What am I looking at?

[Brettopp]

The attached pics show the left-side axle and trailer frame. The first pic is shot with me laying under the trailer and taking an angled photo looking up at the frame above the axle. I am wondering what the circled rough area is. The second photo is a closer view of the area, and you can see in front of the rough area where the axle has bounced up enough times to rub the paint off the frame. My trailer is not overloaded (I weighed it). What is really strange to me is that the axle itself, as shown in the third pic, shows no signs of wear or paint rubbing off, unlike the frame. Is it normal for the axle to regularly bottom out and hit the frame on a trailer that is not overloaded? Did Forest River or, more accurately, the company that makes the trailer frame, use undersized leaf springs?

Side note, my trailer brakes went out while on the freeway heading to my campsite Sunday. We were about halfway on our trip and I was pressing my brakes when I noticed my rig was not responding as quickly as normal. I was due to pull off the freeway onto a side road anyway, so when I got to the road I pulled over and then checked my aftermarket trailer brake controller. All it showed was a solid red dot -- no numbers increasing in value when I stepped on my truck brake as would normally happen, and same result when using the manual controller. I drove (CAREFULLY) the rest of the way to my campsite, allowing ample space between myself and vehicles in front of me and slowing to stops extra early, and did some crawling around under the trailer and found the two black break wires were damaged. Correction: one of the wires had been completely crushed between the axle and the trailer frame at some point (same area as shown in attached pics) and finally broke apart while I was traveling, and the other brake wire had rubbed itself down to bare wire against the trailer frame. The brake wires were just dangling loosey goosey from the trailer tire up into the trailer, and were not secured in any way (no tape to hold them in place, no zip ties, nada). Forest River quality control apparently sucks and, had I needed to make an emergency/hard stop during the remainder of my drive to my campsite things could have gone very badly.

[clr]

Your pictures look like normal bump stops to me. They should only be hitting these when overloaded or a sharp tire hit like hitting a pot whole. The break wires on the other hand should not be looped over the axle in any manner that the suspension system normal movement can cause damage to the brake wiring.

[Brettopp]

Thank you. That makes sense. What is interesting, then, is that the other side (right side) of the axle does not have any bump stops above it on the trailer frame -- the frame is just smooth painted metal.

[upflying]

You will probably never need a bump stop. The chances of full suspension travel on rock hard leaf springs is unlikely.
The stops (if installed)should have a rubber cone or wedge appearance.
I do not recall seeing them on my TT.

[Oaklevel]

It is hard to tell by the pictures but I do not think that this is a quality issue and does not look new. Keep a close eye on it............. but my guess is that it happened while being pulled from the factory ??.

I am assuming that is paint worn off in the suspect area?? Bare metal ??

Also I would expect some paint wear or otherwise on the top of the axle or on the "U" bolts.

It may have been there all along??

[Scrapper]

Kinda looks like practice welds from a welding class. When I was working on the car shredder we would use filler rods to fill in worn areas on the rotor then we would go over the filler with hard surfacing rods. When we were done it looked the same as your pics.

[Iwannacamp]

Maybe some kind of packing where the frames were stacked as shipped and never removed?

[philip8664]

mine has the same thing in two different spots its wood where they painted the frames stacked them with wood spacers to let the frame dry and the wood stuck to the wet paint it will scrap off

[Rugman1952]

Originally Posted by philip8664

mine has the same thing in two different spots its wood where they painted the frames stacked them with wood spacers to let the frame dry and the wood stuck to the wet paint it will scrap off

I think you and Iwannakamp nailed it. I've never seen a bump stop with wood grain in it. However, that is the great thing about this forum. Everyone is so willing to try and help.
I learn something new almost everyday.

[Retired JSO]

I have all ideas it is actually some wood that broke off where the frames were stacked on each other before the axles were attached. Lippert sells complete rolling frames with their brand axles along with non rolling chassis frames where the frame shop installs Dexter or some other brand axles. The reason I say this: my brother has a utility/light duty trailer business and gets shipments of trailers weekly from Texas and Georgia to his business in Florida. Some of the frames from time to time will arrive with chunks of wood stuck to the frames from being stacked on top of one another for some time.

[Bytesponge]

Originally Posted by Brettopp

The attached pics show the left-side axle and trailer frame. The first pic is shot with me laying under the trailer and taking an angled photo looking up at the frame above the axle. I am wondering what the circled rough area is. The second photo is a closer view of the area, and you can see in front of the rough area where the axle has bounced up enough times to rub the paint off the frame. My trailer is not overloaded (I weighed it). What is really strange to me is that the axle itself, as shown in the third pic, shows no signs of wear or paint rubbing off, unlike the frame. Is it normal for the axle to regularly bottom out and hit the frame on a trailer that is not overloaded? Did Forest River or, more accurately, the company that makes the trailer frame, use undersized leaf springs?

Side note, my trailer brakes went out while on the freeway heading to my campsite Sunday. We were about halfway on our trip and I was pressing my brakes when I noticed my rig was not responding as quickly as normal. I was due to pull off the freeway onto a side road anyway, so when I got to the road I pulled over and then checked my aftermarket trailer brake controller. All it showed was a solid red dot -- no numbers increasing in value when I stepped on my truck brake as would normally happen, and same result when using the manual controller. I drove (CAREFULLY) the rest of the way to my campsite, allowing ample space between myself and vehicles in front of me and slowing to stops extra early, and did some crawling around under the trailer and found the two black break wires were damaged. Correction: one of the wires had been completely crushed between the axle and the trailer frame at some point (same area as shown in attached pics) and finally broke apart while I was traveling, and the other brake wire had rubbed itself down to bare wire against the trailer frame. The brake wires were just dangling loosey goosey from the trailer tire up into the trailer, and were not secured in any way (no tape to hold them in place, no zip ties, nada). Forest River quality control apparently sucks and, had I needed to make an emergency/hard stop during the remainder of my drive to my campsite things could have gone very badly.

Why no pix of the crushed wires Brettopp? Everyone seems transfixed on explaining the crushed pads on the leaf springs rather than why the braking wires got crushed and the brakes failing.???

[rlh1957]

Originally Posted by clr

Your pictures look like normal bump stops to me. They should only be hitting these when overloaded or a sharp tire hit like hitting a pot whole. The break wires on the other hand should not be looped over the axle in any manner that the suspension system normal movement can cause damage to the brake wiring.

I believe those brake wires are coming out of the axle through a grommet in the axle shaft.

Are his bump stops worn down. I have more than that.