A question for the club; axles and brakes

I think you are correct Lutz. I have spoken to a few people on forums and elsewhere, the  probable reason is that there was a design error. Looking at the Alko information available a B1600 axle fully loaded the swing arm should be horizontal, at this horizontal position there is available further 60mm of suspension travel. Alko recommend a further 20mm of safety clearance. The Bailey design appears to have 25/40mm of available travel from horizontal swing arm position to the wheel arch This means that at full 60mm deflection the wheel arch will be hit and intruded into by 20-35mm. I believe that the DVSA are aware of this and as there is nothing of structural concern are not deeming it a safety issue. Which seems odd, if my car exhibited wheel arch wear from the tyres hitting I am fairly sure there would be a problem at MOT time.

I have a 2014 Bailey Cadiz and I have just been made aware of the possible collapse of the suspension ... can anyone advice me of what I should be looking for ? ... what should the clearance be between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch ? At the moment I can only just get my fingers in the gap and it looks like the tyre has been rubbing on the wheel arch 

check the post above yours which mensions clearance measurements. I wonder what the percentage is of those caravans that are fitted with shock absorbers as they would be taking most of the hammering from our potholed roads. Alko can do what they want as have the biggest percentage of the market.  

Wouldnt it be cheaper to send axle to be refurbed ? 

I am new to this thread and have I guess been a bit of an ostrich on this issue.  I have a Bailey Unicorn 3 Cadiz, 2015 model which in servicing between year 3 and 4 the wheel clearance has reduced  and then in year 4 to 5 dropped slightly further again with the dealer telling me that if it drops any further that it will be unsafe to use.

My caravan has hardly been used since new with about 2 outings a year, although in the past 2 years it has only been used once as I am worried about towing it now given the known issues; I am positive that it has not been overloaded and the Bailey dealer who services confirms that what is in it would not be overloading it so it would appear that mine too has a fault.

The dealer provided a rough quotation of £3,000 to repair or replace the axle but until they take it apart can't confirm exactly which is worrying.  With this in mind I am very keen to know where you took yours at £1300 as this would be far more preferable given that the warranty expired just before the axle started failing.   Or if anyone knows a good place to obtain a quote for such a repair that doesn't cost the earth.  

I am in North Gloucestershire but happy to take it elsewhere to get it sorted if it saves me a fortune and makes the van safe to use again. 

Individually it can be difficult to get any redress. Organisations that you thought would help don't always seem too keen. However, the consumers organisation Which that campaigns on behalf of consumers is interested if there are sufficient numbers.

You don't have to be a member to contact them! You can e-mail them:   which@which.co.uk

If enough of us contact them, hopefully they will make the investment in time and energy to help. It would be nice to have an organisation that is impartial and can look at issues, caravans, motorhomes etc from an objective viewpoint.

see; Al-Ko Axle suspension failure (Bailey), this post is from 2018 but replies are dated in 2020,

This problem has been going on for years and I am convinced its a design fault, applies to any make of van with the ALKO axle built after 2012 ?

I would also say that its not clear to me if its the fault of the axle or the layout of the van, ie too much weight caused by appliances etc fitted on one side.

The axle however appears to be inadequate as most failures are attributed to overloading by the user!

Ours was a Swift 2013, I did communicate with the clubs technical department but made no progress. 

Without going into details all over again, but I think the issue was more one of a batch of axles being manufactured with substandard components than a design fault. If it were a design fault it would have affected all caravan manufacturers using the same or similar AlKo axles. Besides, axles aren't designed with such a low margin of safety that, say, a 20% overload condition will unconditionally result in axle failure.

Lutz

Agree but...

Not sure if you are aware that this does't only effect just one brand of caravan.

When my van had its failure,the suspension rubber had squashed out of the hub.

Again without going over old ground,it is always these longer fixed bed models,I have yet to hear of a 2 berth or twin axle with suspension failure.

Having been a victim of axle failure and over the last couple of years having studied and discussed this a some depth and with relevant opinions of informed people, I sumarise in the following for what its worth.

The axle problem mostly affects Bailey Unicorn single axle caravans 2015-2019. The symptom is excessive suspension deflection/abrasion due to in most cases minor overloading. There are two primary reasons this  problem. Firstly there is minimal headroom between MTPLM Kg and axle rating Kg, secondly and of more concern that  the design of the axle location and the wheelbox leave insufficient clearance for maximum suspension travel. This is why the wheelbox suffers abrasion with a marginal overload condition. For example 2015 - 2017 vans have approx 65mm wheel to wheelbox clearance unloaded but 90mm maximum travel. 2017 -2019 vans ( or warranty replacement axles) have approx 75mm clearance unloaded still with 90mm maximum travel, 2020 vans have oddly enough approx 90mm clearance unloaded. Flat topped wheelbox doesn't help either.

The threshold for axle failure is deemed to be <25mm tyre to wheelbox by Bailey/Alko

If out of warranty or as most owners have found Bailey won't help, most mobile engineers can change an axle and these chaps can refurb , http://www.fraserbrowneng.co.uk/index.php?c=al-ko-axle-repair

There are axle failures on other brands of van at a much lower %. Usually the suspension rubber fails leading to the suspension sinking and not recovering if the van is unloaded.

The squealing brake issue and thread stripping issue affects all brands (yes I've had that too) believed to be a change of supplier for brake drums and shoes, cheaper no doubt.

With regard to the moderator comment above I have approached both clubs with respect to this but it seems they are not willing to support members suffering with this problem which by now must be many hundreds.