Axle Replacement instead of brake repair???

Seekingzen

I need advice and opinions on a situation that has blown my mind. Early October, we towed our T@B 400 Boondock from Seattle to Chaco Canyon New Mexico on our way ultimately to Tucson. The road to Chaco Canyon was very rough, so we took it nice and slow. As we approached the campground, I noticed a ticking sound from the trailers right wheel, and by the time we pulled into our site, the right wheel had locked up. After pulling it apart, I saw that the ends of the brake shoe springs had broken at the curve, and everything inside the drum (shoes, etc) were bent and unusable. I took out the shoes, and other broken pieces, put the drum back on and tire, and the next day drove slowly to Aloha RV in Albuquerque New Mexico, a NuCamp dealership. After a month in their care, they informed us NuCamp no longer made brake kits for the T@B 400, so we would need to have them install an entirely new Dexter axle for $3500. Can this be true??? I am just stunned. Advice, thoughts, please. Erich

pthomas745

The axles/brakes are from Dexter, not NuCamp. Talk to NuCamp. Dealers are known to say odd things sometimes.

Check this thread, which has links to discussions about brakes (which may or may not be relevant to a 2022, however.)

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/15145/dexter-axle-brake-inspection-and-bearing-repack

In one thread about wheel bearings, there is a link to "Dexter Parts Online" who probably have plenty of expertise in this area.

http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/page/458487582

That thread also has a link to the Dexter page.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Products/Torsion-Axles

Seekingzen

Thank you so much for the information. 

WayneW

I would certainly question their advice. There are plenty of options to replace brakes. Even if you have to buy a whole new backing plate with shoes and springs and actuator that’s completely doable without replacing the axle. I had to do that on a T@G trailer that we had when a brake shoe failed and messed up everything. Etrailer is a good resource. 

That road into Chaco Canyon is a dandy, isn’t it?  We were there last year. It’s a wonderful place but the trip in/out is a slow journey. 

Seekingzen

The road was unbelievable, even the rangers were commenting on whether it should be closed or left open to damage vehicles. As we were leaving and about half way out, a truck pulling a large 5th wheel stopped me and asked if he was even on the right road. 

manyman297

Dexter brake components are pretty easy to come by. It sounds like the RV dealer needs to make a boat or alimony payment 

Seekingzen

The dealership is still claiming an entirely new axle is required. Thankfully, NuCamp is stepping in to assist them. I am having serious doubts about how competent their mechanic is. 

manyman297

I hope I’m not offending anybody on here but RV techs tend to be jacks-of-all-trades and masters of none. 

For axles and brakes I would try to find a trailer mechanic. Somebody who solely works on just the trailer frame, axles, suspension. 

pthomas745

There have been reports of "bent" axles.  The axles in our trailers are "Torflex", which are described as "rubber torsion suspension axles".  So these kinds of questions about axles can get complicated. This is a link to Dexter where they describe the axles and how they work.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Resources/Information-Center/?type=0&line=&family=4553&keyword=

There are threads about "Axle camber" on some trailers about 2-3 years ago. 

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/11325/axle-camber-seems-excessive/p1

I offer this just as examples of things that "might" happen to these axles...it may not be related to Seekingzen's issue at all.

xdr

Aloha RV is ~5 miles from our house and 'should be' our local Tab dealership. This summer we had a catastrophic breakdown on I-40 near Winslow, Az. when the passenger side tire completely sheared off the axle and caused quite a bit of cosmetic damage to our trailer. We were able to get the trailer repaired by a mobile mechanic and he commented that our axle looked to have excessive camber. He also stated he believed that camber was a factor in the failure along with how bad/rough the stretch of I-40 is where it happened. We were able to get home on the repair he made and ended up taking our Tab to Princesscraft RV in Texas (a very slow, careful 700 mile trip!) for repairs. Our axle is being replaced under Dexters warranty for excess camber. Long story short, due to multiple bad experiences with Aloha RV, we drove 700 miles for repairs...

rfuss928

Seekingzen  - This guy was at Ucamp23 and said he would help anyone having difficulties with their Dexter axles.  Maybe worth a call...

Seekingzen

I have given up. Blue Compass RV (Aloha) finally contacted NuCamp and got pricing for repairing our Right Axle brake, which has ended up being only $10 less than an entirely new axle, around $3000. We told them to rebuild both brakes, not an axle replacement and basically get it over with so we can move on. The service advisor was beginning to get pissed by my peppering him with questions, I suspect he was stuck in the middle between the mechanics and myself. My wife and I feel completely fleeced, and if it weren’t for the fact it would take us several days to drive to Albuquerque to just pick it up, we would have sought other options. I can only hope their mechanic is competent to rebuild the brakes, and not leave us stranded in the middle the Alaskan wilderness which is our upcoming late spring trip.  I want to thank all of you for your input, and also Apache RV Center in Poulsbo, WA who went out of their way to send links on brake kits, etc to help guide Blue Compass with repairs, although their assistance was ignored. Lastly, I want to thank NuCamp who I feel did try to assist, but seems were also ignored. It will be nice to get back on the road, and put this distasteful experience behind us. 

manyman297

Sorry for your experience. I feel this is the way things are going with auto and RV service centers. Things are manufactured poorly, too many people need service, nobody wants to work in the trades…the system is overloaded. It’s only going to get worse.

Did you try to connect with a trailer specialist/tech? 

Mickerly

A new pair of Dexter brakes, backing plate and all, at eTrailer is less than $233. It takes about 30 minutes per side. There must be a local trailer guy, not an RV guy, that could have done the repair.