Dexter Axle 2021 17b moved forward

[mr.stang]

As stated in the title, 2021 17b no lift, standard tires, level, not overloaded, correct hitch height. My axle moved forward on the passengers side and rubbed the fiberglass well. It was always close less than 1/2 inch from front of the wheel well, no bumps, mishaps nada, bought new 1 yr. ago. Returning from a trip I went in to use the facility during a fuel up and smelt burnt rubber. The entire width of the tire is rubbing against the forward bottom quarter of the wheel well. No tire damage, a little polished on the center, heat wise not much different than the other side but it did rub. Figure the tire is shot, but!!! Dropped some air from tire that left enough gap to limp home, too tired now but will be underneath tomorrow. Anyone ever hear of anything like this? Drivers side still has about 1/2 inch clearance

[Ron in BC]

I don't recall anyone else having this problem although there have been some mis-alignment issues that may have been caused by this type of situation.

The axle is held in place with two bolts on each side. The holes are slotted and allow for the alignment to be fine tuned. You can see one of them circled in red in my photo. When I installed my new axle they allowed me to position the axle correctly.

I can't remember the torque specified but it was considerable. It seems like the bolts must have loosened and allowed the axle to move.

If that's the case it's an easy fix.

Ron

[Eggscape]

I think I have read that some have found 1 or more axle bolts not tight.

[MVA]

What is the clearance to the back of the wheel well?

For the torque specification, see:
http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/fil...ation_4-07.pdf

FWIW, when I replaced the front axle on our E19 (bent axle problem) after 3 years, I checked the torque on the rear axle mounting bolts; they were only about 80 ft-lbs. I clearly re-torqued them.

edit - read the installation instructions for the axle. It may be obvious, but stating anyway, when you position the axle make sure the axle is perpendicular to the trailer centerline (figure 3 in the link instructions). Distance to the axle on each side of the trailer to the ball hitch needs to be equal so that trailer pulls straight.

[mr.stang]

With the frame lifted from the ground, no weight on axle.
Passenger side front 5/8 inch from well, rear 1 1/2 inches
drivers side 3/4 inch in front 1 1/4 inch in back.

with all wheels on the ground trailer basically empty 1/3 tank fresh water
Passenger side 1/8 inch front 1 1/2 to back tire was partially deflated to get home
drivers side short 3/8 to front 1 1/4 to back

A hole approximately the size of a softball was burned through the front passengers side from the bottom of the wheel well up. the drivers side is a little scorched. Sometimes just lucky.

Pulled an axle mounting bolt the hole was not elongated, bolt was tight, so much for an easy fix. Could a 3500 # dexter be weak? Going to have to wait for Monday but most any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks Stan

Traveling with normal load no black, grey, 1/3 fresh. no more than 300 lbs in camper. todays measurements were empty except for fresh water

[7Gentex]

Might be the tire and not the axle?
Stock / original tires?

Belt separation / failure causing the tire to "grow"? Measure / compare "height" of both tires...

To rule out tire related, measure from the middle of the centercap / axle to the fiberglass on both sides of the tire and maybe someone with a 17 will do the same for comparison.


Wonder if broken axle shock cords would do this........?

[MVA]

Has the axle always since delivery been forward or is this a recent occurrence?

Pictures would be useful.

Reviewing your numbers it seems that with and without weight on the axle the distance to the back is the same (?).

[Iowa Dave]

We had a extensive equipment to keep our trucks and trailers maintained and some good mechanics but used a local frame and axle company when it came to alignments and modifications . This guys do it every day all day and I thought it was prudent to get the best help I could get . Good advice on hiring a pro.
Iowa Dave

[marant]

With all the discussion on bolts securing the axles to the frame I decided to crawl under our 2022 21C to check. It has about 4000 miles on it.

The axles are attached to the frame with two bolts on each side, each axle. The nuts are very large, too large for any socket I own. I checked each nut as best I could, all are tight. In addition, all 8 nuts have red reference lines across the nut and the bolt. None of the reference lines are out of alignment. I think I can rest easy that all the nuts/bolts are properly torqued and as they should be. Glad I checked.

[Iowa Dave]

The simple act by the installer of painting reference marks is certainly reassuring assuming everything is square, and there’s no reason it wouldn’t be if they went to the trouble of making it. I had a mechanic who was a combat engineer in Viet Nam. He referenced about everything he worked on as some seasonal employees thought they would “fine tune” his work.

He also did the military thing on tire pressures using excellent penmanship, he would put the T.P. 45 or whatever at the top of the fender arc.

Later he personalized the doors in some park trucks for the people who had the truck assigned to them specifically with a tiny “Mikey B” Or “ Fritz the Cat” on the upper door panel.

When questioned I responded “For Esprit de Corps.” Things changed after I left though. Some management just didn’t understand or think the way I did.
Iowa Dave

[mr.stang]

Project complete. After I contacted ETI they took ownership of the mis-mounted axle. They engineered a set of mounting brackets to relocate, and arranged flat bed transport from Sarasota Fl to Jacksonville Fl, about 300 miles. Retro Renos did the axle relocation, fiberglass repair and had new goodyears installed. These guys only work on fiberglass trailers from rebuilding to repairing. They are a ten in my book, all the repairs are professional, communication was great. ETI picked the entire tab and I am back to camping. Kudos to ETI and Retro Renos, it's a shame this happened but they picked up the ball and ran with it. I am good, Stan

[Centex]

Sounds like an excellent outcome for a particularly rare manufacturing defect (and a reminder to 'give ETI a chance' when something seems amiss). Thanks for the follow-up.