Alko Axle Problems
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Mine is single
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Below is a post I've placed on The AL-KO Facebook page:
My Lunar Clubman has an AL-KO axle which has failed, in less than two years, and this, apparently, is due to overloading. My van has been replated by Lunar and should be capable of handling 1345kg and when I measured it recently it came out at 1270kg
If my van were to be loaded at 1345kg and I hit a patch of uneven road (not potholes) would that not be capable of causing axle failure?
If my van were to be loaded at 1345kg and I stepped into it with my 110kg and was joined by my good lady at 80kg would that not be capable of causing axle damage? How about if I invited a few friends in for a glass of wine?
What technical evidence would lead to a verdict of overloading, as opposed either of the above, because I have a suspicion that the axle in my van was poorly specified, or assembled, and that I have had to pay for a construction which is really not fit for purpose?
Looking on the Caravan Club forums there are numerous examples of unhappy Bailey owners with failed axles and plenty on the Lunar Facebook group.
Bailey have made goodwill payments to some of their owners but Lunar are not being as generous. I'm over £600 out of pocket and I'm wondering if I should budget for two axles and two tyres every two years...
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I'm looking for contact details at AL-KO and at Watchdog (TV)
Can anyone help with either of those?
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Just as a matter of interest, does any of the above problematic axles have the red al-ko shock absorbers attached to them? My pursuit 560-5 hasn't yet the MLTM is 1441kg on a rated 1450kg axle? The current axle on mine is a 1600-02 which can be found on the identification sticker on the axle. Begs a question?
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Whats your axle rated at and does it have the red shock absorbers fitted?
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Have they not got back to you yet?
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This axle problem reminds me of the saga of wheels breaking up on cars of a well know German manufacturer, they maintained it was the bad roads in Britain causing the problem and they kept up this excuse for quite some time. This was very costly for the owners of these cars as the wheels breaking up were aluminum, eventually the car manufacturer came clean and admitted their wheels were at fault. I wonder if we have a similar situation here.
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Well in the year 2000 when we had our problems, outlined near the beginning of this thread, Alko did acknowledge a fault with our axle, and not only that,but with the first replacement which was fitted. After the caravan went back to Alko in the midlands to have a second replacement axle,they told our dealer that a 'whole batch of axle suspension rubber' was at fault!
Our dealer still remembers the whole incident, and still asks if the caravan has a 'lean'.
Fortunately we were lucky and the whole episode cost us nothing!
And in response to the question about shock absorbers, our caravan does have shock absorbers, but I couldn't tell you whether they were the 'Alko red ones' as mentioned above.
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Hi Ian, I didn't read your original post but did post something along the same lines a few days after on another discussion.
It had occurred to me that,
How could overloading during towing be blamed?
or,
is the MTPLM the maximum load that the caravan can have when in use on a pitch?
If that's the case, then a lot caravans are 'sold unfit for purpose' as the payload would be preached as soon as you stepped in it on site. And that's without introducing some of the stuff that has to be carried in the tow cars!
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I stand to be corrected, but the axle repair Fraser Brown offer appears to be for torsion bar axles, as fitted to MH not the rubber based 'triangular' axles fitted to caravans, although I note that again the design of the original Alko torsion bar axle described obviously leaves a lot to be desired! Their service would appear to be light years ahead of Alko too -door to door turnaround in 10 days or an exchange that could have you back on the road in a day.
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I sent an Email to alko asking if the axle loading on our Genoa caravan would be compromised when on a pitch when entertaining max 6 persons,they replied the same day that the Mptlm is down to the c/van manufacterer, ,I then asked Bailey the same question and the reply was that they have forwarded my email to alko and will advise me of their reply ,that was 5days ago ,interesting that nothing has been received yet
If nothing is received by early next week ,I will try to visit Alko and Bailey at Birmingham,
It might also be an Idea for others on here who have had a problem(thankfully not us,yet)to also try contacting
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Lying in bed the other morning it occurred to me that the following are all on the same side of the van: ALDE water heater, Leisure battery, fuse box, microwave, sink, caravan table, oven, sink, toilet and one wardrobe.
Just thinking out loud...
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My van is currently in storage I will have a look at the next opportunity.
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Guys my caravan has a grey waste pipe running behind the wheel at the edge of the caravan. The brake coupling that comes out of the wheel drum towards the top has been hitting this pipe which has stressed the pipe and worn the metal on the brake coupling. I believe this pipe has been hindering the natural travel of the wheel on the axle for which it was designed for. If any one gets a chance have a look to see if you've got the same problem, (there will markings on the grey pipe or even touching it) let me know as all the Baileys I've looked at from 2012 onwards appear to have the grey pipe running in the same place as mine and lunars and coachman don't and aren't reporting axle failures like our Baileys are! Cheers
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Has anyone weighed the left and right wheels unladen and compared these figures with the axle rating? I know that when I did this for my last Swift, although the caravan MRO was just inside the maximum axle load capacity, because of the offset design of the caravan the off side was over the limit.
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22 February 2017 and I am still waiting a reply from Alko, Bailey and the DVSA (Driver Vehicle and Safety Agency).
Alko and Bailey are giving the same excuse as they did October last year - the show is on at the NEC.
The last contact I had with Bailey was the 21st of October and with Alko was 05th December last year - the customer service seems to be as bad as the reliability of their axles.
My caravan has been of the road for 6 months whilst waiting for the answers to my questions - Why did the axle fail? What are the safety implications of the failure (wheel jam or fire)? and Will the replacement axle fail in the same way?
Every owner of an Alko axle caravan should check the gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch - less than 15mm get it checked
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We tried to chat to Alko staff at the NEC one year (not about our previously mentioned axle problem with something else about MTPLM) - and I hope you get a better response than we did. The staff manning the stall appeared to be just salesmen, with little or no technical knowledge at all.
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I went to the Bailey stand yesterday ,to ask what axle our Genoa was mounted on as there does not seem to be a plate on the axle, and after much tooing and frowing,I was advised that our model van was on a 1550kg axle which should give us a leaway of 250kg over the 1300kg of the mptlm,which would mean a big overload if that is what Alko claim,
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i've noticed this on my fatigued axle and was wondering has anyone else got the grey waste pipe hindering the Al-ko axle movement for which it was intended and coming into contact with the braking system causing damage as you can see from the photos? all Baileys have this pipe running behind the wheel on the nearside that I've looked at.
Any feedback would be welcome because I'm in the process of submitting a report to the DVSA on this safety issue for their consideration.
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Our series 3 Unicorn Vigo was with Bailey for 3 months due to it's broken axle. They also found water leak. Just trade it for a Coachman. A dealer who has given up selling Baileys told me he was fed up with the amount of warranty work. He said Bailey are employing agency workers rather than having their own committed people with years of experience.
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Was thinking about doing that, but with the negativity I've been faced with from my dealer, Bailey and now ALKO when ive raised issues of safety on which none of them comment back on! would take the fun out of it now. DVSA can deal with them!
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I have finally hear back from the DVSA. The answer was predictable from Bailey and Alko- "the caravan had been overloaded at sometime in its life" and the DVSA's conclusion was that there was "insufficient evidence for a safety issue".
I have now paid for a new axle, as I thought I probably would have to, and am back on the road
The satisfaction I get from the whole episode is that they now are aware that we the caravanning public are watching and waiting and will not just accept what Bailey and Alko sell us as acceptable.
If you have any concern about the safety or serviceability of of your caravan write to the DVSA with a copy to Bailey/Manufacturer and to Alko.
Happy and SAFE caravanning
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We have a 2013 swift challenger sport which required a new axle due to failure of the bush on the offside of the van, I believe now after reading lots of complaints about this issue on all makes of vans fitted with the AL KO axle that its due to the distribution of weight inside the van.
On this Swift model all the appliances, water heater and battery are on the offside, this causes the van to lean by 10-15 mm even when the axle bushes are in good condition.
This is a design issue that needs to be addressed as I suspect the new axle which was replaced at my expense has not been up rated will probably fail again in the future.
When I was told about the axle problem I checked several other vans and found most had a 10-20 mm difference, ours was 30 mm and did require attention.
AL KO and caravan manufacturers appear to be ignoring the problem and not admitting any liability.
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Hi All
I have started a short survey regarding Unicorn S3 suspension failures / small gaps between tyre and wheel arch
it takes 1 min after you have measured 👍
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCC6GRR
I will post the results later
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Hi,
Out of interest why and for whom are you conducting this survey?
Will you be seeking information on axle failures from other makes/models?
Thanks
Andy
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I've found just yesterday a caravan with a failed axle complete with shock absorbers. So i would assume the answer would be yes they are failing with or without them.
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