Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

[pjgirl]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I own a 2005 Jayco 251 Eagle 5th wheel. Although it is a 2005, it’s only been in service for two years (I bought it new in the summer of 2006). This year we have a new tow vehicle that is higher than the previous one which required that the RV be raised. This Jayco 5th wheel features a jake plate, which is an adjustable axle hanger plate. This allows you to adjust the axle height up to two inches to accommodate tow vehicles of different sizes. The brochure states that these jake plates are, “twice as strong as traditional single spring hangers.” In our case, the adjustment was made to set the RV into the highest position so that the RV would ride level behind the tow vehicle. We then went on our vacation. Part way through the trip, we travelled through a construction area where there was a white compound on the road that coated the tires. It didn’t hurt anything, but when we were doing a trip inspection the next time, we noticed that the white compound was being rubbed off on the inside of the tires on the passenger side. Further inspection confirmed that the shock absorber mounts were rubbing on the tires. This is happening because the spring hangers are bent. This isn’t ruining the tires yet, or causing huge problems at this time, but it will have to be repaired.

After we explained the situation to our Jayco dealer, they stated that Jayco wouldn’t cover this on warranty because it could be abuse. Well, we know it wasn’t abuse – the roads we travelled are no worse than any other that we’ve been on, and as a matter of fact, this damage doesn’t have to be related to the RV being raised, or even to this trip – it’s just that it was noticed now because of the white compound. The damage could even have been sustained just before delivery to the dealer. If it had happened late in that trip, it wouldn’t have been noticed during the pre-delivery inspection, and we likely wouldn’t have noticed it, either.

The point is this – we don’t think the spring hangers should be bending, period, and especially not when the spring hangers are “twice as strong.” If the undercarriage is not strong enough for the load and it bends, that is a problem. It could even be an issue that the Department of Transportation might have to investigate.

For now, we are trying to contact the manufacturer of the undercarriage, i.e. Dexter Axle, to see what they have to say about this. It’s possible they might warranty this problem. It’s also possible they will point the finger at Jayco, which means we’re back to square one.

We were wondering if anyone else out there has had the same problem with a Jayco product or any other product, and if so, what you did about it. Did anyone warranty it for you?

We’d love to hear from anyone at all as we continue gathering information on this issue.

 

[Guest]

RE: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

well first off welcome to the forums ,, and sorry to hear about u'r probs ,, but if u stick around i am sure someone will have a good response to u'r post ,, i my self have not heard or seen anything like this ,, and wondering why the dealer won't take it as a prob ,, u may have to go to the manufact,, to get this solved ,, but when Kenneth ,, from Grand View Trailer Sales see's this ,, he might be able to put more insight into this than i can ,, but please don't give up ,, we are here to help when we can :approve: :approve: :approve:

 

[C Nash]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Welcome to the forum pjgirl. Are you sure you were not over weight? I ask this :question: not trying to be a smart%$# but this will be the frist thing the dealer will accuse you of doing. Hope Cexter will step up and repair this problem. Should be a pretty simple fix to just beef up the hangers. Have the rv weighed as it was loaded when on the trip. let us know the outcome

 

[Grandview Trailer Sa]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Dexter made the axles and maybe the springs. I doubt they made the hangers. For sure, Dexter did not weld the frame together.

I have actually raised Jaycos among other brands and never had problems with twisting. Something tells me weight and a tight turn might have been involved. Sorry if I am wrong, just my opinion.

 

[pjgirl]

RE: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Thank you for the welcome, 730! I think the good people in the RV'ing world will help me learn more about this and perhaps with all that knowledge, Jayco will re-think their position. One can only hope!

 

[pjgirl]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Hi! Well, I could lose a few pounds .... oh, you mean the RV!! :laugh: Actually, this has been asked of me before on another forum where I posted this same message, and the RV was not overweight. I know this for a fact because we made a point of weighing it before we left on holidays. I know that many RV'ers don't do this, but my boyfriend is a trucker - he drives Super B's and he knows all about weigh scales and weights, so we wouldn't be going anywhere without checking that. All was well in that area.

I wrote to Jayco headquarters tonight and hope to hear something good for them (not that I'm holding my breath). I guess time will tell.

Thanks for replying - it's really nice to see that people care enough to do that. Much appreciated from everyone.

 

[pjgirl]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Hi, Kenneth. Thanks for your response. I agree with you - I think Dexter built the axle but probably didn't have anything to do with the jake plate. I don't blame you for thinking about the weight/sharp turn issue - that would sure make sense. However, the RV wasn't overweight (as I just replied moments ago to another post) and Jayco's are made with this adjustable jake plate for the express purpose of raising them just this way. If it's a problem, than to my way of thinking, they shouldn't have been built this way. Just my opinion, of course. One thing I do know - my boyfriend and I take good care of the RV and don't abuse it. He's a trucker and a real stickler with taking care of things, so abuse is not the cause.

I really am glad to hear from you because you're confirming you haven't seen this problem before. OK, maybe I'm not so happy to hear that, but I figure all information is good, and just because it didn't happen to anyone else, it doesn't mean that we somehow caused this. Every RV can have a manufacturer problem on an individual basis, just like every vehicle can, and it doesn't mean this isn't the case here.

I hope Jayco will step up and pay the repair bill for this one. I really don't feel we caused this.

Thanks again, Kenneth. I will try to keep everyone apprised about what happens, although I have posted this on six forums (trying to gather all the information I can), so it's going to be interesting to keep up with all of them!

 

[C Nash]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel



Hope you will hang around this forum pjgirl. weight is just the first thing that comes to most of us when ther are axle, tire problems. Think you will find that there is a lot of knowledge here and a great bunch of folks. Sounds as though you have the weight covered and maybe Jaco will step up to the plate. If not you might want to contact some of the action line folks in magazines. Sure would think the dealer would just go ahead and repair as it should not cost that much to replace the hangers. Might help if you just kind of casually mention to the dealer that you have posted this problem on several forums to see if Jayco had this problem and will be reporting back to all the fix let us know how it turns out.

Oh and by the way I should have said trailer weight and not you:blackeye: Reminds me of the time a lady bought her car in the shop and wanted me to drive it to see what the noise was. When I came back I told her it was her rear end:blush: :blackeye:

 

[Guest]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

now nash was that nice ,, to tell a lady it was her rearend ,, sorry tired and goofy tonight ,, the rv repair thingy has busted wide open ,, and i can not figure out why,, but am i not complaining ,, heck no ,, but i could use some help ,, doing it all on my own ,, i guess this why i feel so overwhelmed ,, but it's better now than it was :approve: :approve: :approve: :approve: :approve: :approve: :approve: :bleh: :bleh: :bleh:

 

[C Nash]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Rod, The lady never did let me forget that I had told her she had a bad rear end but at least we always had a good laught about it. I really had great customers. I thought you had hired a new helper. Well think you did say he was older so guess he has to do a lot of resting :laugh:
Oh well back to the original post. pjgirl I doubt that Jayco or Dexter will help you but hope they do. If not I would take it to a local welder, machine shop, and tell them to make me some heavier spring hangers. Should not be that expensive. Did Dexter say they are the ones that supply the longer hangers?

 

[Guest]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

I did hire a new tech Nash ,, but he lasted only 2days ,, and didn't like the onsight stuff and late hr's and on and on ,, but i did interview about 3 today ,, when i had time ,, but all the same ,, wnat weekends off ,, and no onsight stuff ,, all want to work 8 to 5 and in the shop only :dead: :disapprove: :angry:

 

[C Nash]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

The RV online expert job is looking better Rod :laugh:

 

[bobarr9145]

Re: Bent Spring Hangers on Jayco 5th wheel

Leppert built your frame on your jayco and the frame is warranty for 5 years and no it don't matter how much weight was in the trailer ! Just go back to your dealer or a dealer for jayco and they will repair at no cost to you . Its covered and they will take care of you . Your friendly service manager.