Alignment Issue and Questions - Please Help!

[Mitchapalooza]

Hey folks,

Been a while since I posted on here, but it's always been a great resource in the past and I didn't know where else to turn. I have a 2006 26WB, 8.5' width. Heavy at 5k+ dry with Lippert drop axles (Model LCI 52D) 5200lbs with a HF of 96" and SC of 75" manufactured on 4/11/05. They're a really weird size to say the least.

I bought the trailer from a guy that bought it new and had put new tires on it just before he sold it to me.

So, I recently took a short trip and, upon returning, finally changed out one of my rear stabilizer jacks that has been slightly bent for a while now.

When I was under there, I noticed that the driver's side rear tire was heavily worn (almost bald) on the inside only. Literally half of the tire, though the outside edge has normal wear. The driver side front tire is wearing perfectly throughout. This, of course leads me to believe that there is a heavy negative camber for one reason or another.

I inspected the passenger side to find that the front tire has more inside wear, though not near as bad as the rear driver side mentioned above. The passenger side rear tire is wearing perfectly, just like the front driver side.

I've inspected the suspension components and the only thing that I can visually see is a significant outward bend on the passenger side front spring hanger. I noticed this when I bought it, though didn't notice it tracking/pulling weird, so I disregarded it.
Upon further inspection, the impact that he must have had to cause it was probably significant. All of the other hangers look to be in line and at 90 degrees to the frame. Both axles and springs LOOK okay, though it is very difficult to tell with the drop axles.

My question(s) are: Do you think that the outwardly bent PS spring hanger is enough to cause the tire wear as described above?
Do you think that it can be heated/repaired/reinforced, or will I have to replace it?
With the DS rear tire wearing so badly on the inside, I can't help but think that either the spindle or the axle is bent. There is no good way to repair this style to my knowledge, and I'd like the additional height that would come with running a straight axle. Has anyone converted their drop axle rig to a straight axle, and if so, how do you like it?
The odd axle sizing at 96 HF/75 SC makes it almost impossible to find one on the regular market through either Lippert or Dexter.

Any insight as to how to correct the issue(s) that is cost-effective would be much appreciated.

[Cajun Style]

Repair the hanger for sure!
My Camper was side tracking, So I put Correct track on it and now it follows me straight!
https://www.lci1.com/correct-track-ii

[Mitchapalooza]

If I repair the hanger and install CorrectTrack or EZTrack, etc. Do you think that would correct the issues?
I've seen kits like that and apparently they work well. Plus, it looks like you can get an inch or two of additional height from the install.

Thanks

[Cajun Style]

Additional 2”
I don’t know how bad your axles are off, much be pretty bad to mess up the tires like it did.
I know it worked for mine.

[kirkwilliams2049]

I had a similar issue. I took the trailer to a local spring and axle shop who did an alignment. No problems since. The job was completed at a third of what my RV dealer estimated. I now have them do all of my suspension work including repacking wheel bearings.

Oh and by the way - I wouldn’t be messing with this myself.

[flhtci2006]

They can be straightened. Lippert recommends cold working, not applying heat. You can also install a support between the hangers. Mines under repair now.

[Keystone]

Originally Posted by flhtci2006

They can be straightened. Lippert recommends cold working, not applying heat. You can also install a support between the hangers. Mines under repair now.

Any idea what caused that?

[pdqparalegal1]

If this side is bent, doesn’t it follow that the other side is bent also??

[kirkwilliams2049]

Like everything else on these things it is just cheaply made junk. Normal use will break them. If we keep these things long enough (5-10 years) we will eventually replace everything

[btritschler1437]

Take the trailer to a spring & axle shop and have them look at it. They can work miracles on this kind of repair at way less than RV dealer. I had severe tire wear on the outer edges on both axles. Axle shop realigned both axles, they also found the rear spring hanger had a broken bolt, it was broken in half. If they want to weld be sure they disconnect your batteries or you will fry the electronics.

[flhtci2006]

It was caused by severe sway while increasing speed from 35mph to55mph on a 7% down grade. No wind, buffeting from passing vehicles, bumps, potholes, contact with any surfaces other than tires on the road, etc. More investigation will be done once they start the repair. This happened about 35 miles after leaving Camping World where they removed the axles and turned them around (because when they first installed the axles they installed them backwards). So, to answer your question, no, we don't know. However, they have said it was something I did.
Yours will be a much easier repair.

[Mitchapalooza]

I don't necessarily think so. The way that a hanger is set up, the pressure goes on the spring leafs as opposed to the other side. There's enough play in there to not bend the other side.

[Mitchapalooza]

KirkWilliams2049 - I'm looking for a good one in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to take it to. I was under the impression that drop axles are nearly impossible to align since the spindle could be bent without any way to correct it. My buddy's W&P has straight axles, which are much easier to work on.

I'm very mechanically inclined, so I'm going to at least repair the bent spring hanger myself and swap the axles if it comes to that. Alignment - I'll let someone else take care of!

[Mitchapalooza]

Flhtci2006 - Wow, your hanger is bent even worse than mine! Thanks for the info about the cold working - I would've certainly gone straight to the torch when doing the repair. When you say support, are you referring to a horizontal support that goes from L hanger to R hanger, as I've seen on some of the large 5th wheel toy haulers? Or rather, a support that is welded in between the 2" gap inside the hangers for extra rigidity?

[JimMorrell]

At 1,200 miles, I blew a tire. $6,000 later after Camping World replaced both axles I'm on my way Then after 4,000 miles, a wheel bearing went out on a trip. A well known truck and RV repair shop replaced one axle. At about 7,000 miles, I recently blew a tire. My local Firestone owner checked everything and found all 4 "new" tires worn on the inside. Further testing showed both axles out of alignment. So now I'm taking my trailer 80 miles to a highly respected shop to get the axles set up correctly. Can almost no one be trusted to properly set up such things, including the manufacturers? People can be killed by such gross negligence!

[andymil]

Originally Posted by Mitchapalooza

Flhtci2006 - Wow, your hanger is bent even worse than mine! Thanks for the info about the cold working - I would've certainly gone straight to the torch when doing the repair.

Yeah, definitely good advice not to use the torch. A piece of road debris flew up and bent (destroyed) my rear stabilizer and the frame rail it was bolted to. I had no problem straightening it cold before installing the new stab.

[flhtci2006]

Yes Mitch,
I believe it is a 2" bar and it will go between the LH and RH hangers. Here is a sample I found with Google.
I'm waiting for the DOT and NTSB you start governing manufacturers of trailers. The quality is minimal if even there and the designs meet the bare minimums, if that. There are those that say if a trailer has a max weight of 10K, it's got a built in safety margin and can actually carry 10K plus. I don't think so. In fact, I would say a trailer can only carry 80% to 90% of the weight they list. This is jmo. Also, this is more true for newer trailers. Older trailers were built stronger....but were heavier.

[Mitchapalooza]

Thanks for the example. This is what I was thinking of, though I have also seen guys take a 2" cut of schedule ? pipe and weld it in between the hanger forks to give them extra rigidity. With the support you pictured above, I suppose there is no need, as it would take a heck of a lot of force to bend that entire assembly.
I tend to agree with you on the poor build quality overall. They have these support runners on the larger 5th wheels and toy haulers, though mine is no lightweight coming in at nearly 5.5-6k lbs dry weight! This is much heavier than the newer W&P units that I've seen.
I bought this particular build because they seemed to be built better on a "car hauler" type frame than other comparable trailers. However, they are only as strong as their weakest link when it comes to suspension. The 5200lb axles seem to be okay, though that's only until the spring hangers and poorly reinforced frame give out. Add that to a 96" hub face, there's a lot of areas for potential failure.
I've found a well-respected truck frame shop here in Fort Worth, TX and they are only charging me $65 per axle to straighten and fully align them. The owner said he shouldn't have any issues with getting the drop axles and hangers corrected and tracking straight.
I suppose I'll have them do this, replace the two worn tires and weld in my own supports between each of the three sets of hangers.

My only other options are to try the Track Correct kit ($315 plus the pain of installation, or install two new straight axles which will run me at least $175 each - that would still have to be aligned).
I don't trust the dealer for this kind of work at all. The RV industry is generally crap on the manufacturing end, and I believe that mentality and lack of quality trickles down into the service/sales end as well. It's a culture thing, and a dangerous one when it comes to safety if you ask me.
If the same standards were applied to the automotive or aerospace manufacturing industries, I'm not sure I'd ever leave the house.

[andymil]

I'd ask the shop doing the alignment if welding the support in will affect the alignment.