trailer axles
Hi, I have a 2011 keystone summerland. I have noticed that when I go around curves like a coldest that the front and rear axles are not aligned. They have a different camber. But after driving in a ...
Forum Discussion
This is my take on this phenomena.
It may be kind of "normal" in the sense that it does happen a lot, but IMO it's not good. When you go around a corner, each axle has a different turning radius. One axle and set of tires will literally be dragged sideways across the pavement. If the tires go out of camber, it's because something is bending, and when steel is forced to bend all the time, that is definitely not good.
When this happens, the bottom of the spring hangers get forced sideways. If you have over-slung axles and the taller 6" spring hangers, the effect is worsened due to increased leverage. The axle tubes are paper thin and they will flex. With continual flexing of the spring hangers side to side over time, the vertical web of the I-beam will be forced to flex and will eventually develop fatigue cracks. If you have a lite-weight TT with the I-beams fabricated from 3 pieces of mild sheet steel and look like a normal I-beam, these are very susceptible to developing cracks. Often, the cross-bracing between the I-beams does not have gussets. If you look at photos of frame cracks, you will see that the cracks (which run lengthwise) are right where the cross-bracing is attached behind the I-beam. This point becomes a pivot point.
If you see this happening, first inspect the I-beams immediately above the I-beams for signs of cracks. Then you can consider strengthening the frame. Cross-bracing between the bottom of the left and right spring hangers will help. Mor/Ryde makes them or you can make your own.
Gussets welded onto the side of the beams above the hangers helps. A length of 2x2 welded to the underside of the I-beams between the hangers helps. Some frames come from the factory this way, while many have no additional bracing or stiffening at all.
You can take a straight-edge and put it on top of the lower I-beam flanges above the hangers. If your hangers have been flexing a lot, you will find the I-beams are distorted.
When you are towing your TT, does the tail end seem to bob up and down a lot? That can be a sign of vertical flex in the I-beams. The longer a TT is, the more this can potentially happen, especially with the "fabricated" I-beams. If this happens, it will transfer movement to the TT superstructure and even cause damage to aluminum framing. Adding shock absorbers to tame the vertical movement would help minimize any potential damage to the superstructure.
If your TT seems to have a lot of "bounce" when set up with the stab. jacks down, that can be another sign of a flexing frame.
Lite-weight TTs can often be close to the GVWR when all loaded up. Sometimes you can end up overloaded simply by towing with one full holding tank. Overloading of course puts even more stress on a frame.
If you do indeed have excessive spring hanger movement, it is hard on the spring bushings and they can fail prematurely, and in some cases, fairly quickly.
Not only can frame cracks happen, I suspect that over many miles of towing, the hangers will move sideways even while driving in a straight line due to the weight of the TT moving side to side, creating a sideways lateral force on the hangers. The result can be increased tire wear. To the best of my knowledge, nobody out there has studied this - tire professionals or TT owners. The more a person can do to minimize hanger movement, the longer your frame and tires will last.
If you do some googling for TT frame cracks, you will find that they typically crack just above the spring hangers. What I described above is why. The frame manufacturers simply build the lightest and cheapest frames they can unless a savvy TT manufacturer specifies something better. If you are still under warranty on a TT and nhave frame problems and you try to make a warranty claim, often the frame manufacturer will simply tell you that you must have overloaded your frame and it's your fault. Some are completely unaware of what's going on until something breaks or prematurely wears out (tires, eg.) and then they say "what the @#$%".
It may be kind of "normal" in the sense that it does happen a lot, but IMO it's not good. When you go around a corner, each axle has a different turning radius. One axle and set of tires will literally be dragged sideways across the pavement. If the tires go out of camber, it's because something is bending, and when steel is forced to bend all the time, that is definitely not good.
When this happens, the bottom of the spring hangers get forced sideways. If you have over-slung axles and the taller 6" spring hangers, the effect is worsened due to increased leverage. The axle tubes are paper thin and they will flex. With continual flexing of the spring hangers side to side over time, the vertical web of the I-beam will be forced to flex and will eventually develop fatigue cracks. If you have a lite-weight TT with the I-beams fabricated from 3 pieces of mild sheet steel and look like a normal I-beam, these are very susceptible to developing cracks. Often, the cross-bracing between the I-beams does not have gussets. If you look at photos of frame cracks, you will see that the cracks (which run lengthwise) are right where the cross-bracing is attached behind the I-beam. This point becomes a pivot point.
If you see this happening, first inspect the I-beams immediately above the I-beams for signs of cracks. Then you can consider strengthening the frame. Cross-bracing between the bottom of the left and right spring hangers will help. Mor/Ryde makes them or you can make your own.
Gussets welded onto the side of the beams above the hangers helps. A length of 2x2 welded to the underside of the I-beams between the hangers helps. Some frames come from the factory this way, while many have no additional bracing or stiffening at all.
You can take a straight-edge and put it on top of the lower I-beam flanges above the hangers. If your hangers have been flexing a lot, you will find the I-beams are distorted.
When you are towing your TT, does the tail end seem to bob up and down a lot? That can be a sign of vertical flex in the I-beams. The longer a TT is, the more this can potentially happen, especially with the "fabricated" I-beams. If this happens, it will transfer movement to the TT superstructure and even cause damage to aluminum framing. Adding shock absorbers to tame the vertical movement would help minimize any potential damage to the superstructure.
If your TT seems to have a lot of "bounce" when set up with the stab. jacks down, that can be another sign of a flexing frame.
Lite-weight TTs can often be close to the GVWR when all loaded up. Sometimes you can end up overloaded simply by towing with one full holding tank. Overloading of course puts even more stress on a frame.
If you do indeed have excessive spring hanger movement, it is hard on the spring bushings and they can fail prematurely, and in some cases, fairly quickly.
Not only can frame cracks happen, I suspect that over many miles of towing, the hangers will move sideways even while driving in a straight line due to the weight of the TT moving side to side, creating a sideways lateral force on the hangers. The result can be increased tire wear. To the best of my knowledge, nobody out there has studied this - tire professionals or TT owners. The more a person can do to minimize hanger movement, the longer your frame and tires will last.
If you do some googling for TT frame cracks, you will find that they typically crack just above the spring hangers. What I described above is why. The frame manufacturers simply build the lightest and cheapest frames they can unless a savvy TT manufacturer specifies something better. If you are still under warranty on a TT and nhave frame problems and you try to make a warranty claim, often the frame manufacturer will simply tell you that you must have overloaded your frame and it's your fault. Some are completely unaware of what's going on until something breaks or prematurely wears out (tires, eg.) and then they say "what the @#$%".
