Axle Hanger Falling off and welds cracking
- Thread starter rdufek
- Start date
Wow what a poor job,my Brother who is a professional welder with all certifications just laughed at a job like this,no way this person was licensed,if so they should lose their certification.
It was not fixed properly the first time,I guess the person doing the repair was thinking out of site,out of mind.
Good luck in your current repair.
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
So I assume the repair was completed by now?
What did the shop do to fix?
Did the shop do more than just reattach the broken cross member?
Any photos?
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rdufek
Well-known member
As of December 22 it was still in the shop. It is a small shop and some campers came in broken down trying to get out of town and head south so he is trying to accommodate everyone. As I am in no hurry and my unit is inside a heated building I am ok waiting. I will definitely post pictures when I get it back and will definitely update this thread.
mylandmark
Member
I know this post is old but I have a 2015 Landmark, Key Largo. I take a car of my fifth wheel. When new, I installed 3 X-factor crossmember from Morryde. I installed the SRE-4000 suspension system + heavy duty shackles and greasable bolts + hydraulic brake. I now have 18,000 km on my Landmark. Last fall coming back from North Carolina, I saw that the Landmark was acting strange behind the truck. Stop at a rest area to find out that I had a rear broken hanger on the passenger side. The frame was ok and the weld seems to be ok. The hanger just broke. I sling the axle to the rear hydraulic jack and came back home very slowly. I did not want to go to the dealer because it is quite far from home and that even if they repair it, it will be with the same type of hanger. I went to a place where they specialized in RV suspension. Instead of a regular hanger, it was replaced with a triangular one and all the others were modified with a triangular plate welded to one side of the hanger. Iit spread the load on a larger surface of the frame. They did a good job and said it will be good for life now. They checked the alignment, it was ok even before the incident. I'm sorry, I can't find how to add pictures to this document. From what I see, it wants to get a URL instead of the actual images.
when I find how to post images, I will show you some images of my no-good Good year G614 that are completely gone at 18,000 km and that was before the axle incident. The tread is still very good at 10/32. The tire show no sign of cracking. It looks great but when you look closely, the sidewall on both side of the tires look like they have 60,000 km on them. And that is on all four tires and on both side of the tire. From what I can figured out, the side load is to much for theses tires and when I change lanes they run on the sidewall. My fifth wheel has about 6400 pounds on each axle (max 7000). I met a nice gentleman at a campground that had a Bighorn and he told me that he had the same problem with his tires and he changed them for the Sailun ST235/85R16. problem solved. That is my next move before the spring.
when I find how to post images, I will show you some images of my no-good Good year G614 that are completely gone at 18,000 km and that was before the axle incident. The tread is still very good at 10/32. The tire show no sign of cracking. It looks great but when you look closely, the sidewall on both side of the tires look like they have 60,000 km on them. And that is on all four tires and on both side of the tire. From what I can figured out, the side load is to much for theses tires and when I change lanes they run on the sidewall. My fifth wheel has about 6400 pounds on each axle (max 7000). I met a nice gentleman at a campground that had a Bighorn and he told me that he had the same problem with his tires and he changed them for the Sailun ST235/85R16. problem solved. That is my next move before the spring.
mylandmark
I have updated your user account so you can now add images.
With regard to your Goodyear tires, have you contacted Goodyear about a warranty claim on them? For the G614 and G114 product, most owners have been very satisfied with Goodyear's claim process and outcome. I don't think they'd make you buy Goodyear either. Worth checking into.
I have updated your user account so you can now add images.
With regard to your Goodyear tires, have you contacted Goodyear about a warranty claim on them? For the G614 and G114 product, most owners have been very satisfied with Goodyear's claim process and outcome. I don't think they'd make you buy Goodyear either. Worth checking into.
mylandmark
Member
Here is a picture of my broken hanger. Also a picture of a triangular hanger. more surface on the frame. Also I got some pictures of my goodyear G614 after 18,000 km. You can see that my tread are still good but the sidewall is in a bad shape. Like I said in the previous post, I am not overload. Today I received my new Sailun S637 commercial tires. WOW, they are heavy and very stiff. This is going to be way better than the Goodyear G614. Won't be hard to beat. Theses guy at Goodyear could not figured out why they were in such a shape. there was nothing in their manual that could explained it. I found this video online that explained how it happen. My best guest is that the sidewall of the G614 is not strong enough and that they ride on the sidewall not only during cornering but also when I change lanes on the highway
- - - Updated - - -
sorry forgot to post the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jx8xr7aQto
- - - Updated - - -
sorry forgot to post the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jx8xr7aQto
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Your GY tires look like every other G614 that I have seen including both sets that I have had. That outer wear was never an issue.
I've seen that wear pattern on Sailun tires as well.
After you have a bunch of miles on your new tires please come back and let us know how they wore.
Having said all that my next set will say Sailun on them.
Peace
Dave
I've seen that wear pattern on Sailun tires as well.
After you have a bunch of miles on your new tires please come back and let us know how they wore.
Having said all that my next set will say Sailun on them.
Peace
Dave
mylandmark
Member
There is no comparaison on the thickness of the tire lips on the sailun and goodyear. very thick. If I stand up on the sidewall of my G614 tire when it is flat on the ground (unmounted) , both lips will touch together easely. I weight 215 pounds. I tried the same thing on the Sailun. Not possible. The sailun is about 10 pounds heavier than the good year. For a tire that is the same size, there have to be more materiel in the Sailun. But i'm not an expert on tires. the only thing I can say is that, for me the wear on the sidewall of the G614 is not acceptable. Let me put some millage on these tires and I will come back at you. By the way, my Landmark key Largo was calling for 110 psi in the G614. I'm a thermal imagery technician. On one of my trip, I brought with me my Flir P640 infrared camera. I wanted to know if I could lower the pressure in theses tires to get a smoother ride for my Landmark. Inflated them to 100 psi. I drove about 400 miles and stop at a rest area to take some infrared reading along the tread of each tire The Flir can detect 0.5c difference. I immediately saw that I had a colder zone in the center of the tire. about 6.0c. I raise the pressure to 110 psi and the difference came to about 1.5c. Like I said before, I'm about 600 pounds per axle under maximum load. So even at 110 psi cold, it is still under inflated by maybe 5-10 psi. Since the new Sailun are 4400 pounds @ 110 psi, I will check again with my camera and adjust the pressure to get an even wear. If you try this with a regular infrared gun, it is going to be hard to see the difference. They are not sensitive enough. A thermometer will do a better job but make sure that you take the reading inside the treads. The surface of the tire cool down to fast. I will report my result in May when I'm back from North Carolina
danemayer
Well-known member
You must have the ST version of the S637 if the rating is 4400 lbs at 110 psi. You're not actually getting any additional load capacity. The same Sailun tire with an LT certification is rated at 3750 lbs - same as the G614. LT certification requires a 20% load rating margin not required for ST tires.
mylandmark
Member
Yep they are ST tires. Maybe in the US, Sailun still making the LT235/85R16 at 3750 pounds but in Canada they only sell the LT235/85R16 that is good for 3085 pounds max and the Commercial S637 that is good for 4400. Since I'm not an expert in tire, the only thing I can relate to is weight: they are around 10 pounds heavier so there must be more steel and rubber in thoses. And like I said before, For me..... the outer wear is not acceptable. This is my sixth fifth wheel and it is the first time I see this kind of wear. Time will tell but I'm pretty confident that the new Sailun will look better in 18,000 km than my Goodyear G614.
SNOKING
Well-known member
G614 weighs 57.5 pounds
S637 weighs 61 pounds
Couple others:
Michelin XPS RIB LT235/85R16 LRE (rated to 3042lbs) Weight 55.41
Bridgestone Duravis R250 LT235/85R16 LRE(rated to 3042lbs) Weight 60
New Goodyear 235/85R16 Goodyear Endurance(rated to 3640) Weight 44
And yes G614's seem to all wear the outer ribs.
Chris
mylandmark
Member
I kept my 4 G614 tires in case Goodyear decided someday to do something about my claim. It's been 3 months now. (25 of october) Just took one of my G614 this morning and put it on the scale. 55.7 pounds. I don't know if it is less because of all the rubber I lost on the outer ribs....... I did not put the Sailun on the scale before installation on the rim but this was a guess from me and the mechanic who install them. Let's say we made a mistake and the difference is 5 pounds instead of 10. Five pounds of steel in a tire could make a difference......I think........ It is almost 10% of the total. And if that 5 pounds is put at the right place.......well........maybe I will get stiffer sidewall.
Like I explained earlier, before the installation of the Sailun on my rims, both tire were flat on the floor. I stood up on the sidewall of the G614 and the rims lips on the tire were touching together. Did the same thing on the Sailun and not possible. Somebody might think that since my tire had already 18,000 km on them, it would be normal that they collapse like that. I'm not a tire expert but I have to say that if after 18,000 km and 2 seasons (sept 2015) the internal structure is already soft....... Goodyear G614 is not the tire I was hoping it would be. I think I gave the chance to theses G614 to perform like they should. I was hoping for 4 seasons and maybe 40,000 km. Now is time to give the chance to another company. It may be normal for theses G614 to have this kind of wear on the ribs but there is too much at stake here (safety) to accept this.
Like I explained earlier, before the installation of the Sailun on my rims, both tire were flat on the floor. I stood up on the sidewall of the G614 and the rims lips on the tire were touching together. Did the same thing on the Sailun and not possible. Somebody might think that since my tire had already 18,000 km on them, it would be normal that they collapse like that. I'm not a tire expert but I have to say that if after 18,000 km and 2 seasons (sept 2015) the internal structure is already soft....... Goodyear G614 is not the tire I was hoping it would be. I think I gave the chance to theses G614 to perform like they should. I was hoping for 4 seasons and maybe 40,000 km. Now is time to give the chance to another company. It may be normal for theses G614 to have this kind of wear on the ribs but there is too much at stake here (safety) to accept this.
SNOKING
Well-known member
The weights I posted are the manufactures listed weight. 1.8 pounds lost to tread wear is very possible. Chris
rdufek
Well-known member
FINALLY RESOLVED!!!! After being in the shop for 2 months, many many many many correspondents back and forth with my dealer and pictures, the axles hangers have been repaired. A third party repair shop reinforced all axle hangers per Dexters specifications. Pictures are attached. After showing my dealer the pictures of what happened, they agreed the recall was not performed to the proper specifications and agreed to reimburse me for the cost of the repairs. I know my problems stemmed from improper welding during the recall, which was performed by my dealer, I am very pleased with them for making things right.
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just a quick question,did the dealer have your unit suspension aligned to ensure it tracks straight and won’t wear your tires.I would ensure this step was or is completed.
Good luck and happy camping.
