Al-ko axle

MitchandEllen · 10-04-2010, 09:53 AM

Hello Fellow Que Enthusiasts,

We need some help in getting information about your experiences with the Al-ko alxes on your trailers. We bought our 2006 Que new in 2007. It has been gently driven for about 5,000 miles. We were towing it from our home in Duluth, Minnesota to Boise, Idaho this summer. We were about 1,000 miles from home when we noticed that the left tire seemed to be worn. (In fact I cut my hand on the steel belt when I ran it down the tire.) We changed the tire and drove to Boise. We took it to a garage recommended by one of the local rv dealers and were toldthat it could not be repaired, but needed to be replaced. We were told that the axle had no signs of damage or abuse.

The axle is still on warranty. We ordered a new axle and sent the old axle to Al-ko for reimbursement. After not hearing anything for two months, we finally contacted the company and were told that they would not honor the warranty because the axle was twisted and we must have been responsible for that. WE ARE NOT HAPPY.

Did any of you have the same experience? We did read on another forum that there were a bad batch of Al-ko axles in 2006. Are any of you familiar with that situation? We would like to pursue this further, but need more information in order to do so.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give us,
Mitch and Ellen

Gene · 10-04-2010, 05:23 PM

Hi Mitch and Ellen,

If you use the search at the top of the page you will get a bunch of hits. Search for Alko, no hyphen.

Here is one thread in particular:
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f7...ion-10899.html

Good luck,

Gene

MitchandEllen · 10-04-2010, 05:52 PM

Thank you for the information. I will post a search and try to contact DennisB. Looks like this may be their customary practice.

nasa42a · 10-05-2010, 07:49 AM

Mitch, Ellen.......

We had to replace our Que's axle after about 10,000 miles.....loss of camber on the axle....with the same tire wear symptoms you've got. Went through the same AlKo process you did, and they declined to honor the warranty. But of course, the cost of pursuing the issue far outweighs the unlikely benefit of winning.
Personally, had I known back then what their business practices (and axle histories) were, I'd have just ordered a Dexter Axle. Others have already done that.

Frank

MitchandEllen · 10-05-2010, 08:45 AM

Thanks Frank!

I am not willing to give up yet and it really helps to have information about other customers' experiences. I will keep everyone posted about any progress I can make. It remains to be seen if their "good name" still means anything to them. As you say, people can vote with their wallets and give their business to someone else.

Ellen

sandd · 10-20-2010, 07:32 PM

Hi, My husband & I had the same problem with our ALko axle. We had no satisfaction either, they did send another one to replace ours, but it was bad as well.
We just decided to order a Dexter Axle and have been happy since. We've gone almost 20,000 miles with the new Axle with no problems. Doris & Steve Foster
and own a Que with re. Charlestown, N.H.

MitchandEllen · 10-21-2010, 06:49 AM

Hello Doris and Steve,
Thanks for your reply. We have written to to North American President of Al-ko Kober (Tim Kuppler in Elkhart, Indiana) and are waiting to see if we get a response. We had included other posts such as yours in an attempt to illustrate that ours was not isolated incident. We will keep everyone posted.

Ellen

marbarker · 10-21-2010, 06:10 PM

Hi Mitch & Ellen,
Same problem with our Que with fewer miles on ours. Black smoke coming right out of the wheel bearing! This happened in April 2010 and wanting to do as much camping as possible, we were not willing to wait for a response from Al-Ko so we asked our dealer to order a Dexter. When he called to tell us it would be 6 weeks (yikes!) for a Dexter, we bit the bullet and ordered an Al-Ko. We are keeping a close eye on the wear on the left tire and have not yet seen anything to be alarmed about. We only made a few trips averaging 200 miles round trip and one trip to NH for about 500 miles. Good luck with dealing with Al-Ko. It doesn't sound like anyone here has had much good to say about them!

nasa42a · 10-22-2010, 07:17 AM

Marbarker.....

As an addendum to this discussion, I'd like to point out that problems with the bearings on axle(s) are separate from the camber & wear issues.

Over the years, we've decided that one can never trust the adequacy of axle bearing lubrication on brand new trailers. It appears that the axle manufacturer is responsible for this on their assembly process, and that they are a bit sparing of the axle lubricant (perhaps to avoid assembly messes).

In any event, after having had to replace a number of burnt bearings after less than about 4000 miles on new trailers (we sometimes put 7,000-10,000 miles per year on the TT), we now make a practice of having the new trailer's bearings repacked by our dealer...and every year thereafter. It adds to initial trailer costs....but has eliminated our bearing failure problems completely.

Frank

marbarker · 10-22-2010, 08:38 AM

Thanks Frank for the useful info. We plan to check both the axle and bearings on a year to year basis, although we are not quite as fortunate as you to be able to travel the miles that you do. Caretaking for 2 mothers and not quite retired limits our travels. But our desire is to one day take our little "Que-T" cross country in good weather and spend some time south to escape the cold climate here in Maine. We love Maine and have enjoyed camping throughout the northeast and maritimes but yearn to investigate the southeast and northwest where we have family. By taking care of our Que until then, she should be ready and anxious to join us in our travels!

Marbarker

**JohnB** · 10-25-2010, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nasa42a

Over the years, we've decided that one can never trust the adequacy of axle bearing lubrication on brand new trailers. It appears that the axle manufacturer is responsible for this on their assembly process, and that they are a bit sparing of the axle lubricant (perhaps to avoid assembly messes).

Frank

I have found this as well. It was new cargo trailers and travel trailers. Why they are so sparing on the grease is beyond me. Must be a cost cutting thing.

New brakes are another thing that needs resetting in about 200 miles or so.

John