2109s Wheel Well Problem

davidgeminden · 08-04-2013, 04:12 PM

Hi All,

After two years of use the wheels have wore holes in the top of the wheel wells of my 2109 Mini-Lite travel trailer by Forest River. I believe the trailer needs to be raise up on the axles so that there is more distance between the top of the wheels and the top of the wheel wells. The holes let water and mud get inside the trailer under the sofa and sink cabinets.

Does Forest River have a kit to raise the frame another 2 inches or so? Has anyone else had the same problem? What have you done to cure the problem? Did the manufacture fail to put the proper spacing between the top of the wheel wells and the tires? Has the manufacture issues a fix for the problem?

David Geminden

**Platokidd** · 08-04-2013, 07:26 PM

The tires are rubbing on the wheel wells?
Is your axle above or below the leaf springs?

raspivey · 08-04-2013, 08:57 PM

He ought to have torsion axles. No springs.

I'd like to see a pic posted of this if you could. I'm having a hard time visualizing HOW that could happen. There's several inches of clearance over those tires (or should be). Maybe if the axles got installed upside down....... but I don't think they can be due to the bracket position.

davidgeminden · 08-05-2013, 03:40 PM

Hi Platokidd,
Hi raspivey,

At most there is only about 1.5 inches of space between the top of the wheels and the top of the wheel well liner. The wheel well liners look like they are made of some type of plastic material (???) about 1/8 inch thick. I took photos of the top of the wheels that also show the wheel well liner, but the photos are not that good – I will try to attach the photos if I figure out how to attach them to this post. I took a side photo of the trailer for you all to see. I also took some photos of the axles for you all to see the mounting method use by Forest River. This is the first travel trailer that I have ever bought, so I did not know enough to check the space above the wheels. I learned the hard way. The warranty is already expired.

Yes, the trailer does have torsion axles. The wheels only contact the wheel well liner when rocking and going over bumps. That is why I think the manufacture should have put spacers between the frame and axles to life the whole frame up more.

I am on the road right now so I can't do a permanent fix. I did buy some ¼ inch plywood to put over the holes to protect the electrical wiring that is run over the wheel wells on the inside of the trailer.

Well, now to try my hand at attaching the photos that I took.

When I get home I will contact Forest Rivers to see if they have designed some parts to raise the trailer frame up some on the axles, other wise I will have to have some RV place special design some.

David Geminden

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raspivey · 08-05-2013, 04:13 PM

I just went out and looked at mine...looks like the spacing below the fenders is the same, but I've got a full three inches of clearance above the wheels. It looks as if mine doesn't have actual fender wells, but just a piece of flat plastic that tucks into some rails on the frame and is tacked on with a few screws. Is it possible that something came loose and is sagging where it shouldn't be?

davidgeminden · 08-05-2013, 05:17 PM

Hi raspivey,

My wheel wells are molded units.

Yes, the tops of the molded units have sagged in spots to within 1 inch of the top of the tires instead of 1.5 inches. I have 14 inch tires.

The inside top of the wheel well under the slide-out is flush with the bottom of the slide-out rails. Therefore, they could not put in taller wheel wells. That leads me to believe that the manufacture should have put at least 2.5 inch spacer mounting brackets between the I-beam and the axles. To do that, it looks like the brackets that are welded to the I-beams (that the axles are bolted to) needs to be replaced with a taller brackets.

Are your I-beams sitting flush on the top of your torsion axles like mine? Or does it have taller brackets welded to the I-beams?

David Geminden

**Platokidd** · 08-05-2013, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidgeminden

Hi raspivey,

My wheel wells are molded units.

Yes, the tops of the molded units have sagged in spots to within 1 inch of the top of the tires instead of 1.5 inches. I have 14 inch tires.

The inside top of the wheel well under the slide-out is flush with the bottom of the slide-out rails. Therefore, they could not put in taller wheel wells. That leads me to believe that the manufacture should have put at least 2.5 inch spacer mounting brackets between the I-beam and the axles. To do that, it looks like the brackets that are welded to the I-beams (that the axles are bolted to) needs to be replaced with a taller brackets.

Are your I-beams sitting flush on the top of your torsion axles like mine? Or does it have taller brackets welded to the I-beams?

David Geminden

Hey David,
Sounds like another fr brilliant engineering design.

I found some info online
What make /model (numbers) axle do you have? I see some of them are adjustable. I had a torsion axle on a camper a few units ago and I thought they were great.
Most likely a spacer of some kind will be the answer.
How is the weight ??
Carl

raspivey · 08-05-2013, 06:27 PM

The main I-beam for the frame sits on what looks like a 2x6" rectangular tube. Those are tied together left to right on both ends by 2x2" rect. tubes. the 2x6 tubes sit on top of 2x2 tubes and the axle brackets mount to those. So, without measuring, it looks like the axle mounts are about 8" below the frame rails.

davidgeminden · 08-06-2013, 04:21 PM

Hi Platokidd,
Hi raspivey,

My 2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 2109 weights 4777 lbs. when fully loaded.

My torsion axles (called Torflex) are made by Dexter Axles. I went to their website and downloaded a couple of manuals to see what the specs are and application recommendations are. Their 3600 to 6000 lbs Torflex axle is the one that I believe is on my trailer. Their manuals say that the installation should allow for 3 inch bump clearance when fully loaded. I certainly do not see anywhere near 3 inches of space from the top of the tires to the top of the wheel well liner. Platokidd, I think you are right by saying it appears to be a design error by the trailer designers. Dexter's manual also says that the axles work best when the torsion arm is horizontal with the trailer fully loaded. The torsion arms on my trailer are horizontal when fully loaded (at least they got that part of the design correct on my trailer).

I have tried to attach two pdf manuals from Dexter to this post. Hope I did it correctly.

David Geminden

**Platokidd** · 08-06-2013, 06:11 PM

Looks to me like they installed the high profile set up from a pic you uploaded.
Would you agree? You can look under there I only can see the pic.
Have you had your unit to the scales? its good to know that info. You could be over weight. That could void any warranty on the axles.
I would think you could put in a larger spacer. I call dexter and see what they recommend as well as your dealer.
I will read more on this later there is a lot of info to go threw that you up loaded.

Carl

davidgeminden · 08-07-2013, 10:28 AM

Hi raspivey,

I finally got under my trailer to see what part number was stamped on the the Torflex axles. I was wrong about the capacity rating in my previous post. The capacity rating stamped on my each of my two axles is 2200 lbs. The part number on each axles is 09H SLR 13.0.

Raspivey, what is the part number and capacity rating stamped on the two Torflex axles on your 2104s trailer?

To anyone else reading this thread that has a 2109s or 2104s Rockwood Mini lite, I would like to know what are the part numbers and capacity ratings stamped on the two Torflex axles on your trailers?

David Geminden

raspivey · 08-07-2013, 04:56 PM

I have the same axles as you.

**Platokidd** · 08-07-2013, 05:10 PM

Did you see this lift kit?
http://www.dexteraxle.com/i/u/614960...x_Lift_Kit.pdf

davidgeminden · 08-10-2013, 12:29 PM

Hi Platokidd,

Thanks for the info about the lift kit from Dexter Axle, that is exactly what I need. I will look into having that lift kit installed when I get back home in Colorado.

I am typing this at the waters edge on the Chesapeake bay in Maryland at my sister in law's house. Plan to head south through the Appalachian mountains to Tennessee and then start heading west and visit my brother who is still farming around Carrier Oklahoma.

Wished I had noticed the holes in the wheel wells before I started this trip.

David Geminden

**Platokidd** · 08-11-2013, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidgeminden

Hi Platokidd,

Thanks for the info about the lift kit from Dexter Axle, that is exactly what I need. I will look into having that lift kit installed when I get back home in Colorado.

I am typing this at the waters edge on the Chesapeake bay in Maryland at my sister in law's house. Plan to head south through the Appalachian mountains to Tennessee and then start heading west and visit my brother who is still farming around Carrier Oklahoma.

Wished I had noticed the holes in the wheel wells before I started this trip.

David Geminden

Sounds like a awsum road trip!!

Have a safe journey!!
Let me know how you make out with the axle lift.
Carl

Mac rv · 08-28-2013, 11:14 AM

Might have a lift kit fot you trailer. If they do it should be an easy fix. Check with Dexter. Serge

Mac rv · 09-09-2013, 06:40 PM

David. Please send a complaint to the NHTSA. This is trully unacceptable. I sent a complaint in this AM. This is a lack of engineering and quality control. Shame on FR.

fanrgs · 11-03-2013, 10:49 PM

Just found this thread. I put my trailer to bed for the winter last week, but didn't check the axles. In September we returned from a 10,000 mile trip on some very rough roads in the Pacific Northwest, NW Canada, and Alaska. So, if we had a clearance design problem, it should definitely have shown up after that trip. Thanks for posting this!

Windjammin · 11-03-2013, 11:56 PM

I had the same lack of clearance problem on my Windjammer trailer. Turns out FR installed the wrong axle/bracket combination on my trailer when it was manufactured. From this and other forums it seems that a number of trailers went out the door with poor quality control. FR replaced my axles with ones with taller brackets and fixed the damaged wheel wells under warranty.

I now have over 4 inches of clearance. Dexter recommends a minimum of 3 inches of clearance to allow for the axles to move during dynamic loading. If you do not have at least the 3 inches recommended by the axle manufacturer, I recommend you contact the trailer warranty service department to have the issue resolved.

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