Axle Roll

[Only1Fig]

While taking my Cyclone 3912 to the dealer this morning, my rear axle rolled and slide back to the spring hanger which kept me from loosing my axle completely. While I was getting my axle put back in place, one of the mechanics there said this was the 3rd Cyclone he has seen this happen to in the last 2 weeks. This is in the Allentown Pa area. My question is has anyone else had this problem? And is this a recall issue? And no the axles were not overloaded there was nothing in the garage area.

 

[boatdoc]

We had it happen on our way home from the dealer after picking it up NEW. Truth is, we and the dealer don't know when it happened, on our way home or the unit being brought in from the factory. Heartland stepped up and put a NEW axel under it, 4 new springs, hardware and one tire that had been rubbing on the shock for who knows how long. I might add this was all done in lightening speed so we could follow on with plans we had made for our winter visit South. Happy Camping

 

[racefan]

Yes this happened to me last weekend.

 

[branson4020]

It is not a "recall issue". The federal regulations governing automotive recalls do not apply to trailers.

 

[caissiel]

I have concluded that the trailer springs and shackles are designed for use under the axle application and now the travel trailers have to have the axles under the springs in order to have over the wheel clearance for the slides. When the u-bolts are thighten the plates apply presure on the loading side of the spring plies, contrary to under the axle setup the u-bolt actualy help in the loading side of the springs. As the springs get loaded the u-bolts can only loosen up as the plies bend downward. I have noticed that the axle saddle is much shorter then the spring plate thus allowing the plies to bend much closer to the center then when the plates are supported with the u-bolts with under the axle arrangement.

On the trucks that have the springs over the axle there is a heavy overload plate of about 1/2" thick that keeps everything thight.

If the trailer manufacturer are reading this maybe they should look at this situation and determine if I make sense with this observation.

 

[Willym]

While taking my Cyclone 3912 to the dealer this morning, my rear axle rolled and slide back to the spring hanger which kept me from loosing my axle completely. While I was getting my axle put back in place, one of the mechanics there said this was the 3rd Cyclone he has seen this happen to in the last 2 weeks. This is in the Allentown Pa area. My question is has anyone else had this problem? And is this a recall issue? And no the axles were not overloaded there was nothing in the garage area.

What exactly did you see? Had the U bolts and tie plate dissappeared or had the bolts just loosened or stretched to allow the axle to move back along the spring? I'm curious because I lost my U bolts on one side of an axle on my SOB recently, and with the axle above the spring pack, the tyre got forced up against the trailer bottom and smoked quite a bit until I was able to get off the road. I see the axle being under the spring as a more secure arrangement. However as Cassiel points out, the U bolts could loosen as the springs are loaded. Certainly we need to check the torque on those U bolts as part of the maintenance schedule.

 

[Only1Fig]

Slow to respond, but the axle slide back along the springs, this was a Lippert Product and I played @1!1@ to get it resolved because of warranty issues . It happened at the end of September2007,I took delivery and paid for the unit at the end of October 2007, their claim was it was out of warranty in mid September 2007 when I ordered it, wasn't even built yet, now I have been reading that it starts when it is made at Lippert which could mean that these component could be out of warrenty before you take delivery.Any way somebody paid for it but not me, but took longer to resovle then it should have. Never had that issue with the trucks that I bought. I believe it might have been a torque issue with the u-bolts, called Lippert Tech Support and got the torque spec's for the U bolts which I believe are 45ft-lbs to 70ft-lbs, I have it written down in the unit some where, anyway when I got the unit back I went underneath and check the torque on the other 2 axles and they were under 45ft-lbs I torqued them up to spec and check them before I go on a trip coming and going so far no problems.With the axle that is.
Now I just got a recall notice from Heartland that my axles are mislabled that the axle that I thought I paid for are not rated for 5200lbs but are only good for 5080lbs and by the way this is being sent in accordance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act as per my letter, which someone noted does not apply to rv's They sent me a nice sticker to put over my original that states the new axle weight. I would have preferred them to say that they were going to replace my axles with the 5200 lbs. ones that I payed for.I don' think the sticker is strong enough to make up the weight difference Any way I hope this helps

 

[rvv]

Now I just got a recall notice from Heartland that my axles are mislabled that the axle that I thought I paid for are not rated for 5200lbs but are only good for 5080lbs and by the way this is being sent in accordance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act as per my letter, which someone noted does not apply to rv's They sent me a nice sticker to put over my original that states the new axle weight. I would have preferred them to say that they were going to replace my axles with the 5200 lbs. ones that I payed for.I don' think the sticker is strong enough to make up the weight difference Any way I hope this helps

Just got my Safety Recall Letter this morning. Spoke to Steve Kennel at the Heartland Warranty/Service Department. I stated that a sticker was not an acceptable remedy. I said I thought we should be given axles rated at least for 5200 lbs. That's what we had purchased. He said Heartland wouldn't be able to do that. He would note my complaint. He asked for my VIN and my telephone number. I then called my dealer. Although the Safety Recall letter refers to "your dealer" at least twice, MY dealer stated he had no knowledge of the recall. He would not be able to help me either. The 5200 lbs. axles are really not adequate; Heartland seems to agree since the spec's for later 3912's and other 3 axle Cyclones show 6000 lbs. axles being used. I hope you and other Cyclone owners will contact me with your thoughts on this issue at 417 Tracy Street, Audubon, IA 50025 or by reply on this forum. Together we may be able to work something out. Lance

 

[MrBill]

Lance, I got the same letter about my axles. I called my dealer, he hadn't heard about it and asked for some time to check it out. He got back to me and said he had called Heartland to get a copy of the letter sent to me. He totally agrees that I'm not getting what I paid for and deserve new axles. He was going to contact both Lippert and Heartland again and would get back to me. No information yet. I'm expecting to hear something this week. I believe this is Lipperts problem, not Heartlands. My axles have the tag that states they can carry 5200 lbs so Lippert definitely is at fault but Heartland should push Lippert to fix things.

 

[crazybanshee]

Received my letter this weekend. Would be interested in getting something done also.
Doug

 

[RVLiven]

Do you still own your 2008 3912?

 

[ultrafarmer]

My 3210 has 6000 lb. axle's. I am glad of that. I had to rebuild all the shackle's but all is well now. I had 6,000 miles on it.