Axel Alignment Check - Montana Owners Club

Leaseit · 05-13-2009, 07:32 AM

Going through Goshen and would like to have the Axels checked for alignment. Having a little more wear on passenger side leading tire as compared to the other tires.

Does anyone know if Dexter would check them and the telephone number, or some other axel service place that does alex alignments i could call please..

Randy

blarkman · 05-13-2009, 07:53 AM

A good alignment shop for bigger rigs can do this. I had tire wear due to 'out of alignment' axles and they bent the axles to correct this. If u look under the rig their should be a slight bow or crown. A long straight edge will all give you an idea. I was told that the axles are not flat and it did cost me about $250. The shop I used backed the rig on the rack and did the work there, took about 3-4 hours
bob

OntMont · 05-13-2009, 08:14 AM

If you call Dexter, like I did, they will probably direct you to Bud's Auto Body, in Elkhart. We went there and I was not satisfied with the service they provided. I know other members who have been there, some were satisfied, some where not.

If it were me, I would call Larry Fox at Fox RV in Middlebury, IN and ask him if he knows of a good alignment shop in the area for RV trailers. Alignment is not a high tech operation, but you do need a service bay that is properly equipped to do the work.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 05-13-2009, 08:19 AM

My bet is that they will send you to Bud's.

I can say, if you don't have to, don't go to Bud's. We have NO faith in that business.

My appologies if I have the wrong name. OntMont, is that the right name?? (On edit, OntMont got his response posted before mine, Bud's it is!)

Dexter, AlKo and Keystone, all seem to send to the same business. Our experience was less than stellar, and know that others here on the MOC had the same experience. Others on MOC will say, no trouble, okkkkk, you pay your $$, you take your chances.

For those that don't want to believe the Mrs., pretend that CountryGuy wrote this. I am being kind in what I am saying about this place, add a little fire and brimstone around the edges and you will come close to how strongly Al and I feel about the ripoff we experienced here.

They charged us to fix 2 axles, and only did one. The second one was out of align as well, but they did not fix it. The fix on the axle they did do was what many would call a "hack" job, it was not a nice even curve when they were done, not sure how to describe it, but the word "point" comes to mind.

The total time the spent "fixing" Tana was less than 1.5 hours, I don't recall the fee. And unlike blarkman's experience there was no rack to back onto. They would not let us in the shop at all, so, I cannot remember if there was a below terrain work area, think they worked on the floor on their backs???

Please remember, this post is the result of our experience and is our opinion.

Good luck Leaseit.

old turbo · 05-13-2009, 10:43 AM

Try a big rig suspension shop. If they can align a big box trailer they should be able to do a rv. The 5vr is nothing more than a big box. I will get mine done in a few days as I prepare for a trip to Yellowstone. I know I need one as the roads on my trip from Texas to MI, were the pits. The shop I take mine to will do light, medium and heavy duty trucks busses, trailers and rv's

RKassl · 05-13-2009, 12:59 PM

I had my EZ Flex Upgrade done by a very reliable shop in our town. They said that if I never had an alignment check this would be a good time. They stated further that when they do Keystone axle work they have never seen a new axle come in specs from the factory. I assumed my alignment was OK, I was wrong they had to set the caster/camber and toe in/out on both axles, we have about 8000 miles on our Montana.

blarkman · 05-14-2009, 04:41 AM

It seems different shops have different ideas as how to take care of customers. In my case I had asked for before and after spec's, which they did and put on work order. They also took me into the pit and showed me what they were going to do and why.
Good luck
bob

8.1al · 05-14-2009, 02:19 PM

Please, Please, DON'T go to Bud's find someone else

dsprik · 05-14-2009, 05:18 PM

I also need alignment. Might wait until I get back down to the Orlando area and take it in to Josam Frame & Axle where I (along with Richfaa) took my Montana 1 1/2 yrs ago to get my Mor/ryde suspension replaced under warranty. They are Mor/ryde's choice in Central FL for service on their products and I was very pleased with their operation and service.

scattershot · 09-20-2009, 05:39 PM

Yeah, I'd wait until I was at a shop close to home, with recommendations. Axle alignment seems to be a problem for some reason. I had mine worked on here in Denver by Merrill Axle, and they did a fine job. I don't recall any exorbitant cost, either.

ARJ · 09-21-2009, 03:21 AM

My solution was to call every RV dealer in town and ask if they aligned axles (which none did and I knew they didn't). They all recommended the same alignment shop though and the shop checked both axles and aligned one. I was only charged for aligning one axle! The shop is Bear alignment in Grand Junction, CO.

RKassl · 09-21-2009, 04:53 AM

Got back about 2 weeks ago from a 6000 mile trip mountains and deserts, good roads and bad roads. The tires on the Monty look just great after the alignment and the EZ flex upgrade.

TLightning · 09-22-2009, 05:36 AM

You can go to Dexter's web site and find any authorized Dexter dealer in the country.

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