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09-04-2005, 08:06 PM
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#1
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2 Rivet Member
1978 25' Tradewind
Roseland
, Florida
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 52
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Bad roads damaging interior!! Axles? shocks?
We just completed a trip from Florida to Colorado in our '78 Tradewind. There were some really bad roads that had us vibrating so bad that the interior walls that separate the bedroom from the kitchen pulled away from the inner shell walls! Has anyone had this happen? Would new shocks make much of a difference, or are the roads in Illinois death to trailers no matter what?
Otherwise it was a great trip. We stayed in some beautiful spots along the way, (Wilson Lake in Kansas rules!), and aside from some minor glitches, (tongue jack ground went bad, flat tire, a grinding noise in one of the wheels, brake controller stopped working), it towed like a champ. Our tow vehicle is a '99 Mercury Mountaineer and does fine.
We'll be making the return trip in about a month and would welcome all suggestions.
__________________
Eric, Tina and Kierstin Hedin
'78 Tradewind - Homeschooling RV Tech
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09-04-2005, 09:01 PM
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#2
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Rivet Master
1993 30' Excella
whitewater
, north of cheddar curtain
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,259
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are your shocks original? they could be a candidate for replacement...but a grinding sound makes me wory about the condition of your bearings...try to find a airstream dealer and have things checked.
norby
__________________
Illegitimous noncarborundum(dont let the bastards wear you down)
The only true nobility is found through giving good food to your friends- Anton Careme
beauty is in the eye of the beerholder-cosmo fishhawk
if something is too good to be true, its usually gone before i get there-mister boffo
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09-04-2005, 09:11 PM
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#3
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418
2007 25' Safari FB SE
1958 22' Flying Cloud
1974 29' Ambassador
Yucca Valley
, California
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: 1963 26' Overlander
Posts: 4,804
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I would take a very close look at the axles. My Tradewind was doing similar nonsense before I replaced the axles. Then it went smooth as silk. Shocks would be a secondary reason.
Do a search on axle replacement, or axle check in this forum, much has been reported on this subject.
But basically, your torsion arms should not be beyond parallell to the frame with a loaded trailer. If the torsion arms point up, then the rubber suspension is more or less gone, making the trailer ride quite harshly.
I have followed a single axle safari with a bad axle, and was horrified to watch it get airborne over just about every other major bump. I can only imagine the ruckus inside that particular trailer.
Airstreams typically are nicely suspended, and should not self destruct, even on bad roads.
Do a search on drivetrain balance, while you're at it. That, too can cause major damage inside the trailer.
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09-04-2005, 11:33 PM
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#4
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3 Rivet Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 199
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so bad that the interior walls that separate the bedroom from the kitchen pulled away from the inner shell walls!
WOW.!!... unless your not planning on keeping this trailer you realy should look at replaceing the axle and shocks... I was getting worried when a couple doors would come open or when a couple interior rivits came out... I just replaced my axle a couple months ago went with an axis axle they are very reasonable axleman is here on the forum...on my last trip i left the log book on the table when i left montery for the trip back home ... it was still on the table when we got home ... it had moved alittle not bad for 350 miles... good luck on your journey...
dan
__________________
Life's short...take your kid camping
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09-05-2005, 07:05 AM
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#5
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Just an old timer...
2004 22' Interstate
Tipton
, Iowa
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,766
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I agree... In order for that kind of damage to occur, your axles have to be shot. Get them replaced!
Roger
__________________
havin' to fix my broken Airstreams since 1987...
AIR 2053 Current: 2004 Airstream Interstate "B-Van" T1N DODGE Sprinter
Former Airstreams: 1953 Flying Cloud, 1957 Overlander, 1961 Bambi, 1970 Safari Special, 1978 Argosy Minuet, 1985 325 Moho, 1994 Limited 34' Two-door, 1994 B190 "B-Van"
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09-05-2005, 07:31 AM
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#6
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Rivet Master
1976 31' Sovereign
Currently Looking...
Chandler
, Oklahoma
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,770
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I have a 78 Argosy and was surprised to find a cup of coke that I left on the counter top was still there after 200 miles of not great roads. I am not an axel expert and couldn't tell you much about the condition of mine; however, I did take the trailer to a great RV man the minute I got it and he put new brakes and shocks on it. He said the axels looked good, so I breathed a sigh of relief and took my trailer home. I do try to keep the bearings greased and go over the trailer every time I bring him home, but I am no expert. I just know these trailers pull and ride wonderfully if they are in good shape. NO MATTER THE AGE.
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09-05-2005, 07:45 AM
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#7
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Retired.
Currently Looking...
.
, At Large
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,276
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A grinding sound could be a bad bearing or brake parts flailing around inside the brake drum. Either way, get it checked out ASAP!
Your 78 is not a year that is known for bad axles, but if it has sat for years in one spot, the rubber in the axles could be petrified, causing them to look okay, but since the rubber doesn't move, the axles won't absorb any of the road bumps. They will, instead, transmit the shocks directly to the trailer, where it will beat the coach and everything in it to death.
If you have your trailer at home, go out in it, and hop up and down a bit in the middle of the trailer. If the trailer feels "bouncey" the axles most likely still have some life left in them. If the trailer doesn't move when you jump, the axles are frozen, or siezed, in place, and should be replaced before doing much more traveling.
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Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
Terry
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09-05-2005, 09:29 AM
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#8
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Rivet Master
Lisle
, Illinois
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,270
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testing
Here is a neat trick for checking axle condition if you have a tandem axle trailer.
Place a jack under the hub end of one of the axles. Jack it up. If you lift both wheels up your rubber is now rock and the axles need to be replaced.
Doing this on a single axle is a litte harder. You have to watch the arm for movement.
__________________
Tedd Ill
AIR#3788 TAC IL-10
No trailers...
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