Let's catch up
We were towed on Wednesday last week. On Thursday we were told the new axle had to be manufactured. It looked like by the time they were shipped and the repairs done it could be up to 2 weeks. By that time hubby would have missed at least 4 appts. I called Lippert to explain his medical situation to the warranty guy so he put a rush on it to have it shipped by Monday.
I was following the link above to find the post on
Lippert facebook page when I saw an announcement for a new Lippert Customer Service fb page. Only one previous post there. I posted that we were on our way back to FL for very important medical care when this happened and I would love to speak with someone in charge. Immediately a response posted and I was getting private messages. One message was from.
April Klein
Vice President
Customer Support Services
Lippert Components, Inc.
She messaged from her personal fb page.
In the meantime we decided to drive the 140 miles back home to wait. So we got what we needed and was 1 exit up the highway when we got an email from Ms Klein asking if the repair facility could do the repairs the next day if they drove the parts to Columbus. I gave her the name of the contact person so she could coordinate. The next afternoon we were in our unit and on the road.
Now for the details of the problem.
The technician said the axle nut which holds the bearing was backed almost off the axle. The cotter pin that secures the nut was either dropped out or never put in. This caused the wheel to wobble and disintegrate the bearing. There seemed to be plenty of grease in the axle but in the techs opinion it was thin graphite type grease and not what he would recommend using at all.
For our piece of mind we asked the tech to pull the other wheels, clean the bearings and repack the bearings with a good grade of synthetic grease. When he did so he found all the nuts on the axles were loose. It appeared the bearings were not preloaded. Preloading is the process of tightening up the nut to set the bearings in the grease, then loosening and re tightening the nut so the wheel turns freely but isn't Overly tight to heat the bearings. Then the cotter pin is installed to hold it in place. On each one the tech says he was able to remove the nuts with his fingers they were so loose. When the new parts arrived he found the same situation with the new axle nut not being tightened.
As we have been on the road, even over the weekend, we have been receiving emails and other correspondence from various employees of Lippert.
Yesterday a lady contacted us by phone. When she heard the details she said she would contact a senior service representative. Shortly after Mike called and was happy to speak with us. Mike says they knew they were having problems but had never spoken with the unit owner for details. He planned to make immediate contact to get this error corrected. As we type this we are expecting a call from Miss Klein.
All parts including the driver to deliver to Columbus was covered by Lippert. Our hotel and the cost of redoing the other axles will be covered by Dynamax. John plans to pass that cost on to Lippert.
We have driven about 400 miles with no further problems. The center wheel caps have been cool to the touch.
We have to say Lippert stepped up. We only had to reschedule one appt in Florida. So we suggest any issues in this area of your unit could be address on their customer service fb page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lippe...ref=ts&fref=ts