Newbe QuietGiant here. I have a 2006 Gulf Stream Amerilite 24RS travel trailer. It has only been used for short trips to and from fairly local camp sites. I recently found that the trailer box was improperly mounted on the frame at the factory causing the sidewalls on one side to rub against the "box" of the trailer when turning or swaying. The result has been the literal melting of the sidewalls of the 2 right side tires down to the cords. Thank God we discovered this because, we were about to take a long trip out west. It is almost certain that the trip would have been enough to blow one or both tires and cause an injury or death crash. Has anyone heard of such a problem? I wonder how many other trailers left the factory with this issue and have gone undetected. Even after a wreck it would be hard to catch this defect.Also, I have no idea how I can correct this issue since the Gulf Stream Corp. has given me the unmistakable impression that they will not make any attempt to correct this. Any help you can provide is appreciated.

Kinda hard to picture. Any chance you could post a pic?

Maybe you could loosen the U bolts holding the axles on and slide the axle over a bit to give you some more clearance.Barney

Without seeing exactly what you are talking about, my first thought is to shift the axles enough to get the needed clearance.

Wrong size tires? We really need pics...

I have pix but working from a 1st gen iPad up in the woods & don't know how to attach the photos.Not wrong size tires (per manual) these are the original tires and wheels from the factory.Barney and Dtaylor's comment of shifting the axle sounds like a good fix but, would that change the way the trailer tracts?Thanks for your input.

Gulf Stream Amerilite defect? | Good Sam Community

westernrvparkow
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
Quietgiant wrote:
Any idea of the cost? Yes, I may be paying. My intention tho will be to get reimbursed either voluntarily or otherwise. Someone suggested to replace the existing wheels with two with a bigger offset to correct the spacing but, I thought that would cause other issues. Your thoughts?
Who do you expect to get re-imbursed from? The thing is 7 going on 8 years old, it won't be the manufacturer. I would also assume you recently bought it from either a dealer, who almost certainly had you sign an "as is" disclaimer, or you bought it from an individual who surely isn't going to start writing checks. Most likely will be a relatively easy fix, sounds like something shifted due to an impact, like running over a big curb at near highway speeds.
mooky_stinks
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
Quietgiant wrote:
I thought of the wheel spacers too. Do you know if spacers on one side would effect the tracking of the trailer?

No. Not one bit. If it's towing straight now, it'll tow straight with the spacers.
markandkim
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2013
You need to forget about getting paid by the manufacture, just wont happen.
Quietgiant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
I thought of the wheel spacers too. Do you know if spacers on one side would effect the tracking of the trailer?
mooky_stinks
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
If it's rubbing on the inside(not really clear) why not buy a couple wheel spacers. For anyone that doesn't know, they are discs that slide over the wheel studs and go between the drum and wheel. They come in different thickness. Usually 1/8-1/4". You can also use a couple on one wheel if needed. We used to use them on drag cars for when we needed a little rear tire clearance when running the widest tire possible. If the box was mounted incorrectly and there is no mechanical problem, this would be the easiest and cheapest fix that I can think of.
Quietgiant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
I checked the U bolts 1st and there was no sign of any shifting. The cause is the box was improperly mounted about 9/16 to one side of the frame. This ate up any tolerances that were built in the design.
RinconVTR
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
Quietgiant wrote:
I have pix but working from a 1st gen iPad up in the woods & don't know how to attach the photos.
Not wrong size tires (per manual) these are the original tires and wheels from the factory.
Barney and Dtaylor's comment of shifting the axle sounds like a good fix but, would that change the way the trailer tracts?
Thanks for your input.

If its shifting, that's an easy fix and will be obvious when looking at the area surrounding the u bolts. You'll see evidence of the axle moving with marks on the axle. Odds of this are slim, but possible. The quick fix is to tighten the u bolts. And checking they are tight will also confirm this is, or is not, part or all of of the root cause.
Quietgiant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
Any idea of the cost? Yes, I may be paying. My intention tho will be to get reimbursed either voluntarily or otherwise. Someone suggested to replace the existing wheels with two with a bigger offset to correct the spacing but, I thought that would cause other issues. Your thoughts?
BillB800si
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
If you're paying take it to a commercial tractor trailer shop and have them realign the tires/axles.
Quietgiant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
I have pix but working from a 1st gen iPad up in the woods & don't know how to attach the photos.
Not wrong size tires (per manual) these are the original tires and wheels from the factory.
Barney and Dtaylor's comment of shifting the axle sounds like a good fix but, would that change the way the trailer tracts?
Thanks for your input.

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