Thanks for any help!

MPRpod

I am wondering what your resolution was. My 178 leans to drivers side too (with slide in) about 3/4 inch. I called the dealer tech, he said  "Is that all? That's normal because the slide weight is on that side."  What did you finally do about it?

In reference to your question, we didn't do anything about it.  After talking to the dealer and doing a bunch of online research, we concluded that it was normal and within reason.  I recall there was a height difference from one side to the other of about 1-2 inches but can't remember exactly (perhaps it's in the original post).  In any case, I could detect no adverse consequence to the "listing" other than offending my insatiable need for symmetry.

Sorry I can't be more insightful but I wish you happy trails!

FYI

I called Forest River. They said up to 1 inch lean is ok.  I still dont like it though - it probably means the torsion spring suspension is going on the fritz. I just wonder if we are the only rpodders that have noticed this problem.

Seriously though, one inch of list is likely, as GlueGuy suggests, to be from weight differential due to the location of heavier stuff on one side as opposed the other. Remember, the axle manufacturers build axles with equal torsion for both wheels, thus if something weighs more, like a slide out, on one side as compared to the other, it will make the trailer list a little.

 If you wan't to have the trailer balanced such that both sides are equal, put some jugs of water in the higher side to the point that the weight balances the trailer.  The advantage, is that you'll have some extra water along, which is always useful.  

It is not likely that one of the torsion springs in your axle is failing, though anything is possible.  These torsion springs, if I understand this type of axle correctly, are rubber rods that twist with the ups and downs experienced by each wheel.  They would likely deteriorate over time pretty much evenly.  Of course, it is always possible that some contaminant got into the rubber during manufacturing that went unnoticed and is causing one rod to be a little more flexible than another.  

Since your Pod will spend most of it's life on uneven roads and slanted parking places in camp sites, a 1" list is not going to result in any harm to the trailer.  

As I flail away on the keyboard drinking my morning coffee and hoping that they don't close for the winter the campground I'm heading to tomorrow, the thought occurs to me that maybe the best thing to do to balance this deviation is to put a small ice chest on the high side and load it with bacon until the weight balances out.  

I weigh 230 lbs and when I put my weight on my step that side of the trailer drops maybe 3/8 of an inch. We all have pretty much the same 3500 lb torsion axles on our trailers and torsion axles are supposed to have linear spring rates, meaning that the deflection is proportional to the weight imposed. So, roughly 1/2 inch defection for 300 lbs.  

Again, on a serious note, measuring a 1" list has a lot of variables that make me wonder whether it is accurate.  One must start with an exactly level parking place, have the tire inflation exactly even, have laser level capable of accuracy to within a fraction an inch or millimeter to measure the list.  Simply putting the trailer on what appears to be a flat surface and eyeballing it leads to very substantial inaccuracies.  Our eyes don't see things as we think.  That's why the Mystery Spot near Santa Cruz makes so much money tricking our visual cues into thinking the world is not what it is.

No, its not really that hard to measure a half inch side to side differential in axle deflection. Don't measure to the ground, measure to the hub.  And when that measurement lines up with the spring rate you're seeing and the side to side weight difference you're expecting, you can be pretty confident that it all makes sense. You shouldn't see nearly that much imbalance in your 172 BTW.

Not that any of this is a big deal other than the heavy side is pushing the axle/wheel/tire weight limits on the heavier rPods. 

Thats good info. From the looks of the floor plan the 179 might be a little more balanced than the 178 side to side. That might account for a 1/4 inch difference. That you measure a natural list of 1/2 inch on the 179 adds a little more credibility to the technicians claims that it is due to the weight of the slide out. By the way my  measurement was made at several locations with rpod empty on level surface and properly inflated tires and verified with a bubble level and eyeballing.

From the overload perspective there is no evidence that our axles or wheels fail catastrophically that I've ever heard of, somebody correct me if I'm wrong. So the biggest issue is going to be risk of tire failure. You can run load range D or E tires to mitigate that concern. 

I dont recall seeing this leaning when it was new(its a 2016). I think I would have noticed it. That would suggest to me that something is wearing out or wearing in or bending. A likely candidate would be the torsion spring. Yes it is aesthetic mostly but the problem is if and when you go to sell it. A keen eye would no doubt question its value. 

The issue you mention about the tire is interesting. One would think that because of the awkward weight distribution the recommended tire pressures would be different.

To Jato

For me, this is becoming a mystery that must be solved. The only weight distribution item in your list that would seem to make a difference is the microwave and thats not enuf weight to matter, and if Forest River has designed a pod to naturally lean due to the slide weight one would expect that a 7 year old one would tend to lean even more. I'm not so sure I'm buying into the contention that it is natural for a pod with a slide to lean.

That sounds like more work than it would be worth (to me).

We know that our pods are some hundreds of pounds heavier on the drivers side, Have to be. That is certainly going to cause lean as GlueGuy says. You also have to allow for some manufacturing tolerance either way. Overall, I don't have any reason to doubt that FR's stated 1 inch "lean" tolerance is unreasonable.  You could for example look at it as 0.5 inch nominal lean +- 0.5 inch manufacturing tolerance. That would explain your's, mine, and Jato's measurements as well as FR's max allowable. 

To Offgrid

The water heater was drained.

Today I went out and took an eyeball calculation of the mass on the left and right sides. Yesterday it seemed to be more massive on the drivers side, now I'm not so sure its hundreds of pounds more (especially with slide in and closer to center of gravity).  It would be nice to know the actual  weight difference side to side.

They do seem to gross weight these things close to the axle weight limit, and the stress from a WDH especially under driving conditions does not improve the comfort zone

Although it is mostly an aesthetic problem, I too have some degree of concern for metal stress, bent frame and etc. However I'm thinking it is more likely a deformity or loss of elasticity of the rubber cords inside the axle tube that might be the problem.

Best Regards

 

As I understand the axle design, the torsional loading is taken by a steel bar, not the rubber. The rubber just centers it. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.