Got back from a trip to NC and through I 95 and I 40 we hit some awful potholes. Bad enough to break the belts in a brand new front tire on my truck. I noticed on a weekend trip 3 weeks after we returned that the 5th wheel seems to be towing angled towards the drivers side. The rear looks like it is a few inches farther to the drivers side as I can see the whole side of the camper and in the passenger mirror I can only see the front corner. I measured the distance between the wheels and it is the same on both sides so if the axles moved they moved evenly. Anyone ever had this problem and how did it get corrected?
5th Wheel axles moved?
- Thread starter BillGott
- Start date
Re: 5th Wheel axles moved? or dually axle moved?
Look at your pickup's axle. Look at or measure the distances between the sides of the tire and the wheel well. A sheared pilot pin in the leaf springs will could have happened from the potholes.
Did you have any vibration in the pickup? Did you feel the vibration in the steering wheel or your seat?
Also did you have to keep your steering wheel off-center to drive straight?
Look at your pickup's axle. Look at or measure the distances between the sides of the tire and the wheel well. A sheared pilot pin in the leaf springs will could have happened from the potholes.
Did you have any vibration in the pickup? Did you feel the vibration in the steering wheel or your seat?
Also did you have to keep your steering wheel off-center to drive straight?
BigGuy82
Well-known member
I've never had the problem, but I do believe your coach has CorrectTrack. If so, take it to the dealer and have him check alignment with lasers.
danemayer
Well-known member
Sounds like you've broken something in the suspension, or maybe flipped the shackle links on one side of one axle. Take a very, very close look at all the springs, shackle links, hangers, etc. and compare the front and rear and the side to side for differences. It's also possible you've bent an axle, but that can be hard to see.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Post some pics here, maybe folks can help you by seeing something you're not familiar with.
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dave10a
Well-known member
The centering bolt that holds the springs together is grade 2 steel and shears very easily. This is a common problem with RV trailer axels when hitting pot holes and obstruction on the road. It is easy to check that by determining if the axel is centered on the spring and the u bolts could be deformed. Also it is relatively easy to repair if that is the case
BigGuy82
Well-known member
Interesting. Is that designed to do that (like a shear pin) or is it just poor engineering?
dave10a
Well-known member
It is not designed to be shear pin and is simply a cost saving matter IMHO. BTY if it was design to be a shear pin the auto mfgs would be doing it. The suspension is suppose to hold up under hazards like pot holes. Automobiles do a much better job that RV trailers at dealing with road hazards..
danemayer
Well-known member
dave10a,
I've been reading nearly every post on this forum for over 5 years and the number of posts about spring pack centering bolt failures that I can recall is zero. Over the years I've read about a handful of spring pack failures of one kind or another; usually a broken leaf. So I don't know where "common problem" comes from.
BigGuy82
Well-known member
Don't know about any of that, but I do know that I wouldn't use a grade 2 bolt for anything. I only use 5 and 8. If they are in fact using grade 2, it is penny wise ...
beasleyrl
Well-known member
I had a center pin fail a few years ago on my 2009 Cyclone. I thought I had some better pics but these will give you some idea of the issue. In these, you can at least see the centering bolt in the first pic and then the impact once the U-bolts were removed here (the springs fell apart). Over the years on that Cyclone, I experienced either a broken spring or shear of that center pin at least once per year (and several years multiple times). And before anyone asks, yes, the rig was weighed multiple times and never over weight. Heartland even replaced all the springs the first year (yes - 6 of them) because they thought the springs were all defective.
Regardless, when the center pin failed, the axles did exactly as described in the original post.
BigGuy82
Well-known member
Just curious why you didn't replace with grade 5 or 8.
beasleyrl
Well-known member
Easy- I'm not a mechanic and didn't know that was even an option... I was still in learning mode at that point and hadn't connected that dot. It's interesting to note that we traded that rig on another Cyclone about a year and a half ago and haven't had the problem since. And, to make it more interesting, the new Cyclone is nearly 2000 pounds heavier. I assume that something in the design changed because we haven't changed the way we load the rig or travel.
dave10a
Well-known member
The marking of the bolt in you picture appears to have 3 lines which means it is a grade 5 bolt. The bolts on my Landmark have no marking which means they are grade 2 bolts. The folks at Tampa Spring in Florida tell me that travel trailer usually have grade 2 bolts. They repair springs from semi's to travel trailer while having an large supply of centering bolts of all sizes. Great place to get parts. BTY I called Dexter when I had a problem and they told me that the centering bolt was not replaceable and that I should replace the entire spring. I went to Tamp Spring to order the spring and they simply said that who ever I talked to did not provide the right guidance or solution. The Tampa Spring folks gave me the bolt, free of charge, and I did the repair on my trailer.
