might need new axles

[mtheo]

Well I think the Monty might need new axles. All of a sudden I'm noticing a lot of wear on the inside of the back axle tires.
Just a bit of info. first, two months after our 2007 3000RK was built Keystone decided that the 5200 lb. axles on our trailer weren't heavy enough and they went to 6000 lb. axles. Back then in late 2006 when I contacted Keystone about it they said that they weren't under rated and they had changed for other reason, sure?????????
Question, has anybody in this situation had any luck getting Keystone to make this good? I have an extended warrentty and will be taking it to the dealer soon, when it won't interfer with one of our outings.

If have no problem changing the axle, that part would be easy, but I shouldn't have too. If they saw a problem and thought they needed upgrading, that should mean something.

[SlickWillie]

I recall someone on here with a Mountaineer having trouble with the 5200 lb axles. Our neighbor here has a 2005 Mountaineer with those axles, but no problem, as it sets here all the time.

[blarkman]

Crawl under the rig and look at the axles IF they are straight with no bow on top then u need an alignment or get a straight edge or board and see if the axle has an arch on top. The axle much be bowed on top or have an arch. A GOOD truck alignment shop will rearch or bend the axle to re set the alignment. I did this wnen we came back from Alaska, cost about $250

[mtheo]

The axles still have a bow in them, but maybe not enough. As for rebending them, i'm not sure, if they weren't heavy enough to begin with will rebending them stay.
If they don't take care of them I'll have to research the cost od axles myself.

[Carl n Susan]

Mark: I too had 5200 Lb. axles and after hearing stories about bending (and I run heavy), I choose to switch to 7000 Lb. axle tubes. Note: this is just the center tube, I am still using the original backing plates and brakes.. The wall thickness on the 7K axle is considerably thicker the the 5.2K one. The original brakes/drums are actually 6K rated ones and bolt onto any of the 5.2K, 6K, or 7K tubes.

The cost of the axles is actually pretty reasonable. Since there are so many ways for an axle to get bent, I choose not to start a fight with Montana and just did it.

[blarkman]

The bow should be about 3/4". This is a standard proceedure for aligning axles. I also have a 06, 3000rk and talked to Dexter who said the 5200 axles actually were heavier then rated on axle. Montana would not replace the axles but Morryde said the #16 blocks on my Montana were too hard and said I needed #12 which I did install in the end. I also have shocks on my rig whick did improve the ride considerably, no broken dishes or other damage.
bob

[sailer]

I had a 2006 3000RK and went through the 5200 lb axels and had to take it to a cat scale to prove the rear axel cares about 5900 lbs and the front cares about 4800 lbs so keystone finaly approved the new 600 lb axels in about may of 2007...after that we had no problems ,,get it on a cat scale to prove your weight and then send them copies of you bill of ladding;;;sailer

[rapidrobert]

We had 5200# axles on our 2880RL. Both of them bent. We installed 7000# pound Moryde IS axles. AlKo would only pay to have them replaced if I sent the old axles to them to be inspected and they agreed that they were defective.

[ljensen]

I had the same problems on my 3400 2007. I suspected the axle, it turned out to be the worn out bolt bushings. Get the wet bolt kit and have it installed you are going to need it anyway. I bet this fixes your problem my axles were out of allignment by as much as 2 inches at times with all bad bushings. I only had 20,000 miles on my rig.

[gregg-bean]

How can you tell what axels you have?Is there a tag or stamped in numbers on them?I have a 2007 mountaineer 342pht model now i'm worried.

[Jolu]

The axle rating may be on the sticker on the left front side of the rig. It is also stamped into the axle. If you get under the rig and clean some of road crud off the axle you will probably find the rating stamped on the back side of the axle near the center.

I am going through axle issues right now. What Carl states is the conclusion I am arriving at. My 6000lb axles are not enough for the 3150RL. The springs are also on the weak side. The 3150 pushes the limits. I have had my axles realigned recently. This is a temp fix. The wisdom of the better alignment shops will tell you after they are aligned and bent they are a little weaker and will go back out of alignment some place down the road.

Now when it is said the axles can be aligned that is correct. They can get them straight by wrapping a chain around them and use an air jack to tug and pull on them and bend them where they should be. Doing this leaves dents in the axle from the chain and this is part of the process. This tells me and the real experts that aligning can be done but not the best answer. These lighter axles are not designed to be aligned by bending on them. The axles come from Dexter or others already aligned to specs for the camber based on weight and other measurements. The caster has to be adjusted by moving the attachment points.

Sure I could probably go the warranty route and get new axles from Keystone. But like Carl did, I choose to not waste my brain cells dealing with Keystone or who ever the powers be going through the process of getting new 6000lb axle replacements which then I will have the same issues occur again. Not to mention the time involved for the rig sitting at a dealer. I am going with a 7000lb axle which has a heaver gauge tube and less prone to bending out of alignment. It did not take long for the tire wear to show up on my new GY 614s.

I did not have the rig weighed. Because I was not carrying anything to cause me to be over weight. All we had was the usual pots and pans and clothes. I did add about 450lbs worth of solar upgrade including batteries. Now if this is over weight then this trailer is so poorly designed it should not be on the market and the published weight specs are not true. None of us would get away with hauling less than what we did. The Honda 2000i and my small air compressor were hauled in the bed of the truck to keep weight down for the trailer.

If anyone is having tire wear issues it would be good to do a lot of checking around before you make your final decision. Aligning may not be the cure. A lot of it will depend on the weight of the rig and what you carry and most of all how much do you use your rig.

Joe

[simonsrf]

Mark,

I swapped my axles out too and we have one of the lighter weight trailers. Was told the wall thickness on the 5200 is ~1/8" where the 6000's and 7000's are ~1/4" thick. We also upgraded to heavier springs.

[mojavemike]

Hmmm, keystone engineers must have realized they messed up. My 2010 2955rl has 7K axles.

[sailer]

If you can save $1.00 on each unit ...add it up its all bean counters that make these desicions ;;;just as toyota bean counters did ..it cost lots ;;;sailer

[mtheo]

Where did you guys buy your axles and how much or did you have a shop do it. Install I can do,

[simonsrf]

quote:Originally posted by mtheo

Where did you guys buy your axles and how much or did you have a shop do it. Install I can do,

Mark,
Here is where I got mine in Washington state. They did it all. Cost with new axles, MorRyde Z brackets, wet-bolt kit, new springs, was about $1200 total.

http://local.yahoo.com/info-22072552-gitt-s-spring-company-auburn

[mojavemike]

quote:Originally posted by simonsrf

Mark,
Here is where I got mine in Washington state. They did it all. Cost with new axles, MorRyde Z brackets, wet-bolt kit, new springs, was about $1200 total.

http://local.yahoo.com/info-22072552-gitt-s-spring-company-auburn

To me, that doesn't sound bad.

[Carl n Susan]

My local RV parts place ordered them for me and the price was right @ $300 for the two of them.

I could give you the name of the place but likely you have a supplier closer to you.

[mojavemike]

quote:Originally posted by Carl n Susan

My local RV parts place ordered them for me and the price was right @ $300 for the two of them.

I could give you the name of the place but likely you have a supplier closer to you.

Does that include brakes and hubs complete?

[Carl n Susan]

No Mike,that was just for the axle tubes. I already had 6K brakes and hubs. I was just trying to strengthen the part that tends to bend.