Can most Airstream dealers typically check axle alignment?

[rjerz]

We recently had excessive tire wear on our 2023 27' Flying Cloud after around 10,000 miles, the front right and rear left tires.

It's been a very unpleasant experience trying to get this problem assessed and covered under warranty. You probably know what I mean.

But here's a simple question. My Airstream Minneapolis dealer cannot check axle alignment, so I had to drive 50 miles to a company that the dealer recommended.

Is this common that most Airstream Dealers that also have service do not have the ability to check axle alignment? Sure, I understand that dealers typically can't align Dexter axles (only at Jackson Center), but how about checking them?

After paying for the alignment to be checked, yep, all tires were out-of-align, and the front right and rear left dramatically out of align. Dexter sent replaceent axles, you know... Customer Good Will. Airstream denied the warranty claim, you know... Customer Bad Will. I learned a lot about Airstream's "LIMITED" 3-year warranty. It is limited to what they want to pay for, as some of you probably know. My Airstream dealer did the installation for a fee, but they don't do anything to guarantee that the new axles are within alignment specifications (because they don't have the equipment to check alignment).

[Daquenzer]

The problem with many of the components on Airstreams is they have separate warranties. It gets quite confusing. But this seems to be par for the industry. Can you imagine if car dealerships made you go back to the original parts manufacturer!!! At least Dexter covered the axles. I don’t know about dealerships aligning axles. Probably takes special equipment and they don’t do enough to make it worthwhile. Not all mechanics for cars do alignments. I can only imagine you paid a bundle for the install since I know this dealers’ hourly rate is $200 (at least that’s what they charged me when I was there a few months ago.)

I would probably take the trailer back to the alignment center before you ruin more tires.

[rjerz]

I am not talking about doing an alignment, I am talking about checking alignment.

Is it uncommon for dealerships that offer service to be able to "check" alignment?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by rjerz

We recently had excessive tire wear on our 2023 27' Flying Cloud after around 10,000 miles, the front right and rear left tires.

It's been a very unpleasant experience trying to get this problem assessed and covered under warranty. You probably know what I mean.

But here's a simple question. My Airstream Minneapolis dealer cannot check axle alignment, so I had to drive 50 miles to a company that the dealer recommended.

Is this common that most Airstream Dealers that also have service do not have the ability to check axle alignment? Sure, I understand that dealers typically can't align Dexter axles (only at Jackson Center), but how about checking them?

After paying for the alignment to be checked, yep, all tires were out-of-align, and the front right and rear left dramatically out of align. Dexter sent replaceent axles, you know... Customer Good Will. Airstream denied the warranty claim, you know... Customer Bad Will. I learned a lot about Airstream's "LIMITED" 3-year warranty. It is limited to what they want to pay for, as some of you probably know. My Airstream dealer did the installation for a fee, but they don't do anything to guarantee that the new axles are within alignment specifications (because they don't have the equipment to check alignment).

How we did it

JC installed new 4200 lb axles, replacing the OEM 3500's

Bob
🇺🇸

[MSL]

From my personal experience of almost 6 years, I wouldn't go to an Airstream dealer for anything important/critical. With work done at 2 different dealers and 2 trips to Jackson Center, you know, "the experts", I left each time with some things fixed, some things not fixed, and some new problems.

My first axle was replaced under warranty at Jackson Center. I replaced tires soon after. Fifteen thousand miles later right tire completely worn on one side, left tire wore evenly, with plenty of tread left. (I did a crude alignment check in my driveway, and could see the right side was way out.) So, either the axle left Dexter not properly aligned, the trucker dropped it, or JC dropped it or just messed up the installation somehow. Either way, I now know, alignment should be checked anytime an axle is changed. Obviously, JC never did. (Some may think I hit a bad bump and caused the alignment problem myself. I don't think so; I stay on paved roads other than at campgrounds and I go very slow through potholes when they can't be avoided.)

I called Dexter hoping they would recommend an alignment shop near me. After some back and forth, they warrantied another axle, including installation, as well as two new tires. I had the axle shipped to Daigle's Truck Master, Chicopee, MA. They also got the tires. Daigle's installed the axle and checked the alignment after installation. They also mounted and balanced the tires. I have only about 10k miles on the new axle and tires, but everything looks good.

I can't recommend Daigle's enough!

Mark

[Action]

Not sure if you kept the alignment data from the shop the dealer recommended. If so post an attachment of it. (You can leave off person data.)

There are three different angles that could be measured. Two that could create wear. Those two are toe in and camber.

For this type of axle there isn't an adjustment.
Assuming the body is built correctly. (By Airstream)
And the axle is built correctly. (By Dexter)
It is a matter of bolting the axle assembly to the coach and that is it.
No checks, nothing further.

A Heavy Duty truck shop may have the equipment to "adjust" (bend) an axle. But not a trailer dealership. And not an Airstream dealership.

Checking .....
Of the two angles, tow in can be done by anyone with a string.
And there are several ways to do so.
Here is a link to one way.
https://www.howacarworks.com/steerin...ment-on-wheels
And you can goggle other ways to do this.

With a car it is desirable to have some tow in for the front tires.
In a trailer, I am not sure.
Either zero tow in or just a little tow in would be my guess.

Action

[suncoasteng]

You will not find RV dealers, or auto repair shops, that know how to do travel trailer axle alignment. You need to find a truck repair facility that has the equipment and knowledge to align trailer wheels, axles and springs.

[Action]

^^^^^ And if the shop does not align that kind of axle, they do not measure or check the alignment either.

Action

[rjerz]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

How we did it

JC installed new 4200 lb axles, replacing the OEM 3500's

Bob
🇺🇸

Thanks for your post about your method.

Jackson Center sent me two PDF's showing how one can check alignment. JC said that a dealer who doesn't have "alignment checking" equipment should still do these manual checks when replacing the Dexter axle assembly. I showed these PDFs to my Airstream dealer's Service Manager, he looked at them, kind of laughed, and said, "We don't do this." In other words, this Airstream dealer does not do any checks. The assume that the Dexters axle assembly, including axle hubs, are aligned.

[rjerz]

Reply to MSL and Action.

Yes, I did take my Airstream to Blaine Brothers Truckalign, a truck alignment shop. So far, Blaine seems like a very good shop. Immediately, Blaine said, "These are Dexter torsion axles that cannot be aligned." They tried to contact Dexter for me but didn't get a response. Blaine suggested that I contact Dexter myself, which I did, and this is when Dexter said that they would replace the two axles, "Customer Good Will (note, they avoided recognizing that their axles were defective)," and send the replacement axles to my Airstream Dealer. JC would not approve the labor cost as part of the warranty.

In my case, my Airstream dealer Service Manager acknowledged that the axles were defective because it was the opposite corner tire wear. But this Service Manager said they do not cover the cost unless JC agrees.

Yes, originally, my dealer blamed the problem on me (very similar to what Action said). But likewise, the problem could have been that these axles were always defective (at the factory), got damaged when the trailer was delivered to the dealership, etc. No, in my first year and a half of owning this trailer, I didn't do any backroads cliff driving. This is my first trailer, and my Airstream is my baby.

Everyone, meaning my AS dealer, Dexter, Blaine, and myself agree that it sure does look like originally defective axles, but not JC.

I am still not done. (There are details that I won't go into, yet.)

Yes, I did decide to take my Airstream back to Blaines for them to check alignment. The cost is about $286. Of course, the Airstream dealer will not cover this cost, but I realized it's the only way to make sure that my Dexter axles are in alignment. I will report back to you folks on Tuesday when I get Blaine's report.

[Action]

They checked thrust angle as well.
That is a good shop

Action

[Air2Dream]

I recently had an issue with a Dexter brake (I know these are not axles), however, I contacted Airstream who referred me to Dexter. Dexter suggested I deal with a shop that deals with running gear and not the Airstream dealers. Dexter provided a list of local Dexter approved repair services. The shop I dealt with customer manufactures parts for trailers, trucks, etc. They were excellent. In the end they could find not find the cause of my brake problems and replaced the entire assembly. I paid for the work and Dexter reimbursed me for the cost of the repair and the tire that was damaged when the brake failed. Outstanding!

Bottom line sometimes you need a specialist and Airstream dealers are not specialists.

[Daquenzer]

Other than for Airstream specific parts it seems like the story is go somewhere else. Frankly not a very good business model. I have a big Camping World place near me. I have a good mind to go ask them if they do work on non-Airstream specific components. I have to believe they will.

[Dingo Girl]

I've not heard anything good about Camping Whirled.
Friends just paid 1200 to get de-winteriized at CW.
They never removed the pink antifreeze from the lines. Yum!

[overlander64]

Greetings Daquenzer!

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

Other than for Airstream specific parts it seems like the story is go somewhere else. Frankly not a very good business model. I have a big Camping World place near me. I have a good mind to go ask them if they do work on non-Airstream specific components. I have to believe they will.

I took my 1964 Airstream Overlander to a Camping World repair center near Chicago one time while I was living near Platteville, Wisconsin in 1995. This was shortly after I had purchased the trailer, and I wanted to have its original UniVolt replaced as well as a new Circuit Breaker Panel and 30-AMP electrical entrance installed. I also had them install a new City Water Entrance. While the quality of their work was passable the labor cost was as high or higher than what I paid when I found a wonderful, long-time Airstream dealer only a couple of hours further away. When that Airstream dealer sold out to Camping World around two decades later, I no longer felt that it was worth the long trip from my Southern Illinois home to their dealership for service as it didn't take long for their long-time service and parts department personnel to depart the business.

Today, when I need service on either my Airstream or Argosy, I have one fantastic independent RV dealer 35 miles from where I live. They are a family owned operation and have been in business for decades. While the are not an Airstream dealer, I have yet to find anything that they were afraid to tackle. They repaired the damage when my black tank and related plumbing was damaged in an accident, and I am confident that the results were as good as what I could have expected at an Airstream dealer. Over the past close to two decades, they have rebuilt my brakes, assisted with recertifying my LP tanks, installed a new Thetford toilet, and resolved issues with LP Gas flow through the system.

My suggestion would be ask around your locality. Looking for an RV dealer that has been in business for 20 or more years and is ideally family owned. These dealers have a big steak in insuring that their customers are satisfied. Then, before you need something for your Airstream, go in and talk to the service manager and get an idea of whether they may be willing to handle service tasks for you when they are needed.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[LNBright]

FWIW:

Our dealership is a couple of hours away: but here in town is a trailer shop that is a Dexter Axle dealer. They were tickled to have me bring our camper by for them to do a lube job and tune up my brakes, and they checked that the alignment was fine for us while at it. They'd be able to handle whatever we needed, axle/hub/brake-wise....

[rjerz]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings Daquenzer!


My suggestion would be ask around your locality. Looking for an RV dealer that has been in business for 20 or more years and is ideally family owned.

Kevin

Yep, Kevin, this seems to be the best approach. Thanks.

[waninae39]

no. most CAN'T check

only higher end dealers with larger service areas can do the job or do it properly

maybe call JC and ask them for dealers they recommend.

in Ontario , go to CANAMrv.ca

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings Daquenzer!



I took my 1964 Airstream Overlander to a Camping World repair center near Chicago one time while I was living near Platteville, Wisconsin in 1995. This was shortly after I had purchased the trailer, and I wanted to have its original UniVolt replaced as well as a new Circuit Breaker Panel and 30-AMP electrical entrance installed. I also had them install a new City Water Entrance. While the quality of their work was passable the labor cost was as high or higher than what I paid when I found a wonderful, long-time Airstream dealer only a couple of hours further away. When that Airstream dealer sold out to Camping World around two decades later, I no longer felt that it was worth the long trip from my Southern Illinois home to their dealership for service as it didn't take long for their long-time service and parts department personnel to depart the business.

Today, when I need service on either my Airstream or Argosy, I have one fantastic independent RV dealer 35 miles from where I live. They are a family owned operation and have been in business for decades. While the are not an Airstream dealer, I have yet to find anything that they were afraid to tackle. They repaired the damage when my black tank and related plumbing was damaged in an accident, and I am confident that the results were as good as what I could have expected at an Airstream dealer. Over the past close to two decades, they have rebuilt my brakes, assisted with recertifying my LP tanks, installed a new Thetford toilet, and resolved issues with LP Gas flow through the system.

My suggestion would be ask around your locality. Looking for an RV dealer that has been in business for 20 or more years and is ideally family owned. These dealers have a big steak in insuring that their customers are satisfied. Then, before you need something for your Airstream, go in and talk to the service manager and get an idea of whether they may be willing to handle service tasks for you when they are needed.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

I have a number of independent dealers in my area. In fact I took my AS to it to check out the appliances, furnace, etc. But they missed a number of things on the camper. I needed some resealing done that they missed or they wouldn't do it. And they missed a damaged window on the roof. So I was not happy with them. Cost a lot of extra time and hassle. The dealer in Minneapolis did the work, but 2 hours for service is just too long unless it is AS specific.

But I get the Camping World experience. There's a small family dealership about 15 miles from me in a small town. I'm going to go and talk to them. Taking the camper all the way to Minneapolis is a PITA.

Thankfully I had a brake go out near a trailer place near a campground we were staying at. They did a great job. I replaced all the brakes (time), and the labor rate was $75 per hour. But they don't work on RVs much.

[oppels]

Go to the Dexter dealer in Ramsey. I had that problem and they dealt with all of it. Got axels and labor paid for. Ask for Megan

+1 (763) 506-0930

M&G Trailer
9387 NW Hwy 10
Ramsey MN 55303
United States