User Tag List

Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Reno NV
    Posts
    101
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Suspension/Tire Woes

    Hi GD ers
    I have just had an experience with our Imagine that I was wondering if anyone else has also had. Background: Our rig is just over two years old, and we have maintained it perfectly. Last year, we blew a tire on a LA freeway. We had the spare put in its place, and bought a new spare. Three months later, we had another blow out on the other side of our rear axle. Enough with Westlake China Bombs. A brand new set of tires go on April 26, 2019. We recently noticed that one of the rear tires had a slow leak. Back to tire dealer. We then noticed that our one year old tires on the rear had worn completely through to the cord on both insides. This set of tires had exactly 5340 miles on them, as we keep a journal of our travels. Obviously we had to buy two more tires, and took rig to Washoe Fabricating in Reno Nevada, who specialized in RV axels, etc. They immediately informed me that I had a bend axle, and they would look the rig over and give me an estimate. I heard back from the manager, and he asked me if I had been hauling around a herd of elephants. Both axles were bent, and all springs had no curve to them. They were totally flat. We generally travel pretty light. We keep golf clubs, Wine, in the bed our truck, not the trailer. We don't have a generator. There is no way we could have loaded so much gear the the trailer that we would have done that damage Water Washoe did a great job in repairing all damage, and I thank them. When I picked the rig up, Scott the owner told me that he really felt our components were inadequate for the size of our rig. I trust his opinion as this is the business he is in. I now wonder about the chicken or the egg. We had two blow outs barely a year into ownership. Could the axles have already been bent? No way to know. What I do know is I have purchased 7 tires in barely a year, as well as two wheels (destroyed in blow out) The axel & spring work was 1800.00. Add in road service for the two blow outs and the general fun we had on the side of a Los Angeles freeway with blow out number 1. We have been RV ing for over 40 years, and have never come close to having this kind of situation.
    Anyone out there with similar fun?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    SW Colorado
    Posts
    2,673
    Mentioned
    42 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Give GD customer service a call. Have your vin handy. I believe the suspension is covered under their 3year warranty. Can the shop your at weigh each axle and tire to find out if they are overloaded. Bottom line as your replacing axles one way or another go op two axle sizes. Example if you have 4200 go the the 6K axles and springs, skipping the 5K ones. Also there are some axle experts over at the GD site that probably can advise better.

    Hope this helps

    On edit - do you have Lippert or Dexter axles? give them a call too to see if they can help. I recommend Dexter axles when replacing.
    Last edited by powerscol; 06-06-2020 at 03:39 PM.
    2018 Reflection 150 Series 220RK 5th wheel with 6K axle upgrade. B&W 25K OEM Companion, Steadyfast system, 2022 F350 SRW 6.7 King Ranch 8' bed, Trailer reverse lights, rear spare tire holder, storage tube, sumo springs, Victron MultiPlus 12/120/3000, and Solar

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Posts
    117
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by BogeyBoyNevada View Post
    Hi GD ers
    I have just had an experience with our Imagine that I was wondering if anyone else has also had. Background: Our rig is just over two years old, and we have maintained it perfectly. Last year, we blew a tire on a LA freeway. We had the spare put in its place, and bought a new spare. Three months later, we had another blow out on the other side of our rear axle. Enough with Westlake China Bombs. A brand new set of tires go on April 26, 2019. We recently noticed that one of the rear tires had a slow leak. Back to tire dealer. We then noticed that our one year old tires on the rear had worn completely through to the cord on both insides. This set of tires had exactly 5340 miles on them, as we keep a journal of our travels. Obviously we had to buy two more tires, and took rig to Washoe Fabricating in Reno Nevada, who specialized in RV axels, etc. They immediately informed me that I had a bend axle, and they would look the rig over and give me an estimate. I heard back from the manager, and he asked me if I had been hauling around a herd of elephants. Both axles were bent, and all springs had no curve to them. They were totally flat. We generally travel pretty light. We keep golf clubs, Wine, in the bed our truck, not the trailer. We don't have a generator. There is no way we could have loaded so much gear the the trailer that we would have done that damage Water Washoe did a great job in repairing all damage, and I thank them. When I picked the rig up, Scott the owner told me that he really felt our components were inadequate for the size of our rig. I trust his opinion as this is the business he is in. I now wonder about the chicken or the egg. We had two blow outs barely a year into ownership. Could the axles have already been bent? No way to know. What I do know is I have purchased 7 tires in barely a year, as well as two wheels (destroyed in blow out) The axel & spring work was 1800.00. Add in road service for the two blow outs and the general fun we had on the side of a Los Angeles freeway with blow out number 1. We have been RV ing for over 40 years, and have never come close to having this kind of situation.
    Anyone out there with similar fun?

    Thanks
    Sounds almost related to this thread that I am also following, https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...Wheel-Bearings. Just curious, did they indicate where the axle was bent? Was it perhaps a camber issue that was taking its toll on the tires? Do you know off hand which axles you have? Looking at the parts lookup, they should be Dexter 3500# axles, but I wonder if they are the 3" or 2-3/8" beam.

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Reno NV
    Posts
    101
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    The shop showed me the two axles they took off the Imagine. They were perfectly straight, with no bow. The springs had no curve/bow to them. They looked flattened out. The photos they sent me clearly showed especially the springs had flattened out

  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Reno NV
    Posts
    101
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Thanks for the input. I know without weighing the rig it was never overloaded. Just the bare basics, with the heavy stuff: water/wine/golf clubs all hauled in the truck

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    SW Colorado
    Posts
    2,673
    Mentioned
    42 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    I would still put 6K axles under it and pull one leaf out of the 6K spring pack. You will never need to worry about overloading again
    2018 Reflection 150 Series 220RK 5th wheel with 6K axle upgrade. B&W 25K OEM Companion, Steadyfast system, 2022 F350 SRW 6.7 King Ranch 8' bed, Trailer reverse lights, rear spare tire holder, storage tube, sumo springs, Victron MultiPlus 12/120/3000, and Solar

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Posts
    117
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by BogeyBoyNevada View Post
    The shop showed me the two axles they took off the Imagine. They were perfectly straight, with no bow. The springs had no curve/bow to them. They looked flattened out. The photos they sent me clearly showed especially the springs had flattened out
    Yeah that sounds pretty bad, especially if the crown of the axle is gone. Like mentioned above, I would contact GD and maybe Dexter, see if anything can be covered.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.