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Topic ClosedAxle bend
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Carolavan View Drop Down
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Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Location: South Carolina
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Posts: 39 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Axle bend
    Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 4:28pm
Originally posted by mcarter

Make it fit???? Geez.


Yeah! They had to cut off the attachment brackets and put them where they should have been. Got their welder in from a day off after a bit of pushing on our part. A bit dodgy but I'm not going to wait three weeks for another one. Apparently the repair shop I was directed to by the roadside assistance folks sent the axle to the local trailer shop they work with, who placed the order with their wholesaler, who placed the order with Dexter - somehow along the way someone got the dimensions wrong. I guess we will never know who, because everybody is in full on ass-covering mode. It will be back on the road before noon tomorrow I'm assured.
2015 R-Pod 179
2016 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum

"It's a good thing we are going slowly because we might be going in the wrong direction." Ashliegh Brilliant
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 4:14pm
Make it fit???? Geez.
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Carolavan View Drop Down
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Posts: 39 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 3:59pm
Further update. Told by repairer late Friday that the new axle had arrived and would be installed Monday morning. Hightailed it to Alabama Sunday afternoon. Arrived at the repair shop to find that the axle which had taken over three weeks to arrive did not fit. Local supplier is hopefully working like crazy to make it fit as I write. Another night to wait in Alabama - and another motel room expense, gggggrrrrrrrrrr.
2015 R-Pod 179
2016 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum

"It's a good thing we are going slowly because we might be going in the wrong direction." Ashliegh Brilliant
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2017 at 6:24pm
I understand. Dexler and Lippert are the two axle manufacturers that FR uses on travel trailers. The frames are not FR products, they are also supplied by another source. As I have worked thru issues I have found most components come from an outsource. The assembly of the components happens in two locations.
Mike Carter
2015 178
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Carolavan View Drop Down
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Posts: 39 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2017 at 6:14pm
Apparently it is being made by the Forest River factory supplier, whoever that is. Still no word on when it will be available. I can't exactly take it somewhere else - it has no wheels on it. I guess I am just fortunate that it is only 5 hours from home and not in California or Canada. I am very disillusioned about this whole RV hobby. It is supposed to be fun - instead all I get is frustration and stress - not to mention the rapid and apparently unrestricted outflow of cash. We could stay in some pretty classy hotels for what this is costing us. Grrrrrr. Rant over - for now.
2015 R-Pod 179
2016 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum

"It's a good thing we are going slowly because we might be going in the wrong direction." Ashliegh Brilliant
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codycountry View Drop Down
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Joined: 26 Jan 2014
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Posts: 168 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2017 at 5:42pm
If you check around there are frame and axle repair places (metro areas especially) that can bend the axle and set the camber, castor, and toe in for not much money.  Way less than labor and parts to replace.
I bent a horse trailer axle to look like a U and I took it in to be fixed, and the trailer pulls better and the tires wear better now than before I bent it.  
I can't recommend a brand name company, but if you check with your local alignment shop they will know who can fix it.  Or talk to a semi truck repair place.  The dealers sure won't share the info in most cases.  They'd rather lighten up your wallet.
Torsion axles can only be worked on once or twice due to the rubber inside and the tubing getting kinked from what I hear.  Good luck.  
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2017 at 5:28pm
I would ask where they went for a replacement. Do you know what axle your have? If so you can assist it finding a source. To my knowledge Pods use 2 axles, neither is hard to find. Also many FR travel trailers use the same axle. My axle is marked with a Surveyor stencil. Best to be armed with info.
Mike Carter
2015 178
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Posts: 39 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2017 at 4:59pm
Update - we are still waiting for an axle replacement. Over 3 weeks now. Is this typical? Do I just have be patient and just let the summer slip by while my trailer sits in a shed in Alabama. The repair shop says they are chasing it as hard as they can. Any clues on how I can get this resolved would be appreciated. After waiting over 3 months to get the fridge repaired this R-pod is really testing our patience.
2015 R-Pod 179
2016 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum

"It's a good thing we are going slowly because we might be going in the wrong direction." Ashliegh Brilliant
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2017 at 8:37am
In the words of a famous person:  "Opps."

You may still want to contact your insurance company.  Though it's not likely your collision coverage may help.  But on the other hand, you may not want the claim in the loss history.  I guess you can find the silver lining in this unhappy situation; you can find a better stronger axle.
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
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Our Pod 172
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6289 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2017 at 3:37pm
Part of it is the speed and angle at which the curb is contacted. I have gone over a couple of them, but it was in parking lots at very low speed. I've also hit some significant potholes in our travels. So far, the axle on ours is still in good shape.
StephenH
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