Alko Axle Problems

Have you had experience of a failed axle yourself?

We have a 2013 Hymer and fear that our axle is failing as van is sitting lower than normal. Have checked clearance between wheel & arch and seems ok but after reading this discussion it has made us uneasy. Local dealer has checked it and said " is within tolerance" but what would be consequence of towing in current state?

Gut feeling is that we need it replaced but any advice would be welcomed. Seems 2013 caravans are the unlucky year.

I initially wrote about the trouble I had with my 2013 Bailey Unicorn started on September 2016.

Both Bailey and Alko refused to address the issue and I took the fault to the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA- used to be the VOSA)

The result was I paid for a new axle myself as Alko claimed the axle had been over-loaded - you try and prove otherwise!

If you are worried about the safety of your Caravan, contact the DVSA via the website : -

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-recalls-and-faults

Follow the - Vehicle Recalls and Faults and then - Report a serious Safety Defect

This will lead you to a form to complete to send online or print and send.

I think it is a safety issue and now check the clearance between the tyre and wheel arch liner at every stop/opportunity

Where did the relaxed and carefree idea of caravanning go?

We have a Swift 514 Challenger which had the same problem, its obvious that the design of the caravan with all the heavy appliances on the offside is causing the ALKO axle to fail, no one is accepting any liability and we as owners are having to pay for repairs which is a design fault and I am surprised that after several years of complaints that nothing has changed.

It needs to be stated its not fit for purpose.

I suspect that the blame lies with ALKO as there most be liaison with manufactures who specify the capacity of the axle supplied, Swift caravans and many others manufactures suffer from the same failure.

The axle needs to be improved to be accepted as fit for purpose urgently and I am amazed that owners pay and accept the cost when they are not to blame for the inadequate axle fitted to their caravan.

Its unfortunate that most caravans use this ALKO axle which has proved to be unsuitable and subject to failure.

Dissatisfied customers of failed axles need to report the issue as myself and Georgevan have done to the governing body for safety the DVSA, to date the DVSA only have these 2 reported instances of axle failure even though numerous are reported on forums? If all consumers reported their safety concerns over failures to them it would give them more evidence of the problem to get both the caravan manufacturers and chassis manufacturers to properly investigate and report open the failures. Reporting the failure is very simple via the DVSA website as Georgevan has kindly pointed out.

It seems Alko axles and chassis have been under question for some time, rubber suspension is not able to cope with modern potholed roads.

Insufficient travel and poor damping result in too much stress on chassis components and too much shock transferred to the caravan structure.

In fact a 1980 van with trailing arm suspension is far better!!

Have a read of this dated -  2012 a bit academic but a good read in vies of this thread.

http://opus.bath.ac.uk/36474/1/UnivBath_MPhil_2013_J_Lewis.pdf

Sorry to reply to my own post but this may be of interest to any alko chassis owner with failure issues. 

Go to chapter 3 of the report which has info from Bailey (2009) showing alko components failing a standard car accelerated life test when only 47% complete. Table 3.2

I'm guessing this research was sponsored by Bailey!!

ALKO axle failures

I have noticed the new models introduced from most manufactures for 2018 show redesigned layouts to improve weight distribution of appliances, instead of fixing cooker, fridge, microwave and storage cupboards on the offside of the caravan they have in most cases moved the fridge and microwave to the nearside.

This shows that the weight distribution has caused premature Axle failures due to the excess weight  if all appliances are installed together on one side of the van.

I took measurements when the axle had to be replaced on a 2013 Swift 514 of some brand new caravans and even those were 10 cms lower on the side where appliances were fitted together.

The problem now is that many of us have paid for new axles to be fitted when it appears to be a design fault, dealers and manufactures accept no liability and even try the blame owners for overloading.     

We have a 2011 Swift Challenger. After mover damage on a kerb in France, have noticed a big difference in wheel clearance on UK offside, indeed where all the appliances are. Hoping to get repairs done on insurance but am waiting for the assessor, who is a car expert, not a caravan expert so who knows? the problem may have been there before but I didn't notice it until after the bump (and lots of road humps on the same trip!)

This axle problem appears to mainly Bailey caravans? We have been caravanning for 35 years and have had a least 4 Baileys without any problem. That is until we bought a Bailey Madrid last year. Due to unforeseen circumstances we have only used it twice. We have caravanned for 30 years with my wife being disabled. I have now been accused by AL-KO of overloading the van, and it is costing me £1000 to have it repaired. Received a disgusting letter from Bailey referring how to load a van. Has anyone managed to challenge this accusation? It has left the wife and I disgusted and saddened, that we have decided to pack up caravanning