Alko Axle Problems

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,

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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

do shock absorbers make any difference or are they failing with and without the shocks.

 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.