Bent Axle
On our way to the campground last weekend we stopped at Hagerty’s for a pulled pork sandwich. I discovered this place while doing a search for the closest place that sold Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream (If you have never eaten this brand of Ice Cream you are missing out on a real treat). I found out that this place also offered some darn good smoked BBQ Ribs and Pulled Pork. So we stopped back for dinner.
You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with “Axles”. While I was in the store ordering dinner, a guy at the counter said that he had been following my rig down the road and it had looked like my rear tires on the RV were tilted in at the top. Upon checking it out for myself, I discovered that the rear axle looked bent. The inside of the rear tire on the right hand side was also worn out. This can’t be a good thing.
When we returned home I made several phone calls looking for someone who might be able to straighten the axle and align the wheels on my RV trailer. This proved to be quite difficult to do. RV shops would just replace the axle and alignment shops didn’t service trailers. I didn’t want to replace the entire rear axle since I had spent so much money replacing the drums, brakes, backing plates and seals just last summer. I finally called a place by the name of Tow Line Trailers in Saginaw, Michigan. I took the 5th wheel over to them and they informed me that the combination of light axles and Michigan roads had been too much for my trailer.
Not that I had ever over-loaded my RV, the axles were just not sturdy enough for the enormous potholes and earth shattering bumps we have here in Michigan. They then proceeded to fix my trailer up right.
They replaced my 3500 lb axle beams with 7000 lb beams. They then welded a couple of 2×2 steel support tubes across the axle hangers to straighten and firm them up. They also repacked my bearings and swapped my worn tire for me. They did an excellent job. The suspension is much better than it ever was before. Hats off to Tow Line Trailers for helping me out.
