Bent Axle
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15674
Printed Date: 25 May 2024 at 6:55pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Bent Axle
Posted By: JohnnyMac
Subject: Bent Axle
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2023 at 6:59pm
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Just wondering,....I hear a lot about the weak axles in the R-Pod and that they may become slightly bent causing a slight (top-in) cambering of the wheels. My question is,....is there anything unsafe about using it with a slightly bent axle? If it still tows fine, what is the down side?? ------------- JonnyMac |
Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2023 at 8:12pm
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The down side is faster wear on the inside edges of the tires. Keep track of the wear as it can wear through faster than you might think. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2023 at 9:52am
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Unfortunately F/R continues to make Rpods with axle connection points about a foot or so away from the end of the axle. If you hit a bump or pothole, it leaves the unsupported last foot or so to absorb the full shock of it. Funny thing is, they also build surveyor campers too. Those have the connection point at the absolute end of the axle. Why the heck do they do things like that. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2023 at 10:17am
I've wondered about that as well. The issue is that the frame is roughly 2' more narrow than the outside of the trailer. Why would they do that? I suspect it is to reduce the weight of the trailer. Adding 2' to the width would mean they would have to do additional bracing in between the outer rails, and that would probably add (at least) a couple hundred pounds to the weight of the trailer. The downside is that the axle gets cantilevered as you noted. The other issue is that the weight of the walls is bearing down on the floor (hence why we add the outriggers). ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2023 at 5:07pm
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We have had a slight bent axle on our 177 for 11 years on the slide side. Yes, there is some additional wear on the inside tread but after 5 years (when they are replaced) there is still plenty of tread left, even on the inside of the tire. Traveling over 43,000 miles with this condition, I don't worry about it. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: DD08
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2023 at 11:19am
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We just got our R Pod a few weeks ago, took it into service to get the bearings re-packed and they came back advising we have a bent axle as well. No risks in driving it your just going to wear your tires every 1-2 years, for the cost of tires these days it was a cost we couldn't absorb. We got one 1 day camping trip with it before we're already looking into selling it or seeing what our options are to replace the axle. Our first quote along to fix a few other things was about $3800.00 and sent us in a tailspin.
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Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2023 at 5:00pm
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As stated above we have had this issue for 11 years. We replace our tires at 5 year intervals with one set having 24,000+ miles on them after 5 years (Hartland tire load range "C"). It was observable that there was slightly more wear on the inside of the tire but there was plenty of tread left, there were no worries as far as safety was concerned even after 5 years and 24,000+ miles. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2023 at 5:40pm
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+1. Before going the drastic route, check and see just how bad it is. Unless you are doing multi-thousand mile trips, you may not wear the tires out before they age out and need replacing. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: renhui
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2023 at 9:48pm
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I noticed some bent as well (top-in), will keep a close eye on it. I've seen some videos on Youtube on fixing the axle, have any one tried that before at all?
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Posted By: DD08
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2023 at 11:43am
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Thanks Jato/Stephen, Appreciate the input, I think when we hear bent axle not having much knowledge on R pods and trailers we thought it was the end of the road and the thing was done. we got a second opinion on ours and the Axle is bent about 1/4", We're going to review replacing or just leaving it as is but we've had the tires for about 2 years and the wear appears pretty bad. Pictures to follow.
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Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2023 at 5:21pm
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I am beginning to find that bent axles, especially of the torsion variety, are common with RVs these days. Even with a semi-premium brand such as Escape, folks are experiencing abnormal tire wear due to bent axles. A couple of posters even go so far as to say that axles on newer RVs should be considered consumables just like bearings, brakes and tires. ------------- Gpokluda 2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Triumph T120 |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2023 at 10:04am
Eeeesh. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: ArenaBlanca
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2023 at 7:58pm
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Has anyone tried swapping the wheels on the camper so the other edge of the tire would experience the excessive wear pattern? If you just swapped the wheels, the inside of the tire would still be on the inside. So you would have to dismount the tires from their hubs and swap tires and hubs for this to work. I noticed the wear pattern about 2,500 miles into this year's outing. But I was encouraged by jato's comment and decide to wait until I get home. I think I probably got the bent axle last year on our Alaska trip, so the wear has developed over the last 7,000 miles. ------------- Enjoy Life!! |
Posted By: hank*pod
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2023 at 7:38am
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Are the tires directional? You could just remount the tires the other way on the wheels. I love the way your proposal addresses the visible symptom without dealing with the root cause. 
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2023 at 9:30am
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I don't believe the torsion axles are the issue so much as the cantilever design where the axles extend beyond the frame by a foot or more. If the frame went all the way to the outer wall of the chassis, there would be far fewer issues. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2023 at 10:25am
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Agreed!
The cantilever design of the walls also is a weak point, particularly with the weight of the slide-out. The aluminum frame of the RPod floor is okay for something that does not bounce down the highway. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: DD08
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2023 at 4:34pm
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I am in the process of ordering a new axle.. however upon further inspection I took a look at the tire wear pattern and it's actually only on the passenger side on the inside of the tire. The drivers side is showing signs of wear but nowhere NEAR how bad the passenger is. Is this giving me clues to the Axle not being bent and something else? The spindle that holds the wheel possibly? I've seen another post somewhere where they had a bent spindle and not the axle.
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Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2023 at 6:24pm
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Anything is possible and on ours the passenger side is totally straight, it is on the slide side where our issue lies, like stated before, it has a 1" toe in at the top yet after 5 years and 20,000 plus miles, there is still plenty of wear and rubber left on the inside of the tire where the greatest amount of wear is takes place. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |