chopper500 Report post Posted June 26, 2015 I purchased a 40' Discovery in March of 2014. In April of 2015 I noticed very unusual tire wear and took it to my service provider for evaluation. I was informed the wheels were never balanced and the front end had not been aligned. I was told that balancing and aligning the tires now would not stop the abnormal wear and that they should be replaced. I contacted Freightliner who told me there was nothing they could do because the coach was over a year old and had 17,000 miles on it. Freightliners mistake will ultimately cost me over $4000. Any thoughts on how to proceed and not get hosed? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted June 26, 2015 Chopper500, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. It is unusual for the tires to be so badly worn (unless just let go) that they could not be rotated and used on one side in back. And, no balancing weights of any kind on the front wheels-- interesting? Would be interested in a "before/after" of the alignment. And, even if you have to buy two tires (and have them balanced), and alignment, should be no where near $4000. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted June 26, 2015 As Brett said, Welcome to the Forum. Freightliner, should not be responsible for the alignment on their chassis. They provide the chassis but have no control over what the Manufacturer puts on it. There are so many variables applied to the chassis. Fleetwood is the one that should have balanced the tires and aligned the front end before delivery to the dealer. But a coach that the tire wore out in just 17,000 miles should have been a very poorly handling vehicle. Tires out of balance that bad should have been really felt in the steering wheel and wandered all over the road. Tires should be in the neighborhood of $1,500, alignment $300.00 and balancing $100.00 (maybe free with the purchase of the tires), a total of less then $2,000.00 (not $4,000.00). However I would also have the back 4 tires balance when you replace the two front tires. Sorry for your problems, Good Luck Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chopper500 Report post Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks for the input guys. I should probably get another opinion. The coach doesn't handle badly, nor does the front end vibrate. They did balance and rotate the tires but said they should be replaced. Maybe they are just trying to make an extra dollar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoryTug Report post Posted June 27, 2015 I had the same on my 2011 Itasca. Tire dealer told me that no manufacturer aligns the front end because of weight variances. He has had brand new Peterbuilts in with worn out fronts in 8000 miles. I saw here many months ago that a member posted the first thing one should do after loading the coach is have the front end aligned. I will always do that from now on. BTW. Mine was so far off, I could feel the difference in handling when corrected. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted June 28, 2015 It really is too bad the RV assemblers (not manufacturers for I am not aware of any such company) don't care about their customers. Every car & LT that comes off the assy line at GM, Ford Toyota, Honda etc is run across a system that allows check & set of alignment even though every car weighs essentially the same and is assembled from the same parts. RV assemblers know that most units are different due to the options and variations in floor plans etc so if they had any automotive engineering knowledge at all, they would know the alignment would change. My Coachment was out for camber on both front tires which resulted ini one shoulder wear, even though I know it was set by Chevy when they made the cut-away van chassis. It was the weight that Coachmen added that caused the RV to be out of align. RV assemblers know they can avoid the cost associated with building better quality vehicles because they don't have to worry about warranty costs because they knowingly offer not much more than 6 months warranty as a good portion of RVs are not driven full time right out the door so 12 months isn't really 12 months usage. They also know that many owners will not take the time to bring the unit back for service to make the RV right in the first place. How would you feel if you bought a car and was told to take it back to the factory three states away to have a shopping list of screw-ups fixed? We are considering a new RV later this year and I almost feel sorry for the dealer as I will not accept shoddy parts or workmanship as this time I know better than to trust the RV assembler. I will let the dealer know I am going to an alignment shop first thing and if out of align he can pay the bill if the unit is out of spec or I won't but the unit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted June 28, 2015 It really is too bad the RV assemblers (not manufacturers for I am not aware of any such company) don't care about their customers. Every car & LT that comes off the assy line at GM, Ford Toyota, Honda etc is run across a system that allows check & set of alignment even though every car weighs essentially the same and is assembled from the same parts. RV assemblers know that most units are different due to the options and variations in floor plans etc so if they had any automotive engineering knowledge at all, they would know the alignment would change. My Coachment was out for camber on both front tires which resulted ini one shoulder wear, even though I know it was set by Chevy when they made tha cut-away van chassis. It was the weight that Coachmen added that caused the RV to be out of align. RV assemblers know they can avoid the cost associated with building better quality vehicles because they don't have to worry about warranty costs because they knowingly offer not much more than 6 months warranty as a good portion of RVs are not driven full time right out the door so 12 months isn't really 12 months usage. They also know that many owners will not take the time to bring the unit back for service to make the RV right in the first place. How would you feel if you bought a car and was told to take it back to the factory three statres away to have a shopping list of screw-ups fixed? We are considering a new RV later this year and I almost feel sorry for the dealer as I will not accept shoddy parts or workmanship as this time I know better than to trust the RV assembler. I will let the dealer know I am going to an alignemnt shop first thing and if out of align he can pay the bill if the unit is out of spec or I won't but the unit. Better to have that done, and get a all wheel alignment, before you hand over the money and sine that paperwork. You have much more leverage with the check in your pocket. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted June 29, 2015 Bill I plan some such or at least something in writing as to who is responsible to pay for an alignment. I'm willing to pay for the alignment check and the dealer should be willing to pay for the adjustment and then they can go back on the RV company to collect the cost of the RV company for not doing a better quality job in the first place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted July 6, 2015 I can add to this from experience. The chassis manufactures always insist on an alignment after the "body" has been installed, which makes sense, with the weight distribution changing how could the chassis manufacture possibly know that ahead of time, think about it, floor plan would play a part on each individual vehicle. This information is supplied to the body company in the "body builder’s guide" which is supplied to each authorized body company by each chassis manufacture. The sad part is most are not aware of such manual which also provides them with important information like where certain electrical tap ins are located for things like tail lights etc., wire color codes etc. I have bumped heads with different body companies over the years about this and sadly the body co.’s engineering team and the chassis engineering team are very disconnected most have never seen the guide nor do they follow it. I agree...the coach manufacture should be responsible for seeing this through, as well as not over loading the chassis, since they are the final assembler. Nothing frustrated me more than crawling under a vehicle, with the chassis manufactures tail and body lamp harness sitting there unused with a weather tight connector pigtail hanging on the frame and the body co running their own right past it with wire taps into the harness toward the front of the chassis, the poor mechanic usually finds it in 2-3 years when none of the lights work or the frame cracked because it was welded onto when it was not supposed to be. Seems like everyone is so busy maximizing their profits and assembly speed they forgot about the reason they are in business...the consumer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickandlois Report post Posted July 6, 2015 X2 !!!!! The Chassis and Coach Connections on our older coach are very close. However, there are wiring items / changes with no documentation and one keeps finding points where the chassis structure was installed before the wiring harnesses where run. This creates some interesting work a rounds. Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
