Lippert addresses reports of leaking RV axles

[schofie]

Long post. Sorry in advance.

I had grease on all 4 wheels of our Reflection 303rls with little noticeable braking force. Service guy at my dealer (Blue Dog in Las Vegas, NV) said he was an expert in all things re: RV axles, hubs, brakes, etc and they would fix me up. Called me to say that the seals were fine but grease was coming from some fitting on the end of the hub (zerk?) (I'm mechanically inclined but NOT a mechanic) and they fixed the leaks and cleaned everything up like it was a cosmetic concern. When pressed about the diminished braking he agreed to put the rig back in the bay and double-check. Then he said that a 'minute' amount of grease had gotten past one or more of the seals and had gotten on one or more magnets? They cleaned the magnets, replaced the seals and repacked And that now, for sure the problem was fixed. On the drive home brakes were slightly better but not what I expected with controller on max brake setting (Boost 3, Level 12) and the brake lever all the way over. Dealer now says the brakes need to be burned in (max braking at 35 mph until the tires lock up) because there might still be some grease on the magnets. Am I being fed a line here? Grand Design told me the brakes are designed not to lock up. Dealer says they will do whatever it takes to make things right but I have heard that before. GD says we have to work things out with the dealer. Even if they are incompetent? Also, GD doesn't cover diagnostic fees if I have to take the rig to someone I trust. And If there is in fact a larger issue I will have to get reimbursed by the dealer. Really?

Sorry. Guess I needed to vent. Any advice, confirmation, rebuttal would be appreciated.

Thanks!

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I must admit I didn't know anything about this issue until I talked to a fellow owner and then read this forum neither did my dealer. There responce was that there was no recall. I printed out the article from the link in the very first post on this thread. I took that with me and after a little discussion they agreed to call Lippert. Lippert must have agreed to everything because when I heard from them it was done. Complete new brakes from the back plate out. Along with new seals!! I would go back with the article telling them that you are not happy with the brakes as they do appear to be working efficiently even on the maximum setting. If you don't get any satisfaction I'd contact Lippert as mentioned at the end of the article.

With respect to your brakes efficiency. I had mine on boost 3 and 13 amp max and it still felt as though I had no brakes or very little braking was taking place. Now it is set at 5.7 and at slow speeds it almost locks. I had to scale it back as I was getting on a ferry and it locked as I tried to slow down but not stop.

[Wizbangdoodle]

Any of you that have grease on your brakes, either call GD or Lippert directly. I have spoken to a Lippert rep face to face and they are all over this issue. They will cover all costs involved in replacing the brakes.

And if the dealer does not REPLACE the entire brake assembly, from the back plate out, they aren't doing it right.

[Bonieux]

I'm wondering why I haven't received the letter regarding this issue?? I already knew about it but should have been notified by Grand Design regarding the inspection. I have a 2017 303RLS that has very few miles on it. It has been serviced by Santa Rosa RV in California I joined this forum right after I got my coach.

[minnow101]

I'm wondering why I haven't received the letter regarding this issue?? I already knew about it but should have been notified by Grand Design regarding the inspection. I have a 2017 303RLS that has very few miles on it. It has been serviced by Santa Rosa RV in California I joined this forum right after I got my coach.

What letter? There has never been any recall by either Lippert or GD. Any owner thats had the axles inspected and/or repaired has found our about it on here or other social media.

[PWRSTROKE]

Perhaps 'Bonieux' is confused thinking of this post or the link was referencing a letter or something.

Note: I express this with a positive tone with safety in mind. Pls do not misread.

The best advice for all and any such issues.

Do not rely on the 'industry' (pick one - Auto, RV, etc.) to identify a safety issue. You may be a victim if you wait.
Obvious safety issues and maintenance is your responsibility.
We are responsible for our families and ourselves.

In general, don't wait on others to notify or push something to you.
This forum exists (in part) to enable us as a community to proactively communicate and address various subjects.
(And collectively improve the RV industry through our positive involvement. )

Guys (and Gals), Keep up the great job!

[acadiaforever]

I've read many (many!) of the posts on this forum about the leaking seals, but certainly not all.

I've not seen any reports of leaking seals for axles built after 5/8/17. Have I missed them, or does it seem that the problem may indeed be fixed? I know that with the length of the pipeline, that the 5/8/17 axles haven't been actually on the road in large numbers, nor for very long, so it may be too early to state definitively.

Final question: should the old axles be completely out of the pipeline now so that current builds will all have the new axles? We ordered a 310GK at Hershey for delivery in March. (Hoping that it will be built between now and then...)

Thanks.

[Edited to add:]

MEGAthanks to all of you who have done the excellent work researching this topic and reporting your findings.

[PWRSTROKE]

Good news.
From my research below, your Sol 310 will have Dexter axles and all 2018 mid year updates.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...itude-Features

I started seeing Dexter axle units in Aug 2017. We ordered our Sol 377 after that.

[BabyBober]

Good news.
From my research below, your Sol 310 will have Dexter axles and all 2018 mid year updates.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...itude-Features

I started seeing Dexter axle units in Aug 2017. We ordered our Sol 377 after that.

So a question for all. Now that GD switched to Dexter, did they dump the self adjusting brakes. I don't think Dexter makes any. That is a Lippert product and I can't imagine GD putting Dexter axles with Lippert brakes/hubs on....

[acadiaforever]

Thanks so much, PwrStroke.
-Al

[acadiaforever]

BabyBober

I can't address whether GDRV is using self-adjusting brakes on the Dexter axles, but it does appear that Dexter makes them:

http://www.dexteraxle.com/resources/...-adjust-brakes

-Al