This is bull****. What does this testing consist of? Now i'm at the mercy of Lippert and who they want to invoice to do the work?

"I have reviewed the additional pictures that Tim has sent. After looking at the pictures it appears that the axles do have camber, but it also looks like the front axle may have been put in a very hard or sharp turn condition, meaning that it was binding in one spot more than the other side of the axle. Here is what I can do. I can authorize a replacement axle beam, however, I will request that the axle beam in question be returned for testing. If it’s determined that the axle beam was bent or damaged as of a result of being put in a binding or stressed condition then the repairs would not be covered under warranty. Please let me know if you find this acceptable and I will contact the dealership and have them order the part. The dealership will have to order and pay for the parts up front. If the beam test bad then we will pay the claim under warranty. "

You can have it professionally aligned at a heavy duty truck/trailer suspension shop for little more than the cost of freight and labor to install a new one which may or may not be straight when it comes from Lippert. In addition they will check and adjust all 3 alignment factors. Tracking, toe and camber on both axles. If you think your axle was out out of spec when installed why waste $$$ on another one that could be the same?

B.O.

That'll fix the camber issue?

DatacomGuy wrote:
That'll fix the camber issue?

Yes. When my Lippert axles were out of alignment I had them realigned at a shop that specializes in it. The tech guy told me that the axle material was soft so he said he put some extra camber in. They can manipulate the axles anyway they need to. It's done with chains and hydraulic pumps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRyTeqYuGBk

It's a long way from 2015 and you have an axle problem on a 2015 model? Is it a camber issue or toe in/out? You should not have to put up with this, especially if it's a known problem. Axles are a known weak point on TTs and sometimes manufacturers have even been known to use too small a rating compared to the actual weight they carry. Axle tubes are paper thin and can easily be damaged. A spindle can sometimes be bent too.

Lippert likes to say those sorts of things about frames and suspensions and that it's simply the owner's fault. It's partly the RV manufacturer's fault too because they spec out what they want, but Lippert would know if it's too weak and shouldn't really be used. Lots of stories out there about frame and related problems and the RV manufacturer simply flips you over to a 3rd party (Lippert) which you have no direct contractual relationship with.

There's no way a tight turn should damage an axle. Tight turns happen all the time, especially when getting into or out of a CG site. Sometimes the frame/suspension design contributes to axle problems. Lack of I-beam reinforcement, tall spring hangers and under-slung axles (axle on bottom) can aggravate things as there is more movement in the frame and spring hangers which forces the axle tubes to bend. To illustrate what I mean, pic 1 below is a tight turn pulling out of a CG site. Pic 2 is at a frame shop and they pushed on the side of the TT with a forklift. The frame design allowed the spring hangers to bend so much, they forced the axle tube to bend. In a tight turn, the axles are at significantly different turning radii and one axle gets dragged across the road surface.

I highly recommend going to a certified frame & axle shop and pay for a detailed inspection and report. Then send the report c/w pics to the dealer and the factory. You need to find the right person at the factory though. The sooner you do this, the better so they have less reason to blame you.

Also look underneath at your suspension and see if anything doesn't look right. The spring hangers should be perfectly vertical for ex. Check the axle rating, it looks like they should be at least 4,000 lbs each. You might get your tongue weight and gross (actual) TT weight by going to a scale and then you will find out how much weight the axles are actually carrying.

If you go to a frame shop and it turns out nothing is damaged or incorrectly built at the factory, one thing you can do is tie the bottom of the spring hangers together with a cross-member. Mor/Ryde has a kit or you can make your own. Mor/Ryde X-member This will significantly reduce the axles from bending and in the long run, reduce abnormal tire wear.

If you are going to replace the axles, I would upgrade to at least one size up in axle rating. The only downside to this is that you may have to go from 5 to 6 lug wheels, or 6 to 8 lug depending on what you have now. Don't know if you have Dexter or Al-Ko axles but there is axle info. here. Click on "leaf spring" on upper left and it will take you to axle specs. Al-Ko axle info. If your axle is bent, I would not want to have it straightened. This should not happen on such a new unit and if it's been bent once already, it can happen again. New axles are relatively cheap.

Great info, thank you. To answer the question, it's negative camber. Tops of the tires pointing inward with axle sagging.