Axle replacement and alignment

[Jeff & Gail]

Dexter gave me two axles for replacement of axles showing camber toe issues (strange tire wear). Putting axles on at my expense, got montana involved with possible axle alignment, 1 week of measuring they passed to lippert, 1 more week of measuring they said no problem. RV is at a axle alignment shop and using laser from king pin they say both axles slightly back to the right side. They believe need to reweld axle brackets to the tune of $2000. I don't know who to believe, thinking take trailer to Florida and see what happens to tire wear which is a 3500 mile round trip. Other side says suck it up and fix issue. Any thoughts?

[DQDick]

I'd find another shop and get a second opinion, but unfortunately I'll bet they're right.

[mhs4771]

Take it to MORryde and have them install their IS and forget all your woes. Then you would know that it was FIXED.

[Montana Man]

I would measure it myself. It can be done without fancy equipment. It would help to know how old the unit is. If taking it on that trip, I would document tread depth across each tire before and after the trip. Use a depth gauge, eyeballing isn't good enough. 3500 miles should give an indication. If tread wear was real bad before I would check every leg of the trip.

If indeed the hangars are off a good welding shop can fix that for way cheaper. I'm not sure but a Correct Trac system may be able to adjust alignment enough. No need to spend 2 to 6k on this issue.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

Take it to MORryde and have them install their IS and forget all your woes. Then you would know that it was FIXED.

As stated above, if you want to be done with your axle issues for ever, get your unit to Morryde and have their IS installed. Ours was done in June. and let me tell you the difference is night and day. Not only will your unit travel much smoother, they will do whatever it takes to make sure it is traveling down the road level.

Before the IS it was common place to find a fridge door open with some contents on the floor/The microwave door has been found open with the glass plate about to fall out/Kitchen faucet turned on by itself/Chairs moved around etc.

Right after the IS was installed, we traveled 750 mi in 2 days to our 2 week stay at Wellesley Island SP in NY. When we left Morryde, I put an empty plastic cup on the center of the kitchen counter and in barely moved in that 750 mi trip.

[Jeff & Gail]

Thanks for a the input. We are going to re measure after second axle is on.

[CalandLinda]

Checking your trailer's axle alignment can be an easy process. If you have not tried it before, the reference provides many different and easy procedures to follow.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...mageHoverTitle

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff & Gail

Thanks for a the input. We are going to re measure after second axle is on.

Let us know what you find.

[Jeff & Gail]

Thanks for the links on measuring. Using the king pin bac is how the alignment shop is measuring, its Montana and Lippert that need to change their measurement practices. We are inclined to get a realignment after the second axle is installed and I hope to watch to better understand the system. Alignment shop uses lasers and refers to tape measures as old school. I post the results probably next week, still waiting on second axle.

[Rondo]

We had our axles realigned by a pro trailer axle alignment shop here in Omaha and the rig has not shown any tire wear except for normal wear now. Balancing the wheels and having the axles aligned may be a little pricey but well worth the time, effort and money!

[Slow Hand]

I had bad tire wear on my Montana and I took it to a alignment shop and they didn't even unhook my truck. Alignment is perfect. I think you took it to the wrong shop. It only cost me about $300.

[Tom N OH]

Originally Posted by Slow Hand

I had bad tire wear on my Montana and I took it to a alignment shop and they didn't even unhook my truck. Alignment is perfect. I think you took it to the wrong shop. It only cost me about $300.

I’d like to see how they accomplished that feat. Every shop that I’ve seen do it had to have open access to the king pin. I won’t say it’s not possible. I certainly haven’t seen everything.

[Slow Hand]

I'm not sure but when they were done my tire wear was gone. It was bad on the outside of one tire and inside on a different tire and axle. This shop did big trucks not pick up trucks.

[Montana Man]

Most alignments are for camber. The pin has nothing to with it so they can leave you hitched up. They basically bend the axles to get the tires to ride even to the ground. Toe in/out would require a whole different process. Mine has been aligned and problem solved. $200.

[Tom N OH]

I see. So it wasn’t a full, all-angles alignment, just a caster adjustment.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by Tom N OH

I see. So it wasn’t a full, all-angles alignment, just a caster adjustment.

I have had two alignments done in the past. First one they did not use a laser machine and the truck was still hooked to the camper. They spray paint lines on the wheels while they're rolling and then use other devices so they can adjust the camber and the toe by bending the axles. They cannot adjust caster.

The second alignment was for the mor ryde is toe and camber can be adjusted using shims.

Fyi, the toe in or toe out is what wears tires out the most ,not camber.

[Tom N OH]

Originally Posted by beeje

I have had two alignments done in the past. First one they did not use a laser machine and the truck was still hooked to the camper. They spray paint lines on the wheels while they're rolling and then use other devices so they can adjust the camber and the toe by bending the axles. They cannot adjust caster.

The second alignment was for the mor ryde is toe and camber can be adjusted using shims.

Fyi, the toe in or toe out is what wears tires out the most ,not camber.

Camber, yes. Autocorrect got me there. If I were spending the money to get my trailer aligned, I would expect the full treatment. Checking camber, toe & thrust angles. Correct camber &/or toe are worthless if the thrust angles are not correct.

[phillyg]

$2000 to change the spring hangars on one side is outrageous. You can easily use the tape measure method to first determine if they are out. I suspect they are as that's what probably caused the tire wear in the first place. If they're out, take it to a truck spring specialist and tell them how far to move the hangars, or have them remeasure to confirm before cutting.

[Jeff Csillag]

Originally Posted by Slow Hand

I had bad tire wear on my Montana and I took it to a alignment shop and they didn't even unhook my truck. Alignment is perfect. I think you took it to the wrong shop. It only cost me about $300.

Slow Hand,
I see we live in the same town. I had to replace my axles and I took my trailer to Stockton to a place to have them bent into alignment. I paided about the same and they adjusted camber and toe. Caster was good. But I did disconnect from the truck . I have a Montana HCFW. Where did you take yours too?
Jeff

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by beeje

Fyi, the toe in or toe out is what wears tires out the most ,not camber.

I would disagree. Toe or camber will wear tires. Normally tire wear on trailers is due to bent axles causing camber misalignment.

Caster is basically a non issue with straight axles as they do not steer on trailers.