Al-Ko Axle

[marbarker]

Has anyone had any luck with warranty issues with Al-Ko? We have a Que that is going through tires like mad and on our first trip a few weeks ago, we spun a bearing. Our dealer said it sounded like we had a bent axle and that it was probably defective from the start. They wrote a letter to Al-Ko but from what I've read on this great site, no one has gotten too far with Al-Ko owning up to responsibility. With camping season right around the corner I don't want our camper sitting at the dealer's all summer! Any advice would be appreciated.

[JohnB]

Hi Marbarker

Welcome to Sunline Owners Club.

To your direct question with Alko and warranty, I have had my own negative experience with them and gave up and moved on myself.

I'm thinking even if your Que was a 2007, odds may not be in your favor to be able to collect on a warranty claim.

So now what? I can offer some suggestions that may help on the fix it route.

1. Do you have access to being able to jack up your camper and put it on jack stands on a concrete or black top drive way? If so we can walk you thru a few ways to check if you axle is out of align. Then armed with that you can figure out how to correct either yourself or take to a trailer/truck repair place.

2. The TT dealers. This may be a hit and miss. If you have a dealer who does actual axle alignment, then they may be able to help do this work for you. There are many that just change parts the factory sends.

You talked about the camper being out of commission all summer, well actually to install an entire new axle, move the brakes and align to the tow ball will only take less then a week in a shop that does this for a living. More like 2 to 3 days on a single axle unit.

I’m assuming you have a torsion axle as I thought the Que’s where set up one those. A whole new Dexter axle less brakes is not that expensive, the labor to do the work can be. In my case I totally rebuilt the entire axles and suspension. However I am fortunate to have a shop where I can do this here at the house.

Good luck and hope this helps

John

[marbarker]

Hi John,
Thanks for the prompt response. Having the feeling that you have now confirmed, I have decided to not pursue the Al-Ko warranty route. The dealer that we bought the Que from did jack it up and ascertained that replacement was the best option. We agreed and a Dexter axle has been ordered. We may still go after Al-Ko once the old axle is taken off. My understanding is that Al-Ko wants to see the part before deciding to honor any warranty which I believe is 5 years. In any case, the replacement will costs us between $600-$800 hard earned dollars but I can't bear the thought of being without my Que! The camping season here in Maine is short so it's worth it to me to act quickly on this issue. In other ways, the Que seems to be well built and suits our traveling style. This website community is a great place to share experiences and information. I'm glad I found it! Thanks again and happy camping!

Marian Barker