OT- Broke axle on motor home

Milacron · Jul 2, 2005

My brother in law called yesterday stranded on I95 due to his "Holiday Rambler" suddenly, without any warning, breaking it's axle ! Not sure of exact length of RV but it's about size of a typical school bus.

To top it all off, he was hauling his racecar to Savannah, GA for a race this weekend and had to borrow my truck to tow the race trailer while the RV got towed off to Walterboro, SC for the "we've got ya where we want ya now sucker" mechanics to do their deeds.

I couldn't get my head under to look, but the wheels were cocked at an angle sure nuf and he said he heard gawdawful noise when it happened.

Anyhoo, just wondering what the hell would cause an axle to break at only 60,000 miles and any suggestions on the repair aspects ?

John Michael · Jul 2, 2005

Broke where? Dry bearings might let a wheel lock up and twist off a spindle. Over loaded? How much beer was he hauling?

Milacron · Jul 2, 2005

Due to wheel angle, it seemed to be broke a few inches behind the wheel mount flange, but as I said, due to tall grass couldn't get my head up under to look. I presume the housing wasn't broke but bearings and internal drive broke...but dunno really.

Not overloaded, as I helped him unload...maybe 1,000 lbs worth of stuff and 3,200 lbs of racecar (small light one) and trailer. Unless those RV's are made right up to the limit such that you're not supposed to be towing anything with them ??

johnoder · Jul 2, 2005

These are usually full floating (no bending loads on drive axles) Did the housing break?

John

Rich Carlstedt · Jul 2, 2005

Yes Dave, Most motorhomes at 28 feet and longer have little true load capacity. Especially if they have "Slide Outs".
My Ford 31 footer (2000-no slide !), with 2 people, full gas tank,full water tank, full Propane, and a 200 pound Hobby Load weighs 14,020 pounds and max for most this size is only 14,090.
This is mostly controlled by the 16 Inch "E" tires.( empty of the above, curb weight is around 12,700) My rig has no Trailer load either!
I watch my weights like a hawk, but most people don't pay any attention. Note, with a slide out, the weight goes up about another 1,000 pounds, so you can not even have a passenger if you really pay attention !
The bigger motorhomes with 19 inch tires (usually rear engines !)do not have this issue, but then you're talking a 110K min $
I am assuming the axle was the "rear" axle?
have not seen or heard of this before

matt_isserstedt · Jul 2, 2005

I have seen an axle failure in durability testing where the toothed part of the pinion gear (input from driveshaft) broke off from the straight section of shaft and caused all sorts of problems with the ring gear.

You'd think that that kind of failure, even if it locked up the ring & pinion and hence one or more rear tires, would just cause a skid.

However, with heavy mass, lots of inertia at highway speeds, a solid and instantaneous stop might be enough to twist off the axle.

Usually those axles are built for hell AND high water, though, and can take any abuse thrown at them.

I'll say it just for posterity but the tooth contact on a ring & pinion must be set by a knowledgeable hand to avoid really irritating driveline noise and short life.

-Matt

LC · Jul 2, 2005

Had to replace a rear housing on a 30 footer once. I don't remember what the sequence of events caused it but the axle shaft partially friction welded itself to the housing. Locked enough to skid the rear duals at hiway speed. Oh, do too remember. The wheel bearings blew and siezed, the torque twisted the shaft, expanding it's diameter to weld to the housing. Took almost a week to get a used housing found, delivered, and back in.
I hope that comment up front didn't mean what I thought it meant Don.

Milacron · Jul 2, 2005

I hope that comment up front didn't mean what I thought it meant Don.

Seeing as how I have no earthly idea what you mean by "that comment" or "up front" I guess we're safe

kenh · Jul 2, 2005

Since it is a full floater, we can probably dismiss ring/pinon/shaft failure.
Maybe just a fluke thing. Metalurgy flaw?

Milacron · Jul 3, 2005

I'll repost in a week or so when I find out what actually happened with the thing. I was surprised the tow truck guy rigged it from the front, considering the broke rear but he had some comment like "do it all the time,no problem"

My brother in law replied to me that if the whole motor home axle siezed up, fell into a ravine, and burst into flames during the tow, that would be fine with him !

sandman2234 · Jul 3, 2005

Picking it up from the front was probably the only option. However, hopefully he had enough sense to put the rears on dollies.
David from jax

Milacron · Jul 3, 2005

David, I didn't wait around for the final pullout but I'm pretty sure he *didn't* put the rear on dollies.

Maybe I should check the newpaper for "tow truck looses motor home on interstate in heavy holiday traffic" headlines.... :eek:

sandman2234 · Jul 3, 2005

I sold my little tractor, to a good friend, who broke the 1.375" axle by just driving it across the yard, the first week he had it. He had priced an axle, almost 1400 dollars, and wanted to know what I thought. I made some calls, and found a friend who knew somebody they worked with in the tractor industry, and got it for $240 with seal and gasket, delivered.
I took the old axle to the metalurgist at work,and he told me it broke from repeated torsions. Further questions were answered, and figured out that because the brake only worked on that side, it took the start/stop all the time, which caused it demise.
The tractor had just over 1,000 hours on it, and shouldn't have broken the axle.
Two years, and forty hours later, I bought it back for what he paid me for it.
David from jax

lathefan · Jul 3, 2005

I replaced a cracked drive axle housing on my Kenworth a couple of years ago. It would have failed eventually. It had been repaired at the spot it cracked sometime in the ten years before I bought the truck. The repair was well done and lasted twenty years. The crack became obvious because of the copious amount of gear lube leaking from a spot where there shouldn't have been a leak possible. Hell of a job changing one under the shade tree with hand tools.

wilbilt · Jul 3, 2005

I had one break on a service truck. The "mechanic" had just done brakes on it the day before. Dana 70 DRW.

I don't know if he adjusted the bearings too tight, didn't check the oil level, or ?

It started making that "bad bearing" growl about 20 seconds before the spindle twisted (mostly) off the housing. The axle melted in two as well, about two inches from the hub bolt flange.

The duals on that side were stuffed up under the wheelwell, and it flat-spotted both tires while skidding to a stop. No brakes needed at that point...

motion guru · Jul 3, 2005

I did a stint as a motorhome mechanic for a few years before I went to college. I was familliar with several axle failures on GM chassis Class A motorhomes.

The rear hub is supported by bearings and the axle only transmits torque. Usually the bearing retainer fails and the hub walks off the end of the axle housing an inch or so and then the housing drops onto the axel which will usually slide out till the rear housing is dragging on the road.

Relatively inexpensive fix if the housing was not damaged too bad when the retainer failed or the axle shaft ate away at the top of the housing while making it's exit - axle shafts are inexpensive. If the housing is toast - he is going to wish it had burst into flames.

1yesca · Jul 3, 2005

in about 1990 i help replace a rearend that had broke its left axle in three place with the center peace welded to the housing had to replace the compleat assy. as time was something we did not have got one from a burn down worked out real nice a few years after that i was takling to a rv mechanic about it and he was telling my that on some rv rearends made by dana that the oil filler plug hole was a bit to low for the lub to make its way out to the end so by installing a street elbow in the oil filler hole it will rise the level to the top of the fill hole that will get a bit more lub out to the end were it needs to be i hope this info may help someone out there

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